Simplicity is your best bet here. Two reasons… it’s easier for you to set it up and get going, and it often converts the best. The rule of thumb is that whatever you have promised to giveaway as your free report or video, make sure that it is congruent with your opt-in form.

Typically, what converts best is a subheading, a main headline, a one sentence call to action and a form JUST asking for an email. That’s it. This  converts at 40 to 55% for good, targeted traffic and just takes a few minutes to put to create.

Hit the Forums

There are lots of ways to get MASSIVE traffic… but they also require a lot of expertise to pull off. That’s why most people who are starting out or who are not real good at marketing can’t use them effectively. Let’s keep it simple! The first way to get traffic is through forums.

Specifically, we want to find forums where the people in those forums would be very interested in the subject of your free report. Also, these forums must allow you to have a “signature”. A signature is simply a little blurb that is automatically added to the end of each of your posts you make in that forum.

So sign up for that forum, and then log into your profile and create your signature. Make it two sentences, with a clickable link. That link leads to your squeeze page. For our example above, it might be something as simple as: “free report reveals how to write sales letters like a pro in no time.

Click here to get the free report…” Then, just set up your “daily posting schedule”. This might be a half hour to an hour a day where you go into the forum and create new posts that offer value, or respond to posts that others created where you offer your own commentary or value.

Don’t be a spammer. Don’t be blatant about your free report at all. Don’t even mention it. Just contribute worthwhile commentary. A paragraph or two ought to do it. Your signature does the selling for you.

Ideally you want to do this with as many active forums as possible and very soon you will see sign-ups. Sometimes on the very day you started.

Write Articles

There is a huge shortcut you can use here. Think about it – you can chop up bits and pieces of each email interview you did – and turn them into articles. Then you can write additional articles if you wish. Regardless, submit those articles to Ezine articles (http://ezinearticles.com) and Go articles (http://goarticles.com)

Why articles? Because at the end of each article you’re allowed a 2-3 sentence resource section, where you can promote your free report. These articles get searched and read, and you will get subscribers. Some articles get thousands of views over their life span, resulting in hundreds of clicks, and sign-ups for you.

Comment on High Traffic Blogs

Find blogs in your niche that are ranked high in the search engines. This means they probably have good traffic. Then you simply find posts and add in your own commentary… providing value first.

Then at the end say something like “we talk about this in my free report more in depth at…” and put in your link. Repeat the process. There you go. You follow this very simple and basic plan… and just do it day in and day out… and you will be amazed at how easy it is to actually have success online.

And of course, nothing is stopping you from creating multiple free reports with this method. It’s really up to you and how bad you want it.

Also, what’s great is once you get that list going and sales coming in, it frees you up to innovate and try new traffic methods, experiment with new techniques, and learn new skills to enhance your business model.

Let’s end that. Your goal is simple – 100 people on an email list, and your first $100 in profit generated through Internet Marketing. Why such a simple goal? Because this is where it all starts.

If you figure out how to put 100 people on a list, then you can do the same thing to make it 200… 400… 800… 1600… or more. It’s up to you. Same thing with the cash. That’s why this works, and why it’s something you should focus on if you’ve been struggling to make any money online at all or build an email list.

What’s Your Ethical Bribe?

Right now I’m going to show you a very simple, easy to execute plan to accomplish this. This is not rocket science. It’s not especially creative at all. But by golly it works.

To build an email list, you must give an incentive for people to sign up for your mailing list. In other words – a bribe. The best bribe is a simple free report… much like the one you’re reading right now. Free reports are about the easiest thing in the world to create with the right approach.

Let’s talk about one such approach that anyone can use. They’re called email interviews. Here’s how it works.

You create a list of a half dozen questions or so around one central theme. For example, let’s say we wanted to create a free report on “How to write sales letters that make you money!”

What would we do? We’d find as many people in that niche who sell stuff on how to write sales letters. Then we’d send them all the same basic list of questions. It might look like this:

1. Explain how you got your first success with writing a winning sales letter?
2. What is the biggest mistake people make when writing sales letters?
3. What is the most critical factor for creating a winning sales letter?
4. What is the biggest emerging trend you see for using sales letters in online marketing?
5. What is your formula for writing headlines for your sales letters?
6. Why is mastering writing sales letters so important to Internet marketing?

There you go. You simply email each of the people you found who are experts in writing sales letters and you ask them to write a few paragraphs for each answer, and send it back to you when they’re done.

Also, let them know you will allow them to put in a one paragraph “call to action” at the end of the answers where they can promote their latest product as long as you can use your affiliate
link for the promotion.

Your First Free Report Completed!

See what we did there? Killed two birds with one stone. You’ve created a free report that allows you to get emails… and the report is also MONETIZED so you can make affiliate commissions. Cha-ching!

Don’t forget to check out part 2 of this article in which I’ll be showing you an additional four ways to build your list and get traffic to your free report, so you can get your first or next 100+ subscribers.

In sales there is a concept called the ‘buying temperature’. This means that whenever you are trying to sell someone something that at anytime during the sale the buyer is either hot or cold towards what you are pitching.

The aim being to get your prospect so fired-up about what you are selling that they are ready to sign the check before you even mention price. But when you don’t even get the chance to talk to them the temperature of course stays in the icy cold region.

That’s where using “Foot in the door” tactics comes in… I mean it makes sense that if you have the right key then getting in out the cold just got a whole bunch easier.

Think of it this way… you and I know that almost every local business needs either SEO, PPC, a Website Upgrade, a Mobile Friendly version of their site, A Mobile App and so the list can go on. But, do you think that they will talk to you about these higher cost or recurring income items straight off the bat? Not as readily, that’s for sure. In fact, your most likely going to get a power slam put on you by the gatekeeper the moment you even try to talk to them about any of these things.

It doesn’t get any colder than that… but hey that doesn’t mean you give up, it means that you just need to get smarter about how you approach them. And these approaches I affectionately call, “Stealth Mode Tactics”. You see, my goal is to convert every business owner I meet to high-end recurring income programs. Why? Because that’s what is going to enable me to enjoy a great lifestyle and build a business that you only have to work a few hours a week in because you have the cashflow to pay others to do the work for you.

However, the reality is that this wuill only happen when your client or prospective client knows, likes and trusts you enough to do this level of business with you. Well, that’s not the only way… they could also have been referred to you by someone that knows, likes and trusts you. Either way, the ingredients required are the same. That’s why I use under the radar “Stealth Mode Tactics” that help to get your foot in the door super-fast so you can work on becoming a trusted advisor for their Online Marketing needs.

The simple fact is that you know a truck load more than they do about Online Marketing. How do I know that? Because it’s your passion, not theirs. Their baby is their business. They think it, speak it, breathe it, eat it, drink it and wallow in it all day. You are their lifeline to a better business. One that provides them with more leads or customers so they can sleep better at night knowing that they have dollars in the bank and business that is healthy and growing, just like a baby should. You may not have though of yourself as a savior but in a sense this is what you are.

You see, in many cases a business owners worst enemy is themselves. They get all confused about what to do to market their business and then end up spending money on people and things that screw them over. But people like you and I who live by a code of integrity and honor just need a chance to show them that we are the real deal. That’s where having at least 1 or 2 stealth strategies to use comes in mighty handy…. and really a stealth mode tactic is nothing more than an offer that is almost too good to be true.

It’s an offer that makes it easy for a Gatekeeper to say yes to you or for a business owner to want to give you a shot at their business, the offer has to be something that has high perceived value and low or zero perceived risk to them. In fact, they’d feel bloody stupid saying “no” to you because surely you’ve lost your marbles and are not thinking right to be making such an outrageuos offer in the first place.

So here’s a super simple tactic that you can try right away… and just in case your thinking how to approach a prospective client in the first place, just call them up as this offer (if you come accross as genuine and confident) is to good to refuse. You will still get a few that are not interested but that is great news becasue you are looking to build a client base of people who say “yes” to you, not let nay sayers knock you down.

How this works is really quite simple… the LAW of RECIPROCITY comes into effect here. Meaning that the majority of people that you give something to for nothing will feel a subconscious urge to give back to you… and that’s what you’re looking for, a chance to prove your worth.

Stealth Mode Tactic Explained…

So here”s the deal… offer to do a free article on their business.

When you call them up you can stell the Gatekeep or whoever that you are a copywriter and you are doing an article on their industry, or a product or service in their industry and you are looking for content for your next publication.

Explain to them that you will need to interview them for 10 or 15 minutes and that this will go out to dozens of Online Publishers which will help them get more visitors to their website.

And guess what you get when you do the interview? A goldmine of information about their business as well as helping them to get to know, like and trust you. Then, my friend youo are on your way to the Mother Load!

If you really want to ramp up the future buying temperature you can also offer to put the article on the clients website or blog as a bonus if you like, or any number of other ways that you could think to leverage this service (i.e. think Social Media).

Oh, and by the way, do you know how much easier it will be now to get your client to do something like a regular article for their site that you can add to their Blog (even better if they don’t have one as you can get it built for them) and start cashing in monthyl checks immediately?

Before that though, I would definitely offer to do a free website or traffic analysis of their business and then get started working with them on the areas that they have the biggest need in first.

Then, before you start any more work… make sure you GET PAID for your services.

Seriously, if you can’t get your foot in the door using a strategy like this then perhaps Local Business is not for you.

But I gotta tell you that local business are not going to go away for a very long time and that there is still a massive opportunity for you and I to make a ton of money helping them with their Online Marketing.

… So if you have a passion to work with Offline Clients and haven’t found the right way to approach them that works for you, then pick up the phone and start calling business  today and see how it works for you.

This is a time of year when business owners are looking for new ways to get more leads, sales or customers… and that means your odds of getting your foot in the door are even greater!

The reason I share this is that we all work hard. Part of working hard is to take time out every now and then to enjoy life and celebrate the victories that we have achieved. I plan to do this a lot more next year because part of working smarter, not harder, means spending less time working and more time playing. But for this to happen you need a plan of action that will help you to rapidly increase your cashflow whileleveraging your time more effectively.

That’s where being an Internet Marketer comes in. It is by far one of the best business to get into to create a lifestyle that most people can only dream of. Now, I’m not talking about lamborghini’s, mansions or going to ‘A’ list parties. What I mean by lifestyle is whatever it is that makes your heart sing and fills your life with passion and purpose on a daily basis.

You see, I have discovered that settling for anything less than what we truly want to have, do or be in our lives is to settle for a life of quiet desperation. It’s going through the motions of living each day without really feeling the awesomeness of being alive. That’s why you will notice that so many people are unhappy or come across as lethargic or unmoticated by anything much because basically their circumstances suck.

Now, the great news about circumstances being challenging is that they can definitely be improved. I remember my last full-time J.O.B several years ago and I gotta tell you that I hated it with a passion. It absolutely sucks to sell your Soul to an organization that only cares about bottom line profits and just pays lip service to keeping their staff happy. What it did do for me though was to fuel a raging fire inside me  to be in control of my own life and because of that I am now living the life of my dreams.

If you are in a situation like this right now then you will be able to relate with where I am coming from. The point is that each day life passes us by and we can never get it back, that’s why it’s so important to really go for what you want starting now and don’t stop until you achieve your dream destination.

With a new year looming on the horizon, now is the perfect time to set yourself up for UNSTOPPABLE success for the new year.

Here are 4 simple success steps that have always worked for me and that I know can work for you to if you apply them:

1. Decide to get your Internet Marketing business working full-time by the end of next year (write down how much income you need to make each month to achieve this)

2. Take daily action towards achieving this result. Make sure you have daily, weekly and monthly goals that are realistic to achieve. Also do a vision board that is a visual representation of your end goals. In fact, I always make a list of the TOP 10 things that I want to achieve for the new year before the current year ends. Then I print it out and put a copy of it on my fridge so that I get to remind myself everyday what’s important for me to achieve that year. Always include a financial goal and a business goal for yourself in this list because at the end of the day a life without money gives you less choices in the world.

3. Review your results on a weekly basis. If what you are doing is not working then try something else. Most importantly – NEVER GIVE UP as long as you have breath in your body!

4. Celebrate your wins. You’ll find it much easier to enjoy life if you are grateful for the wins you do have. Spend more time being happy with what you have than what you don’t have and more happiness will come your way. This is how the law of attraction works.

I know that next year the focus for me will be to help at least 1000 people to achieve a full-time income working part-time or full-time from home. If that is something that you’d like to be a part of then stay tuned for further updates on how you can be part of my ‘Sack Your Boss’ revolution.

Be safe, happy and healthy over the holiday break and see you in 2013!

The purpose of the challenge is to take a few thousand people and help them make some fast cash while growing their online business.

The methodology involves giving them what they need as we coach them along a path of inevitable success. I say inevitable because unless you are in a coma and do nothing, then you will get results super fast.

These are like no other programs that I know of because it involves on-going coaching, actionable success steps, question and answer session, mind-set superstar training, and most importantly is run by people who are all super successful at what they do.

So what has ‘Thunder Down Under’ got to do with any of this.

It’s quite simple – that is the affectionate nickname that myself and my business partner David Judge received from the extremely vocal group of ‘gung-ho’ challengers.

Although if you Google the name you’ll notice that it relates mostly to a group of male strippers from Australia, I assure you that David and I are not secretly harbouring such identities. Not that we’re admitting to anyway.

I will tell you though that the name is very appropriate because just as Thunder has it’s own path is and is beholding to no-one, that is also true for me.  Being your own boss and having the freedom to choose what you do and when you do it is not only good for the Soul, but allows for a Peaceful and Powerful life.

One of my dreams is to help as 10,000 people to take back control of their lives in the same way myself and David have. This is why I love to develop products that help people make money online and set themselves up for long-term business success. In addition, having the privilege to work with like-minded people who also have the same vision and get to share helping others together is also a dream come true.

My wish is for you to be living your passion and waking up inspired each day to let your Thunder loose on the world and give a good shake up so that the world knows that you too are a force for good to be reckoned with.