No matter what you’re trying to promote online, traffic is the one key ingredient you need that makes it all happen.

But getting that traffic can be a costly undertaking. Still you have no guarantee that your pay-for-traffic promo methods will produce the results you’re after.

That’s where it’s nice to have alternatives. Free traffic is the best way to test your promo methods. Then when you discover what works, you can either fine tune these steps or invest for maximum exposure.

One more advantage of the free traffic methods is that many continue to produce very good results, no matter how the internet changes.

Here are my top five tools:

1. My Article Submitter.
With this software, I simply add a article with keywords and resource box and at the click of a mouse have it automatically submit my article to the article directories of my choice.

What I really like about this little gem is that it allows me to add my own article directories. That gives me a hands up since I am able to maximize my efforts by keeping only those article directories that give me the most bang for my buck … only this smart tool is free!

2. Blog Finder.
Commenting on blogs similar to mine has always been an advertising technique I’ve used with great success. The only drawback was that I had to spend oodles of time looking for blogs.

This software solved that problem for me. I enter my keywords, click search and instantly I get a list of blogs that I can comment on. I just click the link to each blog and bingo.

3. Directory Submitter.
Google, Yahoo and MSN are great directories to be listed in. But there are hundreds (if not thousands) more that could drive precious traffic to my site.

DS is the tool that lets me do that. I just add my URL and click send. Before long, beautiful traffic comes swarming in.

4. Forum Promoter.
This handy tool lets me submit a question to many forums automatically. That frees up a lot of time, since I don’t have to look for forums to post on.

I can also track how many replies I received. This is a super package for building quality backlinks.

5. Press Release Submit.
This is actually a service, not a software. Still, the service is entirely free and top notch. Your press release is instantly included in the local directory and submitted to other PR directories within 24 hours (all done for free).

Using this tool alone has given me a gigantic boost in traffic within only one week. Talk about writing with a punch… .

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These are my top five traffic generating tools that I’ve been using for quite some time now with great success.

You can learn more about these tools and download them here.

I got a fantastic “graduation” gift for you – keep reading:

Now that your online business is up and running (see previous lessons), it’s up to you to keep the momentum going and improve your traffic, subscribers and sales even more.

There are plenty of things you can do to make that happen.  Some are more effective than others.   Let’s go over what I believe to be the most result producing methods:

1. Continue to add quality and unique content to your main blog.
Look at my blog and you notice that I add new content just about every single day.  A lot of work?  Yes but … it is absolutely worth it.  And just like a brick and mortar business, you need to work on your business every day to make it successful.

2. Submit one or two posts every two or three weeks to your Blogger’s blog.
One thing I do with my Blogger’s account is to submit a post from my main blog but rewrite it a little.  That way I don’t have to write a brand new article, yet at the same time I have an article that is original.

3. Ping your blogs after each post.
Pinging will alert blog directories about your new post entries on your main blog as well as your Blogger’s blog.  Additionally, your iGoogle and your MyYahoo accounts will also be notified.  That means greater visibility for your blog.

4. Submit articles to article directories.
Three times per week submit an article that you write to a variety of article directories.  Doing this will generate backlinks to your blog which increases traffic and visibility.  Additionally, if your article is helpful or insightful, other webmaster will post your article at their blogs or sites.  That creates additional backlinks to your blog and increases your visibility.

5. Post comments on related blogs.
This is an excellent method to build additional backlinks to your blog.   There are 2 keys you must look out for:

5.1 Only submit comments at blogs that are related to your own blog.  Don’t worry about the “nofollow” command.  You still get recognized for your submission.  Overtime, you will build goodwill and trust.

5.2 Put comments that make sense.  Don’t just say something like: “Hi, great post!”.  Be more detailed.  You don’t need to write a novel but at least let the author know what you think about her post.

Example: “You know Kim, that’s my sentiment too.  I really believe that if you keep up with keeping up you will eventually reach your goals.  You see, most people throw in the towel just too soon.  What a shame!”

If you’re allowed to have your link in your comment, place it at the bottom of your comment.

6. Post a classified ad.
You can place free small ads at classified ad directories everywhere.  Use a free email account like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo, for just that purpose.  Check search engines to find free or paid classified ads directories.

7. Please an ezine ad.
Look for ezines that relate to your blog’s topic.  Contact the owners of the ezines and tell them you wish to place an ad in their ezine.  Some ezine owners will accept your ad free of charge.  Others may charge you a small fee.  Either way, you’ll receive lots of publicity.

8. Create a video.
Relax, it doesn’t have to be a movie and it certainly doesn’t need to be loaded with all sorts of special effects.  Plain, simple, to the point often produces the best results.

Use free tools to create your movie, such as MS Movie Maker (which is pre-installed on your computer if you’re using MS Windows XP operating system or you can download it free).

Submit your video to free video sites.  Youtube.com, Metacafe.com or Revver.com are a few good video sites that will give you super exposure.

Additional promotion tips you can use:

- answer questions at forums related to your topic
- create joint ventures with other marketers
- start your own affiliate program
- create a free ebook encoded with your links

Now for your free graduation gift:

If you followed along with this 5 lessons mini-course and you put into practice what you learned, then you will now have a real, money making online business.

All you need to do know to continue to keep your business grow and flourish is to stick to it.  Spend whatever time you can afford on building your business.  Your efforts will be rewarded.  You’ll see.  Just keep going and don’t quit.

In this post I showed you several ways to promote your blog.  One of the options is article marketing.  Submitting articles to directories is and always will be a proven and effective marketing method.  Search engines love content.  That’s why articles are always considered top game by search engines.

The only requirement is that you submit articles that are unique (you write them), and that offer real help, solutions, insights, tips and tricks to its readers.

My graduation gift to you is an article submission software that will facilitate submitting your articles to directories.  This little tool lets you write your article and your resource box and submit your article to various directories.

I’ve pre-populated the software with what I consider to be the better article directories.  I did not include EzineArticles.com only because they take too long to approve your article for inclusion.

The directories I’ve included approve quickly, which is important to you.  Furthermore, you can add your own article directories to the existing list and expand your article submission.

I am giving you my article submission tool free as a thank you for sticking with this mini-course and to congratulate you on putting in to action what you learned.

Making money online is a lot easier than most marketers are lead to believe.  Now you have the basic knowledge you need to get started.  Just stick to improving your business.  Expand on the knowledge you got here and watch your business (and your income) grow with leaps and bounds.