If you’re an affiliate marketer, you’ll already know that reviewing a product is a solid tactic to attract leads.

But what do you do, if you’re selling your own products?

Use case studies instead, to play up your product’s benefits to your customer.  Or have a guest poster review your product. Use squeeze pages with strong calls to action – and make sure there are no other links on that page, besides your actual sign-up form.

Once you’ve got your content presented as powerfully as you, it’s time to start going out to the street corners and inviting people to the wedding.

The best way to start inviting visitors, if you’re building a list from scratch, is with either:

1. A limited-time Special Offer on your favorite forum (check the rules to make sure this is okay. Many forums have Special Offer sections.)
2. An enticing “Freebie” to get them to sign up to your list

Both methods have an advantage.  With a Special Offer, immediate sales is one pay-off – but that shouldn’t be anywhere near the forefront of your mind. You’ll use this Special Offer to test and tweak your product if necessary, based on the feedback you get. (And don’t forget to ask for feedback!)

Far more vital to your traffic generation – testimonials to include in your “big” launch; and subscribers who have been pre-qualified by their eagerness for your freebie, with the sign-up option.

Your Special Offer can be free for your list – but many people swear by charging a minimum fee for it – $1.00 or $2.00.  (It’s a psychological truth that people attach more value to something they have paid for.)

One other little-mentioned advantage of starting with a highly targeted, limited-time Special Offer lies in the fact that you will now have a list (even if it’s not the largest one on the planet.

Without a list, you are far less likely to attract quality affiliates.

With a Freebie, you need to actively promote it on more than just your favorite forum (the one that housed your exclusive Special Offer.)  Social networking – across as many platforms as you frequent – is a must for creating that most powerful asset of all – word of mouth buzz.

“When in Doubt – Ask…”

But that’s not even the beginning.  You need to ask your market what it needs, before you ever touch the keyboard to start your product creation. Don’t make the fatal mistake of thinking that, because you think an idea is awesome, your fellow forum or niche members will, too. Yes. They may very well agree that it’s the next best thing to sliced bread…

…But will they pay for it?  (Even with a Freebie, it has to logically lead to your next product or upsell – which they will have to shell out for.)

Don’t forget to use Surveys and Polls to capture reader attention and invite that valuable feedback. (Survey Monkey is a very easy-to-use free survey building site – and there’s a great Pro option too.)  Post about your survey on your niche’s best forums (but only if you’re already a member there!) Blog about it, ask your fellow forum members to pass it on.  Tweet it. Ask others to re-tweet it.  Talk about it on Facebook. Be active in making sure you ask others to promote it.