Traffic building is such a big deal online, and there are so many different ways that you can not only get traffic, but use traffic. And I think that the place where the traffic comes from is important when we have different uses for the traffic. Some types of traffic might be great for some uses, but not for others. And of course that applies to the list building use for traffic.
When you are list building, you are looking for a specific type of individual. You do not just want some freebie-seeking junkie that is never going to open your emails on down the road. You do not want kids or people with no money - you are building a list so that you can make money, and the only way you make money with this is if the people on your list have the money to spend with you. No matter how nice they are , if they cannot afford $50 from time to time....you don't need them on your list.
So where do you get traffic that will actually spend money with you$%:
1) Article writing and submission. This is really one of my favorites, because people that come to you from this medium are looking for real information, and they often have the demographics necessary to be able to pay you for your expertise.
2) Press releases. Again, this is a demographic thing - many of the people who read press releases are more likely to be able to afford your wares.
3) Ezine advertising. I like this too, but you have to test it some. Some ezines will make you money, others will not. So you have to test. But these subscribers are often good subscribers because they have made it through the ezine experience and have not quit.