It is important if you want to maximize your profits online that you understand and implement the sales funnel process. What is the sales funnel process? - It's the tunnel that a potential customer (lead) who has visitor is taken through if they show interest and opt in to learn more information from you. Where Do You Start? - Find your market. First start with what you know. Do you have a skill, trait, or knowledge that others would be willing to purchase from you? If not, this is where you research popular warm/hot markets and join forums, sign up for information about the market and learn as much as you can on what is sold to that market and how those products are sold. Your key goal is to find a system that works and replicate it best you can while adding your own twist and style to it. Work Backwards - You can not produce a quality funnel until you have a product, service, or program to offer (Keep in mind this can also be someone else's, think affiliate programs.) Once you have something to sell and a market that is interested in you, have some set up to attend to. This set up involves several things: Domain Name Hosting Auto responder service Something of value that you can give away for free (Think "private label rights products") Once you have all of those items you need to create combine them into what is called a "squeeze page". Click Here For Example Once you have your squeeze page in place you have to get your follow up process in order. What is the follow up process? - The follow up process includes the page that people will see after they sign up from your squeeze page and the series of emails that will be sent out to the people who opt in via your auto responder series. The page after sign should be a thank you page, which explains that you thank them for signing up, tells them to check their email to verify they want to receive the info that you told them they would get for signing up (make sure you send them what you offered them in that first email they get), and then also includes a link which you explain is a thank you offer for them signing up. This is a link to the product you have affiliated with. The one that you make money from if they buy. The preset emails they receive after signing up through your auto responder series, which could be anywhere from 1 to infinity, will include reasons why they should check out that site your affiliated with and links for them to get there. This increases the amount of sales you make using this follow up method. Phew.. Ok all that is set up. Now what? - Now you find prospectsfrom your target market using different traffic methods. You will often times you will see people talking about what traffic method is the best. Honestly EVERY traffic method is the best. What you need to do is test and track your results when using different traffic methods and use only the ones that give you the best results. To help you get started I have compiled a list of different traffic methods: 1. PPC - AdWords marketing 2. Article submission 3. traffic exchanges - instantbuzz, trafficswarm 4. Press release 5. Safelists 6. Social Networks - myspace, facebook, apsense, directmatches 7. Blogging 8. Bookmarking - digg, reddit, stumplupon 9. Squidoo 10. Directory Submission 11. Video Submission 12. Forums 13. Craigslist 14. JV Partners 15. Text/banner exchanges 16. Purchase banner ads 17. Link exchanging 18. SEO Final Note- This takes time, patience, testing, and work. No way around it. Those who do it and succeed, I commend you.