While the new challenge has been rolling out, I’ve been thinking deeply about the direction of online business and the most crucial element of all, how we get traffic.

When it comes down to it, there are only 3 ways you can get people to see your stuff.

1. You can drive traffic to your site from the organic listings in search engines such as Google.

2. You can buy traffic. Google pay per click and Facebook demographic advertising, along with banner advertising, list buying and more exotic techniques such as re-targeting all fall into this category.

3. You become a market leader. You become one of the top 20 influences in your market. Easy!…

It seems to me, there are 3 major factors combining to create one of the largest inflection points we’ve seen in years in our business.

(Look at me – I used the phrase ‘inflection point’)

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

The cost of effective traffic has been going north at a rapid rate. Notice I said “effective" traffic. As more and more of the traditional advertising spend for large corporation’s gets poured in to online advertising it makes it harder and more expensive for us entrepreneurs to compete.

This is particularly true, when you’re starting out. The average cost of a phrase test with pay per click advertising is between $200 and $400. I remember, with some fondness, when a phrase test would cost $20, way back in the good old days of 2004.

The other economic condition we cannot ignore, is the current global environment. In many parts of the world people are struggling right now and their disposable income is not what was.

This is both a threat and an opportunity.

I remember Gary Halbert telling me about the “little blue books”. While I was researching my current theories I decided to hunt down what the “little blue books” were all about.

For 10 cents, you would get a pamphlet stylebook covering everything from stories by famous authors such as H.G.Wells, guides on how to win competitions and for the time, quite thought-provoking topics such as atheism and homosexuality.

During the depression, these little blue books were the equivalent of today’s Internet. A little respite, in the overall economic devastation of the late 20s and early 30s.

At 10 cents apiece, E.Haldeman-Julius sold $15 million worth of these books (that’s $193 million in today’s money)

Right now, we’re seeing extraordinary sales for apps, I think this is the equivalent of the “little blue book”. For $.99 we get a bit of respite and a little bit of enjoyment.

It’s no coincidence coffee sales also, are extremely strong.

It’s these little pleasures which delight and brighten our Day that seem to be driving markets.

You might have noticed we have been experimenting with different price points as well. More on that later.

THE SOCIAL PROBLEM

If you add up all the information collected from the beginning of time to 2003, Eric Schmidt (Googles Chairman) has been quoted as saying the search giant collects that amount of information every 2 days!

When I grew up, I lived in a tiny country town that had two TV stations, one radio station and one newspaper. If it wasn’t for the lifeline of Judge Dredd comics and PC Magazine I’m not sure where I would’ve ended up!

Today, we are bombarded with an almost dizzying array of messages. I believe the success of Facebook is in large part due to its ability to filter out information for the average person so they only receive interesting stuff from people they know.

E-mail delivery and open rates have been declining and I don’t see the trend changing.

As marketers, we have been able to take each of these technologies and exploited “arbitrage" type situations – where for a period of time we could exploit a new technique or technology.

If users are fleeing the traditional Internet of e-mail and web browsing and finding safe haven inside of Facebook and their smartphone (I love you Siri!) where they have much more control of the information they receive I for one believe we need to change and take it into account.

DUNBAR’s NUMBER

It’s worth taking a look at Wikipedia to read about Dunbar’s number. His contention, is any one human being has the capacity to maintain approximately 150 relationships and in early society villages tended to break up once they reached around the 150 figure.

What’s remarkable, is we are seeing the same phenomena online with Joe and Jane Smith (average people, not crazy people like you and I) not being able to maintain more than about 150 friends.

In this new world, the power of recommendation is becoming dominant. Joe and Jane Smith are inundated. They have no choice but to rely heavily on the recommendations of friends and family (not to mention the recommendations of friendly Australians who they follow online :–))

The competition for attention is becoming crazy, what hope has someone new to a market to try and grab some of that attention?

The great news is, there is a repeatable, step-by-step process that will allow anybody to become a respected influencer and in any market inside 12 months.

TECHNOLOGY

I really feel for Google (stop it, I really do!), The cornerstone of the entire search algorithm is breaking down and they know it.

Think about it, the only people creating backlinks today are you, me and the digerati. It’s the tiniest percentage of people on the Internet. Hardly the perfect indicator of what is relevant anymore. For 13 years, backlinks have been everything, today, they still are.

But the days of backlink dominance are coming to a swift end.

I think this is a good thing.

As Leslie Rhode pointed out in a recent conference, a class of 14-year-old girls in high school will create more links in a week than were created on the Internet in 1994.

Joe and Jane Smith do not blog.

What they do do is update their Facebook status, tweet and slap the +1 and like buttons with gay abandon.

Google can’t ignore these new social indicators. They’ve said so themselves.

What gets Joe and Jane Smith to punch the like button?

Content that matters, content that’s funny, content that has a point of view and most importantly, content they want to receive!

To ignore this new reality, to both Google and ourselves, would be suicide.

THERE IS A BRIGHT SIDE

Never before, has there been so many ways to build an audience and have an influence.

Before I go on, let me point out there are 2 kinds of influence, both equally effective.

You can be a “front of the camera" influence, someone who is comfortable with putting their own point of view and leading from the front.

You can also be a “behind-the-scenes" influencer, someone who uses the influence in a non-public way.

You also have the power to choose your communication tool. There are so many ways to build an audience now with little expense and perhaps even more importantly little skill. Being shy is no longer an excuse.

Out there just waiting for you is a message and a medium. The trick, is to figure out both. The fortunate thing is there is a step-by-step process for this to.

I’m actually dictating this blog post, on my new iPhone 4S.

I shot some video yesterday on my iPhone. The quality of the video would have required a camera costing $6,000 only six years ago!

In the old days (2004!), The big bottleneck and the hardest thing to do was produce content. It was expensive, time-consuming and required real expertise. Traffic, was easy as paying $.05 a click and being able to fill out an online form.

Today, producing high-quality content has never been easier or cheaper. Sadly, traffic has become the expensive bottleneck.

For the past 3 years, I have been shaping the idea of “Market Leadership".

I think it’s an idea come of age.

In an online landscape where traffic is getting harder and for many existing techniques – the writing is on the wall. We need a 3rd way.

I’m guessing you want to be really proud of what you’re producing online, you want to stand behind it 100%, unfortunately some of the techniques that I’ve had to use in the past have not stood up that test.

Don’t get me wrong, the fundamentals have not changed! If you have a list of 100,000 people in your market that love what you do, you’re going to have to be a monumental screwup not to make a decent living!

If you’re one of the top 20 most influential people in your marketplace, again, you’re going have to be pretty tragic to not make a decent living.

So! All we need to do, is become one of the top 20 most influential people in a marketplace!

EASY!

What I’ve discovered over the past 3 years and refined is becoming a top 20 influencer in your market is as easy as following a simple formula.

Trouble is, there’s a catch.

You have to follow the step-by-step formula for a minimum of 12 months.

Religiously.

I imagine I just lost a bunch of readers right there.

But here’s the thing,

If you’re reading this and you have limited financial resources, limited time resources (if your primary income comes from anywhere else this means you!) Then what choice do you have?

Market leadership is the one strategy anyone can start. There is no barrier to entry. Cool. Sadly, the laws of nature dictate – to get any result, get any movement you need to expend energy and for you, my friend, that means your time.

Consistently, religiously, every day for 12 months.

I KNOW – I’m selling the bejesus out of this!

It could be worse,

You could be a crime scene cleaner.

You could be the dude that goes around after the grand parade at your local state fair and cleans up all the poop.

You could be the person that has to clean up the entrails of slaughtered animals at an abattoir.

You could have to walk 4 km each way, each day, just to have some order to drink.

Or,

You could actually create some content in a way you enjoy, through a medium you love, in a way that makes a difference Giving you an immense personal satisfaction instead.

That’s the upside of the 3rd way.

I’ve seen it time and time again. Undertake this process, and your life will change. The trouble is, I have absolutely no clue (nor will you) about how it will change. I just know it does.

I’m so proud of the course that Michelle MacPherson and I created that shows you how to go about gaining market influence. I want to give you a deal…

For the next 24 hours, we have taken $500 off the price of this course.

If you love the step-by-step nature of the challenge, you’re really going to love “Always Be Shipping”.

If you want to effect change in your market, your cause, I know this will work for you if you’re prepared to put in the time.

I also realise I’m trying to sell you something that is not magic, it’s beautiful, but it’s not magic. Because of this, I really want you to have a good look at the entire course and decide if this process is for you.

I want you to take a full 30 days to have a look at the whole course and if you decide it’s not for you, no problem, say the word and we will refund all of your money back – no questions asked.

I know this works and I’m prepared to take all the risk out of it to you.

For the next 24 hours, use the code “ABS497" and we will halve the price of the course (those of you who are mathematically inclined, it’s a little bit more than half!)

Here’s the link – Check it out.

See if the third way is for you.

Ed

PS Remember you can try this out at absolutely no risk to yourself, if you find this course is not a you (and you have a full 30 days to make that decision) we will refund your money instantly.

You have no risk at all