Recently I came across a web site with the heading "How to get a million visitors without spending a dime in advertising." Unfortunately the web site didn't actually tell me how I could do that - that information was only available through an eBook sold on the site. The price of the eBook was around $200USD. Now I live in New Zealand so $200USD is more like $400 and is kind of a bit beyond my budget, or more exactly what I'm willing to pay for an eBook I haven't even seen.

But it got me thinking, is it really possible to get a million visitors without spending a dime in advertising? And in a short time too (around a month)?

The answer is yes. There are at least two ways.

The first way is to leverage spam with a two tier affiliate program. Basically what you do is send out spam to newsgroups and/or bought email addresses saying you have this great way to make money, just visit my web site (you're targeting potential affiliates). On your web site you get people to join your two tier affiliate program. What this means is that as well as getting money for selling your product they also get money for getting other people to join your affiliate program. And you tell them to spam newsgroups and the like. Except you don't put it quite that way. Maybe you sell them software that automates posting of messages on newsgroups or something like that. Anyway, you get the drift.

What's wrong with this method? For one thing it's spamming. Another thing is that it's basically ripping people off - their time and their money. And the people who join your two tier affiliate program don't make anything because by now the people they are trying to sell to know it's one big scam. Think pyramid selling.

Did the site I mentioned above use this method? I have no idea. Like I said, I never bought the book.

The second way is to create a highly viral web site, like a "gimmick" site. What I mean by that is the kind of site that a friend emails you and you then email to at least two of your friends. A classic example is "amihotornot.com." For most of us, our web sites aren't highly viral.

So in summary you can either get a million visitors in around a month by either earning the wrath of your fellow netizens, or you can do it by coming up with a hot idea. I know which one I'd go for. There may be other ways, but those are the only two I can think of.