Many people don't think that using top lists is a good method of generating traffic, but that's a common mistake. In all actuality, top lists can be a fantastic way to generate quality traffic that is interested in what you have to offer.

"Used correctly, top lists can increase your revenue substantially!"

Let's say you've decided to promote the mature niche. You've built your site and started promoting it, and through search engines and link lists you're already getting a few hundred hits a day.

Now, it's true that in order to get good traffic from top lists you have to send some out, but the trick is in sending out the ones who are not going to buy anything from you. You want to use those non-buyers to some advantage instead of just having them leave. Put them to some good use!

The way my sites are set up - I have a warning page (sponsors only), a main page with links to my galleries (with sponsors and link lists recips) and on my gallery pages I have sponsors and at the very bottom of every gallery, I can put a top list code.

If a visitor has gone through your warning page, your main page and a gallery or two and still hasn't clicked a sponsor, he's probably not going to. So by making your top list link the last thing he sees, you can send that non-buyer off and exchange him for the opportunity to sell to someone else from the top list!

Some people say that top list traffic sucks, but that's because of the KIND of top lists that they have been using. If you find a top list that allows blind links like "Hot Lolita Sucks Horse Penis" you're in trouble. Stay away from those like the plague! The ones you want are the ones that are targeted to your specific niche and have some sort of quality guidelines for the sites listed.

You want to check out the sites to be sure they have content and are not full of extremely misleading links and tons of popups. Be sure that all have accurate descriptions and that the top list's rules specifically prohibit misleading or "illegal" descriptions.

If you're promoting the mature niche, pick two or three good top lists in the mature niche. You will be sending them your traffic that didn't convert, and you'll be getting traffic that didn't covert from other webmasters as well, but that doesn't mean it won't convert for you.

You may be using completely different sponsors than the person the hit originally came from. You may use completely different marketing tactics that will attract the surfer to click your ads, even though he didn't click the previous site's ads. But one thing you can be sure of. If he came to a mature top list, he's probably looking for mature content, and if your offer for a mature paysite is attractive enough he just might bite!

That's why top list traffic can convert better than some other sources of traffic, such as TGP traffic. Most TGP's contains links to dozens of different niches, although there are some specialized TGP's out there. But in general, most top lists are targeted. There are "Top 100 Lesbian Sites" and "Top 50 Toon Sites" and "Top 25 Mature Sites" and such. Thus a surfer coming to your site from one of these lists probably has more than a vague curiosity in your niche like many TGP surfers. He's probably already very interested in the niche. And this will make him more likely to buy. Now I should tell you how to increase your clicks out to top lists by using creative text links. You need to let your surfer know that he is making a mistake by not joining your sponsor's site, but still get him to click if he's really sure he still wants to keep surfing for the same old pictures he's seen before. (Hehe.)

"So, you're not interested in joining (SPONSOR SITE NAME)? Really? You'd rather see the same old pictures you've seen before instead of the 100,000 unique photos, 50,000 XXX videos and 50 LIVE sex shows offered by (SPONSOR SITE NAME)? Okay, then check out (TOP LIST NAME) for more sites like this one with more free pictures!"

This is just an example. Feel free to make up your own creative text, but you get the picture, I think. You tell the surfer that he's making a HUGE mistake if he doesn't want to see all those incredible, hot, sexy, hardcore videos and the unbelievable live shows that your sponsor offers 24/7! But if he's really sure he wants to keep surfing for the free crap, he can find more of it at the top list.

Of course, you want to be sure that the top lists allows you to make up your own links! Some top lists require the use of a button or banner, or have very specific text links that you must use, but almost all top lists do allow you to make up your own text links, as long as they are not misleading. Just be sure you check the rules first!

Top lists can be a great way to recycle your non-buyers into new surfers and it keeps your traffic up even after you've lost your "new" link at the big link lists.

Used correctly, top lists can increase your revenue substantially! I once had a BBW site that was making one sale per month. It had lost most of it's traffic and was only getting about 150 hits per day. I joined a couple of top lists and added links to them on my gallery pages, and within one week that start began making 2 sales a week! That was 8 times what it was making me before! That was a big difference. Not everyone will have these same results, of course, but it can make a very big difference if you set your mind to it!