Of course, more traffic does mean more subscribers… and more subscribers mean a bigger, more profitable business. Any promotions you will run in the future will be much more profitable because you will have established a relationship with your list.

If  you just can't wait for your traffic to start building your list what do you do ?

A strategy is to include your offer in forum signature.

When you write or make comments in forums you have the possibility to fill out a footer. Often you can write a signature of 3 -6 lines where you can put your link and advertise your service or product.

And remember that the goal is to get subscribers. Be sure that the links direct the readers to a page where they can immediately subscribe.

Another strategy is to have a business blog where you can create your reputation and build credibility through the quality of your posts and the information you provide. A blog is a perfect opportunity to write your comments and let them know about your compelling opt-in offer and be sure to include an opt-in form on the front page.
If your readers get valuable information from your blog, it will be easy to get subscribers if you offer valuable information through your subscriber offer.

You can also search other people's blogs for topics related to your industry and make comment on their posts! If you write comments be sure your comments are relevant and informative — and use your signature to link back to your site.

A third strategy is advertising in e-zines.

To advertise in e-zines is another way to build your list. Find out which e-zines target your group of potential subscribers and  contact the owner of the e-zines to ind out what the price is for a solo advertisement. A solo ad allows you to get your offer in front of a highly targeted group of potential customers.

A fourth strategy is using pay-per-click ads

Depending on your budget Pay-per-click ads can be a great way to drive highly targeted traffic to your site. Pay-per-click ads are the ads that show up in search engines next to the regular search results.

You can set up pay-per-click ads to direct people to a capturepage where they can get more valuable information related to their search query they typed in before they clicked on your ad.

When they arrive to your site you can ask them for name and email and change that with a special report, more information — or whatever you think they would find useful.

As you see from the different strategies it is possible to start building a list without traffic. Remember the money is in your relations with your list.