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The Dream 100: How To Drive a Tsunami of Website Traffic!
If you’ve read my book, Traffic Secrets, you’re probably already familiar with the Dream 100.
Because it’s a strategy I’m obsessed with!
In fact, I’ve used this strategy to launch every single one of my Secrets Trilogy books — which have all sold over 100,000 copies (and one became a New York Times Bestseller)!
I used it to build ClickFunnels from the ground up, bootstrapped, without using any investor money…
And I used to not only become friends — but partners — with my idol, Tony Robbins. Check out the video below!
I talk about the Dream 100 a lot… because I’m a big believer that for the vast majority of scrappy entrepreneurs who don’t want to use venture capital… THIS is the strongest foundation you can build for your business.
And it’s all about… relationships 🙂
By the way, You can buy the book that started it all, Traffic Secrets, my New York Times Bestseller where I go into a ton more detail about how The Dream 100 process works. Actually, you can get it for free 🙂 Just click the link below!
What is The Dream 100?
What if you were genuine friends with the biggest influencers in your niche?
What if those people not only loved you… but your products and services as well?
That’d be pretty mind-blowingly powerful right?
You could text them and ask for help promoting your new offers. You could get on their podcasts or write for their blog. You could collaborate with them on webinars and YouTube videos…
The possibilities would be endless.
That’s the power of The Dream 100 — it’s all about building relationships with influencers in your niche… to drive traffic, make sales, and grow your business from the ground up.
It is one of the most powerful marketing strategies I’ve ever used!
How Does The Dream 100 Work?
I’ll share some more nuanced tips below, but the process for the Dream 100 is actually pretty simple.
Here’s the basic flow…
Step 1. You Make a List
The first step is to make a list of 100 influencers in your niche who you want to connect with.
You can reverse engineer this process by thinking about where your dream customers hang out online — the forums they participate in, the blogs they read, the emails they subscribe to, the podcasts they listen to…
Who creates that content?
Those are the people you want to add to your Dream 100 list!
Step 2. You Follow & Engage… For Months & Years
You’re not trying to make a quick sale. You’re trying to build relationships!
The first step is to get acquainted with them online… that means following their social profiles, regularly commenting on their content… sharing their posts… and asking questions or offering meaningful insights.
The goal is to get them to see your face regularly so that they start to see you as a fan of theirs.
You’re going to do this for the long-term.
I recommend, instead of wasting time just randomly scrolling on social media, dedicate that time instead to intentionally engaging with the people on your Dream 100.
Keep doing this… and eventually you’re going to have a question for them… or a thought… and that’s a great point to reach and message them directly.
But don’t force it. Wait until it feels totally natural.
Step 3. You DON’T Pitch
Probably the most common mistake people make with the Dream 100 strategy is they mistake it for a pitching system.
They make their list of 100 influencers… and then they message them every day with a new pitch, hoping to get results.
That is NOT what we’re doing.
We’re trying to build authentic relationships that naturally lead into opportunities. Check out the next step.
Step 4. Maintain The Relationship
As you engage with the influencers, there will be high-points in your relationships… and lulls.
That’s fine.
The important thing is to maintain the relationship just like you would with anyone who’s a meaningful acquaintance.
If you haven’t talked to them in a few months, reach out and see how they’re doing. Send them a card for Christmas. Buy them a gift for their birthday. Or invite them out to dinner.
Whatever it is, make sure to put the health of the relationship on your own two shoulders. Be humble. Stay in contact. And understand that they’re probably super busy!
Step 5. Seek Opportunities
Okay. Earlier I said that you don’t want to pitch…
But that doesn’t mean you can’t present them with opportunities!
You just have to be tactful about it.
When we launched Expert Secrets, I sent a copy of the fully designed book with 300 blank pages inside to everyone on my Dream 100 list. I hadn’t even started writing yet… but I wanted them to know the book was coming before everyone else… so that they felt like they were a part of the process.
I even sent them another copy of the book with the first four chapters as soon as I had the first unedited draft.
They had a chance to see me create this book with them, and because of that, many of them had a vested interest in its success.
When I launched DotCom Secrets, I sent a pre-release copy of my book to everyone on my Dream 100. A few days later, I sent them a letter in the mail telling them that if they liked the book, I would love to have them help promote the book on the launch date. I’d even be willing to pay them $20 for every book they sold.
I started getting responses from people on my Dream 100 list who had now read my book and wanted to help me promote it on launch day!
See how this works?
Become the type of person who not only serves your audience and customers… but also the people on your Dream 100 list. Present them with exciting opportunities, include them in your launches, make them feel like they’re part of the “cool club”... and you’ll be SHOCKED at how much traffic and sales you can drive!
Here are three more nuanced tips for the Dream 100 strategy that are important to keep in mind…
Tip #1 — Start With Your Most Ambitious Person
When I built out my own Dream 100, Tony Robbins was at the top of the list.
But I knew he’d be extremely difficult to get to.
So instead of just adding a ton of other random people to my list, I intentionally chose other people who were relevant influencers in my niche… AND I suspected had some sort of connection to Tony Robbins. People like Frank Kern, John Reece, and Eben Pagan who lived in San Diego near Tony.
And then one day, one of those people I’d connected with had a chance to meet Tony Robbins and I got to tag along.
Long story short, I ended up getting connected with Tony Robbins through the other people on my Dream 100 list.
So think about the biggest most influential person in your niche — the person who seems totally out of reach — and put them at the top.
Then you can add everyone else to your list based on their proximity to that person!
Tip #2 — FOCUS on The Relationship
Let me be super clear.
The Dream 100 is NOT a super quick hack to getting website traffic over night.
Sometimes it takes years — and at the very least, months — to build authentic relationships with people on your list.
You can destroy those relationships (or not build them in the first place) by pitching too often… and too early.
Remember this quote from Warren Buffett: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
After I attended my first conference with Tony Robbins, I had a few minutes to chat with him and he mentioned that he had found my potato gun video on YouTube. When I left I hadn’t heard from Tony for several months but I wanted to maintain the connection. So I mailed him my potato gun making kit… and he messaged me and told me that him and his family had a ton of fun building a potato gun in the backyard.
These people you’re connecting with… it’s not about making a quick sale… it’s about building relationships that can give you access to better and greater resources to grow your business… FOR THE LONG-TERM.
Don’t be in a hurry…
…and don’t try to sell too soon.
Focus on building the relationship and everything else will fall into place.
Tip #3 — Be Ready For Opportunity!
There’s this quote I love from Seneca. It’s, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about opportunity… it’s that you never know when it’s going to strike… and you need to be prepared!
I’ll never forget when Tony Robbins called me 10 years ago and invited me to speak at his upcoming event in Fiji… just one week before it happened!
I was taken aback — but I knew I had to say “yes”...
That was the beginning of building a more meaningful relationship with Tony.
Then we didn’t talk for several years — until he was launching a book and I thought I could help him. I reached out and introduced him to funnels… and to the software I’d built.
I even helped him build his funnel.
Then a while later we were able to get him to speak at Funnel Hacking Live!
See how many unexpected opportunities I’ve had just by having the relationship with Tony Robbins?
That’s the entire point of the Dream 100 strategy.
If you’re building authentic relationships with your Dream 100 list… you never know exactly how an opportunity is going to come… or when it’s going to come. So be prepared and keep your eyes peeled!
Want to Learn More?
Then I’ve got great news!
You can buy the book that started it all, Traffic Secrets, my New York Times Bestseller where I go into a ton more detail about how The Dream 100 process works.
Actually, you can get it for free 🙂
Just click the link below!
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