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Traffic Secrets Notes and PDF Download | 7,500+

Word Epic Overview and Traffic Secrets Review
By  N ate Mc C allister
Marc h 13 , 2020

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This article is a doozy. It's 7,500+ words and pretty detailed. However, it
doesn't give justice to what you'll get when you read the actual book and is
in no way intended to be a substitute for reading the book. Pre-order your
copy at Traf cSecrets.com. 

If you've been in the internet marketing space for more than about a week, you've
heard of Russell Brunson.
I'm a Russell Brunson super fan.

People can say whatever they want about him but I've achieved more direct,
quanti able results from the things he's taught me (indirectly through his books,
podcasts and videos) than from any other source I've found in the years I've been in
business.

So, when I got an email about a review copy of his upcoming book, Traf c Secrets, I
was beyond pumped.

When my copy landed in my mailbox a week later, I started reading it before I even
got back into my house (my mailbox is surprisingly far away from my house so this
isn't as ridiculous as it might sound).   

This isn't a review of the book, it's an overview with a collection of all of the most
meaningful takeaways. 
Want my quanti able review of Traf c Secrets? It is the best marketing book I've
ever read. 5 out of 5. 10 out of 10... whatever. It's amazing and will be worth all the
hype. 

Since I knew that so many people were dying to read it, I read it slowly and very
methodically with a pen, highlighter and sticky notes (I don't mess around).

I read the book with the intention of teaching what I learned. This isn't altruistic,
teaching what we learn is shown to maximize longterm retention by up to 90% vs.
just 20% of reading alone. 

A fun pyramid showing how the effect that teaching others has on our
own comprehension and retention. 

So, you should still of course buy a copy of the book when it goes on sale to the
public on March 17th, but these notes will give you a nice idea of what's inside. You'll
have plenty of nuggets to act on between now and the May 5th shipment date
(March 17th is just the pre-order).

Pre-Order Launch
Traf c Secrets Pre-Order Has Launched!
 Books Ship
Traf c Secrets Pre-Orders Have Shipped!

This book is 318 pages but this article will get you the goods fast and will serve as a
primer for when you get your hands on the real copy. 

This is NOT intended to replace reading the book. Hell, I took the notes myself and
I'm going to re-read it in a month and surely buy the audiobook (I wrote a great
piece on getting more out of audiobooks here by the way) once it's released and
listen to that as well.

Thrive Leads Shortcodes will not be rendered outside the content area when editing a Page with Thrive Architect

My General Thoughts on Traffic Secrets

I jotted down my thoughts on a separate note pad as I read, here they are in the
order that I had them while reading.

Who Should Read Traffic Secrets? 

Anyone with a desire to make money online or build anything that requires mass
attention (charities, politics, awareness to a cause etc.) You do not need something
to sell yet to bene t from this book.

Do I Need to Read DotCom Secrets and Expert Secrets First?

No. Traf c Secrets builds on concepts from the other 2 books in the trilogy, but you
can read it on its own. I highly recommend that you read all three (If some concepts
seem slightly repetitious , you likely need to hear them more than once, these
aren't " uff" books)

"Traffic Principles," or "Traffic Strategies" Would Be More Descriptive Titles

This book does NOT cover today's top, speci c tactics and hacks, it covers evergreen
concepts that will last until people stop buying things. Showing you strategies and
tactics on one speci c platform is "giving you a sh," but teaching you the
framework is "teaching you to sh."

You WILL still leave the book with a hit list of things to implement immediately.
They just won't be little tech hacks or temporary tricks for quick but eeting gains.

The closest you’ll get to these sorts of takeaways are things like, “we leave our rst
retargeting ad up for 5 days,” etc. 

Thoughts on the Writing Style of Traffic Secrets

Russell is a brilliant curator. While many authors will desperately work to convey
the idea that they know everything about everything, he doesn't try to take credit
for every piece of information he shares.

Much of the book is from experts that Russell learned from, composed in a way that
exposes them to the masses in a new way. This was awesome because it's
unreasonable to expect him to be the most knowledgeable person on every single
traf c topic. He understands this and makes sure that we get the best information,
even when it means bringing in additional experts. 

Page 82 gave me chills. When Russell asks his wife if he can spend $1,000 on a
course by Mark Joyner. I can't recall any other marketing books evoking an
emotional response like that.

This book is easy to read because every chapter starts with a relevant story.

This book doesn't offer a solution to get out of putting in the work. Page 117
has a sobering truth about how much work you need to put in.

Throughout the book, you'll read a lot about spying on your dream 100. Russell
wants you to understand you DON'T COPY, you use your Dream 100 for inspiration
for your own creativity. 
For more on this concept, I highly recommend reading the book Steal Like an Artist
by Austin Kleon. So freaking good.

One of the most amazing things about Russell (this is a testament to his insane
charisma) is that in this book he's TELLING ME how he got me to buy and the
psychological triggers that made me a fan/customer. And yet, it makes me like him
more somehow. Some people would NEVER tell their buyers how they made them
buyers.

Although Russell identi es as an introvert, some of the tips in this book are an
introverts nightmare. If you refuse to “brand” yourself and be the face of your
business, try to read this with your clients in mind. If you aren’t going to use these
tactics for yourself or for clients, you may nd a lot of this book to be unnecessary. 

Consistency is at the heart of all of the items in here. There are some "a ha! This will
get me traf c fast!" takeaways but consistency is what drives all of these things
together.

Things I'm Doing After Reading

Books like Traf c Secrets mean nothing if you don't actually leave them with
actionable insights and next steps.As I was reading, I made a list of the things that I
could implement immediately in my own business.

One thing to keep in mind, Russell covers a LOT of things in this book but he
suggests that we only focus on one platform at a time. He suggests that only after
we've mastered that and take the action steps to optimize our traf c for that
channel should we move on to the next channel. This means 6-12 months focused
100% on one platform. 

So, I made notes of the things I need to implement across all my channels but they
are eventual changes, not immediate.

I'll actually be referring back to this article myself to remind myself of what I need to
do when the time comes. I've annotated those points with asterisks*.
These action items are after reading the entire book, but I'll go into more detail
about the underlying concepts and reasoning in later sections of these notes.

#1 Refining my customer avatar. The customer avatar or "dream customer," is a

concept that was covered in detail in Dot Com Secrets and Expert Secrets but it's
just as important for Traf c Secrets. We can't properly get traf c if we don't know
who are traf c is!

My own avatar is a bit blurry and always has been.

Honestly, this concept has always confused me a bit. I always feel like it's too
narrow or something...but, after reading the book I understand better what the
concept really means. 

#2 Creating a more detailed "where are my Dream customers," list. You'll read

the term "Dream 100" at least 100 times in this book. It is the funnel hacking
concept but focused on audiences and keywords. 

#3 Updating email sequences to focus on emotion -> logic -> scarcity. This part
is more reminiscent of things you'd read in his other books, but I realized that my
traf c will be much more valuable if I make my follow ups better. Currently, they're
a little bland. I know they could be better and that's a priority I'm actually
implementing ASAP.

#4 Creating content daily. I'll share more about this in the "Bold statements"
section coming up. 

#5 Reviewing my "hook, story and Offer," on all my products. I sell several

software and information products and I realized that I haven't been mindful to
create a hook, story and offer  ow to my sales copy.

#6 Getting on my dream 100s shows. Many in uencers have already congregated

my dream audience. Getting myself on their shows (podcasts, YouTube, blogs, etc)
gets me in front of them quickly.

#7 Narrowing down my friends list and following my dream 100 exclusively

and narrowing down which groups/pages I engage with. More on this in the
bold statements chapter.

#8 Making 4X more adverts + sales copy tests for paid ads. One of my favorite
"a-ha!" moments of the book. More creatives, analyzed and acted on effectively,
means better conversion rates.

*#9 Updating my Instagram bio and modeling it after what's working for my
Dream 100.* Instagram isn't my primary focus so this is on the "do later" list.

#10 Focusing on building my FB messenger bot. I'll also be adding a "send to

messenger," check box on my email opt-in.
What? Well, I changed my mind on this one after reading about Facebook's new
messenger policy. I felt compelled to keep this here though since it was in my
original notes. 

#11 Focusing a % of my ad spend buying banners on websites ranking for the

keywords I want to rank for (2nd click is more valuable). Instead of spending all
of my ad budget on Google, YouTube, Instagram, Bing and Facebook, I'm going
straight to the sources and working to buy media directly on the websites that are
already ranking for my dream keywords.

*#12 Updating my YouTube trailer video (p.239)*. My YouTube channel needs

work. P. 239 gives a nice template for your trailer video that converts.

#13 Encouraging "bingeing" on YouTube with playlists.  The same concept we

use in sales funnels applies to YouTube. When someone is watching a video on a
certain topic, it's very likely they're interested in watching another...and
another...and another.... By leveraging this we can get a surge of traf c to our older
videos and give a boost to our overall channel.

#15 Russell asks himself, "how did I give myself a raise today," ...I'm going to start
doing that. How did I plug into other people's distribution channels to expand
today?

Bold Statements In Traffic Secrets

I always read looking for the boldest statements possible. These are usually the
things that push the needle forward. They're bold because they aren't commonly
acknowledged yet.  

Here are the statements in the order in which they appear in the book.

Statement #1

"If you're spending more than 10 minutes a day consuming social media, then you
are wasting your time." P. 140

Thoughts: This statement is bold because most people are guilty of spending too
much unproductive time on social media, but it's REALLY bold because 10 minutes
is a fraction of the norm. I don't personally plan to cut down to 10 minutes (I enjoy
my memes and funny videos too much) but I am absolutely cutting down on my
consumption and focusing more on my creating. 

Bold Statement #2: 

"If they did that (publish daily for a year), they'd never need to worry about money
again." P115

Thoughts: Any claim about "do this and achieve nancial freedom," is always bold.
This one is so interesting though because most people say they would create every
day for a year if it guaranteed nancial freedom, but then, they don't actually follow
through. 

Bold Statement #3: 

“I stopped logging into Snapchat and eventually deleted the app altogether.” P. 171

Thoughts: This was bold because it read like a death blow to SnapChat. I mean,
come on, after reading that Russell isn't interested in it anymore, are you still
interested? I'm not and I'm feeling better about having ignored SnapChat from day
#1. 

Bold Statement #4:

 “I purchased a second phone for the sole purpose of being able to go live on
Instagram at the same time I went live on Facebook.” P 175

Thoughts: This wasn't the boldest statement but if Russell thinks it's important
enough to maximize our stream time that he bought a second phone to do it, it's
pretty important. 

Bold Statement #5:

“My test for if something should be on my page is this: ‘is this content good enough
that I will spend at least $10-$20 to boost it? If you’re not willing to pay for ads to
that content, then do not post it on your fan page.” -Julie Stoian Page 194

Thoughts: The rst bold statement that wasn't made by Russell. Julie Stoian is a
marketing genius and this quote really hit home for me because I am notoriously
posting subpar, thoughtless content to my fan pages. Posting for postings sake isn't
productive. 

Bold Statement #6

"I still use my iPhone for the majority of my videos." P. 240

Thoughts: I actually just covered this topic in a blog post in February. So many
creators delay creating until they have all the fancy gear and expensive tools.
Russell makes it obvious that you don't really need all of that. 

Bold Statement #7

"So, for those of you who are reading this section now, know that for you, if you
were sitting in front of me right now, I'd have you pick one platform, build your
show on it, get to work on your dream 100, and then only focus on that for at least
the next 12 months of your life." P. 263

Thoughts: The Dream 100 isn't just a fun concept to Russell, it's his #1 priority for his
paid clients.

Bold Statement #8
 "My goal is to pay out 50% (in commissions) of  the pro t I make in my funnel."

Thoughts: While many af liate managers are looking for ways to pro t by paying
their af liates less, Russell suggests focus on ways to pro t by paying your af liates
more. Secret #18 titled Your Af liate Army was one of my favorites and he explains
the value of af liates and how to make them actually want to promote your
products over the millions of other options they have. 

How to Crack Any Traffic Platform

If you were to take just one concept from this book, it should be this one. 

In Traf c Secrets, Russell doesn't go into deep detail about every platform. He does
break down the 4 biggest ones (Google, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube) but he
provides a framework that can be applied to any new medium at any time.

Even in 2050, when Billie Eilish is president, dogs live forever and it's cool to wear
socks with crocks (sorry, I'm not good at predicting the future and this was all I got),
this approach will help you nd success on any of the new or existing platforms. 

This method will help you smoothly navigate what Russell refers to as "snaps and
smacks," that platforms throw at us.

For example, when an algorithm changes, you'll see it coming and be more
prepared to survive it. You'll adapt faster to change and nd real traf c more
quickly.

Here are the 6 steps.

Step #1 Understand the History and Goal of the Platform. Every platform has the
goal of making money and they all do it in different ways. Understanding their
priorities and analyzing how they've worked to achieve them in the past will help us
crack their platform and stay in their good graces. We won't have to rely on
gimmicks and tricks that work in the short run. 

Here's an example. Google sells ad space. The more people that use their search
engines, the more money they make. To get as many people using the platform as
possible, they have to provide the best search results. To get the best search results,
they have to be able to lter out value. Their algorithm works to provide the best
answer to every question and they reward the sites that do this.

Step #2 Identify Your Dream 100. The dream 100 is broken down differently
depending on the platform. For platforms that function like Instagram or Facebook,
we want to collect a list of 100 in uencers who have already gathered our dream
audience around them.  

If the platform functions as a search engine, you want to nd the 100 in uencers
who already have your audience congregated around them AND the 100 keywords
that your dream customer is looking for already. 

Step #3 Identify the Publishing Strategy and Create a Plan. Next, we review the
dream 100 (in uencers and/or keywords) and see what is working for them. What
posts are getting the best engagement? 

We gather this information and start to build up an idea of what we should be

creating. We are NOT stealing content or ideas, we are just using them for
inspiration and our own unique content. 

Step #4 Work Your Way In. This part we begin to "dig our well before we're
thirsty," and network with our dream 100 . We aren't trying to sell them on anything.
Never sell to someone right away. Make connections even before you have
anything to sell at all if you can.

Over time, work to collaborate with your dream 100. Try to get exposure to their
audience and share value. This is a two way street and there's a ne line between
genuine, symbiotic connections and parasitic manipulation. 

Focus on doing things of real value for your dream 100. This part requires empathy
and a genuine desire to serve others. Without that, this becomes a gross process
full of self serving, empty efforts.

Step #5 Buy Your Way In. Begin to buy exposure (however that is de ned by the
platform). This could be in the form of running ads in front of the pages of your
dream 100, buying traf c to your dream keywords on Google, buying banner ads on
websites...whatever it is at the time. There is always an opportunity to buy in!

Step #6 Fill Your Funnel. Turn all traf c you're borrowing into traf c you own
(email list). 

This is the evergreen framework for getting your dream customers from any
platform.  

Takeaways (As They Appeared in the Book)

Here are the things that I made note of as I was reading the book. I apologize if
some leave you hanging. I can't possibly cover them all in the same detail that the
book does so I'm not going to even try. 

Quick Note on These Notes...

This isn't a typical blog post. These notes follow the order that I jotted them
down and some things may not make perfect sense or may seem oddly
injected. Take what you can out of this, I've done my best to make it as
valuable as possible. I've done my best to leave my personal interpretations
out of things and note them as close to what Russell intended as possible,
but of course, I am not Russell so these won't be exactly perfect. Another
reason to read the book...

Forward Notes

Dean Graziosi Foreward Takeaway: Dean Graziosi is the picture of internet

business success and was an awesome choice for writing the forward. 

His biggest takeaway was a reference to the movie Field of Dreams. It primes the
underlying theme of the entire book.
Dean explains how the movie is great, but the line "If you build it, they will come."
would be terrible business advice. 

Many entrepreneurs mastered the concepts of Dot Com Secrets and Expert Secrets
and still struggled to achieve results. The reason: they built it and forgot about
driving the traf c!

Three Core Markets to Pick (and You Must Pick Only One). They are health,
wealth and relationships. These markets are always moving away from pain or
toward pleasure.

Dream 100 Notes

SECTION I

Chet Holmes "Dream 100" from the Ultimate Sales Machine Was the
Inspiration for Much of This Book. Russell credits Chet with much of what he
shares in the book. You can grab a copy here on Amazon. 

Dream 100 One to One + Dream 100 One to Many. Russell says this is the
foundation of ClickFunnels. He said ClickFunnels had a "dream 736" before it
launched 

Dream 100 Is Russell's #1 Priority. Russell charges $100,000 for 1 day of consulting
and the FIRST thing he does is spends 3-4 hrs building out this list. Concept is easy
to grasp but the execution is hard.

Target People Who Are Already on Your Platform. "Podcast listeners love

podcasts," etc. Growing a YouTube channel? Target people who are already on
YouTube! Etc

You'll Only Hit a Fraction or Your 100. Our success isn't measured by getting every
single person to get on board. It's getting as many as possible. This might only be 5-
10 at rst. The more you build authority and reputation in your space, the easier it
will be to get the attention of your dream 100, but even Russell says he doesn't
expect near 100%. 
Go Beyond Your Core Niche. I am a top ClickFunnels af liate but my core niche is
Amazon sellers but their sub market aligns with ClickFunnels, Wealth. I was able to
sell 115 Clickfunnels memberships in 2 weeks by tapping into this new audience
and introducing them to Clickfunnels and how it could be used in their space. 

2 Congregation Types. (1) Interest based (2) Keyword based. 

Hook Story Offer. The foundation. All problems relate back to the hook, story, or
offer.

Hooks: Can be many things (vague) but they're anything (words, images,
actions) that grab attention. Email subjects, Thumbnails, Videos, Headlines etc.

Story: (1)Builds value to offer and (2) connection with you as attractive
character or brand.

Offer: call to action (doesn't always mean buying something)

Tip: Learn to be mindful of the hooks that get your attention. Ask "why?" and you
can get better at making your own.

Dig Your Well Before Your Thirsty. Build relationships before you're asking for
something. This is covered at length in the book "Dig Your Well Before You're
Thirsty" by Harvey Mackay.

1. Subscribe to everything they publish

2. Buy their products 

3. Find ways to help them 

^Doing these things also helps you better understand the ecosystem.

You're a Producer, Not a Consumer. Russell says to consider yourself as a

producer vs consumer. Don't use social to be social.

Outreach. (1) Don't send templated outreach. (2) Don't tell a story right away. (3)
Don't ask for anything right away. (4) Do make sure they see your face before hand.
(5) Do tell them how great they are. (6) Do your homework
Work Your Way In. Think about how actors go on talk shows in the weeks leading
up to their Hollywood blockbusters. Do this (smaller scale) and get on their
platforms (not yours). Try to be consistent and do 2+ per week.

Paid traffic is "faster," but dies when you turn off your ads. Russell suggests we
work beyond just paid traf c for lasting, consistent success.

Goal is a "break even funnel." When you have a "break even funnel," you break
free from an ad budget. A break even funnel means that for every $1 you spend you
make at least $1 back. If you do this, you're getting free leads and can pro t on the
upsell or future promotion.

"Ultimately, the business that can spend the most to acquire a customer wins." -
Dan Kennedy 

Which Is Better? Paid or Earned? They are both necessary for long term growth.
There is a 3rd, best option: Owned traf c.

Traffic You Own = Closest Thing to Money Press. Goal is turn traf c you buy and
earn into traf c you own. I've written about the importance of turning paid traf c
into list traf c for af liate marketers here. Example: List of 10,000 people...sell a $50
product and convert just 1% ...earn $5,000!

Example: eBay Purchases Skype for 2.6 Billion in September of 2005. They could
have made the software, but what they were buying was the 54 million members
and 150,000 new users per day.

Convert traf c to leads with a lead magnet. {The different types of lead funnels are
covered in more detail in Expert Secrets, but here is a list of 50 lead magnets put
together.}

Value of an Email. Russell says that on the low end, you should average $1 per
subscriber per month. This is very conservative (see hook, story, offer if your # is
below this) and many marketers see $50-$100+ per month per member.

Convert Emails to $ with Follow Up Funnels. Many people get spooked when

their front end funnels lose money. They don't see that the follow up funnel can
make them pro table and, essentially, get paid to grow their lists. Sometimes the
break even happens on the front end while other times, it's in the follow up.

"Not following up with your prospects and customers is the same as lling up your
bathtub without rst putting the stopper in the drain!" - David Frey

"Amateurs focus on the rst sale." - Mark Litman

Fighting Short Attention Spans. Most emails go unopened. Supplementing these

with other communication mediums helps...(1) SMS (2) Retargeting Ads (3)
Messenger

The Psychological Closes: Emotion, Logic, Fear. Most powerful way to get

someone to take action is by using emotion. Russell says 50% buy based on the
emotional part, 30% from the logical and the last 20% from fear.

Soap Opera Sequence vs Seinfeld Emails. Both are covered in detail in Dot Com
Secrets. Soap Opera is your initial follow up where you build your attractive
character and Sein eld emails are your regular daily broadcasts.

Everyone Answers When You Have a Show. Russell tells a great story about
Arsenio Hall and how he was a contestant on the Celebrity Apprentice many years
after his show ended. He couldn't reach anyone when he needed favors because he
didn't have anything to give in return anymore. "Working your way in" is easier
when you have something of attractive value. It's harder when you try to "live in the
shadows," and reach out as a nobody.

New Mediums for Evergreen Old School Tactics 

Smartphones = TV.

Radio = Podcasts

Talk Shows = Facebook

Reality TV = Instagram

Sitcoms = YouTube

Newspapers = Blogs.
 Direct Mail = Email

Focus on one platform at first . If you're unsure which is best, start with the one
where you consume most of your own content because you know that best.

Owned vs Borrowed Platforms. Each platform has its own "list," but email is the
only one you own. Owned traf c is the ultimate goal. 

Starting Your Show. There's no "perfect time," but there is a "right time," and that is
right now. Your early content will probably not be good. Don't look at the stats!!!
Early content can get eyes once you "connect," with your audience down the road.
Russell says many of his high level mastermind students said they listened to a
later episode, connected and then went back to the early content.

Step #1 Publish Daily for 1 Year. Russell said it took 3 years for marketing in your car
to really have traction.

Step #2 Document the Journey. Documenting is just as powerful as creating. It

doesn’t matter what stage of your process you’re at. Total newbies can document
what they’re doing and provide value in that process. Don’t fear cynical passerbys.
Just share what is most meaningful 

Gary Vee said that in uencers “Trying to oversell themselves because they think
that’s what’s going to get people’s attention,” is one of the biggest mistakes people
make in their personal brand. “I think it’s more fruitful to talk about your process
than about the actual advice you ‘think’ you should be giving them.”

And don't let your fear of "bad content," scare you...

Step #3 Testing Your Material: Dean Graziosi mentions how popular comedians

seem to be funny 100% of their shows. He goes on to explain that they got all of
their bad jokes out of the way over the years and kept what worked. Publishing
daily will help you re ne your voice.

Step #4 Introduction to Your Dream 100: Reach Out to Your dream 100 and try to
become a guest on their shows. You'll get a lot of "no's" but one yes can get you in
with others.
SECTION II

Leveraging Instagram, Facebook, Google and YouTube

Refer to the "How to Crack Any Platform" section I shared earlier. For each of the
speci c platforms he covers, he references this framework and works through it. 

The following notes are things that expand beyond that framework that are worth
mentioning.

DON'T BLINDLY COPY. Just like with Funnel Hacking, the goal isn't to steal. We are
going to spy on the people who are having success in our space and on our
platform and see what is working and use it as inspiration for our own, original
content.

When pattern interrupts become the pattern, it stops being as

effective. Remember, just because something has been working for one of your
dream 100 doesn't mean that it will work forever. Things change and often become
less effective over time. Favor recency when possible.

Social Media House Party Stop selling on social. Social is about making friends
and connections.

Produce, Don't Consume. Mentioned this once already, but Russell says that
spending more than 10 mins per day consuming content is too much.

Social Media Reset. Do a "social media reset," and unfollow the distractions. Follow
ONLY your dream 100. This will also help you "dig your well," because you'll only be
commenting on their stuff. Next, nd the most engaged groups and pages. Engage
in only those.

Filling Funnel with Paid Ads. Adding paid traf c on top of earned traf c is like
putting lighter uid on charcoal. Reminder: You have no advertising budget if
you've created a break even funnel.Start with a small budget and if it breaks even,
see how much you can spend, if it doesn't, turn it off and optimize.