Make Your Living Online

November 30, 2010

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Affiliate marketing's been a staple of the internet marketing scene for many years now. It's highly touted as a money maker for newbies and experienced marketers alike. But does it really pay to be an affiliate marketer? Let's take a look to learn more...

Basically affiliate marketing's an agreement between a web site owner and a merchant. The web site owner's actually an advertiser for the merchant or product creator. The agreement is a contract between the two parties that stipulates that the site owner can use various methods including the space on his site to promote the merchants goods. The merchant meanwhile agrees to pay a percentage of each sale generated through the affiliates personalized link.

This benefits both sides because the product creator spends nothing to advertise their goods and the affiliate pays nothing to research and develop new products.

This creates a win-win situation.

The product creator wins by saving money on advertising, which is one of the most costly aspects of doing business, by passing this cost on to affiliates. Basically it's a pay-per-performance deal because the merchant doesn't accrue any costs until the sale's made and the merchant pays the specified commission.

The affiliate marketer wins by being able to sell an already developed product, thus saving the time and money on the front end by not having to deal with R&D and product creation. The product is already developed and proven by the merchant, and all you have to do as an affiliate is find as many prospects as you can that will bring in the profit for both the merchant and yourself.

Another benefit to the affiliate is that most programs are free to join and have pre-made sales material so your marketing experience doesn't have to be that of an expert.

Probably the biggest benefit to being an affiliate marketer on the internet's the internet itself.

Because of the global reach of the internet it's very easy to reach tens of thousands of prospects for almost any type of product line. It's also very easy to intensify your efforts as an affiliate marketer to exploit new and productive strategies such as viral marketing, ebooks, special reports and autoresponders.

Lastly, as an affiliate marketer you get to pick and choose between many different products to promote. You're not married to a specific product or even a specific product type. Your risks are minimal because there are no long term binding contracts so if one product doesn't bring in a profit you can quickly and easily replace it with another.

All in all affiliate marketing's still an excellent way to earn income from the internet. Perform your due diligence, find a hungry market, find a good product and go for it!

How To Get Started In 6 Easy Steps

November 29, 2010

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Affiliate marketing is probably the simplest business model you can choose to build a business.  Of course the devil is in the details, as they say, but the overall model can really be broken down into six steps.

Before we get to the steps, I want you to ask yourself a question.  What do you hope to accomplish with affiliate marketing?  This is an easier question to answer than it might seem.  There are really only two basic choices here.

The first is what I call the “quick buck” choice.  In other words, you want to make a few dollars quickly, and you are not interested in building a business.  If this is you, all you need to do is learn how to write exceptionally good ads, and then use them to promote your affiliate product.  Many people will say I am wrong, but there is nothing wrong with doing this, as long as you are honestly not trying to build a long term business this way.

On the other hand, if you are looking to build a business with income potential for the long term, then you will have a longer road ahead of you.  It will take you longer before you see any profit from your efforts, but it will be worth it when you are able to take a day off, or even a week off, and still have sales in your absence.

These steps should be followed in order.  If you try to go out of sequence, you will not get the results you are after.

1. Pick a Market

Why pick a market and not pick a product?  Because you will eventually want to add additional products into your pipeline.  You should pick a market that interests you, and maybe something you already know something about.  Don't forget that you are building for the long term.


2. Pick a Product

Once you have your market chosen, you should pick just one product to begin with.  It will be very tempting to try to add all kinds of related products at first, but don't.  Having just one product will help you focus on the important tasks.  You will want to pick a product that converts well.  What this means is that the product sells to a high percentage of visitors.  This will help keep your cost per visitor down and increase your profits.


3. Build a follow-up series

Also called an auto-responder series, you should build one based on the topic and the contents of the product you are promoting.  If it is a physical product you are promoting, you will have to create or locate content that is directly related to the product.  As an example, if you are selling golf clubs, you could create a series about how to buy golf clubs that fit, or the benefits of custom clubs, or even something about the club preferences of famous professional golfers.  Be as creative as you can, and do not stray off topic.  It has been said that most sales are not made in the initial contact, they are made on the seventh.  If you are not following up with your prospects, the bottom line is you are losing sales.


4. Build an email capture page

This is where you will capture information about your prospects so you can send your follow-up series.  If you are building a business, having your own web site is a necessity, if only because you will control the content, and be able to capture email addresses for yourself.  You might be able to get by for a while without this, but it just isn't worth it.


5. Drive traffic to your squeeze page

Until you are finished with step four, you shouldn't even think about traffic techniques.  If you don't have anywhere to send the traffic, why worry about how to  generate it in the first place.  Depending on the traffic generation techniques you choose, it may take some time for you to start seeing sales in your program.  You should spend this time developing one or two streams of traffic, and refining these techniques to help you drive more traffic with less effort. 


6. Find additional related products

Once your business is making some money, it is time to start adding to your list of products.  I don't mean you should go out and sign up for every affiliate program that is even remotely related.  What I do mean is that you should carefully choose an additional product or two, and add them into your pipeline.  Because you have been building a list of qualified prospects, you will be able to market these new products to them.  This is the really long term money maker for your business.  As long as you continue to recommend good products to your customer list, you can continue to make money off of them, even the ones who have already bought your last product recommendation. 


So these six steps are all you need to go from nothing to having a profitable business selling other peoples products.  It can be easy to loose focus if you are not seeing immediate results, so keep your sights on the end goal of having a profitable business.  You may also find it hard finding your initial market and product.  Take your time and choose the best product you can.  If the product you choose to promote is not good, your prospects will not continue to listen to your recommendations.

Affiliate Programs Checklist

November 28, 2010

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When building a successful Internet businesses to promote affiliate products and services, you must first have a solid understanding of market research and testing skills. All Internet business opportunities and affiliate programs aren't created equal. Affiliate programs, associate programs, referral programs or partnership programs are only as good as the businesses behind them.

Make it your goal to identify the very best affiliate programs available in your niche. Research and test until you discover which businesses have the products, services, and marketing systems in place to convert the traffic you send them into profit.

Free franchise anyone? Identifying the best affiliate programs is like finding successful small business franchises, except they are absolutely free. The types of business owners that are best to target will already have designed, tested and optimized a sales & marketing system that their affiliate sales force can easily plug into and profit from. Affiliates can then concentrate on referring as many qualified prospects to the company's web site as possible.

Affiliate Program Checklist:

Here's a great list of criteria to consider when evaluating affiliate programs to promote in your internet business:

• Make sure the web site's tracking software works properly. Some affiliate tracking software isn't as accurate as you would like, so be sure that your affiliate id is tracked accurately throughout the system all the way to payment.

• Look for an automated follow-up system promoting your affiliate links. Most sales conversions are made after several e-mail follow-ups are sent. Very rarely do customers buy on the first visit to a web site, so you need smart auto-responders with follow-up sales letters going out automatically to your referrals. This may be in the form of an e-mail course, an e-zine or a newsletter that contains sales messages promoting your affiliate links. If you can access and replace the links with your own tracking urls, that's ideal. For full control have smart auto-responders installed on your own web server and create your own series of e-mail follow-ups.

• Affiliate Marketing tools. Look for pre-tested ads and e-mail copy, affiliate banners, satisfied user testimonials that you can include in your own pre-sales copy, viral reports and e-books, etc. Wherever possible, personalize the affiliate programs' sales & marketing materials and add extra value to the offers. You will want to do this because, in many cases, you're competing with hundreds of other affiliates for sales.

• A strong affiliate management program is needed. This means a responsive owner or affiliate manager who is easy to contact and provides multiple forms of contact such as phone, an online support desk and e-mail. The main thing is that a quick helpful response is provided.

• Internet marketing training. If you're counting on earning income from the sales of Affiliates that you've referred to a program, take into consideration that many of these people will be new to the internet marketing business. In order to succeed, they will need a good training package.

• An accurate visitor and sales tracking software system you can access online. An affiliate's virtual office where the number of visitors, sales conversions, and statistics can be tracked to determine what traffic & advertising sources are profitable.

• Multiple forms of payment that can be accepted on a secure server. Some of the major payment forms are major Credit Cards like Visa & Mastercard, Debit Cards, eCheck, Paypal, eGold, etc. The more options offered the better. This includes you pay and not just customer payments

• Strong back-end products that you will profit from. Check that the program allows you to further profit from other products that your referral buys while at the affiliate web site. The program should give you a commission for every product bought not just the one you have referred a subscriber to. One sale should lead to another, each product creating a desire for more.

• Long-term credit for sales made after the first visit. Lifetime is best, a year is good, 6 months is a little bit too short and less than 30 days is too risky. Since most subscribers won't buy on the first visit, if they choose to buy it will be after receiving about 6 or 7 follow-up messages.

• Pay structure that's fair to you and to the company. How much will the merchant web site be willing to pay you? There are several ways to earn commissions such as earnings per click or payment for a visitor who follows the lead from your site to the merchant site. Or pay per lead, which requires a visitor to submit details on a lead form. You find this information by requesting it from the program manager. You should not consider programs that are under $.10 as they will not produce enough income.

• Quick payment schedule. Look to get paid as quickly as possible. Most programs pay once a month although there are several that pay bimonthly and there are even a few where you can get paid daily.

• Low commission pay out threshold. This is the amount of sales commission you must earn before being paid. It should not be too high. If you don't get paid for a month’s commissions because of the threshold, make sure that the payment gets rolled over to the next month.

• Residual income potential. You can leverage your time and effort by selling subscription based services like membership programs that bill monthly and pay residual commissions. This way you receive a monthly income from each referral as long as they stay members. You can also create residual income by promoting multi-tier affiliate programs that pay you for recruiting or referring other webmasters as affiliates.

• Fast automated product fulfillment. The quicker the customer receives a good product when they order, the better the chances of them purchasing more products in the future.

• Great customer service. Make sure that the merchant web site has a good customer service program available for your referrals should they have comments, questions or need further assistance.

• Good reputation. Does the merchant web site have a good reputation with both their customers and affiliates? This is one of the most important factors when dealing with a merchant site. To get an idea of the reputation of the merchant company, speak to other affiliates who are part of the program. They will tell you whether they are happy with the treatment they receive.

Many good programs don't fill all of these criteria. But, the more support they do have in place the better your chances of building a successful small business income marketing on the Internet.

Affiliate Marketing: An Industry Full of Opportunity and Enterprise

November 27, 2010

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Opportunists and entrepreneurs everywhere have been looking for new and original ways to prise money away from big industries, and earn their own share of the Internet revolution. However with the potential for new and exciting online ventures seemingly depleted by the range of industries and businesses that have already been created. However there is one industry that is already in existence, creating large volume of money for people everywhere, which is constantly growing and is always in need of extra people, and that is affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing programs work by rewarding website owners for choosing to host a variety of advertising materials on their sites. The affiliates are paid on a commission basis; neither party pays any money to one another in the initial transaction. Affiliates are instead paid as and when they attract a new customer to the primary site.

The affiliate-marketing program is one of the most succinct and successful online advertising opportunities. It is a program that runs on efficiency and simplicity, but in a way that works incredibly well for both parties. Industries and internal sectors have thrived thanks in part to their involvement in an affiliate program. The affiliate marketing industry is a cost-effective way for small and large companies alike to reach out and expand their zone of influence. Online sports betting is a form of gaming that has been revolutionised since being introduced to the unrestricted realm of the Internet. By infiltrating a large number of sites, the banners have attracted the attention of literally thousands of people.

On the other hand the affiliate industry is a thriving source of income for millions. In the world of sports betting, affiliates have been reaping the rewards of the huge financial success and popularity of the industry. Individual affiliates can earn anywhere up to 35% of the money generated by each of the players that they introduce. With this revenue lasting for the entire lifetime of a players on the site, then an affiliate has almost unlimited earning potential, akin to that of the industry whom they represent.

With the two industries working in perfect harmony, each helping the other in order to generated extra custom and revenue, the sports betting affiliate program has become an industry to be reckoned with. Unlike most of the other online industries there are no specific personal requirements to become an affiliate either, all that is needed is a website and the will to host and advertise a secondary site. There are no tricks and no strings attached, which is why so many industries and individuals alike have flocked to sign up to the amazing opportunities created by affiliate marketing.

So Do You Have What it Takes to Be Successful?

November 26, 2010

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The truth is that 99% of all affiliates make less than $100 a month, while the other 1% earn staggering incomes from affiliate marketing.

The difference lies in the way these two groups perceive affiliate marketing as a business model. Those who make good money view it as a real business, while others see it as a "get-rich-quick" scheme and consequently, never make any money.

Much of your success will depend on your attitude and your ability to stay focused and not give in to fears of failure. Failure can not be an option. You have to visualize and expect success. Otherwise, it may never materialize.

If you can answer "Yes" to the following questions, then you have what it takes to be a successful affiliate marketer:

* Do you have the patience and persistence required to build an affiliate business?

* Can you accept the fact that you will make mistakes and may even lose money at first?

* Do you understand that it takes time to build a real business and you will not get rich overnight?

* Are you willing to invest time into your continuing education?

* Are you willing to invest time and money into advertising and tools to build your affiliate business?

You can make an absolute killing in affiliate marketing, but it will take some work. And if you're just starting out, you have a lot to learn. But as your knowledge and skills increase, so will your income. You will almost certainly make mistakes along the way, but you can't give up. Just learn from your mistakes and move on. Right now, you have two choices:

1. You can take the plunge and start building a real business online... Or

2. You can keep looking for that "magic bullet" that will make you rich overnight without you lifting a finger. Unless you win the lottery, there is no legal business model that will make rich overnight. If you find one, let me know...

Think about this: if you had started three months ago, what would your monthly income be right now? What will it be three months from now?

Affiliate Marketing - Do You Have What It Takes?

November 25, 2010

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Which of the following statements about Affiliate Marketing describe where you are?

1. You know what Affiliate Marketing is.
2. You understand that Affiliate Marketing can produce a good income for you.
3. You believe in your ability to make money selling other people’s stuff on the internet.
4. You’re not exactly sure of what you should do first, where you should invest your money or how to move from learning to earning.

If this is where you’re at, you’re not alone. Every day, thousands of people launch into Affiliate Marketing in exactly the same place; ready to give it an honest try and ready to see results.

The truth is that for every thousand people who give Affiliate Marketing a try, only a handful will actually succeed in making any real money. Who makes it? Who doesn’t, and what is the magic difference?

The answers are going to surprise you. They definitely surprised me.

The “gurus” of Affiliate Marketing, like all business success stories, were the first to discover and fully harness the incredible money making opportunities available. Today’s “market of affiliate marketing” is crowded and competitive. You will work harder and longer today to make a fraction of what many made “overnight” when the business was young.

So does that mean you’re a day late and a dollar short when it comes to Affiliate Marketing?

Absolutely not! Especially if the following description is an honest assessment of who you are. (It might be helpful to share this with those who know you best and ask if they see some of these same qualities in you.)

Successful Affiliate Marketers are intelligent, computer and Internet savvy; they are perseverant and are committed to the business well beyond the “minutes a day” promotional pitches. Using the tools available, they’re able to track and maintain literally tens of thousands of pieces of information. They’re organized, they’re creative and they’re optimistic. The road can be long and frustrating. The “magic difference” between those who succeed and those who don’t can be found in their personalities, their brainpower and their willingness to work very hard.

So you’re still ready to go? What’s next? Where is the best place to dive in?

Resources, resources, resources.

Get started with the best resources available. Don’t reinvent the wheel; learn from those that have gone before you. But also remember that in any business, you will bring your own ideas and creativity to the table, so don’t be afraid to use them. Avoid the “cookie cutter” approach to Affiliate Marketing.

As you move forward, you’ll make many more important decisions. Should you launch your own web sites? What kind of advertising will you utilize? How will you continue to get expert advice and training as you go along? All of these questions will require you to sort through the myriad of resources out there.

Affiliate Marketing Advantage exists to navigate the jungle alongside of you.

Affiliate Marketing: A Win-Win Situation

November 24, 2010

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Why are hundreds and thousands of entrepreneurs setting up online businesses? There are several reasons for this phenomenal trend. Foremost among the reasons is that the Internet opens up an easier access to a wider market. In fact, the whole world becomes the market of the online business. An online business physically located in one city, for example in New York, can sell its products to clients that live across the globe. Of course, there will arrangements regarding shipment, but such things become SOP or standard operating procedures.

Today, a major part of online businesses is the setting up of affiliate marketing programs. The existence of such programs has attracted not only entrepreneurs and businessmen, but ordinary people who are looking into having their own online business. Affiliate marketing has become the entry point of many new businessmen.

Essentially, affiliate marketing is a business relationship between the affiliate and the merchant, who is the owner of an online company which is selling the product.. Upon entering the affiliate marketing program, the merchant is actually reducing the cost of advertising his products. He need not advertise because the affiliates are going to do this part of the business.

On the other hand, the affiliates will be willing and eager to promote and advertise the products of the merchants, without the hassle of taking orders or the demand of delivering the products on time, or the pressure of keeping the customers happy. The affiliates have already specialized in one small aspect of the business, and yet can still become part of another online business.

The merchant need not worry about wages for the affiliates because he is not obligated to pay salaries. What he should pay for are the commissions of the affiliate that will be computed depending on the agreed compensation package.

One package is called pay-per-click in which the affiliate is paid when a visitors clicks on the banner of the merchant. Another package is pay-per-lead in which the visitor has subscribed and has provided names of potential clients. And the third package is the pay-per-sale, in which the visitor purchases a product.

The affiliate is not limited by a certain amount of income. There will be no minimum nor maximum sales for the affiliate. The absence of minimum income removes the pressure on the affiliate, especially the new ones. And the absence of maximum limit paves the way to huge income opportunities.

Therefore, the situation created in affiliate marketing is a situation which is beneficial to both the merchant and the affiliate.