Affiliate Marketing

Top products for you to check out!

2008-05-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

Being that I am a clickbank affiliate, and this is my affiliate blog, I would like to take this opportunity to present to you the top ten clickbank affiliate products.

1) Satellite TV for *YOUR* PC

2) The movie download site

3) Free Google Ads

4) A not so friendly Forex killer

5) PSP and game downloads

6) Make money clicking Ads and referring friends!

7) MP3's and TV Shows

8) Converting a car to burn gas AND water!

9) A Forex automated robot

10) Getting paid for surveys!

Im such a lovely affiliate.

3 Tips To Succeed With Affiliate Programs.

2008-05-20T04:39:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, when it comes to promoting affiliate programs we all follow a certain defined process. We first go to google.com ,type affiliate programs in the search field. When the results get displayed we look for "high paying" affiliate programs. By "high paying" I mean those who pay 25% commissions.

Then we visit each and every website listed and join the programs because they are free! to join. We put all sorts of banners and text ads on our links page and expect to see a check in our mail box the next morning.

Well, I am here going to reveal a very different way of promoting affiliate programs. Let us revise the process one-by-one.

Step 1> Search for affiliate programs with your favorite search engine. Look for only those affiliate programs which have products which interests you. For example if you are interested in "radio controlled airplanes" then look for such products first. Don't start with promoting "herbal shampoos" or "yoga cd's" just because they pay 40% commissions.

Since you already know a little about rc planes it will be much easier for you to promote various aspects of the product.

So when selecting the affiliate program keep in mind the following sequence

a)Product which you know about or are interested in.
b)Quality of the product. To know the quality of the product it is advisable to buy the product yourself first.
c)The organization associated with the product. Look for the promotional material they are giving to affiliates. This shows the confidence of the manufacturer in their own product.
d)Commission structure. Some webmasters provide 2 tier commission structure. Some have a threshold amount before the affiliates get paid. Here is a nice place to start with.

Step 2> Design a simple landing page to "pre sell" the product before sending the visitors to actual sales page. Now this step is extremely important. Why do you to pre sell the product ?. This is because this is internet. No one knows you here or has seen you personally.

Normally when someone buys from the internet he is going to look for similar 4-5 products before he gets to the final decision. Here if he comes to your affiliate landing page it becomes much easier for him to compare the product you want to promote with similar 4-5 products in the category.

The landing page you have designed can have testimonials, which you can borrow from the sales page. It can also contain your own experience about the product. You can use before/after situations for describing the benefits of the product. You can use photographs of yourself using the product successfully. This adds instant credibility to the product you want to promote.

Step 3>When the visitors reach your landing page you must have a system to capture their names and email addresses. Because as I said earlier there are many people who look for similar4-5 products before buying. By capturing email addresses you can"follow up" your subscribers later on using newsletters or product features using email auto responders.

The best way to capture email addresses is to provide a free gift related to the product. This free gift can bean ebook written by you or many webmasters already have an ebook written for the affiliates. SO again this is a very important point, join only those programs where you will find a decent promotional material already prepared for the affiliates.

That's it friends. I hope these words were helpful. I wish you good lick in your affiliate promotional journey

What is an Affiliate Program and How Can It Make Me Money?

2008-05-20T04:37:00.000-07:00

You may have heard the buzz terms, 'affiliate programs' or 'associate programs'. Chances are your think of them in one of two ways, either - it's got to be another one of those Internet 'work at home' scams. Or, "That's just out of my league."

Promoting affiliate programs is in fact an attractive and viable way to initiate multiple residual income streams. It's not a get rich quick scheme. In fact, to be successful it takes a great deal of work and persistence. It also requires flexibility and an inquisitive nature that embraces trying new ways of marketing until you find something that works for your target audience.

What is an affiliate program? Thousands of established businesses set up affiliate programs in order to have people like you promote their products or services. When you sign up for an affiliate program you are given a link with your own unique id embedded into it.

With your own unique link it then becomes your job to promote the affiliate program and drive traffic to the businesses website. You never handle sales or products, but each time an interested prospect visits the website through your link and actually purchases something you earn a commission.

One of the most effective ways to promote affiliate programs is to find a subject that you are passionate about. Something that (humility aside), you may even consider yourself an expert of. Take that subject and develop a website that is devoted to it.

Building a website does not have to be intimidating. There are a tremendous amount of resources available to you to help you build one. You could also have the template of a website designed for you, or you could purchase a website at a price that may surprise you.

Once you have your website built, you will submit it to the major search engines and every day set some time aside to promote your website. At the same time, find affiliate programs that complement your content and ad their banner ads or text links to your website.

Working with a subject you love insures that you won't become bored with the website. The more content that you add to your site and the more you promote it, the more traffic you will get. It could take a good year to get the site to the point where you are actually surprised at how well it is doing. At that point, it seems to almost effortlessly improve itself.

The key is to draw your visitors to the website because you have terrific content. It is even more effective to offer a newsletter that your visitors can opt-in to. This way you can send them monthly newsletters with articles that will interest them, convincing them to frequent your site over and over again. You can also include the affiliate program links in your newsletters as well.

In the end, you have indulged in promoting a topic that you are knowledgeable and passionate about; while at the same time have initiated a residual income from.

Now you will have even more expertise and confidence, and the next site will be a piece of cake!

7 Powerful Tactics To Promote Any Affiliate Program Instantly

2008-05-20T04:29:00.000-07:00

Affiliate marketing is truly one of the most powerful and easiest models online to generate massive cash quickly, fact is you can get started in minutes from now without the hassle of creating your own products or websites.

While there're many factors to consider in the affiliate marketing business, one of the most critical questions I get every time from newer marketers is always...

"Ewen, How Do I Promote My Affiliate Link?"

Here then are 7 powerful tactics you can use today to promote any affiliate program with:

Tactic #1: Your Own Opt-In List

If you've your own existing opt-in list this would obviously be the quickest way to start. However I'd like to provide you with some ideas to maximize the response and results you wouldn't otherwise get if you never applied them.

It's always a good tactic to provide some kind of time-sensitive bonuses to entice your list to buy through your affiliate link. It has always work and it'll continue to work.

You should also do at least 3 follow-up mailings as statistics have proven that you will get the most sales from your 2nd and 3rd mailings.

Now what if you don't have your own list to begin with?

The most logical action would be to seriously consider building your own money-making list without delay.

Alternatively a 'second-rate' method is to use...

Tactic #2: Other People's Lists

What do I mean by this? One quick method to leverage on someone else's list is through ezine advertising, particularly with solo ads.

As in all kinds of advertising, what you want to do besides advertising the affiliate program is also to build your own list. A simple way to do this while promoting the affiliate program is by using a catchy one-two sentence signature file after your name.

The best advertising you can get is to pre-qualified targeted lists of like-minded people, especially people with money in hand.

==> Tactic #3: Google AdWords

You can start promoting any affiliate program in less than 15 minutes with pay-per-click advertising, especially Goolge AdWords.

Since Jan 6th 2005, there had been some changes to Google's policies regarding advertising of affiliate products on Google AdWords.

Without going into boring details, you can still advertise affiliate programs by using landing pages customized to the affiliate program you're promoting.

Tactic #4: Article Marketing

This is one tactic you got to get started on because it works.

I've made tons of affiliate sales purely from articles. In fact, one of my articles generated over 25 affiliate sales in a little over 3 days on autopilot.

The key to successful article writing is to provide real information and tips. Make sure it doesn't sound like an outright sales pitch. Any recommendations you make should be added value to the article. The recommendation should not be its main purpose.

Tactic #5: Leverage On Your Existing Web Pages

There're 3 main ways to go about doing this...

One is to simply promote your affiliate programs on highly trafficked and relevant pages of your website. Check your website statistics to see which pages visitors view the most. These are great target areas for your promotions, especially if they are relevant to the affiliate product in question.

Two, recommend affiliate products on your thank you pages. After a visitor has made a purchase from you or sign up for your ezine, all you've to do is add in a short recommendation of an affiliate product prominently on the thank you page.

Third, use your custom error (404) pages as affiliate marketing tools. This is the page that shows up when visitors enter a wrong URL or extension, there's no point in wasting this space so why not use it to promote an affiliate product?

Tactic #6: Capture Exit Traffic On Demand

You can quickly make extra affiliate sales just by using an exit window or pop up window to promote your affiliate programs.

While there're popup killers out there, you'll be surprised just how many percent of people actually install them - I don't.

Fact is, pop ups, especially exit pop ups still produce good results. Stick with one tasteful pop-up targeted to your visitors and you'll see great results.

Tactic #7: Other Quick And Simple Tips

Recommend affiliate products in your 'thank you emails'.

This is a no-brainer, whether you're saying thanks for joining your ezine or for buying a product, always give your email recipients an affiliate recommendation for a targeted product you've personally found useful.

You can also create autoresponder courses on topics related to the affiliate program you're promoting as a form of follow-up preselling.

The Multi Level Affiliate Program (MLAP) FAQ

2008-05-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

What is a Multi Level Affiliate Program(MLAP)?

A MLAP is an affiliate program that is free to join, and pays affiliates a commission when they make a sale, as well as when subaffiliates under them make sales.

How is a MLAP better than basic affiliate programs for webmasters, ezine publishers, and forum owners?

When affiliates promote products using their affiliate links on their sites,only a small percentage of visitors/members/subscribers will end up buying the products.The other "impressions" are wasted. Because MLAPs are free to join, a proportion of these "wasted" visitors will sign up as subaffiliates to sell products to their freinds and contacts. As a result, when they subsequently make sales (or recruit further subaffiliates), the original affiliate member gets paid a leveraged, passive income through no further effort on his part. Depending on the number of levels the MLAP incorporates, the potential for profit could be HUGE, at no risk!

How is a MLAP better for merchants than traditional affiliate programs?

While basic affiliate programs are a wonderful no risk, cost per action way for merchants to make sales, their popularity has resulted in a huge abundance of different programs, each competing for the same, limited number of affiliates to promote their products.In fact, recruiting affiliates has become almost as hard as making sales for many merchants. MLAPs offer merchants a way to make their programs and products stand out from the crowd, to recruit new affiliates much more quickly and effectively, thereby boosting their "sales force" and eventual sales and profits.

How is a MLAP better than MLM for affiliates?

While MLAPs have the huge income potential of MLM programs due to the use of the leveraged downline concept, because they are free to join, they present a zero risk alternative to people wary of losing money in poorly executed MLM programs.

How is a MLAP better than MLM for merchants?

MLMs, while a very effective and profitable means of product distribution, have been getting a bad reputation because of the poor execution by some companies. The need to first buy a product or pay a joining fee has drawn some criticism, as well as hampered many would be "salesmen" from joining these programs. MLAPs allow merchants to much more effectively win affiliates, without the risk of being labelled a "MLM company".

Where is the best place to find MLAPs to join?

As MLAPs are still relatively uncommon, it is very hard and time consuming to find them online. An effective way would be to go to a specialised MLAP directory, like Hugeaffiliate.com , which continuously combs the web for such programs to list in an organised manner.

Where can I get affiliates for my MLAP?

While it is possible to sign up affiliates by listing your MLAP in normal affiliate program directories, it is also very useful to list your MLAPs in specialised directories like Hugeaffiliates.com . This is because this is where most affiliates interested in MLAPs go to locate new programs to join.

Where can I learn more about MLAPs?

Go to our extensive resource bank and discussion forum designed specially to help both affiliates interested in learining how to make money using MLAPs, as well merchants thinking of setting up their own MLAPs.

How popular are MLAPs?

While still relatively new, these programs are quickly gaining popularity because of the distinct benefits they offer to both affiliates and merchants.

Top 5 Tips for Frustrated Affiliate Program Marketers

2008-05-20T04:26:00.001-07:00

Do you go through affiliate programs like most people go through pairs of socks? Many Internet marketers do. In fact, 97% of all Internet marketers never make a single cent advertising opportunities on the Internet. They jump from one opportunity to the next and never see results. If you want to break free from this cycle of failure-- if you want to earn a living off of your Internet ventures--continue reading. I will tell you exactly how you can earn money from any legitimate affiliate program.

In order to get the most information from what I am about to explain to you, you must accept that these methods are not intended to be "secrets." These are scientifically-proven, best-practice methods that all top marketers use. If you want results, you will have to do and continue to do the following five things:

1. Know your product. Do not advertise for a product or affiliate program that you are not currently using. I cannot even count the amount of affiliate programs and product offers I have rejected immediately from people who know very little about what they are actually promoting. If you want to make money selling a product or service, you have to use it, understand it, and be able to convince your prospects that they should own it. If you yourself do not believe in it-- because you have not even tried it--then you will have a hard time convincing anyone else it is worthwhile.

2. Know your field. You must continually become more knowledgeable about the market in which you are selling your product or service. For instance, I try to read at least 50 pages on Internet marketing each day to complement the marketing I do. This keeps me learning about my field. The best part about this is that you can do it without spending any money at all. The Internet is loaded with free content sites where you can find free ebooks and special reports on any subject. The Internet is also loaded with affiliate program promoters who are out-selling you. Use google to find these sites and then reverse engineer them--pick apart the source code, page setup, and content layout to find out how you can become more like your competition who is outselling you.

3. Focus your efforts and limit your innovation. As much as "limiting your innovation" may go against your business instincts, it is an absolute must with a limited marketing budget. Figure out what works for you scientifically by measuring your advertising results. When you find something that works, stick with it. If you are getting traffic from reciprocal links, continue to build them. If you are getting constant sign-ups from your newsletter, improve your newsletter and order more leads. Do not stray far from your original plan. Preset the amount of innovative ideas you want to try out each night, but center your marketing efforts around getting better results from methods that have already worked for you.

4. Spend money wisely. The Internet is loaded with scams and bad information. It is really easy to be tricked into blowing money on "get rich quick" schemes and information that you can find in free resources. I personally have spent thousands of dollars needlessly. But do not get me wrong; I am not saying there are no legitimate affiliate promotion services or information products out there: I am saying that the vast majority of them do not work as well as they say they do. So hold onto your cash. When you find a product that multiple people have personally recommended to you, then consider buying it. Otherwise, conserve your cash for purchasing services or products that will produce hard, definite results, such as email leads for your newsletter or phone leads you can contact personally to promote your program.

5. Remember that your success is dependent on your choices and your work alone. If you get upset about not becoming successful with a specific affiliate program, do not blame the program--blame yourself. Do a thorough analysis of what you could be doing better and how you could be making quantitative progress every single day. There are people who do not pay any money at all for promotional services and yet are still able to make a living just from using free tools on the Internet. If they can do it, there is no reason at all why you cannot. Joining a marketing group or forum in your field will help you realize this reality. Seeing and talking to people who are succeeding in your field will remind you that it is entirely possible to make money online without having a million dollars to begin with.

While there are some "secrets" to getting more sign-ups and site visitors, the bigger part of affiliate program marketing is following a sound business plan. If you keep the five concepts I have listed above central to your marketing campaign, you will not fail. But, if you continue to market sporadically--switching from product to product and method to method--you will never break out of that 97% who never make money.

The Best Affiliate Programs Increase Your Website's Earnings

2008-05-20T04:21:00.000-07:00

Taking full advantage of your website's earning potential is as simple as making use of the best affiliate programs available on the Net. Business websites and personal websites can both use affiliate links to earn additional revenue and make the most of their webspace. You'll find that the best affiliate programs on the World Wide Web have some of the biggest names on the Net as potential partners and commission bonuses that you wouldn't believe.

Many website owners never even consider using the best affiliate programs to their advantage and struggle every day with marginal sales and minimal income being generated. Not taking advantage of every tool available for generating additional revenue may be the cause of so many disappearing websites. The commissions earned from click through links can mean the difference between making money and making plans to close your website.

Let me let you in on a little secret, research shows that text links that can be customized to suit your needs are one of the best ways to add earning potential to your home on the Web. The best affiliate programs make tracking your commissions and referral bonuses easy and let you sit back and make money every day without lifting a finger. Let the traffic your website generates push your ability to make money to new heights and watch your dreams come true.

Affiliate Programs Are Wonderlands Of Opportunities

2008-05-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

We have previously discussed affiliate programs in passing. But in this article, we're going to get an overview of this subfield of Internet marketing and how it could help bring about some stable and generous earnings for you.

It has been said that affiliate programs are the easiest ways to online riches. There is a lot of truth in that statement, though it must be remembered that affiliate marketing is still a job, albeit one which you could do in the comforts of your own home, hence, you cannot make the most out of it without exerting some effort.

Even if you are not familiar with affiliate programs, I'm sure you have encountered some in your years on the Internet. For certain, you have visited a site that was suggesting a book from www.amazon.com to supplement the information its pages revealed. That site's webmaster, my friend, is an affiliate. And if you decided to purchase the book he recommended, he would have earned a commission from the merchant site.

Amazon, indeed, is the first business model for affiliate programs. There are more, of course, usually asking the affiliate partner to sell web hosting, domain names, and tangible products. But it's the affiliate programs which offer information products that often give the highest commissions.

But first, let's discuss how affiliate programs work. There are three parties in affiliate programs:

* The affiliate merchant
* The affiliate
* The buyer

The affiliate merchant is the one who has products to sell. He would establish an affiliate program to invite affiliates to pre-sell his products. Once the affiliate finds a buyer, he would recommend the same to the affiliate merchant. The affiliate merchant would then sell his products to the buyer. If the buyer buys, the affiliate merchant would give the affiliate his corresponding commission.

Selling and pre-selling are two different things. Pre-selling usually involves referrals and an earnest attempt to convince the buyer to try the products being endorsed. When an affiliate enrolls in an affiliate program, he is given a code which is called an affiliate link. This affiliate link has his designation embedded on it, so whenever a sale is consummated by virtue of the said link, the affiliate program's system would be able to determine that the commission due shall accrue for the affiliate.

Selling, on the other hand, is primarily the task of the affiliate merchant. This includes payment processing, delivery and shipment if applicable, and post-sales support.

Easy isn't it? All you have to do is to enroll in an affiliate program, market the products with your affiliate link, and you could earn wonderful commissions! Plus, you have the option of automating everything through your site, or through some creative strategies that have worked for many people.

But this shouldn't be taken to mean that affiliate marketing can only be carried out through your website. The fact of the matter is, you could be a very successful affiliate even without the benefit of having a website!

These matters we will reserve for another day, so again, I plead, bookmark this site and I promise that you will not regret it.

Affiliate programs can be fertile sources of plentiful earnings. All you have to do is to choose the right one. Here are some points to consider in deciding on an affiliate program:

* Quality of the products
* Salability of the products
* Commission rate dependent of salability of the products (a highly sellable product with an equally high commission is ideal, but a highly sellable product with modest commission is also good, as finding buyers would be easy)
* Credibility of affiliate merchant
* Support from affiliate merchant

Additionally, you could enroll in as many affiliate programs you want. But since you could only have 24 hours in a day to do the marketing, there are risks in diversifying. So proceed with prudence before engaging in many affiliate agreements.

Affiliate programs made easy

2008-05-20T04:18:00.000-07:00

The Internet is the world's greatest market place. Hundreds of thousands of companies are selling their products and services online with each desperately trying to stand out from the masses. With millions of web pages on the Internet today it has become increasingly hard to be noticed amongst those masses. In order to sell any product a company will usually employ several marketing systems. One of these marketing systems is the affiliate program.

We've all come to know and love (or hate) them. Colorful banners, annoying pop-ups, pop-ins, pop-unders, unwanted email (Spam) and even messages on our instant messenger service (Spim) are all used to attract the attention of the crowd to a particular product or service. A lot of these advertisements will create an excess of 'useless' traffic (i.e. people that just go to the advertised site to see what all the hustle and bustle is about). As a result this method of advertising is often considered unreliable and inefficient and has to be used in large quantities to be successful. Enter the affiliate program.

Affiliate programs are essentially used to have someone other then the product owner promote and sell the product. This is done on the basis of commissions offered to website owners who are willing to advertise the product on their website. The affiliate program owner offers a fee to the affiliate whenever someone buys from the affiliate program owner's website via a link placed on the website of the affiliate. This leaves advertising for the product almost completely up to the affiliate who only receives a fee if a product is actually sold.

Affiliate programs can generate large networks of affiliated sites that can drastically increase the sales of a particular service or product. Affiliate program referral fees can be anything from a few cents per click to hundreds of dollars for a registration or a product sale.

Affiliate programs have the nice addition that they are incredibly easy to set up often only needing a few minutes per month of maintenance for potentially high returns. As an affiliate all we have to do is place the link of the affiliate program on our website or find some other means to link to the affiliate owner's website and money will start coming in all on its own.

As opposed to endless banners, popups, pop-unders, pop-ins and Spam mail affiliate programs often manage to be a more direct method of advertising. Only interested parties will generally click on affiliate links converting many of the casual surfers to actually interested buyers.

Today the affiliate program is one of the most popular tools for Internet marketing purposes.

6 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE YOU CHOSE AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM

2008-05-20T04:17:00.000-07:00

So you want to choose an affiliate program or are you already involved in one?

These are six tips you must understand deeply. But first, understand that affiliate programs work just like network marketing. I said it works like it because it involves down-lines.

Now to get started. Once you understand these tips and use them wisely, you would make a real success out of the affiliate program you choose.

1.Choose the Right Affiliate Program.

Before you pick an Affiliate program, make double sure it is the right one. Check the company's profile. You cannot be in a moving vehicle and remain stagnant. If your affiliate program is one that makes steady progress, you also make progress. If it is stagnant, you inevitably will be stagnant. Check for the company's age. Companies in their first two years pay high, but they face the risk of quitting all too soon. They are but infants. Companies in their first seven years are more likely to be stable. Older companies are reliable. Very reliable. They have a track record which you can easily check out and have good organisation built from years of existence.

2.What are the Companies' Products.

Please be very careful. Only a thin line separates Multi-level Marketing (MLM) or affiliate programs from illegality. You are however safe if the company has a product it sells. Never join a pyramid scheme. I am not an expert at that but I suppose pyramid schemes are scams. If the company does not offer a product or service, you might as well forget it.

3.Check the Compensation Plan.

Your primary reason for joining an affiliate program is to make money! Should I say that again? To make money! So please, check the compensation plan. Make sure it suits you. When dose the company pay? At what rate? How does the company pay? If it doesn't go down well with you, just forget it and find yourself another affiliate program with which you feel comfortable.

Note however that even if the commission schedule is small but sure, the work you do can help you blow it all up. Think of $1 in 1000 places ($1000). It can be achieved weekly. You can realise that with almost all affiliate programs.

The bottom line, choose a program that suits you.

4.Join Free Programs But....
A lot of affiliate programs allow you to join for free. I suggest you join the free ones. My reason is; you can easily leave without much loss. I feel sorry for people who have tried several programs and paid heavily just to realise it is not the right one. But if you think you can afford it, then the choice is yours.

Once you've made a choice, remember these last two tips!

5.Build Your Team of Affiliates.

This can be the most excruciating part of it all, but once you have a team of down-lines who are active, it is well worth it.

Always remember, "for every twelve, there is always a Judas." There will always be bad apples in a barrel. Find the good ones, train them, help them and you have simply helped yourself.

How do you know the good ones? Simple; watch out for those that ask questions, contact you and fulfil all requirements in short periods of time. Go for them and you are building a money spinning business.

6.Put Yourself in the Shoes of Those you Want to Recruit.

Make things easy for them. Put together all the information and deliver it to them. I know it took you sometime getting the information. Help them get it in a shorter time. Probably in few hours. Contact them always. Answer their questions. Give them all the help you can. Show them what to do and help them do it right.

Remember, you help them; you simply help yourself. Put yourself in their shoes and do exactly what you would have loved if you were in their shoes.

8 Basic Rules for Choosing The Right Affiliate Program

2008-05-20T04:15:00.000-07:00

Joining an Affiliate Program is a great way to start earning a sizeable income on the Internet without many of the hassles that come with running your own business.

But the problem is. there are so much affiliate programs out there for you. In this article I will guide you to choose the most suitable and profitable Affiliate Program for you. I recommend you to follow this rule before choosing an Affiliate Program.

1. Find a great quality product or service

Remember that any recommendation you make will reflect directly on you. If you recommend a great quality product, the people you recommended will always trusted you and be interested in future recommendations that you make. If you recommend a bad quality product, and I'll guarantee that they will likely hesitate to act on any offers you recommend.

Don't get greedy. Only recommend products that you truly believe in.

2. Look for a program that offers top commissions.

I think it's perfectly reasonable for you to expect to be paid 30% to 50% of the profits on each product sold. 5% to 10% is very low. You should look for companies who understand the "lifetime value" of new customers you refer and appreciate your efforts.

Only consider joining programs that show a similar level of respect for their affiliates.

3. Make sure they have a high sales conversion ratio.

Make sure that the affiliate program is turning a reasonable number of visitors into sales. If not, then your efforts directing traffic to their website will be completely wasted. A 1% conversion ratio (1 out of every 100 visitors) is quite good, 2%+ is better.

4. Be sure you'll be credited for every sales you make.

You should find out what kind of tracking software the Affiliate Program that you're interested in joining uses. You MUST look for a program that uses quality affiliate tracking software that is reliable and tracks ALL (online, by phone, fax, mail orders, etc), because there are many companies only track online orders, and this means that you will never get credit for anywhere from 5% - 10% of your affiliate sales!.

Make sure they have a high sales conversion ratio and a good tracking software.

5. They should allow you to access your sales statistics real time.

What I mean is that the Affiliate Program you join should give you a special username and password that you can use to access your own personal affiliate sales information right on their website. Many affiliate programs have done this, you don't have to worry about that, but incase they don't, you should reconsider to join them.

6. Look for a program that teaches you to maximize your affiliate sales.

A good affiliate program will provide you with everything you need to be successful. They'll provide you with traffic-generating banners, text-links, and recommendation letter templates. They'll tell you which techniques work well in which circumstances.

Find an affiliate program that is similarly dedicated to educating their affiliates.

7. Make sure they are reputable.

I still feel I should mention the importance of doing business with a reputable company. I know many people who have worked really hard, made a lot of sales for a company, but then they have never been paid or forced to wait months and months to get their money, I've been there too. If you have any concerns about a company that you are thinking of doing business with, ask for references and do some checks on them before you join them.

8. Be sure to read all contracts and agreements.

Before you join any affiliate program, just make sure that you read all contracts and agreements very carefully. Pay very close attention to exclusivity clauses in the agreement. Be careful that any affiliate agreement or contract you sign does not restrict you.

7 Tips to Choosing a Successful Affiliate Program

2008-05-20T03:01:00.000-07:00

When selecting an affiliate program to join you need to know how to choose a successful affiliate program.

Look in the wrong place and you might find a dud but look in the right place and you might be on to a winner.

Here are 7 tips to help you choose a successful affiliate program to join:

1. Look at associateprograms.com This is the ‘affiliate central' of affiliate programs. You can virtually guarantee to find a successful program here and you can choose from tons of subject areas.

2. Look at clickbank.com Nearly every product they have for sale has an affiliate program. Many of them are extremely good and most pay very high commissions. (some over 50%)

3. Affiliate resource sites usually offer their best affiliate programs. As affiliate resources sites are specialists in affiliate programs you can be pretty sure of choosing a
successful affiliate program from them.

4. Look for affiliate programs that are offered through any ezines you receive. Chances are the ezine owner has an
affiliate program and if they have a good ezine they probably will have a good affiliate program.

5. Think of things that ALWAYS sell. Like web site design, ebooks, music and travel. Stick to proven online sellers and the affiliate program will have a much greater chance of being successful.
6. Seek out articles on affiliate programs. There are many good writers out there who have been successful with affiliate programs. Try to find articles they have written to see what
has worked for them.

7. Take courses. Many sites offer free online email courses for affiliates. Take some of these courses to learn more about what it takes to be a successful affiliate.

Affiliate programs are a great way to make money but one of the secrets to affiliate success is to choose the right program in the first place. Use these 7 tips to help you succeed.

101 Affiliate Research Results: Affiliate Program that pays!

2008-05-20T02:56:00.000-07:00

Are you an online marketer or an ezine publisher and you interested in Affiliate program? Let's start from basics.

What is Affiliate Program?
Affiliate program is a program introduced by web business owners where opportunity is been created for other people to participate in selling their products and service on the internet without

necessarily buying the products or services and they are paid a percentage of the amount, paid for the products or service or a particular amount as commission made from sales of those products or service.

If you are a web business owner, my advice to you as an online marketing strategist is you invest having an affiliate progam in your website, because it helps you create markerters for product or services free, there by boosting sales for your products and services real fast. For more information, visit www.clickbank.com.

Who is an Affiliate
An Affiliate is somebody who advertise the products and service of a web business owner for a comission of the product made from sales, all he does is register with the web master's Affiliate program and he is given an affiliate link which he will use to refer people to the website, write a good advertisement and advertise his link to draw customers to the website and when it results to a sale he is paid a part of the profit made from sales as comission.

What Makes a Good Affiliate Program
As i browsed through the internet and visit search engines to search for a good affiliate program to join, though I get to join, some affiliate programs but i found out something that i should let you, do you know some affiliate progams are not worth joining despite the fact, they promise to pay you a "fat" sum as comission. So carefully read the next few listed points and I suggest you stick by it and always read these points before you join any affiliate program because i have learn't my lessons so i dont want to hide it and allow you make the same mistakes because it could be a very ugly situation you might not forgive me for not telling you because this article was written to empower you on what makes a good affiliate program and how to make good use of your time advertising good programs you 've joined.

My Research Result
Althrough my research on how to make money on the internet, the concept of Affiliate program has proved to be the easiest way on how to make money on the internet because, you
(i) Don't need to have your products before you join an affiliate program, though some web marketers insist you buy their products and services before you can market them but it is very rare to find such programs online but they exist.
(ii) You don't need a website, but in most cases, when you want to really earn a living onlne through affiliate program, i suggest you need a website to advertise as many programs as possible, all you need to do if you want to go into this kind of affiliate advertising, just place the programs in categories, i tell you this is the secret of making $10,000 a month without owing a product, but if you just want to go into part time Affiliate advertising, you don't need a website, effective affiliate advertising will be discussed in my next article coming up soon.
(iii) You don't need to wait for long before you earn commissions except if you have not advertised your affiliate link or you did not write a good and catchy advert or promotion, there is every possibility you can earn a commission in the next six hours with a good advert.

BELOW ARE THE POINTS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE JOINING ANY AFFILIATE PROGRAM.
(i) Products and Services of the Web marketer, whether it is a one-product or multiple products web business, they must be market moving products (i.e fast selling) information or "how to" products.
(ii) Is the website an interesting site that customers can really get in and dont want to go anymore they just keep reading the sales letter and eventually buy to know if the owner has put up a cachy salesletter, read it for your self does it entice you to buy or make you feel bored reading such letter tip. If it is a good and catchy salesletter, you can even catch some points in the letter and form a good advert for the program.
(iii) Did the site owner create a way of following up visitors by inviting visitors to signup for his ezine or newsletter on his site, because that is an excellent way to ensure your visitors buy from you and that's commission for you as his affiliate. for referring customers to his website.
(iv) Does (web marketer) after a two-tier affiliate program where people can sign with their affiliate program under you, thereby building a down line for your self and it is another way you can earn commission when members of your down line makes sales, you are paid a percentage commission (eg 6%)
(v) How is the sign up process, do you spend up one hour signing up or a few minutes people tend to ignore joining his (webmarketer) affiliate program if the sign up process is difficult to complete, you should be able to tell this fact since you signed up with his affiliate program.
You can get more of these facts on what makes a good affiliate program, if you sign up for newsletter. I advice you signup for my newsletter because there are still more to know on what makes a good Affiliate program if you know these things you still enjoy be earning fat residual income on monthly basis. So be empowered.

Learn the basics and stick to it.

5 Unique Ways To Get FREE Advertising

2008-05-20T02:53:00.000-07:00

1. Give Testimonials

When you purchase a product or service and it exceeds your expectations e-mail the business a testimonial. Tell them in the testimonial the benefits you got from the product or service. Give them permission to publish the testimonial on the web site if they include your sig file at the end.

2. Leave A Message

When you visit a web site with a discussion board leave a message. You could post a question, interesting content or a compliment about their web site. Include your signature file at the end of the message. Some discussion boards let you post your banner ad or text link.

3. Sign Guest Books

When you visit a well designed web site leave a compliment on their guest book. You could give them a compliment on their content, ease of navigation, graphics etc. When you post your compliment include your sig file so other people will see it when they sign the guest book.

4. Write A Review

When you visit a web site you enjoyed a lot write a review for the web site Write about the benefits you gain from the site, the web site design, interesting online services it offers etc. E-mail the review to the web site. Tell them they can publish it on their web site if they include your resource box at the end.

5. Send An E-mail To The Editor

When you read a good article or enjoy a certain e-zine, e-mail a compliment to the editor. Give the editor permission to publish the compliment in their e-zine if they include your signature file at the end. The editor may post it on his or her web site.

5 Tips To Choosing The Right Affiliate Program

2008-05-18T03:51:00.000-07:00

Affiliate programs can be a great way to make money online. You don't have to spend time developing your own product, worry about taking orders, or take care of customer service.

If you already have a high traffic website or run an e-zine you can stand to earn a steady flow of commissions every month without a lot of extra work on your part.

To help you get started promoting affiliate programs, I've provided the following 5 tips to help you choose the affiliate programs that are right for you.

1. Choose affiliate programs that match the content of your site. If your site targets a niche market than choose affiliate programs that offer products to that niche market.

2. Choose affiliate programs that pay a high commission. For example 30%-50% on your direct sales.

3. Join affiliate programs that pay two-tier commissions. This enables you to not only earn commissions on your own sales but also on the sales of people who you introduce to your affiliate
program.

4. Join affiliate programs that offer a line of products so that you can earn commissions when your referrals come back and purchase other services or products.

5. Join affiliate programs that offer their affiliates great marketing support. Many affiliate programs offer their affiliates pre-written ads to use or get ideas from, sales letters, marketing courses, and articles to use in promoting their services.

Remember, the best affiliate programs will see their affiliate program as a partnership with you and combine high commissions with excellent support so that you can start earning money promoting their products as quickly as possible.

A Successful Affiliate Program

2008-05-18T03:49:00.000-07:00

Two Christmases ago I tugged on one of those paper crackers and after a small bang, out opped a piece of yellow paper the size of a credit card.

On one side was a riddle that didn't make much sense, but on the other side was an 'Inspirational Quote' that made a lot of sense.

So much so, that I still have it in my wallet.

This is what it said: "The shortest and best way to make your fortune is to let people see clearly that it is in their interests to promote yours".

I'm constantly amazed to see affiliate programs that offer 20%, or even as little as 15%, to their affiliates.

It is generally accepted that the production of any information product is only 10 percent of the whole process.

What's the other 90 per cent? Marketing!

My own affiliate program gives 50% commissions, and I wouldn't dream of offering less. After all, who makes the sale - me or the affiliate?

It may be disappointing to see 50% of your sale price going to your affiliates. But it's worth remembering this: without your affiliate, that sale simply wouldn't have occurred.

Of course, there are many other factors involved in building a successful affiliate program, but this is the first and most important: make your affiliates your equal partners, because they'll be doing 90% of the work.

Good luck.

Affiliate Programs: Golden Opportunity or Waste of Time?

2008-05-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

Now that the idea of doing business over the internet has been firmly established, many potential internet businessmen are searching for the best way to do business. Usually the choice comes down to whether you want to set up your own business and online store, or sign up for an affiliate program.

First of all, let's define what we mean by an affiliate program. An affiliate program is basically an internet business set up by someone else. They could be selling physical goods, education, information or any other products that can be sold online. By signing up as their affiliate, you are helping them promote their business or store. In return, they will pay you a commission for each sale you bring them. The amount of commission varies between different affiliate programs. Examples of affiliate programs include Amazon.com and Wordtracker, which you can visit HERE.

1) EARNINGS

So how does an affiliate program differ from starting your own online store? Let's start by looking at the potential earnings. (After all, the main reason everyone wants to start an internet business is for the money). When you sign up for an affiliate program, you will be paid a commission for each sale you refer to the online store. This commission can range from 5% to 15% for physical products, and possibly up to 50% or more for virtual products such as subscriptions and ebooks.

On the other hand, if you start your own store, your profit can be much higher. For virtual products, your profit can be 100% of your selling price. After all, once the newsletter or ebook is created, you do not need to spend any more effort. When someone buys your ebook, they just download it from your website. If you are selling a physical product, your profit depends on whether you are manufacturing the product yourself, or buying from a wholesaler or dropshipping company. Your profit in this case could easily be more than 40% or 50%.

So, if you only consider the potential earnings, starting your own business is more lucrative than joining an affiliate program.

2) LOGISTICS

However, money isn't everything (Or so they say). When you are starting your own internet business, there are a number of logistic issues you need to look at. Here are a few things you would need to take care of:

a) Create your website
b) Design your product (if you are selling new products)
c) Create your product (if you are selling new physical products, or any virtual products)
d) Set up an online store
e) Set up a merchant account or payment gateway
f) Set up a warehouse or storage space (if you are selling physical products)
g) Have procedures and staff ready to fulfill orders
h) Set up an affiliate program to get others to market the products for you
i) Monitor for fraud
j) Monitor stock levels

As they say, "No pain, no gain". Having your own store pays very well, but requires a substantial time investment from you.

On the other hand, if you sign up for an affiliate program, all you need to do is set up a website to promote the program. All the ads, banners, marketing text etc will be provided to you by the affiliate program. Your only responsibilities would be to get people to visit your website, and hopefully click on the affiliate links to buy the products that you are promoting.

3) CONVERSION

Whether you have your own business or are promoting an affiliate program, the bottom line is the conversion rate, or the percentage of visitors that actually buy something from you. A number of factors influence this conversion rate. Factors as quality of the product, quality of the website, customer support are all important. However, I personally believe that the most important factor is trust.

When a potential customer arrives at your website, he will need to trust your site enough for him to be willing to buy from you. After all, on the internet you are just a faceless salesman. He doesn't know who is actually running the site and whether he will actually get the goods that he orders.

Having said that, one of the key methods of garnering trust is by recommendation and referral. If a store is being referred to or recommended by another website, the potential customer will feel that the store is trustworthy. After all, if the store is not trustworthy, why would the other website recommend it?

This is where affiliate programs shine. When you refer a potential customer to the store for which you are an affiliate, the customer will feel more relieved, since the store is being recommended by your site, a 3rd party. The customer will be more likely to buy from the store, benefiting both the store, and you as well.

There are both pros and cons to joining an affiliate program. You might earn less with an affiliate program compared to starting your own store, but I believe the benefits of not having to be responsible for the logistics makes affiliate programs are very viable "passive" source of income.

Affiliate programs made easy

2008-05-18T03:38:00.001-07:00