Affiliate programs are great business opportunities, as well as a great business idea. Here’s the scoop. You join an affiliate company and they give you a unique URL called an, “Affiliate Link,” that only you have. When people click on your affiliate link it not only takes them to your affiliate…
Affiliate programs are great business opportunities, as well as a great business idea. Here’s the scoop. You join an affiliate company and they give you a unique URL called an, “Affiliate Link,” that only you have. When people click on your affiliate link it not only takes them to your affiliate website but it also alerts the affiliate company that you directed this person to their website. Now if that person makes a purchase you will be paid a commission as a reward for generating business for that company. Commissions can be as high as 75%! Dose that sound exciting to you? If so read on!
How can you find an affiliate program? There are literally 1000’s of websites eager for new affiliates. One way is to do a search for, “affiliate programs” using a search engine such as Google. Another way is to join ClickBank. ClickBank works with 100’s of affiliate companies. After you join ClickBank, You then choose from a list affiliates ClickBank is affiliated with. You then promote an affiliate link that is a combination of ClickBank’s and whatever affiliate site you are promoting. ClickBank then pays you instead of the company you are an affiliate for. You can also find a link usually labeled, “affiliates” on websites that have affiliate programs. You will usually find this link at the very bottom of the homepage in very small text size.
Depending on which Affiliate program you join they will pay you weekly, biweekly, monthly or bimonthly but most often biweekly or monthly. They will usually give you the option of how you will get paid via company check or Electronic Bank Transfer. I prefer Electronic Bank Transfer because payment is immediate and you don’t have to worry about your check getting lost or stolen.
The greatest thing about running an affiliate business in my opinion is this. When you run a business, any business whether it is internet based or not, you must deal with a host of things including, but not limited to, inventory, storage, packing, shipping, complaints, returns, phone calls, emails, checks and credit cards just to name a few. When you’re an affiliate, “they” take care of all of that for you! Your only job is to advertise for them. Once you have directed someone to your affiliate website via your affiliate link your job is done. They will take over from there. What could be a sweeter deal?!
Advertising your affiliate link can be accomplished in a number of different ways. Google AdWords is one way. Article submission is another way. There are 1000’s of Article submission sites where you can submit your articles to for free. As an example you can check out, IdeaMarketers. Click on the link at the upper right part of their homepage entitled, “Learn How This Site Works.” There are a number of ways you can find other article submission sites far too numerous to approach here, so I will only say that one way is to do a search using any search engine and typing in, “Article Submission Sites.” Another way to allow your affiliate link to be made known to the world is through discussion forums. One of the best out there is the AssociatePrograms.com forum. Discussion forums allow you to attach a signature file to the bottom of all your posts, where you may include your affiliate link.
All right. We’ve discussed all of the exciting aspects to joining an affiliate program like receiving commissions as high as 75%, not having to deal with inventory, storage, packing, shipping, complaints, returns, phone calls, emails, checks or credit cards etc., getting paid most often biweekly or monthly and usually having your choice of payment via check or Electronic Bank Transfer. We also discussed, how to advertise your affiliate link using little or no money. Now it is up you. Dose having an affiliate business sound good to you? If so find, join, and promote your affiliate business and/or businesses using the techniques discussed here. And remember, affiliate programs are fabulous business opportunities as well as a great business idea!
4 Must Have Tools for Affiliate Marketing Success
Do you know what does it takes to become a successful Affiliate Marketer? Could you tell me the essential ingredients of an affiliate marketing success story? Is there a shortcut to Affiliate Marketing glory? . All these of these questions play around in the minds of affiliate marketers who want to make it big in this business.
If you are anything like I was when I started out; excited and all set to make my fortune as an affiliate marketer and yet not knowing where to start you may have to say what I said, “I don’t have a clue!” If you are new to affiliate marketing can I tell you something? There are some essentials that you must know or you will waste an incredible amount of time and money.
Although affiliate marketing is touted as one of the easiest and most effective ways to earn money online, it is not as easy as it sounds. The wise affiliate marketer plans every action and executes it the best way he can. He should also maximize the potential to earn by utilizing the right tools necessary for a successful Affiliate Marketing business. We have consulted some of the most successful affiliate marketers in the business and below are the top three necessary tools for a successful affiliate marketing business.
Important Tool #1: Your Own Website
The most important and indispensable tool in Affiliate Marketing is your own website. The first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good, credible and professional looking website. Your website is the jump off point of all your marketing efforts. Thus, you must first build a user-friendly website, which will appeal to your prospects and encourage them to click on the links to the products and service you are promoting and make a purchase. Therefore, you must first concentrate your efforts in building a website that will cater to what your prospects need.
Important Tool #2: Quality Content
One of the most powerful tools for building quality content for your website is writing relevant and informative articles. Consider this, almost all web users go online to look for information, not necessarily to go and buy something. Above all else, make your website full of original, relevant and useful content. People will love articles that are appealing and helpful. Keep in mind that, on the Internet, content is still king and good quality content will not only build your credibility, it can also help you achieve a higher search engine ranking. By posting relevant and useful articles, you establish yourself as a credible expert in the field, making you a more-trustworthy endorser of the product or service you promote. Establishing a good reputation on the net is a good step in building loyal customers and articles help establish credibility.
Important Tool #3: Incentives
Competition is extremely tight in the Internet world. You must always be one-step ahead of your rivals to ensure that you capture a significant share of your target market. Therefore, you must use every possible means to encourage people not only to visit your site but also to click and proceed to the websites of the products and services you are promoting. Building an opt-in email list is one of the best ways to gather prospects. Offer a newsletter or an e-zine. Better yet, offer incentives to your prospects to encourage them to subscribe to your newsletters. You can present free software, access to exclusive services and other freebies that will be helpful to your prospects.
Important Tool #4: Link Popularity
The importance of driving highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be emphasized enough. The all-important web traffic is at the top of the list of the most important success vehicles in the affiliate marketing world. Attracting people to your site should be the first step you should carry out. Do what is necessary to achieve a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the factors that search engines use to determine search engine rankings. Therefore, to enhance your link popularity, you must have an aggressive link building campaign.
One of the best ways to do this – at no cost at all – is by submitting articles as mentioned above, with your website’s link in the resource box. Submit to related e-zines and free article sites. You will not only gain exposure, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free, just include a link back to your site. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more websites will pick them up and post them.
These are but four of the many tools that an affiliate marketer can use to maximize earning potential. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and determination. You can always explore other ideas and adapt other strategies, which you think might help you become an affiliate marketing success.