Tuesday, February 28, 2006

HERE'S HOW TO AVOID THE 3 MOST COMMON AFFILIATE MISTAKES

Affiliate marketing is one of the most effective and powerful ways of earning some money online. This program gives everybody a chance to make a profit through the Internet. Since these affiliate marketing programs are easy to join, implement and pays a commission on a regular basis, more an more people are now willing in this business.

However, like all businesses, there are lots of pitfalls in the affiliate marketing business. Committing some of the most common mistakes will cost the marketers a large portion taken from the profit they are making everyday. That is why it is better to avoid them than be regretful in the end.

Mistake number 1: Choosing the wrong affiliate.

Many people want to earn from affiliate marketing as fast as possible. In their rush to be part of one, they tend to choose a bandwagon product. This is the kind of products that the program thinks is “hot”. They choose the product that is in demand without actually considering if the product appeals to them. This is not a very wise move obviously.

Instead of jumping on the bandwagon, try top choose a product in which you are truly interested in. For any endeavor to succeed, you should take some time to plan and figure out your actions.

Pick a product that appeals to you. Then do some research about that product to see if they are in demand. Promoting a product you are more passionate about is easier than promoting one for the sake of the earnings only.

Mistake number 2: Joining too many affiliate programs.

Since affiliate programs are very easy to join, you might be tempted to join multiples of affiliate programs to try and maximize the earnings you will be getting. Besides you may think that there is nothing wrong and nothing to lose by being part of many affiliate programs.

True, that is a great way to have multiple sources of income. However, joining multiple programs and attempting to promote them all at the same time will prevent you from concentrating on each one of them.

The result? The maximum potential of your affiliate program is not realized and the income generated will not exactly be as huge as you were thinking initially it would. The best way to get excellent result is by joining just one program that pays a 40% commission at least. Then give it your best effort by promoting your products enthusiastically. As soon as you see that it is already making a reasonable profit, then maybe you can now join another affiliate program.

The technique is to do it slowly but surely. There is really no need to rush into things, especially with affiliate marketing. With the way things are going, the future is looking real bright and it seems affiliate marketing will be staying for a long time too.

Mistake number 3: Not buying the product or using the service.

As an affiliate, you main purpose is to effectively and convincingly promote a product or service and to find customers. For you to achieve this purpose, you must be able to relay to the customers that certain product and service. It is therefore difficult for you to do this when you yourself have not tried these things out. Thus, you will fail to promote and recommend them convincingly. You will also fail to create a desire in your customers to avail any of what you are offering.

Try the product or service personally first before you sign up as an affiliate to see if it is really delivering what it promises. If you have done so, then you are one of the credible and living testaments aware of its advantages and disadvantages. Your customers will then feel the sincerity and truthfulness in you and this will trigger them to try them out for themselves.

Many affiliate marketers makes these mistakes and are paying dearly for their actions. To not fall into the same situation they have been in, try to do everything to avoid making the same mistakes.

Time is the key. Take the time to analyze your marketing strategy and check if youa re in the right track. If done properly, you will be able to maximize your affiliate marketing program and earn higher profits.

God bless you with this opportunity!

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN AFFILIATE MARKETER

Being in the affiliate marketing business is not that hard now with the internet at your disposable. It is much easier now compared to the days when people have to make use of the telephones and other mediums of information just to get the latest updates on the way their program is coming along.
So with technology at hand, and assuming that the affiliate is working from home, a day in his or her life would sound something like this…
Upon waking up and after having breakfast, the computer is turned on to check out new developments in the network. As far as the marketer is concerned there might be new things to update and statistics to keep track on.
The site design has to be revised. The marketer knows that a well-designed site can increase sign ups from visitors. It can also help in the affiliate’s conversion rates.
That done, it is time to submit the affiliate program to directories that lists affiliate programs. These directories are means to attract people in joining your affiliate program. A sure way of promoting the affiliate program.
Time to track down the sales you are getting from your affiliates fairly and accurately. There are phone orders and mails to track down. See if they are new clients checking the products out. Noting down the contact information that might be a viable source in the future.
There are lots of resources to sort out. Ads, banners, button ads and sample recommendations to give out because the marketer knows that this is one way of ensuring more sales. Best to stay visible and accessible too.
The affiliate marketer remembered that there are questions to answer from the visitors. This has to be done quickly. Nothing can turn off a customer than an unanswered email.
To prove that the affiliate is working effectively and efficiently, inquiries would have to be paid more attention on. Nobody wants to be ignored and customers are not always the most patient of all people. Quick answer that should appear professional yet friendly too.
In the process of doing all the necessities, the marketer is logged on to a chat room where he or she interacts with other affiliates and those under that same program. This is where they can discuss things on how to best promote their products.
There are things to be learned and it is a continuous process. Sharing tips and advices is a good way of showing support. There may be others out there wanting to join and may be enticed by the discussion that is going on. There is no harm in assuming what opportunities ahead.
The newsletters and ezines were updated days ago, so it is time for the affiliate marketer to see if there are some new things happening in the market. This will be written about in the marketer’s publication to be distributed to the old and new customers.
These same publications are also an important tool in keeping up to date with the newly introduced products. The marketer has put up a sale and promotion that customers may want to know about. Besides, they have to keep up with the deadline of these sales written in the publications.
It is that time to show some appreciation to those who have helped the marketer in the promotions and sale increase. Nothing like mentioning the persons, their sites and the process they have done that made everything worked.
Of course, this will be published in the newsletters. Among the more important information that have been written already.
The marketer still has time to write out recommendations to those who want credible sources for the products being promoted. There is also time to post some comments on how to be a successful affiliate marketer on a site where there are lots of wannabees.
Two objectives done at the same time. The marketer gets to promote the product as well as the program they are in. Who knows, someone may be inclined to join.
Time flies. Missed lunch but is quite contented with the tasks done. Bed time….
Ok, so this may not be all done in a day. But then, this gives you an idea of how an affiliate marketer, a dedicated one that is, spends the marketing day.
Is that success looming in the distance or what?

God bless you!

Sunday, February 26, 2006

3 THINGS ALL AFFILIATE MARKETERS NEED TO SURVIVE ONLINE

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.

There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.

Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.

Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…

God Bless You through this Awesome Business

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Earning Extra Income With Affiliate Marketing – Having Your Cake and Eating it Too!

By Bill Schnarr

Affiliate marketing is the single fastest growth industry on the Internet. Yet many people go into it without a solid recipe for success. Indeed, many look to earn extra income with affiliate marketing with no real plan, and that can severely hamper their efforts at becoming successful at it.
Make no mistake, although affiliate marketing can be an easy and fun way to earn additional income, it is work, and just like any other job, requires effort, perseverance, and above all, a clear line of sight from start to finish line.
Things like setting up your home office properly, getting some know-how, setting realistic goals, making connections, and investing in your business will not only ensure that you have a leg-up on your competition, but it will also ensure you are firmly standing head and shoulders above them.
Setting Up Your Home Base
Perhaps the most important first step you can take to becoming a professional affiliate marketer is to set up your home base – that little home office you’ve always dreamed about!
There are many good articles on the internet about ergonomic design, and with good reason. Anyone who is going to be spending a large amount of time on their computers needs a space that promotes good posture, positive environments, and takes care of safety issues revolving around the office workspace.
The best place to start might be to head down to your local Home Depot and touch base with a professional sales representative. They are trained to show you how to set up a first-rate ergonomic office while saving you some serious cash.
Ergonomics is the science behind preventing office workplace injuries, and office designers now make tables, chairs, and desktop accessories that reduce stress on your back, limbs, wrists, and tendons, and reduce stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome which can occur from long hours of doing small repetitive tasks.
You’ll want to start with an ergonomically designed desk that puts everything within easy reach, a good computer with a screen that won’t hurt your eyes, non-glaring lamps placed far enough away that your eyes won’t be soaking in light while you are trying to work on the computer screen, and a chair that is comfortable and promotes circulation to your legs and rest of your body.
Of course, having the greatest home office in the world won’t matter if you don’t take the next step to becoming a successful affiliate marketer: getting some good, professional training.
Learning the Trade
Nobody goes onto a worksite cold. You can’t walk into a restaurant and expect to become the head chef just because you dressed like one that morning. And no construction company in the world is going to put you in charge just because you want the extra money but lack any real training.
The trick, then, is getting some professional training and learning how to become a professional affiliate marketer.
The first step in this road to success is to find a professional affiliate marketer and see what they can do to help you get on your feet and get moving. Thankfully, there are a few affiliate marketing pros out there who supplement their income by fulfilling another dream for many of them: being able to teach their trade to other enthusiastic marketers and passing their collective knowledge on to others.
In fact, simply typing “Affiliate Marketing Training” (in quotation marks) into www.yahoo.com, www.google.com or some other search engine will find dozens and dozens of sites promoting quality affiliate marketing conferences that you can attend.
One of affiliate marketing’s brightest stars and biggest success stories is James Martell, and chances are pretty good that if you’ve looked into affiliate marketing at all you’ve seen his name pop up more than once. His downloadable home-study course and twice monthly audio newsletter for students of his program make him the good place to start looking for a great course and learning the inner workings of affiliate marketing.
Become a student of the business. Start by setting some realistic income goals and working to achieve them.
Setting Reachable Goals
One problem with some affiliate marketers is that many tend to overshoot both their skills and their plans by setting unrealistic income goals and becoming disenchanted when they are unable to attain them.
Certainly a goal of $5,000 a month is attainable, but the first time affiliate marketer is most likely not going to make that kind of money when they step into the ring for the first time.
Make no mistake; $5,000 dollars a month is a goal that can be achieved through affiliate marketing, but beginners should look for something more modest. Start small. Start with, “I’m going to earn an extra $50-$100 a day, by learning how to create my own great looking websites, that get free traffic from the search engines, by taking the time to learn how to do it, from someone who already does the same thing.”
As an income goal, it’s certainly achievable, and you would be doing yourself a favour by setting aside the extra time you will need to learn how to do things right, the first time. Like any skill, it takes time and experience before you really get good at what you are doing.
Set goals and get used to setting them often. Set up daily goals for little things. Set up weekly and monthly goals to work toward even larger goals. Get used to writing your wants and needs on paper, and then actively working toward those goals. You’ll be glad you did, and you’ll be amazed at how much something as simple as a “to do” list can help you focus your energy and become better at your craft.
There’s a great book out about goal setting called “Goals: Setting and Achieving Them on Schedule” by Zig Ziglar. Take a look at it if you feel you could use some extra help in this department. In fact, set a goal to purchase the book and read it if you have to!
Another important goal for you to set: if you are really looking to augment your earnings with affiliate programs, or plan on becoming a full-time marketer, you have to get out there and make connections.
Making Connections to Your Future
By all accounts, the professional affiliate marketing community is a tight-knit group of people who are constantly in contact with one another.
There is a large amount of information sharing, helping one another as a support group, and a general belief that by pitching in and helping out everyone can be successful in their new role as an affiliate marketer and learn from each others mistakes.
It would be extremely shallow to suggest getting out there and making friends simply to help your business along, and people tend to not look kindly upon those who do (and we all know someone like that, don’t we?). Instead, get out there and introduce yourself. Start by seeing where you can help others with their business, and in return people will be more inclined to help you when you need it.
Get out there and enjoy yourself, and get to know these people personally. You won’t only be better off from a business standpoint, but your life will be far richer for making good friends who can relate to the trials and tribulations of your business woes and successes.
Just being able to relate to like-minded people will relieve tons of work stress. You will always be able to discuss your new career and problems you are facing with people who understand what you’re talking bout and don’t simply see your job as “foolin’ around on the ‘puter”.
Of course, they’ll have no choice but to take you a little more seriously when you invest a little money and a lot of effort in your own affiliate marketing business and really make your image shine.
Investing in Your Business is Believing in Yourself!
It’s a well known truism that states, “It takes money to make money.” These words couldn’t be truer in the world of affiliate marketing.
Although affiliate marketing is relatively cheap to set up as a home business, there are still some costs involved in getting up and running smoothly. Things like home office accessories (remember that trip to Home Depot?) Can set you back large sums of money depending on how far you are willing to go at once.
There are also costs involved within the industry itself. For example, finding affordable web space ($8-$15 per month) and registering your own domain names ($10-15 per year) does add up.
You will also need to look at web site template options if you hope to save time by having your websites “pre-planned”. Low-cost website templates, such as those found at www.affiliate-marketing-templates.com can greatly affect the way others view your site. Is it professional? Is it clean? A good web development company selling FrontPage website templates will be able to accomplish all of this and more.
You are also going to want to invest both time and effort into setting yourself up with quality content. Writing for the web is a skill that takes practice and patience, like any other, and must be clean and easy to read while still fulfilling the needs of your affiliate site.
You can always go out and find professional writers to do this for you, but remember that they can be costly and deserve to be well-paid for their services. After all, they are going to make or break your web site!
Investing in your affiliate marketing business is more than just covering costs, though. It is really about you stepping up to the plate and making a commitment to become a success. It is an investment in your own success, as well as an investment in your future.
Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas about the direction you need to take in order to earn extra income as a successful affiliate marketer. Remember that it takes time to become succeed at anything. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’re affiliate marketing business isn’t going to be built in a day either.
Just keep at it, and before long you’ll have people coming to you for advice on how to get started.

For more information, see www.work-at-home-net-guides.com.

About The Author:
Bill Schnarr is a single parent and freelance writer who works from his home in Calgary, Alberta. As well as writing about earning a living while working from home and having dozens of online and print publishing credits, you can also look for him in the upcoming "Chicken Soup for the Single Parents Soul" due out in February 2005.