We will show you how to start affiliate marketing as a
newbie. To start the business venture you need to understand what affiliate
marketing means.
What exactly is affiliate marketing and what are the
basic requirements for a new entrepreneur. Affiliate marketers earn commission
through product or service recommendations.
The business
format is easy to understand and very simple and there are a few basic requirements
for the process to work. The marketer first has to find a product or service to
promote.
The next step is signing up with the company as an
affiliate. Only a selected group of
companies offer affiliate programs. Therefore your job is to find the ones that
offer great customer service, high quality items and good commissions.
Once you have signed up to an affiliate program you would
be assigned a special link. The link allows the merchant track the people that
use your link.
The affiliate only earns commission if a product or service
is purchased. That is the basic principle behind affiliate marketing programs.
There are other highly advanced methods used by merchants
however they follow the same basic fundamentals.
How
they Track Links
The simplest form of tracking an affiliate’s link is via
cookies or advanced IP recognition. Others have simple codes within the URL
link that identifies the affiliate’s link.
When a customer clicks on your link a cookie is used to
track the customer’s actions. If the customer buys or orders a service within a
stipulated period the sale is credited to the affiliate.
This period varies between merchants from 24hr to 2 weeks
and above. The cookie effectively allows the merchant trace the source of the
sale.
Some use your email to track and record sales credited to
a particular link.
How
to Locate a Winning Product
Affiliate marketing is very dynamic and offers the
marketer lots of choices. The products range from automobiles, RV rentals,
holiday packages, household items and electronics.
The endless list includes books, ebooks, hotel bookings
and other services. To succeed as a marketer you need to choose your product or
service carefully.
Promoting just any product that catches your fancy will
fail. To promote an affiliate product you need a website or blog.
Although there are many methods of promoting without
owning a website, owning one makes the job easier. Lets assume you already own
a blog or website but if you done read this article on building a Wordpress blog in less than ten minutes.
Every website or blog has a niche market and is focused
on certain demography. There are websites that offer music, downloads, news and
magazines or internet related articles.
If you choose a product that has to do with software
development on a pet care website it will not work. Only select goods, services
or items that your readers and followers can identify with your brand.
This is the only way to selling lots of products through
your affiliate link. Find only things related to your subject matter for a
better chance at conversions.
Things
to Consider Before Selecting a Product
There are a few things you should consider before
promoting any product or service. Why not buy and use the product to get a
first hand idea of what it’s all about.
How are you going to honestly recommend a product or
service without proper testing? If the product is something you have used in
the past your reviews will be honest and your audience will appreciate your
opining.
Do your readers gain any benefits purchasing the service
or product? For seamless purchase make sure the merchant has a good checkout
platform.
We encountered the above problem when recommending a
particular ebook. The book was an epub format and readers found it difficult
downloading the book.
The last and equally important aspect before promoting a
product is the commission. Is the commission commensurate with the time and
effort used in the promotion?
Avoid items with low commissions and focus on things that
pay. The product you eventually choose to promote should fulfill all the
conditions mentioned above.
There are a few products you already use and find useful
and convenient. Create a list of such items and search for affiliate programs
to match your list.
Types of Affiliate Products or Services
There are different types of products and services to
promote. They fall under three major categories namely information products,
physical products and services.
You need to select the product that best complements the
niche or subject of your website.
Information
Products
Information products are very popular and earn both
creator and marketer good returns. The product could be a software,
downloadable digital product or a book.
Information products are usually tutorial to help solve a
problem. They may teach specific subjects like how to do something or impact specialized
knowledge.
Information products are created by webmasters, info
product marketers, bloggers, writers and entrepreneurs. The product is a favorite because of high
commissions and pricing.
Other reasons are they solve problems that cut across, programming,
business and creative ventures. They have good marketing structures and sell
easily.
If the creator of a product is a recognizable brand it
adds to the value. Getting an affiliate gig for an information product requires
trust, and personal approval by the author.
A good place to find digital products to refer to your
audience is Clickbank. Info product commissions are higher than physical product
commissions.
You can get up to 45% commissions due to the digital
format. To select info product find those that have huge commissions, good
products and brand name. The interesting thing about promoting such a product
is the amount of sales possible on one good item.
Physical
Products
The best place to earn affiliate commission on physical
products is Amazon. The reason is simply the vast number of items sold on the
website.
Physical products are easy to promote and stress free. The
downside is that commission earned through physical products is very small.
As a starter in affiliate business joining Amazon will
help build experience and understand the dynamics of affiliate programs.
You commission start at a lowly 4% and increases steadily
to 8%. You can’t get rich selling products from Amazon but you will gain lots
of insight to affiliate marketing.
Login into Amazon associate central and sign up as an
affiliate. After approval you select products on your dashboard and get links.
You then place the links which are text, text and image
or image alone. The link you generate is coded to your account and any purchase
through your link and you earn commission.
The difficulty level to get conversion is low because of
the 24 window for purchase. Some physical product websites offer longer conversion
time up to one month.
The longer the sales window the higher your chances at
earning commissions. Try to choose a niche item that correlates with the theme
of your website.
Service
There are lots of services you can recommend to your
readers. There are services related to creating a media kit, selling a template
and hosting.
Other services include web applications, web design,
search engine optimization and many more. Your job is to find the service
related to your blogs content.
Service oriented jobs sometimes attract recurrent
earnings. The commissions you can make on service products range from 12%-35%.
Why affiliate
marketing tops the list
Monetizing your blog includes affiliate links, referral
links and advertisement. The more common form of earning money online is advertisement.
The only problem with adverts either contextual or image
you need huge traffic to earn a decent wage. It takes lots of work and huge
effort to make money using only banners or text ads. A good affiliate product
will earn four times that amount in no time.
Promoting
your Link
You just can’t place your link on your blog and start
counting the money. This is possible if you have a huge traffic of visitors
daily.
Let’s
see how far you have come.
You have a website and have selected a good product that
has high commission. You need to promote your link like any business to make
sales.
To market your links create a resource including a
dedicated email. Do lots of product reviews to generate interest and sales.
The review should be honest, insightful and compelling. Other
parameters in your review are headline features, clear buy links and
recommendations.
You can use tutorials on a niche topic and include an
affiliate link related to the subject. Another marketing tool is creating a
strong sales page for the product or service.
Try writing comparison posts between two or three items
and include a recommendation. Many marketers prefer using email marketing to
target sales.
To avoid spam use only the email list you gathered on your
website then include your sales letter with a call to action.
Other
Tips
Affiliate marketing is a good way to earn supplementary income.
Some tips to starting an affiliate business include selling what you know and
building a website.
Others are do lots of research on affiliate programs,
join one and add affiliate links to content. Don’t forget to use your sidebar
to add visual ads, promote product relevant to content.
An interesting way to study your success is using analytic,
pay taxes, automate and market effectively.
Passive Income Ideas
They say you can’t get rich on the
internet but some have become super rich and have made millions. They say you
cannot make money yet some people make a living online.
Some say only peanuts and nothing
else, we say knowledge innovation and dedication can earn you income. The
income maybe passive but consider earning about $50 each from ten affiliate
programs.
Simple addition comes to $500
dollars a month which isn’t bad. Affiliate payouts maybe small but combined can
make huge earnings.
Many -Streams of Income
What do we mean by many streams of
income it simply means MAKING MONEY from different sources at the same time?
Many streams maybe penny based but they add up. in the long run.
Several top companies have carefully
created affiliate programs to help webmasters earn money. Some of the top
websites that offer affiliate programs are Yahoo.com the web/content/product
marketing website.
Another is Google.com the search
engine giants, Amazon.com, the number one book publishers and sellers and eBay
best auction/bid website. These website run advert networks and affiliate
programs that help website owners monetize their websites.
Who is an Affiliate
An affiliate is a link between an
individual and an organization for business purposes. The larger company as a
rule takes care of the shipping, payment. Other functions include receiving member’s
earnings, paying commissions and a sales report.
They support their affiliates
through tutorials and customer care services. They are fully interested and
committed to the success of an affiliate.
Making Money through Google programs
Google Adsense Programs
The company Google Inc is an internet based
service, product provider and top search engine founded by Sergey Brian and
Larry Page.
The Company in 2012 earned top
revenue of $12.76 BILLION. They have several subsidiaries like YouTube,
Motorola mobility, DoubleClick and many more.
Google Adsense is an easy revenue
sharing program that helps websites monetize. Webmasters get paid through
target advertisements that are displayed on websites.
The advertisements are customized to
match the host websites outlook. They also have the facility to track traffic
which is the most important resource for any website.
The Google Adsense program is free
like Amazons Associate and eBay affiliate programs. For a website to be considered
it most have good content should be devoid of obscenity and hate content.
The traffic generated allows Google
access the websites rating and type of advertisement placed on the websites. The
more the traffic the website gets the better the chances of making good returns
on your advertisements.
Webmasters should use search engine
optimized words to allow Google crawlers locate their websites. When this is
combined with good content it helps Google place user friendly competitive
advertisements on your website.
Website owners can also deploy the
use of text to encourage visitors use the links.
Different Adsense programs
Google for Content
Google Adsense is not only about
advertisements but has to do with the methodology web owners and visitors use
to reach Google advertisements.
Google Adsense for content is
advertisement that has good content as bedrock. They are text streaming videos
and other media types. The user is given a choice to use either the multimedia
or simple text or both.
Adsense for Feeds
Websites that have over a hundred
and fifty sign-up users is best suited for Google adsense for Feeds. They
should be active subscribers before the website owner can sign up for this
affiliate program.
If the website owner has multiple
sites Google places the advertisements on each site according to its content.
Your earning are then channeled to one single account. The feeds work through
insertion of images on feeds.
Google Adsense for Search
Google Adsense for search allows website
owners place Google search capsules on their sites, when a user uses the link
and buys a product or clicks on an advert the webmaster gets paid.
Adsense payouts
Google Adsense is not an affiliate program
however it works through pay per click
EBay Affiliate program
On your website eBay provides a link
and any time a user clicks on the link and becomes an active user the webmaster
gets paid.
If the user places a bid on an item in the
eBay store the affiliate gets paid, if an item is purchased by the user the
affiliate earns $0.05 to$4
How it works
EBay affiliates earn through lead
generation payment methods. The sales pay out per bid is $0.05, if a visitor
goes through your link and places a bid and becomes an active user you get
paid.
If other register through your link
you get paid. Multiple website owners are moderated through commission junction
where your status and account can be viewed.
Payment method
Any account that has a cumulative
sum of $23 get paid monthly and any earning above$550 are liable to USA tax.
Amazon Associates
Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff
Bezos with their cooperate headquarters in Seattle Washington. The company has products such as Amazon
kindle, Amazon stores jungle.com endless.com and other products.
The company is worth $32.535 billion
several years ago. Amazon has stores in India, Brazil, Spain, Germany UK and
Italy. All Amazon associates before getting an affiliate contract must first
have a good content website.
Amazon is also the number one book sellers.
Their associates are provided links that include image of product, short text,
price and location. If a visitor uses the link on your website and buys the
item you get paid.
In order to sign on as an associate you need
to open an Amazon account then sign up. The 3 step process covers your name,
address, age, sex, type of website a valid phone number and confirmation and
finish.
They will then issue you Identification.
They pay their associates a flat rate of $10 for kindle and $4 on other
purchases.
The topmost payment methods on these
programs use PayPal, MasterCard, direct deposit or checks. By signing up with
these top websites you can monetize your website and earn many streams of
income.
Some More Top Affiliate Websites
As stated earlier affiliate
marketing helps you monetize your website or blog. It can be very lucrative if
applied well.
Affiliates are offered merchants
products through links or advertisements. Whenever a visitor clicks on a link
and buys a product the affiliate gets paid. The website owner has the choice of
product he wants displayed on their site.
LinkShare.com
The website has one of the largest
networks, with about 12 million affiliate partners and a very good affiliate
network, high customer service and support. The website offers to its
subscribers well over 2600 affiliate programs you can choose.
Every aspect is properly managed for greater
returns and profitability. Getting on the affiliate platform is easy and stress
free.
PeerFly.com
This website has a high ranking and
is very popular with affiliate seekers. They offer an excellent platform good
customer relations have a good PPA network. They also have priority software
and over 1200 merchant programs.
ClickBank
ClickBank is one of the top affiliate
networks available online. They sell digital products, eBooks and Digital
software. They have a very large number of products ranging in the thousands
that you can select from their library.
To become an affiliate is free and
they offer excellent assistance and customer service. The affiliate has the
added advantage of choosing the product that best complements your websites
look and feel.
ClickBank has one of the highest pay
outs for its affiliates, they pay 75% commission any time someone uses your
link and buys a product. The high commission also allows joint venture
partnership between other affiliates where their commission is shared between
partners.
The joint partners can promote the
same product or other products. Other benefits of the website are increased
sales through product promotion and traffic.
Pay out. The website pays on time either through checks or direct
deposit. Their tracking system makes sure purchases are well documented and
remuneration is promptly paid usually within 1 week or 1 month.
If someone buys a product with 60
days of using your link you still get paid. Another website you can search for
is Clix Galore. Webmasters who want to
make money on their site should consider affiliate marketing as a good source
of income.
Affiliate Marketing Without a Website
Building a website or blog is the
most common way affiliate marketers use to promote products. A website works
because it is an ever present marketing tool that brings in customers.
However, if you are not interested
in building a blog or website there are several methods to get your links
noticed.
Post on Forums
Forums that have subject matters relevant
to your products or services are ideal places to post affiliate links. Usually
after a few important contributions to the topic you can place your affiliate
link in you forums signature.
Guest Post on Blogs
Guest posting on blogs is another
effective marketing tool to reach tons of customers. Send guest posting
requests to top blogs in your category and include a sample of your writing and
website link.
If you get a gig on a top blog you
are likely to attract thousands of new customers. You can also insert your
affiliate link or website link into your blog post signature.
Write a Viral Ebook
Any viral product is a big asset to
affiliate marketers. A top selling book with affiliate links can boost your
affiliate income.
Other products or media that can go
viral are Facebook threads, twitter hashtags topics, or YouTube videos.
Any format you use can get you more clients
once you add your affiliate links. What ever medium you use so long as it’s
informative and useful you get customers.
Create a YouTube Series
People a hooked on interesting
series if it covers areas of interest. You can add your affiliate links in the
description and leverage on your fan base.
The links must be related to the
topic of the series to have any significant impact.
Write advertisements or Reviews
You can use classified websites to
successfully promote affiliate products. Write a review on the product you
intend selling and add affiliate links. This method is commonly used by
affiliate marketers.
Use Hubpages
Hubpages is the number one article
directory online. They accept content from anybody around the world and share
revenue with the contributor.
Using hubpages to get lots of
traffic to your affiliate link is a great way to increase income. The added
advantage is that you also make money with the article you contributed.
Sign up here for hubpages
its easy, free, fun and you don’t need any programming or website building
skill.
Promote affiliate products through
pay-per click advertisement. If you have some money to burn then use this
method to get customers.
You need to create pay-per click
campaigns through Google and promote the merchant website directly through your
affiliate link. This last method is highly effective but not recommended and it
involves too much capital expenditure.
Summary
How to market affiliate links
without a website
Post on blogs
Post on forums
Create a viral product
Create a YouTube video
Build a hubpages hub
Write reviews
Promote affiliate products though
pay-per click advertisement
Something
about Passive Income
To build up pathways you need to create
real time income streams through hard work research and by not falling for any
get rich story. There are many affiliate programs out their like ClickBank,
Fiverr, Amazon associate, and advert networks like Google Adsense.
You can write for contributory websites like
Hubpages, Bukisa, Enzime. You can sell used books, old and new items on eBay,
write an ebook/book, and do online outsourcing, secretarial work, transcription
work and many more.
You are only limited by your ability, skill,
knowledge and determination. If you are good with computers you can become a
consultant, get paid building website on request, build your own blog and
monetize.
Passive income requires time, a
positive attitude and the little money digits will come and eventually add up.
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