Cutting Down The Confusion in Affiliate Marketing

By Michael Murray

Let's face it. Internet marketing is a world of confusion, especially for beginners. I still believe that affiliate marketing (selling other people's products for a percentage of the sale) is a great way for newbies to earn money quick. But even in that sub-category of Internet marketing there is confusion. There are so many products promising to reveal the big secret (some good, many not), tools to use, programs to signup for, etc. It can be overwhelming!

I can't teach you everything about affiliate marketing in one article. But I can give you 3 tips to help you get focused and hopefully cut down on some of the confusion.

1. Market to a niche that has a high demand - Forget trying to start your Internet business (even as an affiliate) around your "hobby" or "passion", unless your hobby has a high demand of people searching for something online. Not only must people be searching for something, but they must be searching for something to buy. You don't want to have to convince people to buy the product you're selling. You want them to be searching for a solution to a problem, and see your product as that solution.

2. Focus on one product at a time - The "Mall" approach (like Amazon or Best Buy) doesn't work well for small businesses like ours. If you are building a mini-site around a particular niche, it's best to advertise one product throughout the entire site. There are exceptions, of course, such as if you're comparing products in a review style, but if you are just starting out I'd recommend the "one site, one product" approach. You may only make 2 - 3 sales per day, but imagine having 9 other sites in different niches all doing the same thing.

3. Do something! - With all the information out there it's easy to just keep buying e-books and reading. And buying. And reading. But that won't make your bank account grow. In fact, it will make it shrink! In all seriousness, it's easy to get so overwhelmed that you're not sure what the best course of action is. But you must make a move. Create a content site. Write articles. Do something. I'm not saying to just jump in blindly. Develop a plan of action, but then do it. Yes, you might fail, but so what? You are finding out what works and what doesn't.

If you really want to succeed in Internet marketing, you must learn how to drown out some of the noise. We get hit with so many offers and pitches that it's easy to get confused. Just remember that your goal is to tap into a niche with a high demand and people looking for a solution to a problem. Then, create a mini-site and/or write and submit articles about it, but advertise one product at a time. Above all, remember that the best e-book, course, or study program in the world won't make you a dime. You must take the information and do something with it.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Michael Murray is an Internet marketer who lives in Florida. He recommends "Confessions of a Lazy Super-Affiliate" to learn how you can succeed in affiliate marketing. It reveals 5 of the most effective traffic strategies and niche-targeting tactics in full detail: www.marketlikeapro.com/lazy.html

Success Tips On How To Recruit Affiliates

By Robert Williams

Affiliate program success depends on a number of things, including resources, tools and communication. Even the best affiliate manager in the world can supply those things and not have a successful affiliate program. Without affiliates joining the program, you aren't going to be successful. The common question among new affiliate program owners is how to go about recruiting affiliates.

Recruiting means supplying with new members. The more affiliates you can recruit, the more successful your program should be, depending on how serious and hardworking your new members are.

Not everyone who joins will have the same level of drive and ambition to sell. If recruiting stops, you might have fewer affiliates because some will drop out or become inactive. By having a steady flow of new recruits joining the program, the owner has a stream of fresh, new people, excited and keen to promote and create sales.

Do some research before you begin recruiting, to find where to get the best recruits. Of course, you could advertise all over the place and accept any number of recruits who come your way. You might also want to try and lure recruits from competitors, by offering a better commission. You could advertise on a complementary website. If your website is about, for example, healthy pet treats, some complementary websites might be websites featuring information about pet health, pet care and various animal breeds.

Affiliate managers can begin by contacting the owners of these websites and telling them a bit about the product. This is a good time to let them know about the affiliate program and say why their readers would be a good fit for the product.

Giving examples of possible commissions to the affiliates will help to get them interested and motivated. Some of these new affiliates might be new to affiliate marketing and might not realize what the benefits are.

If, for example, an information product in a program sells for $50 and the program offers a 50% commission, you can explain the potential earnings in this way:

As an affiliate, you can earn $750 a month if your readers buy just one copy a day.

There are plenty of people looking for ways to work from home and affiliate marketing is a way that people can earn as much as they like, depending how much effort they are willing to put in.

Another way to attract affiliates is to become a regular on a few forums which are dedicated to affiliate marketing or work from home opportunities. Networking is very important to the affiliate manager, as is establishing global relationships. Include links in your signature to let other members of the forum know about your program.

Yet another option is to notify your mailing list. These people are already interested in your product or service and have looked to you before for guidance and advice. They might even have purchased the same product you are currently promoting. This is great for promoting the product themselves and offering feedback. They might well know people in the same target market.

Recruiting affiliates is something you should be consistent about. Just an hour or so each week can provide a steady stream of new affiliates, excited and keen to begin working for you and promote the goods or services your program has to offer.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Robert Paul Williams is the Editor of Work At Home Business Website. Are You Promoting a Product or Service Online? Come Visit WAHBWS. Get Free and Low Cost Website Advertising Ideas to help you promote your website.