Affiliate Marketing Success
How to establish and market a successful affiliate marketing business.
by: Carl Burditt
Affiliate Marketing is not an easy, or a make quick money business. With the proper know how and willingness to put in the work and time at your computer, it can be very profitable and give you an ongoing source of income.
There are many affiliate networks available, companies everywhere wanting you to market their products and offering outrageous commissions. However, the old saying, ‘if it is too good to be true,’ it probably is. Many people are roped into the promise of fast easy money. Well, like business of any kind, without work and dedication it is not going to be successful long term. Start with the facts, a little know how and be willing to do the work, and you can become what they call super affiliates. Some make thousands of dollars per month. They did not get there overnight so avoid the come on of the hare and be the tortoise who wins the race.
So how do you pick a company to refer through affiliate marketing?
- Choose reliable and legitimate companies with a solid product or service
- Successful Affiliate Marketing is a partnership and both The Company and the Affiliate Marketer should be working together over time towards excellence.
- Can you communicate with the Company easily for support or to have questions answered.
- Are you given good marketing materials, images, copy, video etc. to place on your website or blog.
- Is the Affiliate Marketing program automated or do you have to rely on the company to manually record your commissions.
- Choose a product or service that fits with your website or blog
- Does the company website or marketing material look professional or does it look like a scam or a come-on? There is no substitute for good business practices.
- Does the Company accept any and all as affiliate marketers resulting in a glut of sellers in the marketplace, or do they help you get a fair chance?
How do I get started
- Once accepted as an Affiliate place the marketing material coding on your website or blog in a prominent place. The coding allows the affiliate program to track any sales and accredit them to you.
- Start marketing to or approaching your target market and audience
- Buy some of the product or service and find out all about it first hand
- Build credibility and trust with your audience.
- Remember 7 out of 10 people visiting your website want to buy something that will fill their need.
- Market your website and the products by recommending them through articles you write, emails, facebook, twitter, etc.
- Find out news items from the company you are affiliated with so you can update information and announce specials that will benefit your website visitors.
How long does it take?
This all depends on the traffic your website or blog generates and how relevant your copy is. Test new approaches all the time. Ask for your merchants help in an email. Ask them if they are happy with your website or blog and if they have any suggestions on how to improve conversions. They will be happy to help you. Affiliate partnerships are a win win for both parties.
Make sure your keywords are relevant and continue to test and re-evaluate. Do some research on what are some good key words relevant to your products using 'Google Insights, Google trends and the Google keywords tool. Write articles on your website and referral blogs or forums based on keywords for your chosen niche. Submit articles to article directories or ezines looking for well written and timely content. Create a squidoo lens, a hub page and a wetpaint page to market your products if possible.
A few things to keep in mind.
- Learn everything about the affiliate program that you have joined.
- Write all the benefits about your affiliate program in detail on your website.
- Place banners, buttons or images related to the product via code supplied by your affiliate company along side written copy and relevant articles in several places on your website or blog so more people can find them. Every banner or text code will track people who buy after clicking on these links.
- Create trust, make sure visitors know who is behind your website. Remember word of mouth is the best advertising. Word of mouth is from individuals, anonymity does not work to build trust. Include your email address so you can be contacted and perhaps a photo of yourself.
Is affiliate marketing tough to succeed at?
If the products you are promoting are very popular and everyone is promoting it as happens in a lot of affiliate networks, you may find it difficult to be different. Why should someone buy from your site as opposed to another that markets even more rigorously than you?
- One reason to choose a product that is a bit different and that you can get to know and have as a niche.
- Many Affiliate Marketers don’t manage their business as a business
- It takes time to learn the Affiliate Marketing ropes …does this sound familiar?
- You head on over to an affiliate network marketplace, look for some product to promote, find one you like.
- Then you contact the merchant to get started, list the product on your site and then just hope for sales.
How many others have done the same thing?
The super affiliate looks for ways to differentiate the products they are marketing, more ways to spread the word and build trust and customers. In order to market effectively you have to believe in the product. It is not always the big commission products that earn you the most money, but the ones that sell well because they fill a real need or want.
