Affiliate Marketing Guide : Helping Newbies Earn Extra Money from Affiliate Programs
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Affiliate Marketing : The Perfect Internet Income Opportunity for Beginners to Earn Extra Money Online
If you're new to online business but want a fast, easy and legitimate way to get started, then you should start with affiliate marketing. This internet income opportunity is considered one of the best ways to earn extra money online.
So, what is affiliate marketing?
Simply put, affiliate marketing is a revenue sharing venture between a website owner, called affiliate and an online merchant, the website that sells the products or services.
How can you make money from it?
The affiliate will market the merchant's products or services by simply refer people to the merchant's website through various marketing methods. When they purchase products or services, the affiliate will earn commission from that sale.
Let me give you an example on how it works.
Let say that you've created a web site about dogs. Thousands of people search for information on all kinds of topics on dogs every day, such as "dog breeds", "dog names", "dog training", "dog health" and etc. They find your site. They read your pages, enjoy the content, and check out your recommendations.
They click a link on your website, based on your recommendations, to go to Dog.com and buy some dog supplies. You get paid a commission.
Then, they click on another link to DogWise.com and buy a DVD on dog training. You receive another commission.
Finally, they click your link to Amazon.com to buy a book on how to take care of newborn puppies. And, that's another commission.
I believe you get the idea and yes, affiliate marketing makes this happen.
Why affiliate marketing? What's the advantage?
There are practically many and the biggest ones are,
1. You don't need your own products to sell
2. You don't have to process any payment
3. You don't have to handle or ship the products
4. You don't have to handle any complaints
5. You don't have to pay anything to join
6. You can get started immediately, part-time and shoestring
How do I get started?
But first, let me tell you this. If you've little or no knowledge about affiliate marketing, then I urge you to educate yourself by doing some research work before you decide to jump into the bandwagon.
So, what is affiliate marketing?
Simply put, affiliate marketing is a revenue sharing venture between a website owner, called affiliate and an online merchant, the website that sells the products or services.
How can you make money from it?
The affiliate will market the merchant's products or services by simply refer people to the merchant's website through various marketing methods. When they purchase products or services, the affiliate will earn commission from that sale.
Let me give you an example on how it works.
Let say that you've created a web site about dogs. Thousands of people search for information on all kinds of topics on dogs every day, such as "dog breeds", "dog names", "dog training", "dog health" and etc. They find your site. They read your pages, enjoy the content, and check out your recommendations.
They click a link on your website, based on your recommendations, to go to Dog.com and buy some dog supplies. You get paid a commission.
Then, they click on another link to DogWise.com and buy a DVD on dog training. You receive another commission.
Finally, they click your link to Amazon.com to buy a book on how to take care of newborn puppies. And, that's another commission.
I believe you get the idea and yes, affiliate marketing makes this happen.
Why affiliate marketing? What's the advantage?
There are practically many and the biggest ones are,
1. You don't need your own products to sell
2. You don't have to process any payment
3. You don't have to handle or ship the products
4. You don't have to handle any complaints
5. You don't have to pay anything to join
6. You can get started immediately, part-time and shoestring
How do I get started?
But first, let me tell you this. If you've little or no knowledge about affiliate marketing, then I urge you to educate yourself by doing some research work before you decide to jump into the bandwagon.
Read as many articles as you can and explore websites covering different areas of affiliate marketing. You'll need to learn a lot about different ways to promote your affiliate products or services. You can learn everything you need to know about affiliate marketing on the internet because there are tons of resources available to you for FREE.
Make no mistake, affiliate marketing may be the easiest and fastest ways to earn extra money online, but that doesn't mean you can just join any affiliate sales program and start selling without any knowledge or training. That's exactly why so many people fail in affiliate marketing. They thought this business is so easy, required no training and didn't take much time to do it. You know what - they're dead wrong.
Let's keep the record straight. There is no short-cut way in earning money on the internet. If you seriously want to earn extra money online, then you have to do the work. Not me. If you don't have what is takes to do it, then stop wasting your time and get a second job at McDonalds or wherever.
Fair enough?
OK, nuff said and back to your question. How do you get started in affiliate marketing?
Affiliate Marketing : How to Get Started
There are a many ways you can get started but I won't discuss it all here because I personally don't have any hands-on experience with any of them.
But instead let me show you how I get started, based on what I've learned personally from the master himself, Dr. Andy Williams. I'm confident with the method taught by him because it's tested and proven, not only by me but many others, including top and successful affiliate marketers. In short, it's a complete blueprint of affiliate marketing.
As a complete novice myself with no HTML knowledge, SEO skills, and totally new to affiliate marketing, I personally use SEO Website Builder to help me to get started. It is not just a piece of a software program created by Dr. Williams but it's a affiliate marketing-in-a-box, complete with training manual which will guide and show everything you need to know about how to get started in affiliate marketing, from your initial idea to a complete affiliate website.
If you're a newbie and want to know how to quickly and easily create search engine optimized affiliate web sites that can make you money, without any HTML knowledge or search engine optimization skills, then find out more about SEO Website Builder to see if it can help you to get started immediately in affiliate marketing. This tool is also suitable for seasoned players who have not been doing so good in their affiliate program ventures.
I will explain the blueprint and cover areas on how to build a money-making affiliate website using Dr Andy's method, which is an eye-opening, in my next post. I will also do an unbiased review on the software program so that you can make an intelligent decision and also to see if it's suits you or not. So, please be sure to check back this lens often.
But instead let me show you how I get started, based on what I've learned personally from the master himself, Dr. Andy Williams. I'm confident with the method taught by him because it's tested and proven, not only by me but many others, including top and successful affiliate marketers. In short, it's a complete blueprint of affiliate marketing.
As a complete novice myself with no HTML knowledge, SEO skills, and totally new to affiliate marketing, I personally use SEO Website Builder to help me to get started. It is not just a piece of a software program created by Dr. Williams but it's a affiliate marketing-in-a-box, complete with training manual which will guide and show everything you need to know about how to get started in affiliate marketing, from your initial idea to a complete affiliate website.
If you're a newbie and want to know how to quickly and easily create search engine optimized affiliate web sites that can make you money, without any HTML knowledge or search engine optimization skills, then find out more about SEO Website Builder to see if it can help you to get started immediately in affiliate marketing. This tool is also suitable for seasoned players who have not been doing so good in their affiliate program ventures.
I will explain the blueprint and cover areas on how to build a money-making affiliate website using Dr Andy's method, which is an eye-opening, in my next post. I will also do an unbiased review on the software program so that you can make an intelligent decision and also to see if it's suits you or not. So, please be sure to check back this lens often.
How to Build Affiliate Websites that Ranks Well and Make You Money : Affiliate Marketing Blueprint - Step 1
Identifying Niche Topics
There's a lot of planning and research involved in building a profitable affiliate website. I know it's very tempting to take all the short-cuts that are available because everyone wants to see quick results. However I cannot emphasize enough the need to take your time.
Step 1 of the blueprint is to identify topics to write for your website. Finding topics is always the biggest stumbling block for those starting out in their affiliate marketing business.
I've seen people asking this question all over the internet, again and again. Some even give-up hope just because they couldn't find a niche topic for them to get started. Welcome to the affiliate marketing game.
Finding a profitable niche topic is a two-step process. First, finding several potential niches and second, check to see which one is most profitable.
Now let me show you one of the many ways to find niche topics. As matter of fact this method is used not only by me but many others too, especially those successful internet marketers. I can say this is a universal way of finding niche topics.
The easiest way to get started is to follow your passion. Get a pen and a piece of paper and write down as many as possible things that you are good at, know a lot about or some type of interest in. I'm sure you can come up with a list of at least 50 things.
If you can't think of anything, then I only have one question for you. "What have you been doing all this years of your life?" So, cut the crap and put on your thinking cap and start writing.
The reason you pick topics based on your passion is because it will make less work for you when you want to build a website. Example, when researching for keywords, it will be easy to spot keywords that you are familiar with or some of the terms used within your chosen topics.
If you're still blank, here's are several places you can get some topic ideas.
Go and surf around Amazon.com. This is a huge online retailer that stocks not only books but also a huge range of other products separated into a large number of niches.
Visit online portal and directories. Example, go to http://dmoz.org/ Drill down some of the categories to find potential niched markets.
Another idea is to go to http://pulse.ebay.com/ and browse and drill down through the categories that excites you.
I believe, these should be enough for you to come up with several niches ideas. Next is checking the profitability of the topics you've chosen.
Step 1 of the blueprint is to identify topics to write for your website. Finding topics is always the biggest stumbling block for those starting out in their affiliate marketing business.
I've seen people asking this question all over the internet, again and again. Some even give-up hope just because they couldn't find a niche topic for them to get started. Welcome to the affiliate marketing game.
Finding a profitable niche topic is a two-step process. First, finding several potential niches and second, check to see which one is most profitable.
Now let me show you one of the many ways to find niche topics. As matter of fact this method is used not only by me but many others too, especially those successful internet marketers. I can say this is a universal way of finding niche topics.
The easiest way to get started is to follow your passion. Get a pen and a piece of paper and write down as many as possible things that you are good at, know a lot about or some type of interest in. I'm sure you can come up with a list of at least 50 things.
If you can't think of anything, then I only have one question for you. "What have you been doing all this years of your life?" So, cut the crap and put on your thinking cap and start writing.
The reason you pick topics based on your passion is because it will make less work for you when you want to build a website. Example, when researching for keywords, it will be easy to spot keywords that you are familiar with or some of the terms used within your chosen topics.
If you're still blank, here's are several places you can get some topic ideas.
Go and surf around Amazon.com. This is a huge online retailer that stocks not only books but also a huge range of other products separated into a large number of niches.
Visit online portal and directories. Example, go to http://dmoz.org/ Drill down some of the categories to find potential niched markets.
Another idea is to go to http://pulse.ebay.com/ and browse and drill down through the categories that excites you.
I believe, these should be enough for you to come up with several niches ideas. Next is checking the profitability of the topics you've chosen.
Affiliate Marketing Blueprint - Step 1...continued
How to Pick a Profitable Niche Topic
Here what you're doing is not only looking for niche topics but profitable as well. Profitable here means whether we can make money out of the chosen topics. And also whether there are products that people are searching for and willing to buy.
OK, let say you've listed down the things that you're passionate with, now let's find out if they're others who share the same interest as yours.
One of the ways you can find out is go to Overture's Search Term Suggestion Tool and the good news is, it's FREE.
What you're looking for is how many people are searching for the topics that you've picked. Type in the root word and press enter. Example if your hobby is to go fishing every weekend, then type in the word "fishing".
Here's the top 20 search result figures for the keyword "fishing" for the month of December 2006.
192133 fishing
70918 archery fishing hunting
58647 fly fishing
29016 fishing boat
26144 ice fishing
20240 fishing tackle
18617 fishing report
17833 bass fishing
16042 fishing rods
15861 fishing trip
15592 fishing lure
13310 fishing game
12787 rocket fishing rod
12280 alaska fishing
11723 fishing reel
10562 fishing charter
8735 saltwater fishing
8506 trout fishing
8228 fishing in jojos line
8161 fishing gear
As you can see, generally there are people looking for various type of information on fishing. Based on the search result, the keyword "fishing", yes indeed is profitable but you wouldn't want to pick that topic as it's too broad and competitive.
What you should do is narrow it down. Not too narrow but enough information for you to build a niche website.
OK, let say you've listed down the things that you're passionate with, now let's find out if they're others who share the same interest as yours.
One of the ways you can find out is go to Overture's Search Term Suggestion Tool and the good news is, it's FREE.
What you're looking for is how many people are searching for the topics that you've picked. Type in the root word and press enter. Example if your hobby is to go fishing every weekend, then type in the word "fishing".
Here's the top 20 search result figures for the keyword "fishing" for the month of December 2006.
192133 fishing
70918 archery fishing hunting
58647 fly fishing
29016 fishing boat
26144 ice fishing
20240 fishing tackle
18617 fishing report
17833 bass fishing
16042 fishing rods
15861 fishing trip
15592 fishing lure
13310 fishing game
12787 rocket fishing rod
12280 alaska fishing
11723 fishing reel
10562 fishing charter
8735 saltwater fishing
8506 trout fishing
8228 fishing in jojos line
8161 fishing gear
As you can see, generally there are people looking for various type of information on fishing. Based on the search result, the keyword "fishing", yes indeed is profitable but you wouldn't want to pick that topic as it's too broad and competitive.
What you should do is narrow it down. Not too narrow but enough information for you to build a niche website.
How to Pick a Profitable Niche Topic...continued
Let's drill down further on the keyword, "fishing equipment" and see what are people searching. Here are the top 28 figures.
16042 fishing rods
12787 rocket fishing rod
2799 fishing rod holder
2321 fly fishing rods
1290 custom fishing rods
1125 fishing rod rack
931 fishing kid rocket rod
922 fishing kid rod
875 fishing rods and reel
752 st croix fishing rods
678 ice fishing rods
558 bass fishing rods
555 fishing pole rocket rod
499 fishing rod building
485 fishing rod blank
445 telescopic fishing rods
418 shakespeare fishing rods
410 fishing rod cases
404 fenwick fishing rods
387 fishing rocket rod rod
375 ugly stick fishing rods
368 bamboo fly fishing rods
358 saltwater fishing rods
351 antique fishing rods
343 all star fishing rods
335 allstar fishing rods
332 shimano fishing rods
327 fishing rod building supply
This is a good niche topic. As you can see, there're people looking for information on various types of fishing rod.
Here you can build a website, providing quality and useful information on all types of fishing rod and also latest fishing gadgets available in the market. Then you can recommend (as an affiliate) a few online stores that sell fishing rods. The rule of thumb for choosing a niche topic is searches between 8,000 to 15,000.
Sometimes there are topics that have very high searches but not profitable. Example is "how to tie a tie". This keyphrase has 189776 searches in December 2006.
As I can see most people who are searching for information on how to tie a tie, it means that they are looking for free information to help them out on this problem. When you're researching for demand on don't just based on the results. Use logic thinking too.
Now go and do the research for your topics. Discard the ones that are not in demand and profitable even if they are the topics you love most.
Note: The step above is one of many ways of finding profitable niche topics to write but the result produced, will not be that accurate. The reason being, Overture's Search Term Suggestion tool produces flawed search results.
Here's an alternative keyword research tool, Keyword Results Analyzer , you can use that will give you accurate information on numbers of people searching for any given keywords. This tool will also eliminate most of the flaws generated by Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool.
16042 fishing rods
12787 rocket fishing rod
2799 fishing rod holder
2321 fly fishing rods
1290 custom fishing rods
1125 fishing rod rack
931 fishing kid rocket rod
922 fishing kid rod
875 fishing rods and reel
752 st croix fishing rods
678 ice fishing rods
558 bass fishing rods
555 fishing pole rocket rod
499 fishing rod building
485 fishing rod blank
445 telescopic fishing rods
418 shakespeare fishing rods
410 fishing rod cases
404 fenwick fishing rods
387 fishing rocket rod rod
375 ugly stick fishing rods
368 bamboo fly fishing rods
358 saltwater fishing rods
351 antique fishing rods
343 all star fishing rods
335 allstar fishing rods
332 shimano fishing rods
327 fishing rod building supply
This is a good niche topic. As you can see, there're people looking for information on various types of fishing rod.
Here you can build a website, providing quality and useful information on all types of fishing rod and also latest fishing gadgets available in the market. Then you can recommend (as an affiliate) a few online stores that sell fishing rods. The rule of thumb for choosing a niche topic is searches between 8,000 to 15,000.
Sometimes there are topics that have very high searches but not profitable. Example is "how to tie a tie". This keyphrase has 189776 searches in December 2006.
As I can see most people who are searching for information on how to tie a tie, it means that they are looking for free information to help them out on this problem. When you're researching for demand on don't just based on the results. Use logic thinking too.
Now go and do the research for your topics. Discard the ones that are not in demand and profitable even if they are the topics you love most.
Note: The step above is one of many ways of finding profitable niche topics to write but the result produced, will not be that accurate. The reason being, Overture's Search Term Suggestion tool produces flawed search results.
Here's an alternative keyword research tool, Keyword Results Analyzer , you can use that will give you accurate information on numbers of people searching for any given keywords. This tool will also eliminate most of the flaws generated by Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool.
Affiliate Marketing Blueprint - Step 2
How to Find Good Merchants
Before you start building an affiliate website, it's best if you can identify a few good merchants that sell the products of you chosen niches. If you build a site without first identifying possible merchants, you're planning to fail.
How so? Ask yourself this question. What will happen, when you've finished your site and you couldn't find any good merchants?
Next, what makes a good merchant? Simply put, a merchant that looks after and values its affiliates.
There're a few stringent criterias you should take note in order to identify a good merchant. The most important is the one that I'm going to explain to you next.
As you've already heard, many affiliate marketers complained about their commissions being stolen. Usually, these thieves will replace the affiliate IDs with theirs. This is very common, especially with Clickbank.
Here, merchants should provide affiliate link protection to safeguard their affiliates. But this is not always the case. I'd say 99% of merchants don't provide such service because it's going to cost them money to install affiliate protection software.
So, how can you make sure that you'll get paid for sales generated from your affiliate links? If you can't think of any, then here's one you can use right now. (coming soon)
Make sure you don't move on to the next step until you've found some good and reliable merchants because this step is engrossing and takes a lot of your time. So, don't go wasting your time by researching profitable niches that don't have any potential merchants.
Next we'll move on to step 3 which is the most crucial. If you get this wrong, your site will fail to get any visitors and without visitors, you won't make any money. So, stay tuned!
How so? Ask yourself this question. What will happen, when you've finished your site and you couldn't find any good merchants?
Next, what makes a good merchant? Simply put, a merchant that looks after and values its affiliates.
There're a few stringent criterias you should take note in order to identify a good merchant. The most important is the one that I'm going to explain to you next.
As you've already heard, many affiliate marketers complained about their commissions being stolen. Usually, these thieves will replace the affiliate IDs with theirs. This is very common, especially with Clickbank.
Here, merchants should provide affiliate link protection to safeguard their affiliates. But this is not always the case. I'd say 99% of merchants don't provide such service because it's going to cost them money to install affiliate protection software.
So, how can you make sure that you'll get paid for sales generated from your affiliate links? If you can't think of any, then here's one you can use right now. (coming soon)
Make sure you don't move on to the next step until you've found some good and reliable merchants because this step is engrossing and takes a lot of your time. So, don't go wasting your time by researching profitable niches that don't have any potential merchants.
Next we'll move on to step 3 which is the most crucial. If you get this wrong, your site will fail to get any visitors and without visitors, you won't make any money. So, stay tuned!
Affiliate Marketing Blueprint - Step 3
How to Research Keywords
Like I said earlier, this step is very important because it will dictate how people will find you website. The step is keyword research. What you're doing here is to find out the exact keywords people are typing into the search boxes of the search engines, when they're looking for information. I'd say this is the first step of search engine optimization (SEO).
To do this, you'll need a good keyword research tool that can give you accurate search results. As you know, there're a few tools made available to you for free, which I wouldn't recommend. Logic thinking, if it's free, how would these tools produce accurate search results, particularly Overture's Suggestion Tool.
I'm not saying free tools are bad. They do have their important roles to play but not when researching for keywords to build content pages for your website.
As you know, in order to capture free traffic from search engines, your web pages must rank within the top 20 of the search engine results pages (SERP). This is the reason why you must choose the right keywords and to do this, you'll need a good, accurate and reliable keyword research tool.
I know they'll be someone out there telling you otherwise. The best way to find out is to do your own experiment, if you have all the free time. This way, you'll have no one to blame except you, if you picked the wrong tool. The choice is yours.
I personally use Wordtracker to research keywords.
Picking the right keyword tool is not enough and I got some bads news for you. Do you know now Google (maybe Yahoo) uses Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) algorithm to rank web pages? Which means by just researching keywords to target for your web pages is no longer sufficient. If you want to rank high in SERPs, not only you need to look for the best keywords to build web pages but also keywords to determine the theme of your webpages - meaning telling the search engines what's your web page is all about.
What's Latent Semantic Indexing and how it works?
To do this, you'll need a good keyword research tool that can give you accurate search results. As you know, there're a few tools made available to you for free, which I wouldn't recommend. Logic thinking, if it's free, how would these tools produce accurate search results, particularly Overture's Suggestion Tool.
I'm not saying free tools are bad. They do have their important roles to play but not when researching for keywords to build content pages for your website.
As you know, in order to capture free traffic from search engines, your web pages must rank within the top 20 of the search engine results pages (SERP). This is the reason why you must choose the right keywords and to do this, you'll need a good, accurate and reliable keyword research tool.
I know they'll be someone out there telling you otherwise. The best way to find out is to do your own experiment, if you have all the free time. This way, you'll have no one to blame except you, if you picked the wrong tool. The choice is yours.
I personally use Wordtracker to research keywords.
Picking the right keyword tool is not enough and I got some bads news for you. Do you know now Google (maybe Yahoo) uses Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) algorithm to rank web pages? Which means by just researching keywords to target for your web pages is no longer sufficient. If you want to rank high in SERPs, not only you need to look for the best keywords to build web pages but also keywords to determine the theme of your webpages - meaning telling the search engines what's your web page is all about.
What's Latent Semantic Indexing and how it works?
What is Latent Semantic Indexing?
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a term we are hearing more and more in the online business world. While LSI actually has a very complicated formula behind it, we don't have to worry ourselves with the maths behind it.
What is important is what LSI means to us. Simply put, LSI is a technique that analyses a web page so that it can be categorized. To do this, the LSI algorithm will look at the words that make up the web page, and try to group them into related phrases.
By analyzing these groups, the topic of the web page can be identified. Example, if a page contains the word "cream", could you tell me what the page is about?
Well, it could be about the cream that comes from animals, or it might be about a cream that is applied to the body. What you need to do (and what LSI does) is to find other words that can be grouped together with cream so that the topic of the page can be identified.
OK, what if the page also contains:
"cow", "goat", "milk", "fat"
We can be fairly certain that this page is talking about the cream from animals.
However, what if the page also contained these words:
"cheese", "low-fat", "Brie", "Camembert"
We could then further identify this page as one that talks about cheeses.
If the page also contains these words:
"factory", "manufacture", "process", "aging", "mould"
We could probably assume that the page is about cheese-making.
This is basically what LSI does. It looks for groups of related words, so it can determine the theme (incidentally, throughout this course we won't use the phrase "latent semantic indexing", we will call it themeing). The better the LSI algorithm, the better able it is to identify the page topic.
So why am I telling you this?
Well, search engines are now using LSI to determine page relevancy.
Example - Take two web pages.
Page #1 contains: "French, "cheese", "high-fat", "Brie", "Camembert"
Page #2 contains: "cow", "cream", "fat", "cheese", "blue", "Danish", "manufacture" "aging", "mould"
If someone went to the search engines and searched for :
"how blue cheese is made"
Which page would rank better?
If someone searched for:
"French cheeses"
Which page would rank better?
What is important is what LSI means to us. Simply put, LSI is a technique that analyses a web page so that it can be categorized. To do this, the LSI algorithm will look at the words that make up the web page, and try to group them into related phrases.
By analyzing these groups, the topic of the web page can be identified. Example, if a page contains the word "cream", could you tell me what the page is about?
Well, it could be about the cream that comes from animals, or it might be about a cream that is applied to the body. What you need to do (and what LSI does) is to find other words that can be grouped together with cream so that the topic of the page can be identified.
OK, what if the page also contains:
"cow", "goat", "milk", "fat"
We can be fairly certain that this page is talking about the cream from animals.
However, what if the page also contained these words:
"cheese", "low-fat", "Brie", "Camembert"
We could then further identify this page as one that talks about cheeses.
If the page also contains these words:
"factory", "manufacture", "process", "aging", "mould"
We could probably assume that the page is about cheese-making.
This is basically what LSI does. It looks for groups of related words, so it can determine the theme (incidentally, throughout this course we won't use the phrase "latent semantic indexing", we will call it themeing). The better the LSI algorithm, the better able it is to identify the page topic.
So why am I telling you this?
Well, search engines are now using LSI to determine page relevancy.
Example - Take two web pages.
Page #1 contains: "French, "cheese", "high-fat", "Brie", "Camembert"
Page #2 contains: "cow", "cream", "fat", "cheese", "blue", "Danish", "manufacture" "aging", "mould"
If someone went to the search engines and searched for :
"how blue cheese is made"
Which page would rank better?
If someone searched for:
"French cheeses"
Which page would rank better?
What is Latent Semantic Indexing...continued
Your answers above are based purely on a few keywords that appear in the document, and with these, you can make quite accurate decisions. The more words you have to base your decision on, the more accurate your decision will be. Your thinking process is along the same lines as LSI, and this is what you must bear in mind as you build content.
So, if search engines are using LSI to determine which page ranks best for a given term, what should you do to make sure your content has the best chance of ranking well?
Easy, create content that is themed.
By all means select a primary phrase for your content, but make sure that you also include lots of highly related words that will leave the LSI algorithm no doubt as to the topic of your page.
If you are writing a page on French cheeses, make sure the page includes words that you would expect to be included in a page talking about French cheeses.
...as explained by Dr. Andy Williams of Easy SEO News. Get his Internet Marketing newsletter for optimization tips, product reviews and many more.
So, if search engines are using LSI to determine which page ranks best for a given term, what should you do to make sure your content has the best chance of ranking well?
Easy, create content that is themed.
By all means select a primary phrase for your content, but make sure that you also include lots of highly related words that will leave the LSI algorithm no doubt as to the topic of your page.
If you are writing a page on French cheeses, make sure the page includes words that you would expect to be included in a page talking about French cheeses.
...as explained by Dr. Andy Williams of Easy SEO News. Get his Internet Marketing newsletter for optimization tips, product reviews and many more.
Keyword Research
How I Research for Profitable and Niche Keywords
Before I move on, I want you to know that I won't be going through the whole proses of keyword research because there's too much to tell and explain and I could write an ebook just to show you how to do it.
Like I've said earlier, without proper keyword research, there will be no visitors going to your website. If there're no visitors, logically there won't be any affiliate sales or even AdSense clicks, right?
So, how do you do a proper keyword research?
There are many ways to do a keyword research as interpreted by many online marketers but here I'll only share my method. It may not be favorable to you but if you're uncomfortable with it, you can always use whichever method that suits you best. I know my method works, not only to me but many others who uses the same affiliate system that I'm using. Of course, the result varies.
Till today, I only use these 2 tools to help me not only research for keywords but identify profitable keywords. Profitable keywords here mean keyword or keyphrase that have high search count and low competition.
The keyword research tools I use are Wordtracker and Keyword Results Analyzer.
Most people shy away from using Wordtracker because of its expensive subscription fees. There are a few options to choose when you want to subscribe but if you follow my method, you only need to subscribe for 1 day usage which will cost you around 8 bucks.
Once I've subscribed, I straight login to Wordtracker and start researching the keyword based on the niche topic that I've identified earlier.
Once I've done the keyword research, I then transfer all the keywords to my next tool, Keyword Results Analyzer. The reason I'm using this tool is that when all the keywords that I've imported from Wordtracker, they're all raw and unfiltered.
Imagine if you have 5000 potential keywords, how would you know which are the profitable ones to use for building your website.
So, Keyword Results Analyzer will help me to filter out the unrelated keywords simultaneously sort and group them accordingly. With all being done automatically, I can easily pick and choose the keywords that I can use for putting up my site.
Keyword Results Analyzer can also benefit you in many other ways besides filtering and sorting keywords. Read more about the benefits of Keyword Results Analyzer.
Like I've said earlier, without proper keyword research, there will be no visitors going to your website. If there're no visitors, logically there won't be any affiliate sales or even AdSense clicks, right?
So, how do you do a proper keyword research?
There are many ways to do a keyword research as interpreted by many online marketers but here I'll only share my method. It may not be favorable to you but if you're uncomfortable with it, you can always use whichever method that suits you best. I know my method works, not only to me but many others who uses the same affiliate system that I'm using. Of course, the result varies.
Till today, I only use these 2 tools to help me not only research for keywords but identify profitable keywords. Profitable keywords here mean keyword or keyphrase that have high search count and low competition.
The keyword research tools I use are Wordtracker and Keyword Results Analyzer.
Most people shy away from using Wordtracker because of its expensive subscription fees. There are a few options to choose when you want to subscribe but if you follow my method, you only need to subscribe for 1 day usage which will cost you around 8 bucks.
Once I've subscribed, I straight login to Wordtracker and start researching the keyword based on the niche topic that I've identified earlier.
Once I've done the keyword research, I then transfer all the keywords to my next tool, Keyword Results Analyzer. The reason I'm using this tool is that when all the keywords that I've imported from Wordtracker, they're all raw and unfiltered.
Imagine if you have 5000 potential keywords, how would you know which are the profitable ones to use for building your website.
So, Keyword Results Analyzer will help me to filter out the unrelated keywords simultaneously sort and group them accordingly. With all being done automatically, I can easily pick and choose the keywords that I can use for putting up my site.
Keyword Results Analyzer can also benefit you in many other ways besides filtering and sorting keywords. Read more about the benefits of Keyword Results Analyzer.
How I Research Profitable and Niche Keywords ... continued
There are a lot to explain on keyword research but this is the best I can do. It's best if you take some initiative to do some in-depth research on this subject matter to further educate yourself. Remember, there's no free lunch here. You must invest in keyword research tools if you want to build money-making websites.
Some of you may have different opinion on this or maybe they would prefer their own choice of tool. So be it. Like I said, this is how many others and myself did it and produces great results. The choice is yours.
Now you have a bunch of profitable and niche keywords, so, what do you do next?
Some of you may have different opinion on this or maybe they would prefer their own choice of tool. So be it. Like I said, this is how many others and myself did it and produces great results. The choice is yours.
Now you have a bunch of profitable and niche keywords, so, what do you do next?
Affiliate Marketing Blueprint - Step 4
How to Build a Money-Making Affiliate Website
Before you can move on to plan on what to do with the keywords, you must have some sort of a plan on how you want to utilized the keywords to the maximum when building a website. I called it a blueprint, just like you must have blueprint or a house plan or design before build a house. In this case, a blueprint for your website.
This is a very comprehensive topic to discuss and I'll just briefly explain to you on the overall site design that works. This is a proven method that I've learned and used when building most of my websites.
The most important thing to remember when building a website is to pay very close attention on the linking strategy within your site. Each and every page must link to each other systematically so that when your visitors visit your site, they know which page to go next easily by you showing the correct path (link). Just like when you're trap in a maze and you need to follow the right path so that you can get out from it easily. There are other reasons too when you provide a strategic linking within you website.
Sounds complicated, right? I know it is because I've experienced it too and you've no choice but to go through this process. So this is where you need to do some homework yourself to learn more about linking process. This is very important if you want to build a money-making affiliate websites.
OK, let's look at how to design an ideal affiliate website that can make you money. Not only a design that has an overall linking structure but a design that is well optimized for search engines to attract traffic (targeted visitors) to your site.
First, they're many blueprints you can follow but the blueprint that I'm going to go through with you is the one that I personally used, not only by me but many other successful people too.
This is a very comprehensive topic to discuss and I'll just briefly explain to you on the overall site design that works. This is a proven method that I've learned and used when building most of my websites.
The most important thing to remember when building a website is to pay very close attention on the linking strategy within your site. Each and every page must link to each other systematically so that when your visitors visit your site, they know which page to go next easily by you showing the correct path (link). Just like when you're trap in a maze and you need to follow the right path so that you can get out from it easily. There are other reasons too when you provide a strategic linking within you website.
Sounds complicated, right? I know it is because I've experienced it too and you've no choice but to go through this process. So this is where you need to do some homework yourself to learn more about linking process. This is very important if you want to build a money-making affiliate websites.
OK, let's look at how to design an ideal affiliate website that can make you money. Not only a design that has an overall linking structure but a design that is well optimized for search engines to attract traffic (targeted visitors) to your site.
First, they're many blueprints you can follow but the blueprint that I'm going to go through with you is the one that I personally used, not only by me but many other successful people too.
The Blueprint for Website Design
What I'm about to tell you is the blueprint of building an affiliate website that I've used. Like I've said, you can use any other blueprints or methods that suit you best. Fair enough?
Let me lay them out the ideal site design when you want to build an affiliate website, then I'll explain briefly one-by-one for a clearer picture.
Simply put, they are:
1) Homepage or technically called an index page.
2) Main pages
3) Sitemap
4) Articlemap
5) Article pages
That's it. Simple as ABC.
These will represent the structure of your website. They act as a pillar to support your website. Each and everyone of it has its own function and responsibility. I won't go through in details on them but I'll do it briefly. The most important thing is you need to get through the basics of building a website first. Once you've completed, then only you can move on to the next level.
Now let's go through each one of them.
Let me lay them out the ideal site design when you want to build an affiliate website, then I'll explain briefly one-by-one for a clearer picture.
Simply put, they are:
1) Homepage or technically called an index page.
2) Main pages
3) Sitemap
4) Articlemap
5) Article pages
That's it. Simple as ABC.
These will represent the structure of your website. They act as a pillar to support your website. Each and everyone of it has its own function and responsibility. I won't go through in details on them but I'll do it briefly. The most important thing is you need to get through the basics of building a website first. Once you've completed, then only you can move on to the next level.
Now let's go through each one of them.
The Homepage aka Index Page
Your homepage represents the overall theme of your site. Just like an introduction page to a book. Meaning, your homepage should tell your visitors what your website is all about. What is the message you're going to tell them? You must make it clear and precise so that they'll know they've come to the right place. You must make them feel at home.
To make them to stay longer, you must provide enough information. What they actually looking for are solution to their problems. So, give them what they want to know.
It also acts as a table of content to your overall site. Once they understand that you're trying to help to solve their problems, and then they'll move on the next page related to what they're looking for.
This is where your main page come in. Let's look at the function of the main page.
To make them to stay longer, you must provide enough information. What they actually looking for are solution to their problems. So, give them what they want to know.
It also acts as a table of content to your overall site. Once they understand that you're trying to help to solve their problems, and then they'll move on the next page related to what they're looking for.
This is where your main page come in. Let's look at the function of the main page.
The Main Page
We've talked about the homepage where it acts as an introduction to your overall site theme. It's very important to stay focus on 1 theme only because the reason your visitor's drop-in to your site is hoping that you can help them to solve their problems.
Next, the main page. The main function of your main page is to introduce your visitors, products that could help to solve their problems. You either introduce your own or other people's products where you act as an affiliate.
Basically a main page is your product page. This is where you make money from your website, either selling your own or merchant's products. Each page for each product.
To entice your visitors to buy the products you recommended, it's very important that you don't "hard-sell" in your content. The most ideal way is to "pre-sell" the products.
What do you mean by "pre-sell"?
Pre-selling is a term used to describe how to get your visitors into a buying mood before they reach your product's or the merchant's site. Sometimes it's also known as "selling foreplay".
So, how do you get your visitor's into a buying mood?
Simply put, don't write for the purpose of selling the product. One of the easiest ways of pre-selling is to write a review on the product that you're promoting. Others include writing Qs & As and reviewing the merchant that sells the product.
An important note I'd like to stress when doing a review on any product is you must own it. Why?
I want you to read an article, which explains it in details. This mainly applies if you're promoting downloadable products such as ebooks, softwares, hosting, membership sites, etc.
Next, the main page. The main function of your main page is to introduce your visitors, products that could help to solve their problems. You either introduce your own or other people's products where you act as an affiliate.
Basically a main page is your product page. This is where you make money from your website, either selling your own or merchant's products. Each page for each product.
To entice your visitors to buy the products you recommended, it's very important that you don't "hard-sell" in your content. The most ideal way is to "pre-sell" the products.
What do you mean by "pre-sell"?
Pre-selling is a term used to describe how to get your visitors into a buying mood before they reach your product's or the merchant's site. Sometimes it's also known as "selling foreplay".
So, how do you get your visitor's into a buying mood?
Simply put, don't write for the purpose of selling the product. One of the easiest ways of pre-selling is to write a review on the product that you're promoting. Others include writing Qs & As and reviewing the merchant that sells the product.
An important note I'd like to stress when doing a review on any product is you must own it. Why?
I want you to read an article, which explains it in details. This mainly applies if you're promoting downloadable products such as ebooks, softwares, hosting, membership sites, etc.
The Main Page ... continued
You Must Be Your Best Customer Before You Can Succeed
As an affiliate marketer your main purpose is to promote products or services and to find customers. For you to achieve this purpose, you must be able to convince your potential customers that certain products and services would help them to achieve their personal goals or fix a problem they may be experiencing.
However, it is difficult and almost impossible for you to do this when you yourself are not your best customer. By this I mean that you must first test the product or service yourself BEFORE you promote it.
If you do not own the product or service yourself, you will not be able to convincingly explain the benefits or disadvantages of the product you're promoting. As a result, your potential customers will be able to instantly spot this and you will lose any credibility you may have built with your readers.
Many new affiliate marketers make this mistake and they pay dearly for their actions with a lack of sales. In order to succeed you need to avoid making the same mistakes.
You need to first try the product or service personally before you sign up as an affiliate to see if it really delivers what it promises. Then simply give an honest and unbiased review of your thoughts on the product and if it helped you, tell your readers how it did, and how it could help them.
If you do this, you can become a credible and living testament to the product. Your customers will then feel the sincerity and truthfulness in your web content and this may just be the trigger for them to try it out for themselves.
OK, back to the purpose of a main page.
By doing pre-selling, you're trying to connect with your visitors. Here you're building relationship with them. Help and guide them by providing quality information on the product or merchant that they're looking for. Once they've gained your trust, they are more likely to buy the product recommended by you.
Acquire as much as possible, information on how to pre-sell effectively on your website. Master it and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.
However, it is difficult and almost impossible for you to do this when you yourself are not your best customer. By this I mean that you must first test the product or service yourself BEFORE you promote it.
If you do not own the product or service yourself, you will not be able to convincingly explain the benefits or disadvantages of the product you're promoting. As a result, your potential customers will be able to instantly spot this and you will lose any credibility you may have built with your readers.
Many new affiliate marketers make this mistake and they pay dearly for their actions with a lack of sales. In order to succeed you need to avoid making the same mistakes.
You need to first try the product or service personally before you sign up as an affiliate to see if it really delivers what it promises. Then simply give an honest and unbiased review of your thoughts on the product and if it helped you, tell your readers how it did, and how it could help them.
If you do this, you can become a credible and living testament to the product. Your customers will then feel the sincerity and truthfulness in your web content and this may just be the trigger for them to try it out for themselves.
OK, back to the purpose of a main page.
By doing pre-selling, you're trying to connect with your visitors. Here you're building relationship with them. Help and guide them by providing quality information on the product or merchant that they're looking for. Once they've gained your trust, they are more likely to buy the product recommended by you.
Acquire as much as possible, information on how to pre-sell effectively on your website. Master it and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.
The Sitemap - The Overall Linking of Your Affiliate Website
The overall linking structure of your website is vital if you want to web pages to be found and indexed by Google fast. This means to maximize the visibility of your web pages and to be easily found by the search engines, all your web pages must linked together in its best possible way.
So, how are you going to link these all the pages mentioned in the blueprint?
For easy explanation, let's use a website, www.smartadsense.info (now defunct) that I've built. I did not update this site for more than 6 months and the domain is going to expire soon. Please note that this is not a perfect example of an affilate website but it was built based on the blueprint which I'm sharing with you all here.
One way to get your web pages linked is to use a sitemap. The sitemap is a page that list all the webpages on your site. This page tells the search engines where to find the pages on your site. The sitemap is also the best way to get all your webpages indexed fast, if done correctly.
If you look at the homepage, that's a sitemap link located at the bottom of the menu bar as well as the bottom of the page. Click on the link and you'll go to the sitemap page.
There are links with descriptions of all the main pages on this site as well as the article site map which is located at the bottom of the page. This page also links back to the homepage. Each and every page of the main pages will have the sitemap and homepage links too.
Here' you'll notice that the homepage, the main pages and sitemap page are linked together for the purpose of the search engines to find and include in their index. So, this is how a sitemap links all the pages on a website. Make sure to include a sitemap when you build an affiliate website.
So, how are you going to link these all the pages mentioned in the blueprint?
For easy explanation, let's use a website, www.smartadsense.info (now defunct) that I've built. I did not update this site for more than 6 months and the domain is going to expire soon. Please note that this is not a perfect example of an affilate website but it was built based on the blueprint which I'm sharing with you all here.
One way to get your web pages linked is to use a sitemap. The sitemap is a page that list all the webpages on your site. This page tells the search engines where to find the pages on your site. The sitemap is also the best way to get all your webpages indexed fast, if done correctly.
If you look at the homepage, that's a sitemap link located at the bottom of the menu bar as well as the bottom of the page. Click on the link and you'll go to the sitemap page.
There are links with descriptions of all the main pages on this site as well as the article site map which is located at the bottom of the page. This page also links back to the homepage. Each and every page of the main pages will have the sitemap and homepage links too.
Here' you'll notice that the homepage, the main pages and sitemap page are linked together for the purpose of the search engines to find and include in their index. So, this is how a sitemap links all the pages on a website. Make sure to include a sitemap when you build an affiliate website.
The Article Map
The article map is similiar to the sitemap but only links to the article pages on your site. The main purpose of articles are to get free search engines traffic to you site. For the search engines to find these articles easily, this is why reason why you need to create an article map within your site.
Again, if you look at the sitemap page of this website www.smartadsense.info (now defunct), the article site map link is located at the bottom of the page with a text link "Articles". Click on the link and you'll land at the article site map page that contains all the links to the articles that I've written. You'll notice at this page also links back to the homepage.
So this is how the overall linking structure looks like and why it's important. Here, I've just covered a tiny portion of the importance of a sitemap on your website. You'll need to further educate yourself more on how to use the sitemap on your website effectively.
Again, if you look at the sitemap page of this website www.smartadsense.info (now defunct), the article site map link is located at the bottom of the page with a text link "Articles". Click on the link and you'll land at the article site map page that contains all the links to the articles that I've written. You'll notice at this page also links back to the homepage.
So this is how the overall linking structure looks like and why it's important. Here, I've just covered a tiny portion of the importance of a sitemap on your website. You'll need to further educate yourself more on how to use the sitemap on your website effectively.
The Article Page
Articles Equal Traffic
The article pages have a few functions. According to the blueprint, the purpose of an article is to funnel its traffic back to any of the the product pages (main pages) that you've built earlier, either through the menu bar of your website or text links within the article itself. So, it's best to write an article with low competition key phrases so that it can rank easily at the search engines.
Let say if you have a main page that promote golf clubs. Then write as many article using less competitive key phrases about golf clubs or anything closely related to it. At the end of each article, you can link back to your main page and let that page do the pre-selling. Here your article must provide useful information to your readers based on the key phrase you've chosen.
Here are some other functions of articles. Articles can:
1) get you recognised as a leading expert
2) build convidence in your reader
3) create income through AdSense
4) establish your site as an authority in your chosen niche
Now, let move's on to writing articles.
I know ther're lots of information on how to write articles. They're the experts, in article writing and I'm not, so you need to listen to them. But what I've noticed is they left out the most important process of writing an article. It's either they don't know or purposely don't want to reveal their close guarded secret. What's the fuss about this secret that they're not willing to share? The prosses I'm referring to is not during but before you start writing.
To be honest, I wouldn't call it a secret. As matter of fact, everyone does it. It's either the right way or the wrong way. The process is keyword research. Here's I'll show you the action plan of writing an article based on the blueprint only. You can still apply this process before you want to write an article for your site, blog or even submit to article directories.
Like I've mentioned, the main purpose of an article page is to funnel it's traffic back to the main page of your site. So the article that you're going to write must rank well in the search engines. How do you do that?
By writing based on keywords or phrases with low competition. I know you must be thinking it's very difficult to find low competiton keywords anymore because now people are getting smarter and they know where to find those keywords and grab them first.
Let say if you have a main page that promote golf clubs. Then write as many article using less competitive key phrases about golf clubs or anything closely related to it. At the end of each article, you can link back to your main page and let that page do the pre-selling. Here your article must provide useful information to your readers based on the key phrase you've chosen.
Here are some other functions of articles. Articles can:
1) get you recognised as a leading expert
2) build convidence in your reader
3) create income through AdSense
4) establish your site as an authority in your chosen niche
Now, let move's on to writing articles.
I know ther're lots of information on how to write articles. They're the experts, in article writing and I'm not, so you need to listen to them. But what I've noticed is they left out the most important process of writing an article. It's either they don't know or purposely don't want to reveal their close guarded secret. What's the fuss about this secret that they're not willing to share? The prosses I'm referring to is not during but before you start writing.
To be honest, I wouldn't call it a secret. As matter of fact, everyone does it. It's either the right way or the wrong way. The process is keyword research. Here's I'll show you the action plan of writing an article based on the blueprint only. You can still apply this process before you want to write an article for your site, blog or even submit to article directories.
Like I've mentioned, the main purpose of an article page is to funnel it's traffic back to the main page of your site. So the article that you're going to write must rank well in the search engines. How do you do that?
By writing based on keywords or phrases with low competition. I know you must be thinking it's very difficult to find low competiton keywords anymore because now people are getting smarter and they know where to find those keywords and grab them first.
The Article Page ... continued
Actually there's a way. It's just that you need to look harder. I know it not easy and I've to fork out my own money just to look for the right answer and the good news is, you don't have to because I'm going to share with you right here on my Squidoo lens.
But first, I need you to remember this. The method that I'm going to share with you is not exhaustive. I'm sure they're many other ways you can follow when looking for low competitive keywords. I'm showing you based on what I've learned and experienced.
You may have read some of this method somewhere on the net but hardly being practised. The reason is it's too difficult to follow. I know it's not easy and takes lot of hard work to make it work but the end results is worth while. Hey, no one says it's easy to make money on the internet.
To me this is the greatest method I've seen and used. Moreover, the person who created it, rareley exposed himself to the public. That's why almost nobody seems to know or talks about him or his methods, excepts those who know what it really take to be successful on the internet.
There're 2 keyword research tools involved here and yes you need to buy them, just like any other tool used by other people when researching for keywords. Many people claimed that they produced positive results with free tools. So be it. If you're comfortable with free tools, then continue using it. Don't let me stop you.
But the method I'm about to reveal to you is for those who want to know the actual keyword research being done and those who haven't found great success with free tools. Here's one thing you may not know. Only the real and successful internet marketers use paid keyword research tools because they know the flaw of using free tools. If you don't believe me, go ahead and ask around.
But first, I need you to remember this. The method that I'm going to share with you is not exhaustive. I'm sure they're many other ways you can follow when looking for low competitive keywords. I'm showing you based on what I've learned and experienced.
You may have read some of this method somewhere on the net but hardly being practised. The reason is it's too difficult to follow. I know it's not easy and takes lot of hard work to make it work but the end results is worth while. Hey, no one says it's easy to make money on the internet.
To me this is the greatest method I've seen and used. Moreover, the person who created it, rareley exposed himself to the public. That's why almost nobody seems to know or talks about him or his methods, excepts those who know what it really take to be successful on the internet.
There're 2 keyword research tools involved here and yes you need to buy them, just like any other tool used by other people when researching for keywords. Many people claimed that they produced positive results with free tools. So be it. If you're comfortable with free tools, then continue using it. Don't let me stop you.
But the method I'm about to reveal to you is for those who want to know the actual keyword research being done and those who haven't found great success with free tools. Here's one thing you may not know. Only the real and successful internet marketers use paid keyword research tools because they know the flaw of using free tools. If you don't believe me, go ahead and ask around.
The Article Page ...continued
The truth is you're not going to buy and use it for only once but many times. So, if your long term plan is going to build many websites or blogs for your online ventures, then you can use the same tool again. The keyword research tool that you're going to buy is going to be an asset but an investment too. So, the choice is yours.
Here I'm not just researching keywords but keywords for you to theme your article based on latent semantic indexing algorithm so that your article can rank high in search engine result pages (SERPs). I'm even going to show you how you can grab those low competitive keywords even in a very, I say it again, a very tight niche. You only can acheive these results with the method using the keyword research tools that I'm about to tell you.
So, let me warn you ahead. If you do follow this method, just be prepared to get your hands dirty. Last but not least, if this method doesn't seems favourable to or work for you, it doesn't mean it won't work for others because it did, for me.
I won't be going through the whole process but just enough for you to see how it works.
Here I'm not just researching keywords but keywords for you to theme your article based on latent semantic indexing algorithm so that your article can rank high in search engine result pages (SERPs). I'm even going to show you how you can grab those low competitive keywords even in a very, I say it again, a very tight niche. You only can acheive these results with the method using the keyword research tools that I'm about to tell you.
So, let me warn you ahead. If you do follow this method, just be prepared to get your hands dirty. Last but not least, if this method doesn't seems favourable to or work for you, it doesn't mean it won't work for others because it did, for me.
I won't be going through the whole process but just enough for you to see how it works.
How to Research Keywords for Your Articles
Before I begin, let me repeat. This article writing process for your article page only applies to the blueprint that you've been reading. You still can follow the same exact method, though, but the results may vary because of the keyword research tools that I'm using may be difference from yours.
When writing articles, they should be informative and helpful to your readers. Like I've said earlier I won't go through the whole step-by-step process because it's going to be very very long. I'll just simplified it and make sure you understand when you read it.
The first step is to find a set of keywords to work with. These keywords must be phrases that people are searching for as well as related to your site theme. To do this, I'm using Wordtracker.
I know you must be thinking why I must use such an expensive tool. Because the search results are almost accurate compared to other tools (there are NO keyword research tools that can produce 100% accurate results). And the good news is you just need to subscribe for 1 day which will cost you about $9.
Through my experience, they'll let you have access for 3 days. With 1 day subscription you can actually research a few niche topics. So, Is that expensive to you?
Please bear in mind you're merely collecting data from Wordtracker. You don't have to refine and sort your keywords yet. You'll do that later. The reason is to fully utilize Wordtracker for the next 3 days and collect as many keywords as possible on the chosen niches. It's going to be thousands of keywords for each niche.
Most biggest mistake people make (I did, the first time) when using Wordtracker is they don't know how to get started once they've subscribed it. It will take quite a lot of your time just to understand the functions on its dashboard. So, the best thing to do before you subscribe, is to read and understand "which button to push" on the dashboard.
Wordtraker do provide a manual,where you can download for free from their website.
When writing articles, they should be informative and helpful to your readers. Like I've said earlier I won't go through the whole step-by-step process because it's going to be very very long. I'll just simplified it and make sure you understand when you read it.
The first step is to find a set of keywords to work with. These keywords must be phrases that people are searching for as well as related to your site theme. To do this, I'm using Wordtracker.
I know you must be thinking why I must use such an expensive tool. Because the search results are almost accurate compared to other tools (there are NO keyword research tools that can produce 100% accurate results). And the good news is you just need to subscribe for 1 day which will cost you about $9.
Through my experience, they'll let you have access for 3 days. With 1 day subscription you can actually research a few niche topics. So, Is that expensive to you?
Please bear in mind you're merely collecting data from Wordtracker. You don't have to refine and sort your keywords yet. You'll do that later. The reason is to fully utilize Wordtracker for the next 3 days and collect as many keywords as possible on the chosen niches. It's going to be thousands of keywords for each niche.
Most biggest mistake people make (I did, the first time) when using Wordtracker is they don't know how to get started once they've subscribed it. It will take quite a lot of your time just to understand the functions on its dashboard. So, the best thing to do before you subscribe, is to read and understand "which button to push" on the dashboard.
Wordtraker do provide a manual,where you can download for free from their website.
How to Research Keywords for Your Articles ... continued
Make sure you know everything on how to operate Wordtraker because it will make you life easier when researching keywords. On thing I can promise you is, it's a very tedious work and will make things worst if you don't know how to use it.
Give up already? Nah, I know you're not that type of person that give up easily. You're a Warrior.
Next, when you've completed your research on each project (niche), e-mail the data to your own e-mail address. And when you received the e-mail, export them to another keyword research tool for refining, sorting and grouping of the keywords. The keyword research tool is Keyword Results Analyzer and here's why you should use it.
When you're doing keyword research on a topic with Wordtracker usually it can spit out around 5,000 - 10,000 keywords. That's huge. Imagine this, how are you going to filter and sort all these keywords. Maybe I can do it if it's around 500 or less but still it's going to take weeks just to sort them. How about 5,000? I just cannot imagine.
Yes, alternatively you can use spreadsheet or Excel program. Yet it will take you weeks to sort them all out, even you're an expert.
With Keyword Results Analyzer, it can help you to analyze, sort and filter all the keywords within minutes. This is absolutely a real time saver.
Click and read more about Keyword Results Analyzer and how it works.
This just came it this month. The latest upgrade on this tool is, not only it can import Wordtracker data but data from just about any other source. This means that Keyword Results Analyzer can now be applied to data from your own favourite keyword research tool such as Overture.
One thing you must know is Keyword Results Analyzer doest not produce keywords by itself. It's simply a software to simplified your keyword research work. Not only that, it can also help you to sort out keywords and grouped them together for you to write a "theme" article. If you do know what is a "theme" article, please refer back to the topic "What is Latent Semantic Indexing?".
Let me give you an example of sorted keywords for the topic on weight loss.
Give up already? Nah, I know you're not that type of person that give up easily. You're a Warrior.
Next, when you've completed your research on each project (niche), e-mail the data to your own e-mail address. And when you received the e-mail, export them to another keyword research tool for refining, sorting and grouping of the keywords. The keyword research tool is Keyword Results Analyzer and here's why you should use it.
When you're doing keyword research on a topic with Wordtracker usually it can spit out around 5,000 - 10,000 keywords. That's huge. Imagine this, how are you going to filter and sort all these keywords. Maybe I can do it if it's around 500 or less but still it's going to take weeks just to sort them. How about 5,000? I just cannot imagine.
Yes, alternatively you can use spreadsheet or Excel program. Yet it will take you weeks to sort them all out, even you're an expert.
With Keyword Results Analyzer, it can help you to analyze, sort and filter all the keywords within minutes. This is absolutely a real time saver.
Click and read more about Keyword Results Analyzer and how it works.
This just came it this month. The latest upgrade on this tool is, not only it can import Wordtracker data but data from just about any other source. This means that Keyword Results Analyzer can now be applied to data from your own favourite keyword research tool such as Overture.
One thing you must know is Keyword Results Analyzer doest not produce keywords by itself. It's simply a software to simplified your keyword research work. Not only that, it can also help you to sort out keywords and grouped them together for you to write a "theme" article. If you do know what is a "theme" article, please refer back to the topic "What is Latent Semantic Indexing?".
Let me give you an example of sorted keywords for the topic on weight loss.
Keyword Results Analyzer in Action
Here's a sample of keywords I extracted from Wordtracker and then refine, sort and group using Keyword Results Analyzer.
179 109 123000 herbal weight loss pills
153 93 2350000 weight loss pill
96 58 36800 loss natural pill program weight
94 57 67900 ****** weight loss pills
84 51 13600 exercise loss no pill weight
83 50 12800 loss patch pill weight
82 50 15600 gnc weight loss pill
72 44 107000 best weight loss pills
58 35 646 advertised loss pill tv weight
53 32 62200 effective weight loss pill
49 30 54800 buy weight loss pills online
47 29 30700 release weight loss pills
47 29 61800 effective weight loss pills
46 28 1300000 weight loss diet pills
44 27 131000 best weight loss pill
39 24 24700 weight loss diet fat pills on line
27 16 36400 fast weight loss diet pills
14 9 40500 diet pills weight loss com
12 7 348000 diet pills weight loss
11 7 87 ****** weight loss ****** diet pills ****** cactus ******
10 6 37400 best diet pills weight loss drugs
10 6 70 ******* lose weight loss diet pills
9 5 26 ******* lose weight loss diet pills
179 109 123000 herbal weight loss pills
153 93 2350000 weight loss pill
96 58 36800 loss natural pill program weight
94 57 67900 ****** weight loss pills
84 51 13600 exercise loss no pill weight
83 50 12800 loss patch pill weight
82 50 15600 gnc weight loss pill
72 44 107000 best weight loss pills
58 35 646 advertised loss pill tv weight
53 32 62200 effective weight loss pill
49 30 54800 buy weight loss pills online
47 29 30700 release weight loss pills
47 29 61800 effective weight loss pills
46 28 1300000 weight loss diet pills
44 27 131000 best weight loss pill
39 24 24700 weight loss diet fat pills on line
27 16 36400 fast weight loss diet pills
14 9 40500 diet pills weight loss com
12 7 348000 diet pills weight loss
11 7 87 ****** weight loss ****** diet pills ****** cactus ******
10 6 37400 best diet pills weight loss drugs
10 6 70 ******* lose weight loss diet pills
9 5 26 ******* lose weight loss diet pills
Keyword Results Analyzer in Action ... continued
Unique Keywords:
advertised
best
buy
cactus
diet
drugs
effective
exercise
fast
fat
gnc
herbal
h*****
i******
line
lose
loss
natural
no
online
patch
pill
pills
program
release
tv
weight
x******
Based on the table, let say you want to write an article on weight loss pills and "weight loss pills" will be your primary keyword . You'll noticed that phrase has high searches but also high competition. This means your secondary keywords are going to do their job and make sure this article can get high ranking for related phrases. So, how to you find these secondary keywords?
If you look at the table again, all of the keywords contain the word "weight loss pill/s", which means all the phrases will be related to "weight loss pills". if you use all these phrases as you secondary keywords, you would have, not only a very lage page, but a very high density on words like "weight loss pills" and "weight loss". You wouldn't want to use these phrases many times because you'll be accuse for spamming by the search engines. So, how do you overcome this?
Again look at the bottom of the table, you'll find a list of words. These are unique words that make up the phrases of all the keywords mentioned in the table. They are all related to the topic of weight loss pills.
These are the words that you need to include into the content of the "weight loss pills" article that you're going to write. Sprinking these words, especially when combined with the words "weight loss pills" will allow this page to rank better for wider range of keywords and set the theme of the article, telling the bots what this page is about. In this case it's about weight loss pills.
You can also include the exact keywords e.g. "effective weight loss pills" or "herbal weight loss pills", but make sure you don't force it in. Same goes to all of the unique words or those that are closely related. It's up to you. The important thing is the article must make sense when someone reads it.
This is how keyword research being done when you want to write a "theme" article for you article page.
advertised
best
buy
cactus
diet
drugs
effective
exercise
fast
fat
gnc
herbal
h*****
i******
line
lose
loss
natural
no
online
patch
pill
pills
program
release
tv
weight
x******
Based on the table, let say you want to write an article on weight loss pills and "weight loss pills" will be your primary keyword . You'll noticed that phrase has high searches but also high competition. This means your secondary keywords are going to do their job and make sure this article can get high ranking for related phrases. So, how to you find these secondary keywords?
If you look at the table again, all of the keywords contain the word "weight loss pill/s", which means all the phrases will be related to "weight loss pills". if you use all these phrases as you secondary keywords, you would have, not only a very lage page, but a very high density on words like "weight loss pills" and "weight loss". You wouldn't want to use these phrases many times because you'll be accuse for spamming by the search engines. So, how do you overcome this?
Again look at the bottom of the table, you'll find a list of words. These are unique words that make up the phrases of all the keywords mentioned in the table. They are all related to the topic of weight loss pills.
These are the words that you need to include into the content of the "weight loss pills" article that you're going to write. Sprinking these words, especially when combined with the words "weight loss pills" will allow this page to rank better for wider range of keywords and set the theme of the article, telling the bots what this page is about. In this case it's about weight loss pills.
You can also include the exact keywords e.g. "effective weight loss pills" or "herbal weight loss pills", but make sure you don't force it in. Same goes to all of the unique words or those that are closely related. It's up to you. The important thing is the article must make sense when someone reads it.
This is how keyword research being done when you want to write a "theme" article for you article page.
How to Write a Pre-Selling Article
As mentioned earlier, the function of your main page is to pre-sell your affiliate products/services. Basically, pre-sell means getting your visitors into buying mood before they reach your merchant's site. One of the easiest ways to pre-sell anything is to do a review.
To create a pre-selling page, you can follow these steps which consist of 7 questions. These are just outline. I advice you to further research on how to write a pre-selling article.
1)What are the problems faced by your visitors?
Write down the problems.
2) Why your visitors still got these problems?
Write down the reasons why the problems still persists. Let them know that you understand their problems.
3) Describe what life can be without the problems.
Write down what's possible. Paint a picture of the things will be when their problems are solved.
4) Introduce your product/service.
Write down how your product/service solves their problems and what differentiates your products/service from others.
5) Feature a list.
List down all the benefits of your product/service.
6) Final call.
Paint another picture to re-emphasize what life could be after using the product/service.
7) Call to action.
State clearly what you want your visitors to do. It can be sign-up for a newsletter or download a free report or click on your affiliate link.
With these answers to your questions, you should have at least some general ideas that you can use to write your pre-selling article.
To create a pre-selling page, you can follow these steps which consist of 7 questions. These are just outline. I advice you to further research on how to write a pre-selling article.
1)What are the problems faced by your visitors?
Write down the problems.
2) Why your visitors still got these problems?
Write down the reasons why the problems still persists. Let them know that you understand their problems.
3) Describe what life can be without the problems.
Write down what's possible. Paint a picture of the things will be when their problems are solved.
4) Introduce your product/service.
Write down how your product/service solves their problems and what differentiates your products/service from others.
5) Feature a list.
List down all the benefits of your product/service.
6) Final call.
Paint another picture to re-emphasize what life could be after using the product/service.
7) Call to action.
State clearly what you want your visitors to do. It can be sign-up for a newsletter or download a free report or click on your affiliate link.
With these answers to your questions, you should have at least some general ideas that you can use to write your pre-selling article.
How to Write an Article
Again, I won't go into details on this topic and I'm sure you can find more information on the net.
Let recap, according to the affiliate marketing blueprint, the main function of an article page is to funnel its traffic back to the main page. You can also build your reputation as an authority and for AdSense purposes.
Besides publishing it on your own site, you can also submit it to article directories. This will get the readers back to your website (traffic), backlinks and again build your reputation as an authority in your field.
Of course, all these will depend on how you write the article. Now, let's look at the process of writing an article.
The first step is to look for keywords to work with. Decide on your primary and secondary phrases. These keywords must me closely related to your main page. Let's take the example on the keywords data on "weight loss pills".
Next is to put yourself in your reader's shoes. Ask yourself when someone searches for "weight loss pills" is really looking for? Obviously, people who are looking for weight loss pills are people what want to lose weight.
Here are a few ideas that I can think of.
1) They are looking for alternative methods where the conventional don't work.
2) They want to know where they can buy, online.
3) They want to know which is the best in the market.
4) They want to know which brand is effective.
It's best if could include your keywords into your ideas. It makes so much easier to put these keywords into your article, naturally when you want to write.
Once you've came up with a few ideas, next is to decide on how you want to write the article - your writing style. All articles should be informative or not it's not worth writing.
There are 2 ways you can write. It can be written as a story based on your personal or another person's experience. This method makes the readers believe that you have been through their situation and can offer valuable help based on experience.
Alternatively, if you don't have any personal experience, you can write using informational approach. It would be much better if you could write both because you'll get 2 articles out of the same research. One can be posted on your site and the other can be submitted to article directories.
Let recap, according to the affiliate marketing blueprint, the main function of an article page is to funnel its traffic back to the main page. You can also build your reputation as an authority and for AdSense purposes.
Besides publishing it on your own site, you can also submit it to article directories. This will get the readers back to your website (traffic), backlinks and again build your reputation as an authority in your field.
Of course, all these will depend on how you write the article. Now, let's look at the process of writing an article.
The first step is to look for keywords to work with. Decide on your primary and secondary phrases. These keywords must me closely related to your main page. Let's take the example on the keywords data on "weight loss pills".
Next is to put yourself in your reader's shoes. Ask yourself when someone searches for "weight loss pills" is really looking for? Obviously, people who are looking for weight loss pills are people what want to lose weight.
Here are a few ideas that I can think of.
1) They are looking for alternative methods where the conventional don't work.
2) They want to know where they can buy, online.
3) They want to know which is the best in the market.
4) They want to know which brand is effective.
It's best if could include your keywords into your ideas. It makes so much easier to put these keywords into your article, naturally when you want to write.
Once you've came up with a few ideas, next is to decide on how you want to write the article - your writing style. All articles should be informative or not it's not worth writing.
There are 2 ways you can write. It can be written as a story based on your personal or another person's experience. This method makes the readers believe that you have been through their situation and can offer valuable help based on experience.
Alternatively, if you don't have any personal experience, you can write using informational approach. It would be much better if you could write both because you'll get 2 articles out of the same research. One can be posted on your site and the other can be submitted to article directories.
How to Overcome Writer's Block
To write an article can often be a hair-pulling experience. You might have a title for your article, and even the keywords you want to target, but where do you start?
One of many ways you can get started is to use a template. By using an article template, you just need to "fill-in-th-blanks" on the template, which will help you to "build" your article.
Remeber, this template is just a guideline and it's not necessary to follow exactly. Always use your creativity. This template is to help you to get things moving when you're stuck, sometimes known as writer's block.
Here are some example of the article templates.
1) The 5 & 5
2) 3 stages
3) What to do when
4) Problem/solution
5) 7 Steps to
3 Stages template.
"a quote or lyric"
present problem
3 stages
mild
moderate
severe
List of things to do
One of many ways you can get started is to use a template. By using an article template, you just need to "fill-in-th-blanks" on the template, which will help you to "build" your article.
Remeber, this template is just a guideline and it's not necessary to follow exactly. Always use your creativity. This template is to help you to get things moving when you're stuck, sometimes known as writer's block.
Here are some example of the article templates.
1) The 5 & 5
2) 3 stages
3) What to do when
4) Problem/solution
5) 7 Steps to
3 Stages template.
"a quote or lyric"
present problem
3 stages
mild
moderate
severe
List of things to do
How to Overcome Writer's Block... continued
Here's an example of an article using the 3 stages template.
Stress Management: How to Defeat Sunday Night Syndrome
"We go from 'Saturday Night Live' to 'Sunday Night Dread"
Picture the following scene:
It's Sunday evening, the weekend is winding down and you're beginning to think about the work week ahead. What are your feelings?
Do you find yourself excited and challenged, looking forward to another week of doing something you love? The most fortunate among us get to feel that way on a regular basis.
Or are you instead feeling something else, perhaps anxiety or even dread? That's a special kind of anxiety and stress I call "Sunday Night Syndrome."
All of us experience some form of SNS from time to time. What's important is how often and how severe it is.
Mild Sunday Night Syndrome
In most people, the anxiety usually begins Sunday evening, but it passes quickly and is gone by the time you arrive at work. This feeling is probably the result of working continuously for five days a week and having only two days off during which to recover.
What to do:
Relax and remember: The feeling will pass.
Rent a movie, play a game, enjoy being with family and friends.
Moderate Sunday Night Syndrome
The next stage of SNS is characterized by increasing anxiety as the work week approaches. The anxiety begins earlier in the day and doesn't pass as easily as mild SNS.
You begin to stay up later and later on Sunday night, in the hope of keeping Monday morning from arriving. As a result, you feel tired and sluggish on Monday, which leaves you ill-equipped to deal with your feelings and your work.
Other symptoms include increased irritability and inattentiveness around family and friends, as well as deteriorating work performance.
Colleagues and supervisors may begin to notice changes at this point.
What to do:
In addition to the above suggestions, make sure you get to bed early enough to be rested the next day.
Identify things about your job that you can feel good about, or even look forward to.
As crazy as it sounds, some people have found that going into the office or doing some work at home seems to help.
If going into the office is not possible, being as prepared as possible can help.
Stress Management: How to Defeat Sunday Night Syndrome
"We go from 'Saturday Night Live' to 'Sunday Night Dread"
Picture the following scene:
It's Sunday evening, the weekend is winding down and you're beginning to think about the work week ahead. What are your feelings?
Do you find yourself excited and challenged, looking forward to another week of doing something you love? The most fortunate among us get to feel that way on a regular basis.
Or are you instead feeling something else, perhaps anxiety or even dread? That's a special kind of anxiety and stress I call "Sunday Night Syndrome."
All of us experience some form of SNS from time to time. What's important is how often and how severe it is.
Mild Sunday Night Syndrome
In most people, the anxiety usually begins Sunday evening, but it passes quickly and is gone by the time you arrive at work. This feeling is probably the result of working continuously for five days a week and having only two days off during which to recover.
What to do:
Relax and remember: The feeling will pass.
Rent a movie, play a game, enjoy being with family and friends.
Moderate Sunday Night Syndrome
The next stage of SNS is characterized by increasing anxiety as the work week approaches. The anxiety begins earlier in the day and doesn't pass as easily as mild SNS.
You begin to stay up later and later on Sunday night, in the hope of keeping Monday morning from arriving. As a result, you feel tired and sluggish on Monday, which leaves you ill-equipped to deal with your feelings and your work.
Other symptoms include increased irritability and inattentiveness around family and friends, as well as deteriorating work performance.
Colleagues and supervisors may begin to notice changes at this point.
What to do:
In addition to the above suggestions, make sure you get to bed early enough to be rested the next day.
Identify things about your job that you can feel good about, or even look forward to.
As crazy as it sounds, some people have found that going into the office or doing some work at home seems to help.
If going into the office is not possible, being as prepared as possible can help.
How to Overcome Writer's Block... continued
Severe Sunday Night Syndrome
The third level of SNS doesn't wait until Sunday to arrive. It begins Saturday or even Friday after work.
By the time Sunday evening rolls around, folks with severe SNS are experiencing strong anxiety and dread.
Some people become physically ill at the prospect of another work week. Depression is common at this point, as well as drinking too much alcohol.
What to do:
What underlies your emotions and reactions? If you don't examine this issue, the feelings might just grow stronger.
It could be time to consider a change, either in the details of your job or perhaps an entire change of job or career.
Consult a career counselor to look at your options.
Make sure you are doing something, from talking about it to physical exercise, in order to relieve the stress.
You might want to seek counseling to help you manage the stress, emotions and decisions involved.
Remember: If it's hurting you, it's not likely to be helping anyone else.
All of us experience some form of Sunday Night Syndrome from time to time. It's how we respond that makes the difference.
The above template and article is written by Jeff Herring. He has been writing a syndicated newspaper column on relationships, parenting and stress management for 12 years. So, I'm not suprised with his professional writing style.
But you don' have to write like that. You can just use layman, like I did. The important thing is the formula or format of writing so that you won't get stuck when you want to start writing.
The good news is he compiled all his templates into an an ebook, 20 Article Templates for Your Writing & Marketing Success and now you can write articles easily using these templates. Each template is accompanied by an example written by Jeff himself.
The third level of SNS doesn't wait until Sunday to arrive. It begins Saturday or even Friday after work.
By the time Sunday evening rolls around, folks with severe SNS are experiencing strong anxiety and dread.
Some people become physically ill at the prospect of another work week. Depression is common at this point, as well as drinking too much alcohol.
What to do:
What underlies your emotions and reactions? If you don't examine this issue, the feelings might just grow stronger.
It could be time to consider a change, either in the details of your job or perhaps an entire change of job or career.
Consult a career counselor to look at your options.
Make sure you are doing something, from talking about it to physical exercise, in order to relieve the stress.
You might want to seek counseling to help you manage the stress, emotions and decisions involved.
Remember: If it's hurting you, it's not likely to be helping anyone else.
All of us experience some form of Sunday Night Syndrome from time to time. It's how we respond that makes the difference.
The above template and article is written by Jeff Herring. He has been writing a syndicated newspaper column on relationships, parenting and stress management for 12 years. So, I'm not suprised with his professional writing style.
But you don' have to write like that. You can just use layman, like I did. The important thing is the formula or format of writing so that you won't get stuck when you want to start writing.
The good news is he compiled all his templates into an an ebook, 20 Article Templates for Your Writing & Marketing Success and now you can write articles easily using these templates. Each template is accompanied by an example written by Jeff himself.
Affiliate Marketing Greatest Secret Ever Told
Today, I'd like to share an article extracted from a book, written by Jim Straw. This article will tell you if you're going to be a succesful or un-successful affiliate marketers. I want you to read this article first, then only comment on it later. Fair enough?
The Difference Between Information and Knowledge
When you have learned that 2 + 2 = 4, you have gained a useful piece of "information". When you have learned that 2 apples + 2 apples = 4 apples, but that 2 apples + 2 oranges = 2 apples and 2 oranges, or 2 pairs of fruit, or 4 fruits, you have gained all-important "knowledge".
Information is nice to know. It lets you answer the questions on tests (or when watching TV game shows). But until you learn to use that information in a practical application, it isn't knowledge.
Any child of 2 or 3 years of age can tell you that 2 + 2 = 4. They have heard it repeated, over and over, until they can repeat it themselves. But when confronted with 4 apples, they are at a loss to apply that information.
The same holds true for older students (and even adults) who can readily tell you that Einstein's Theory of Relativity can be expressed by the formula, E = MC2. Until they know what the E, M & C stand for and can use the formula in a practical application, it is only information, not knowledge.
A fine line exists between information and knowledge. That fine line is nothing more than "use". You can memorize bits and pieces of information all day, every day, but, until you actually use that information, it is not knowledge. Once used, information becomes knowledge and thereby, power.
SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, whether they be self-employed or wage earners, executive or common laborer, are seekers after knowledge. They absorb information from every direction. The information they can use becomes knowledge, while the information they have no apparent use for is simply stored on the chance that someday it may become useful.
UNSUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, on the other hand, claim to be seekers of knowledge, but they believe that knowledge itself can be imparted.
Because the books they read, the courses they take, and the plans they buy contain only "information" they are forever disappointed. Because it is ONLY INFORMATION (not the "knowledge" they thought they were going to get), they never use the information and, thereby, the knowledge they sought is lost to them forever.
The Difference Between Information and Knowledge
When you have learned that 2 + 2 = 4, you have gained a useful piece of "information". When you have learned that 2 apples + 2 apples = 4 apples, but that 2 apples + 2 oranges = 2 apples and 2 oranges, or 2 pairs of fruit, or 4 fruits, you have gained all-important "knowledge".
Information is nice to know. It lets you answer the questions on tests (or when watching TV game shows). But until you learn to use that information in a practical application, it isn't knowledge.
Any child of 2 or 3 years of age can tell you that 2 + 2 = 4. They have heard it repeated, over and over, until they can repeat it themselves. But when confronted with 4 apples, they are at a loss to apply that information.
The same holds true for older students (and even adults) who can readily tell you that Einstein's Theory of Relativity can be expressed by the formula, E = MC2. Until they know what the E, M & C stand for and can use the formula in a practical application, it is only information, not knowledge.
A fine line exists between information and knowledge. That fine line is nothing more than "use". You can memorize bits and pieces of information all day, every day, but, until you actually use that information, it is not knowledge. Once used, information becomes knowledge and thereby, power.
SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, whether they be self-employed or wage earners, executive or common laborer, are seekers after knowledge. They absorb information from every direction. The information they can use becomes knowledge, while the information they have no apparent use for is simply stored on the chance that someday it may become useful.
UNSUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, on the other hand, claim to be seekers of knowledge, but they believe that knowledge itself can be imparted.
Because the books they read, the courses they take, and the plans they buy contain only "information" they are forever disappointed. Because it is ONLY INFORMATION (not the "knowledge" they thought they were going to get), they never use the information and, thereby, the knowledge they sought is lost to them forever.
Affiliate Marketing Greatest Secret Ever Told... continued
Since I am the author of a great many books, booklets, reports, articles and editorials about success and making & using money (somewhere over 300 so far), those people stick-out like sore-thumbs on my customer lists. They write me long letters detailing their trials and tribulations and explain to me just why the information won't work for them. But, not one ever writes to say, "I used the information and it didn't work". Had they ever used the information, that information would have turned into knowledge and they could have reaped the rewards they have coveted for so long.
If there was a way I could "force" those people to use the information they have, I could literally GUARANTEE their success. And, in those few cases over the years where I have been able to shame or intimidate people into actually using the information I have provided, those people have achieved successes they had only dreamed were possible.
The RULES OF SUCCESS used by successful people and businesses since the beginning of time have never really changed. Those rules have been written down for all to read, learn and use, but they appear as "information" only and can only be changed to "knowledge" by use. If there were a way to "force" every person and every business to "use" those known and proven rules of success, there would be NO Unsuccessful people or businesses in the world.
Statistically, 90% of small businesses fail, and 90% of people live a life of sustained mediocrity, simply because they will not "use" the information available to them.
In your quest for financial independence you MUST learn to force yourself to use the information you have at your disposal. No one (but YOU) is going to force you to assume that responsibility.
Of course, some smart aleck reading this is going to say, "Yeah! But, I'm not going to use any bad information."
Granted, there is bad (counter-productive) information out there. BUT there is NO WAY of telling good information from bad information, UNTIL YOU TRY IT. Judging the value of information without using it is like trying to judge the flavor of a pie without ever tasting it.
If there was a way I could "force" those people to use the information they have, I could literally GUARANTEE their success. And, in those few cases over the years where I have been able to shame or intimidate people into actually using the information I have provided, those people have achieved successes they had only dreamed were possible.
The RULES OF SUCCESS used by successful people and businesses since the beginning of time have never really changed. Those rules have been written down for all to read, learn and use, but they appear as "information" only and can only be changed to "knowledge" by use. If there were a way to "force" every person and every business to "use" those known and proven rules of success, there would be NO Unsuccessful people or businesses in the world.
Statistically, 90% of small businesses fail, and 90% of people live a life of sustained mediocrity, simply because they will not "use" the information available to them.
In your quest for financial independence you MUST learn to force yourself to use the information you have at your disposal. No one (but YOU) is going to force you to assume that responsibility.
Of course, some smart aleck reading this is going to say, "Yeah! But, I'm not going to use any bad information."
Granted, there is bad (counter-productive) information out there. BUT there is NO WAY of telling good information from bad information, UNTIL YOU TRY IT. Judging the value of information without using it is like trying to judge the flavor of a pie without ever tasting it.
Affiliate Marketing Greatest Secret Ever Told... continued
If you learn nothing else from this book, learn that information only becomes knowledge when you use it and the information you have used or failed to use in the past is the reason you are where you are today.
YOU can be your best friend, or your worst enemy. No one forces you to be what you are, or do what you do (or don't do). What you have today is a direct result of what you did yesterday. What you will have tomorrow will be a direct result of what you do (or don't do) today.
It's up to you!
So, my final word to you is this.
Read, chew and digest all the information here on my lens and act on it!
YOU can be your best friend, or your worst enemy. No one forces you to be what you are, or do what you do (or don't do). What you have today is a direct result of what you did yesterday. What you will have tomorrow will be a direct result of what you do (or don't do) today.
It's up to you!
So, my final word to you is this.
Read, chew and digest all the information here on my lens and act on it!
Affiliate Marketing Guide: Understand The Language
You are about to encounter a language that you have never heard before - the language of Internet Marketing, as it relates to Affiliate Marketing. It is important that you understand what it all means, to ensure that you are signing up for programs that are worth your time.
As you will learn later, it is important to read the terms and conditions for affiliates. Sometimes, you will be presented with those terms before you sign up, and sometimes you will be presented with them after you sign up - but it is important that you read them, and it is important that you understand what is being said.
It is also important that you understand what the following terms or abbreviations mean:
CPC - Cost per click. This relates to how much it costs for each click an ad or link receives when advertising on a CPC basis. In other words, instead of paying a flat rate for the advertisement, you would pay a certain amount of money for each click the ad receives.
PPC - Pay Per Click. This relates to CPC, where you pay for each click that your ad or link receives. Google AdWords is an example of Pay Per Click advertising.
CPA - Cost per action, or cost per acquisition. Basically, this means that you will pay each time an action is taken. The action may be a click, a sign up, or a sale. In fact, many affiliate programs also pay on a CPA basis, meaning that each time someone clicks on your link, or signs up to receive information through your link, you earn a little money. Google AdSense is an example of this.
CTR - Click Through Rate. This number is usually represented as a percentage, and it refers to the number of times your ad was clicked on, in relation to how often the ad was viewed.
CPM - Cost per thousand. The amount of money you pay for every one thousand ad impressions.
URL - Uniform Relay Link, otherwise known as a link, or a website address.
Affiliate Link - A URL or link that is assigned to you by the affiliate program. This is the link that you will promote, as it is used to track your clicks and sales.
Contextual Link or Text Link - A contextual link is a link that looks like content, because it is all text. It may be several words long. A text link is a link such as www.link.com , as opposed to a banner ad.
As you will learn later, it is important to read the terms and conditions for affiliates. Sometimes, you will be presented with those terms before you sign up, and sometimes you will be presented with them after you sign up - but it is important that you read them, and it is important that you understand what is being said.
It is also important that you understand what the following terms or abbreviations mean:
CPC - Cost per click. This relates to how much it costs for each click an ad or link receives when advertising on a CPC basis. In other words, instead of paying a flat rate for the advertisement, you would pay a certain amount of money for each click the ad receives.
PPC - Pay Per Click. This relates to CPC, where you pay for each click that your ad or link receives. Google AdWords is an example of Pay Per Click advertising.
CPA - Cost per action, or cost per acquisition. Basically, this means that you will pay each time an action is taken. The action may be a click, a sign up, or a sale. In fact, many affiliate programs also pay on a CPA basis, meaning that each time someone clicks on your link, or signs up to receive information through your link, you earn a little money. Google AdSense is an example of this.
CTR - Click Through Rate. This number is usually represented as a percentage, and it refers to the number of times your ad was clicked on, in relation to how often the ad was viewed.
CPM - Cost per thousand. The amount of money you pay for every one thousand ad impressions.
URL - Uniform Relay Link, otherwise known as a link, or a website address.
Affiliate Link - A URL or link that is assigned to you by the affiliate program. This is the link that you will promote, as it is used to track your clicks and sales.
Contextual Link or Text Link - A contextual link is a link that looks like content, because it is all text. It may be several words long. A text link is a link such as www.link.com , as opposed to a banner ad.
Affiliate Marketing Guide: Understand The Language... continued
Charge Back - This will be an important term to you. This refers to when customers cancel their orders, or have their credit card companies reverse the charges. It basically means that you lose a sale. Some affiliate programs will hold money back each pay period to cover potential charge backs/refunds, and release that money to you after a specified period.
SPAM - Unsolicited Commercial Email. This term also refers to commercial posts on forums and blogs. Most affiliate programs will have strict anti-spam regulations that you must follow.
Revenue Sharing Program - This is the same thing as an affiliate program.
Co-Branding - Some affiliate programs offer co-branding options, where your company name or logo is placed on a reseller's website, or on the product itself.
Referral Link - The same as an affiliate link.
Tracking - The method or software used to record sales, clicks, leads, and other information that has to do with your affiliate link.
HTML or HTML Code - HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. This is the programming language used to build webpages. HTML code generally refers to a small portion of HTML code, such as that needed to place affiliate links or banners on your webpages.
Partner Program - This is the same thing as an affiliate program.
Super Affiliate - This refers to anyone who is making a lot of money in affiliate marketing, if you are an affiliate. However, if you have an affiliate program for your own product, this refers to your top affiliates - the ones who are making the most sales for you.
Opt-In - This refers to ezine subscriptions, newsletter subscriptions, or email lists in general. Basically, it means that the subscribers on any email list have chosen to receive the information the list owner is sending. Typically, they have confirmed their email address and their request by clicking on a link in a confirmation email, which is known as double opt-in.
1st Tier and 2nd Tier - If you are signing up for an affiliate program, directly through the company, you are first tier. If you are signing up under someone else, you are 2nd tier. However, when someone signs up under you, you are first tier, and they are your 2nd tier. Each tier gets a different commission rate for sales. In other words, when you sign up under someone else, when you make a sale, you get a full commission, and the person you signed up under gets a partial commission.
SPAM - Unsolicited Commercial Email. This term also refers to commercial posts on forums and blogs. Most affiliate programs will have strict anti-spam regulations that you must follow.
Revenue Sharing Program - This is the same thing as an affiliate program.
Co-Branding - Some affiliate programs offer co-branding options, where your company name or logo is placed on a reseller's website, or on the product itself.
Referral Link - The same as an affiliate link.
Tracking - The method or software used to record sales, clicks, leads, and other information that has to do with your affiliate link.
HTML or HTML Code - HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. This is the programming language used to build webpages. HTML code generally refers to a small portion of HTML code, such as that needed to place affiliate links or banners on your webpages.
Partner Program - This is the same thing as an affiliate program.
Super Affiliate - This refers to anyone who is making a lot of money in affiliate marketing, if you are an affiliate. However, if you have an affiliate program for your own product, this refers to your top affiliates - the ones who are making the most sales for you.
Opt-In - This refers to ezine subscriptions, newsletter subscriptions, or email lists in general. Basically, it means that the subscribers on any email list have chosen to receive the information the list owner is sending. Typically, they have confirmed their email address and their request by clicking on a link in a confirmation email, which is known as double opt-in.
1st Tier and 2nd Tier - If you are signing up for an affiliate program, directly through the company, you are first tier. If you are signing up under someone else, you are 2nd tier. However, when someone signs up under you, you are first tier, and they are your 2nd tier. Each tier gets a different commission rate for sales. In other words, when you sign up under someone else, when you make a sale, you get a full commission, and the person you signed up under gets a partial commission.
Affiliate Marketing Guide: Understand The Language... continued
Joint Ventures - Joint ventures are similar to affiliate programs, but they operate a bit differently. The concept is the same - one person promotes another person's product for a commission. However, usually the commissions are bigger, and the person doing the promoting is working directly with the owner of the product.
Direct Mail - This refers to advertising that is done via postal mail. There are strict laws about direct mail, and many affiliate programs will have terms and conditions relating to direct mail to promote their product.
Cookies - A cookie is a piece of code that is written to the cookie file on a person's computer when they click on an affiliate link - or when they visit sites that use cookies, such as sites that require a login. The cookie does not harm your customer's computer at all, and is simply there to make sure that you get credit for the sale if they come back later to make a purchase.
Affiliate Agreement - The agreement that usually lists the terms and conditions related to an affiliate program. In most cases, you will agree to the affiliate agreement by checking a box when you fill out an online form to join the program. Some affiliate programs, however, will require you to print out, sign, and fax the agreement. Make sure you read these agreements.
Conversion Rate - This is the number of sales in relation to the number of clicks received. Usually portrayed as a percentage.
Commission - The amount of money that you as an affiliate will receive per sale. Some companies will list this as a percentage, such as 50%, while others will list it as a dollar figure.
Associate or Associate Program - This is the same as an affiliate program.
Banner Ad - A graphic that is placed on your website and linked with your affiliate link.
If you come across other terms or abbreviations that you aren't sure of the meaning of, make sure that you stop and go find out what it means before agreeing to anything - or before doing anything. Not knowing can cause problems later on.
Direct Mail - This refers to advertising that is done via postal mail. There are strict laws about direct mail, and many affiliate programs will have terms and conditions relating to direct mail to promote their product.
Cookies - A cookie is a piece of code that is written to the cookie file on a person's computer when they click on an affiliate link - or when they visit sites that use cookies, such as sites that require a login. The cookie does not harm your customer's computer at all, and is simply there to make sure that you get credit for the sale if they come back later to make a purchase.
Affiliate Agreement - The agreement that usually lists the terms and conditions related to an affiliate program. In most cases, you will agree to the affiliate agreement by checking a box when you fill out an online form to join the program. Some affiliate programs, however, will require you to print out, sign, and fax the agreement. Make sure you read these agreements.
Conversion Rate - This is the number of sales in relation to the number of clicks received. Usually portrayed as a percentage.
Commission - The amount of money that you as an affiliate will receive per sale. Some companies will list this as a percentage, such as 50%, while others will list it as a dollar figure.
Associate or Associate Program - This is the same as an affiliate program.
Banner Ad - A graphic that is placed on your website and linked with your affiliate link.
If you come across other terms or abbreviations that you aren't sure of the meaning of, make sure that you stop and go find out what it means before agreeing to anything - or before doing anything. Not knowing can cause problems later on.
Affiliate Marketing Tip: How to Boost Your Affiliate Programs Income Through Expert Articles
Even though the internet is full of money making opportunities on the internet for affiliates, merchants and others, to the average internet user, content is still very much king. That means that in order to be a successful, profitable affiliate, you will need to provide those average internet users with content that they find useful, while at the same time providing those all important affiliate links that generate those big commission checks.
The best way to do this for most affiliates is to compile a list of subscribers who have opted in to obtain a freebie such as a report, ebook or other item of value to them. Many successful affiliates will have several such subscriber, or opt-in lists, representing those with interest in different types of subjects.
Compiling those lists of subscribers, however, is certainly not enough. After all, the end result you are looking for is getting those subscribers to click your affiliate link and buy products from your affiliate partners.
After you have gathered your list or lists of subscribers, it is time to provide those subscribers with content they can use. If you do not provide exciting, useful and compelling content, you will quickly be hit with a rash of unsubscribe, and they will do your merchants no good at all.
The first step, of course, is to create those articles, and the best, most cost effective way to do that, is to buy those articles from one of the many web sites where you can obtain private label articles. Buying private label articles means that you, as the affiliate, will be able to attach your name to these articles as the author.
These articles must contain interesting content that your subscribers will be anxious to read. For instance, if you have compiled a list of subscribers who are interested in fishing, it is important to provide a series of articles, each focused on a particular aspect of fishing and fishing gear.
The best way to do this for most affiliates is to compile a list of subscribers who have opted in to obtain a freebie such as a report, ebook or other item of value to them. Many successful affiliates will have several such subscriber, or opt-in lists, representing those with interest in different types of subjects.
Compiling those lists of subscribers, however, is certainly not enough. After all, the end result you are looking for is getting those subscribers to click your affiliate link and buy products from your affiliate partners.
After you have gathered your list or lists of subscribers, it is time to provide those subscribers with content they can use. If you do not provide exciting, useful and compelling content, you will quickly be hit with a rash of unsubscribe, and they will do your merchants no good at all.
The first step, of course, is to create those articles, and the best, most cost effective way to do that, is to buy those articles from one of the many web sites where you can obtain private label articles. Buying private label articles means that you, as the affiliate, will be able to attach your name to these articles as the author.
These articles must contain interesting content that your subscribers will be anxious to read. For instance, if you have compiled a list of subscribers who are interested in fishing, it is important to provide a series of articles, each focused on a particular aspect of fishing and fishing gear.
Affiliate Marketing Tip: How to Boost Your Affiliate Programs Income Throught Expert Articles... continued
For instance, the first article you send may provide tips on choosing the best lures for various types of fish, while subsequent articles can provide information on the best fishing in Canada, choosing the best fishing rod, catch and release fishing, etc.
Of course, each article will contain an affiliate link to your selected merchant, in this case a seller of fishing equipment. Depending on your affiliate relationship and goals, each article can either contain an affiliate link to the same merchant, or each article could contain an affliliate link to a different merchant.
One advantage of this article series approach is that it sets, you, the affiliate, up as an instant expert or guru. For instance, with the fishing example mentioned above, you instantly appear to be THE one resource for all things related to fishing. You would be the one person any fisherman would want as a resource. Therefore, the recommendations you make, and the merchants you recommend, have instant credibility with those on your subscriber list.
Gaining this type of credibility with your subscriber base will be essential to your success as an affiliate. After you have gained credibility and expert status with your base of opt-in subscribers, they will anxiously await your next email, and eagerly respond to your subtle urging to visit your affiliated merchants. It has been shown that those articles that provide expert level content have much better conversion rates than more general purpose articles, so it definitely pays to provide expert information to your subscriber base.
Of course, each article will contain an affiliate link to your selected merchant, in this case a seller of fishing equipment. Depending on your affiliate relationship and goals, each article can either contain an affiliate link to the same merchant, or each article could contain an affliliate link to a different merchant.
One advantage of this article series approach is that it sets, you, the affiliate, up as an instant expert or guru. For instance, with the fishing example mentioned above, you instantly appear to be THE one resource for all things related to fishing. You would be the one person any fisherman would want as a resource. Therefore, the recommendations you make, and the merchants you recommend, have instant credibility with those on your subscriber list.
Gaining this type of credibility with your subscriber base will be essential to your success as an affiliate. After you have gained credibility and expert status with your base of opt-in subscribers, they will anxiously await your next email, and eagerly respond to your subtle urging to visit your affiliated merchants. It has been shown that those articles that provide expert level content have much better conversion rates than more general purpose articles, so it definitely pays to provide expert information to your subscriber base.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Newbies - Where to Start
Design your website first and foremost for your visitors. Design and content are the top priorities. The website has to be easy for your visitors to understand and navigate. The page should be easy to scan (most people will not read it all) and the major component of every page should be the text.
Don't use crazy color schemes that are hard on the eyes or add fancy add-ons because they seem "cool" as many people won't want or like them. Be careful who you'll alienate. Remember the easiest pages to read have white or light backgrounds and dark text. People are very visual, so pictures are good, but make sure you have optimized them to load quickly. And do not rely too heavily on pictures - as text is necessary for search engines as well had for the visually handicapped. Today, also, many are using hand-held, text only browsers. You want to be accessible to as many people as possible no matter what device they use to reach you.
A "clean" website will be accessible to multiple browsers and will be handicap accessible. It will not use JavaScript menus and is better without using a template¹ than using one. It will use no (or very little) flash, sound, movies, marquees/scrolling text. Avoid using a site with "session id's" in the urls. These are killers to the search engine spiders.
A page laid out in headline - paragraph, headline - bullet points - headline - picture - etc - will be easy to read. Keep paragraphs short and highlight or bold occasional words to aid in people scanning/skimming your pages.
After the basic design, with text and pictures, is complete, go back through each page and make sure that you know exactly what each page is emphasizing. Remember that search engines simply want to find the best and most relevant pages for the terms that people use them to search for. It is your job to present those pages to the search engines.
Don't use crazy color schemes that are hard on the eyes or add fancy add-ons because they seem "cool" as many people won't want or like them. Be careful who you'll alienate. Remember the easiest pages to read have white or light backgrounds and dark text. People are very visual, so pictures are good, but make sure you have optimized them to load quickly. And do not rely too heavily on pictures - as text is necessary for search engines as well had for the visually handicapped. Today, also, many are using hand-held, text only browsers. You want to be accessible to as many people as possible no matter what device they use to reach you.
A "clean" website will be accessible to multiple browsers and will be handicap accessible. It will not use JavaScript menus and is better without using a template¹ than using one. It will use no (or very little) flash, sound, movies, marquees/scrolling text. Avoid using a site with "session id's" in the urls. These are killers to the search engine spiders.
A page laid out in headline - paragraph, headline - bullet points - headline - picture - etc - will be easy to read. Keep paragraphs short and highlight or bold occasional words to aid in people scanning/skimming your pages.
After the basic design, with text and pictures, is complete, go back through each page and make sure that you know exactly what each page is emphasizing. Remember that search engines simply want to find the best and most relevant pages for the terms that people use them to search for. It is your job to present those pages to the search engines.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Newbies - The Basic
Following are some of the basics for you to follow for each website page:
1) Do research FIRST for what keyword/keyword phrases are being used to search for what your website will cover.
2) Title Tag: Use your #1 keyword phrase for each page at the start of the Title Tag. Title tags are best if not wordy and should never be longer than the space allowed for them. If you feel you have to use your business name, use it at the end. For example if your website is about porcelain dolls and is called The Doll Shop - here's an appropriate title tag: Porcelain Dolls from The Doll Shop. Remember - this tag is what will be saved to someone's computer if they bookmark you - so they need to see right away what it is when they're looking at their bookmarks.
3) Meta Description: This should be a short advertisement for this page of the website - again start with your best keyword phrase for the page but now you can include some other information. The idea here is to entice people with this. Using the above doll store for example purposes a possible description would be. Find your collectible porcelain doll for sale including fairy and baby dolls. Add to your porcelain doll collection today with these and all the dolls available from The Doll Shop.
4) Meta Keywords: These are no longer used by most search engines. But, since some still might use them, fill them in. Remember, only list keywords/phrases that you are using on this page.
5) Headlines on your pages: Like the title - these headlines will let your customer (and the search engines) quickly know what the page is about. It's best if you use the h tags when entering headlines, so that the search engines can recognize that this is a headline. A headline is just that. It is not a sentence. It is not wordy. A good headline for the Doll Store would be Collectible Porcelain Dolls.
1) Do research FIRST for what keyword/keyword phrases are being used to search for what your website will cover.
2) Title Tag: Use your #1 keyword phrase for each page at the start of the Title Tag. Title tags are best if not wordy and should never be longer than the space allowed for them. If you feel you have to use your business name, use it at the end. For example if your website is about porcelain dolls and is called The Doll Shop - here's an appropriate title tag: Porcelain Dolls from The Doll Shop. Remember - this tag is what will be saved to someone's computer if they bookmark you - so they need to see right away what it is when they're looking at their bookmarks.
3) Meta Description: This should be a short advertisement for this page of the website - again start with your best keyword phrase for the page but now you can include some other information. The idea here is to entice people with this. Using the above doll store for example purposes a possible description would be. Find your collectible porcelain doll for sale including fairy and baby dolls. Add to your porcelain doll collection today with these and all the dolls available from The Doll Shop.
4) Meta Keywords: These are no longer used by most search engines. But, since some still might use them, fill them in. Remember, only list keywords/phrases that you are using on this page.
5) Headlines on your pages: Like the title - these headlines will let your customer (and the search engines) quickly know what the page is about. It's best if you use the h tags when entering headlines, so that the search engines can recognize that this is a headline. A headline is just that. It is not a sentence. It is not wordy. A good headline for the Doll Store would be Collectible Porcelain Dolls.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Newbies - The Basic... continued
6) Text on pages: Make sure that the keyword/keyword phrases for the page are being used on the page. Do not spam them. Do not force them. Make the copy feel natural, never forced. If you aren't sure, try reading your text out loud and see how it sounds to you. If you cringe, you've overdone the keywords.
a. Spelling is important. Use a spell checker.
b. Grammar is important. If need be, get other people to read and check your text for you.
c. Bulleted lists are good
d. Highlight/Bold words
e. Use anchor text to link to interior pages from page text.
f. Unique content is VITAL. If you cannot write copy that is unique and will work well for your site, this is the place to spend the money to get it done right.
g. Do NOT use provided copy: If you are selling products - do not use the copy provided by your supplier, but write your own content - again it should be unique.
7) Do not spam in any of the elements. In other words, don't use keywords inappropriately in the title, meta, on the page, etc. Do not try to "fool the search engines in anyway.
8) Start a blog and keep it up-to-date. If you can't keep it going daily - don't do it.
9) Join other forums, blogs, etc in your websites related field where you can useyour expertise, even if you can't directly link to your website. Become a member of the community.
a. Spelling is important. Use a spell checker.
b. Grammar is important. If need be, get other people to read and check your text for you.
c. Bulleted lists are good
d. Highlight/Bold words
e. Use anchor text to link to interior pages from page text.
f. Unique content is VITAL. If you cannot write copy that is unique and will work well for your site, this is the place to spend the money to get it done right.
g. Do NOT use provided copy: If you are selling products - do not use the copy provided by your supplier, but write your own content - again it should be unique.
7) Do not spam in any of the elements. In other words, don't use keywords inappropriately in the title, meta, on the page, etc. Do not try to "fool the search engines in anyway.
8) Start a blog and keep it up-to-date. If you can't keep it going daily - don't do it.
9) Join other forums, blogs, etc in your websites related field where you can useyour expertise, even if you can't directly link to your website. Become a member of the community.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Newbies - The Basic... continued
10) Linking: There are 3 major types of linking: One-way, Reciprocal, and Paid Links
a. One-way links: These are the most valuable links you can have to your website. This means someone has found your site worthwhile enough to give it a vote of confidence from their own website/blog/forum, etc. If you are able to put the link in a blog or forum, make sure you use the best possible anchor text in doing so.
For example in the doll store - good anchor text could be either Porcelain dolls or collectible porcelain dolls. Placing links to authority sites and sites you feel will be worthwhile to your customers is good for your site. And having a site that others will feel is worthwhile to link to you is VITAL for your site. Linking, to be valuable to search engines, should be TEXT links.
Banner links are valuable for advertising, but not for rating. A link within the text on a site (like in a blog or newsletter or paragraph), using good anchor text, is the goal for a good link.
b. Reciprocal Linking: Reciprocal links happen when you and someone else agree to exchange links to each other. Some search engines are no longer giving credit (or giving much reduced credit) to this type of linking.² While they are still helping with some search engines, it could still be worthwhile to do reciprocal linking, but keep your eyes on what the future in linking will bring.
c. Paid links: A paid link is simply one that you pay to have on a site. These are usually text links (a site may sell space on their site.) Use these if you feel you will get visitors to come to your site and purchase or do what your website is looking for. Do not use these for help with search engine ranking.
a. One-way links: These are the most valuable links you can have to your website. This means someone has found your site worthwhile enough to give it a vote of confidence from their own website/blog/forum, etc. If you are able to put the link in a blog or forum, make sure you use the best possible anchor text in doing so.
For example in the doll store - good anchor text could be either Porcelain dolls or collectible porcelain dolls. Placing links to authority sites and sites you feel will be worthwhile to your customers is good for your site. And having a site that others will feel is worthwhile to link to you is VITAL for your site. Linking, to be valuable to search engines, should be TEXT links.
Banner links are valuable for advertising, but not for rating. A link within the text on a site (like in a blog or newsletter or paragraph), using good anchor text, is the goal for a good link.
b. Reciprocal Linking: Reciprocal links happen when you and someone else agree to exchange links to each other. Some search engines are no longer giving credit (or giving much reduced credit) to this type of linking.² While they are still helping with some search engines, it could still be worthwhile to do reciprocal linking, but keep your eyes on what the future in linking will bring.
c. Paid links: A paid link is simply one that you pay to have on a site. These are usually text links (a site may sell space on their site.) Use these if you feel you will get visitors to come to your site and purchase or do what your website is looking for. Do not use these for help with search engine ranking.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Newbies - The Basic... continued
11) Link Baiting: This is the most important factor today in linking. Link baiting is creating your website and its content so that others WANT to link to you. This means finding a niche, product, idea, etc that will create the excitement or interest that causes others to look to you/for you. For example, offer something free that might entice others to send their own traffic to you. Become an authority
on something in your field that brings those natural links to you. For example, maybe that doll site could become an authority on the history of porcelain dolls, or the repair of porcelain dolls. Do so in such a manner that people come to those pages for that information - then they use the doll stores navigation to find their products.
Link baiting is a viral marketing method that doesn't have to cost any money. But it will take time to come up with an appropriate idea for your website. And it can't be something that can be found everywhere else on the web. Or if it is prevalent, you have to have a unique twist on it - something that will make people come to you, not the others.
on something in your field that brings those natural links to you. For example, maybe that doll site could become an authority on the history of porcelain dolls, or the repair of porcelain dolls. Do so in such a manner that people come to those pages for that information - then they use the doll stores navigation to find their products.
Link baiting is a viral marketing method that doesn't have to cost any money. But it will take time to come up with an appropriate idea for your website. And it can't be something that can be found everywhere else on the web. Or if it is prevalent, you have to have a unique twist on it - something that will make people come to you, not the others.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Newbies - More SEO
One page cannot be properly optimized for more than 2 or 3 keyword phrases. Ideally, 1- 2 maximum will be the best. So, having various pages that are optimized properly will be the key to making or breaking most businesses. (There are exceptions - when a business is really targeted to the point that a single page might be all it needs - if it can get the proper traffic to that page.)
Keywords and keyword phrases need to be carefully selected. If the porcelain doll site tries to compete for the term dolls - it might take a long time to get anywhere near the results it could get for collectible porcelain dolls. Use the phrases that will bring the targeted visitors and will have less competition, while you slowly move up for the more general terms.
Also remember, most people do not purchase the first time they visit a website. In fact, it normally takes 8 or MORE searches before someone clicks to purchase. And during this time, they may use different search phrases. One time they might search for porcelain dolls, another time collectible porcelain dolls, yet another it might be unique porcelain dolls. The more time your name appears when they search, the better the chance that when they are ready to buy, your site will be the one they purchase from (if your site is user-friendly, easily navigable and welcoming to them). People generally start with more broad terms, then continue narrowing their searches down to more specific terms, though.
So, if you aren't showing up in the broad terms, you might later show up in the specific search and have exactly what the person has been looking for. Now, it's vital that your site be ready for the searcher.
The author:
Beth Burgess has her own internet businesses including helping people with basic SEO and web-design. Feel free to dowload the above information in the complete pdf e-book, SEO, The Basics. This book is updated once or twice per year. To find out more about Beth and her online businesses, visit http://www.moxie-enterprises.com.
Keywords and keyword phrases need to be carefully selected. If the porcelain doll site tries to compete for the term dolls - it might take a long time to get anywhere near the results it could get for collectible porcelain dolls. Use the phrases that will bring the targeted visitors and will have less competition, while you slowly move up for the more general terms.
Also remember, most people do not purchase the first time they visit a website. In fact, it normally takes 8 or MORE searches before someone clicks to purchase. And during this time, they may use different search phrases. One time they might search for porcelain dolls, another time collectible porcelain dolls, yet another it might be unique porcelain dolls. The more time your name appears when they search, the better the chance that when they are ready to buy, your site will be the one they purchase from (if your site is user-friendly, easily navigable and welcoming to them). People generally start with more broad terms, then continue narrowing their searches down to more specific terms, though.
So, if you aren't showing up in the broad terms, you might later show up in the specific search and have exactly what the person has been looking for. Now, it's vital that your site be ready for the searcher.
The author:
Beth Burgess has her own internet businesses including helping people with basic SEO and web-design. Feel free to dowload the above information in the complete pdf e-book, SEO, The Basics. This book is updated once or twice per year. To find out more about Beth and her online businesses, visit http://www.moxie-enterprises.com.
SEO Tips for Newbies - How to Increase Your Search Engine Ranking
The methods employed to increase your Search Engine rankings may seem like rocket science to you, so you have probably avoided dealing with this issue. I am here to tell you - the time has come to face your website! A high Search Engine ranking for your website is so essential that if you have the slightest desire to actually succeed in your business, there is no way you can continue to avoid this issue.
At least 85% of people looking for goods and services on the Internet find websites through Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The idea of optimizing your pages for high Search Engine rankings is to attract targeted customers to your site who will be more than likely to make a purchase. The higher your page comes up in Search Engine results, the greater the traffic that is directed to your website. That's what Search Engine optimization is about.
You can immerse yourself in all the technical information available online to figure out how to optimize your web pages to achieve higher rankings. Or you can look at a few simple items on your pages, make some small adjustments, and most likely see improved rankings quite rapidly. The first item you should examine is the title bar on your homepage.
The title bar is the colored bar at the top of the page. Look at the words that appear there when you access your home page. To increase Search Engine rankings, the words on your homepage's title bar should include the most important keywords or phrases, one of which would include your company name.
Then click on all your links and examine the title bars on the pages you access. Each title bar on every single page of your site should contain the most important keywords and phrases taken from the page itself. However, avoid very long strings of keywords, keeping them to six words or less. Avoid repeating keywords more than once in the title bars, and make sure that identical words are not next to each other.
At least 85% of people looking for goods and services on the Internet find websites through Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The idea of optimizing your pages for high Search Engine rankings is to attract targeted customers to your site who will be more than likely to make a purchase. The higher your page comes up in Search Engine results, the greater the traffic that is directed to your website. That's what Search Engine optimization is about.
You can immerse yourself in all the technical information available online to figure out how to optimize your web pages to achieve higher rankings. Or you can look at a few simple items on your pages, make some small adjustments, and most likely see improved rankings quite rapidly. The first item you should examine is the title bar on your homepage.
The title bar is the colored bar at the top of the page. Look at the words that appear there when you access your home page. To increase Search Engine rankings, the words on your homepage's title bar should include the most important keywords or phrases, one of which would include your company name.
Then click on all your links and examine the title bars on the pages you access. Each title bar on every single page of your site should contain the most important keywords and phrases taken from the page itself. However, avoid very long strings of keywords, keeping them to six words or less. Avoid repeating keywords more than once in the title bars, and make sure that identical words are not next to each other.
SEO Tips for Newbies - How to Increase Your Search Engine Ranking...continued
The next item to put under your microscope is your website content. Search Engines generally list sites that contain quality content rather than scintillating graphics. The text on your site must contain the most important keywords - the words that potential customers will be typing into Search Engines to find your site.
Aim to have around 250 words on each page, but if this is not desirable due to your design, aim for at least 100 carefully chosen words. If you want to achieve a high ranking on Search Engines, this text is essential. However, the Search Engines must be able to read the text, meaning that the text must be in HTML and not graphic format.
To find out if your text is in HTML format, take your cursor and try to highlight a word or two. If you are able to do this, the text is HTML. If the text will not highlight, it is probably in graphic form. In this case, ask your webmaster to change the text into HTML format in order to increase your Search Engine rankings.
Next we come to what is called META tags. I know, this sounds like something out of science fiction, but it is really just simple code. Many people believe that META tags are the key to high Search Engine rankings, but in reality, they only have a limited effect. Still, it's worth adding them in the event that a Search Engine will use META tags in their ranking formula.
To find out if your page is set up with META tags, you must access the code. To do this, click the "view" button on the browser menu bar, and select "source." This will pull up a window revealing the underlying code that created the page. If there are META tags, they usually appear near the top of the window. For example, a META tag would read: META name="keywords" content=. If you do not find code that reads like this, ask your webmaster to put them in. This may not do much for your Search Engine rankings, but any little boost helps.
Aim to have around 250 words on each page, but if this is not desirable due to your design, aim for at least 100 carefully chosen words. If you want to achieve a high ranking on Search Engines, this text is essential. However, the Search Engines must be able to read the text, meaning that the text must be in HTML and not graphic format.
To find out if your text is in HTML format, take your cursor and try to highlight a word or two. If you are able to do this, the text is HTML. If the text will not highlight, it is probably in graphic form. In this case, ask your webmaster to change the text into HTML format in order to increase your Search Engine rankings.
Next we come to what is called META tags. I know, this sounds like something out of science fiction, but it is really just simple code. Many people believe that META tags are the key to high Search Engine rankings, but in reality, they only have a limited effect. Still, it's worth adding them in the event that a Search Engine will use META tags in their ranking formula.
To find out if your page is set up with META tags, you must access the code. To do this, click the "view" button on the browser menu bar, and select "source." This will pull up a window revealing the underlying code that created the page. If there are META tags, they usually appear near the top of the window. For example, a META tag would read: META name="keywords" content=. If you do not find code that reads like this, ask your webmaster to put them in. This may not do much for your Search Engine rankings, but any little boost helps.
SEO Tips for Newbies - How to Increase Your Search Engine Ranking...continued
Lastly, we come to the issue of link popularity. This is a factor that is extremely important in terms of Search Engine rankings. Almost all Search Engines use link popularity to rank your website. Link popularity is based on the quality of the sites you have linked to from your links page.
If you type in "free link popularity check" in a popular Search Engine, the Search Engine will then show you what sites are linked to your site. In the case that there aren't many sites linked up to yours, or that the sites that are linked up have low Search Engine rankings, consider launching a link popularity campaign.
Essentially, this entails contacting quality sites and requesting that they exchange links with your site. Of course, this requires checking out the rankings of the websites you want to link up with. Linking to popular, quality sites not only boosts your Search Engine ranking, but it also directs more quality traffic to your website.
Search Engine rankings are extremely important for a successful Internet marketing campaign. Before you go out and hire a Search Engine optimization company, try taking some of the simple steps listed above, and see if you can't boost your rankings yourself. Don't ever ignore this all-important factor in Internet marketing. Remember, the higher your Search Engine ranking, the more quality customers will be directed your way.
If you type in "free link popularity check" in a popular Search Engine, the Search Engine will then show you what sites are linked to your site. In the case that there aren't many sites linked up to yours, or that the sites that are linked up have low Search Engine rankings, consider launching a link popularity campaign.
Essentially, this entails contacting quality sites and requesting that they exchange links with your site. Of course, this requires checking out the rankings of the websites you want to link up with. Linking to popular, quality sites not only boosts your Search Engine ranking, but it also directs more quality traffic to your website.
Search Engine rankings are extremely important for a successful Internet marketing campaign. Before you go out and hire a Search Engine optimization company, try taking some of the simple steps listed above, and see if you can't boost your rankings yourself. Don't ever ignore this all-important factor in Internet marketing. Remember, the higher your Search Engine ranking, the more quality customers will be directed your way.
Search Engine Optimization - 14 Simple Tips on How to Increase Ranking and Traffic
Here are 14 basic principles you can follow to increase website traffic and search engine rankings.
1) Create a site with valuable content, products or services.
2) Place primary and secondary keywords within the first 25 words in your page content and spread them evenly throughout the document.
3) Research and use the right keywords/phrases to attract your target customers.
4) Use your keywords in the right fields and references within your web page such as title, meta tags, headers, etc.
5) Keep your site design simple so that your customers can navigate easily between web pages, find what they want and buy products and services.
6) Submit your web pages i.e. every web page and not just the home page, to the most popular search engines and directory services. Hire someone to do so, if required. Be sure this is a manual submission. Do not engage an automated submission service.
7) Keep track of changes in search engine algorithms and processes and accordingly modify your web pages so your search engine ranking remains high. Use online tools and utilities to keep track of how your website is doing.
8) Monitor your competitors and the top ranked websites to see what they are doing right in the way of design, navigation, content, keywords, etc.
9) Use reports and logs from your web hosting company to see where your traffic is coming from. Analyze your visitor location and their incoming sources whether search engines or links from other sites and the keywords they used to find you.
10) Make your customer visit easy and give them plenty of ways to remember you in the form of newsletters, free reports, reduction coupons etc.
11) Demonstrate your industry and product or service expertise by writing and submitting articles for your website or for article banks so you are perceived as an expert in your field.
12) When selling products online, use simple payment and shipment methods to make your customer's experience fast and easy.
13) When not sure, hire professionals. Though it may seem costly, but it is a lot less expensive than spending your money on a website which no one visits.
14) Don't look at your website as a static brochure. Treat it as a dynamic, ever-changing sales tool and location, just like your real store to which your customers with the same seriousness.
1) Create a site with valuable content, products or services.
2) Place primary and secondary keywords within the first 25 words in your page content and spread them evenly throughout the document.
3) Research and use the right keywords/phrases to attract your target customers.
4) Use your keywords in the right fields and references within your web page such as title, meta tags, headers, etc.
5) Keep your site design simple so that your customers can navigate easily between web pages, find what they want and buy products and services.
6) Submit your web pages i.e. every web page and not just the home page, to the most popular search engines and directory services. Hire someone to do so, if required. Be sure this is a manual submission. Do not engage an automated submission service.
7) Keep track of changes in search engine algorithms and processes and accordingly modify your web pages so your search engine ranking remains high. Use online tools and utilities to keep track of how your website is doing.
8) Monitor your competitors and the top ranked websites to see what they are doing right in the way of design, navigation, content, keywords, etc.
9) Use reports and logs from your web hosting company to see where your traffic is coming from. Analyze your visitor location and their incoming sources whether search engines or links from other sites and the keywords they used to find you.
10) Make your customer visit easy and give them plenty of ways to remember you in the form of newsletters, free reports, reduction coupons etc.
11) Demonstrate your industry and product or service expertise by writing and submitting articles for your website or for article banks so you are perceived as an expert in your field.
12) When selling products online, use simple payment and shipment methods to make your customer's experience fast and easy.
13) When not sure, hire professionals. Though it may seem costly, but it is a lot less expensive than spending your money on a website which no one visits.
14) Don't look at your website as a static brochure. Treat it as a dynamic, ever-changing sales tool and location, just like your real store to which your customers with the same seriousness.
Affiliate Marketing Guide : How to Promote Your Affiliate Programs
Here I'll reveal 8 promotion methods you can use to boost your affiliate commissions from your affiliate programs. I'll discuss some of the methods you've probably not heard of, whereas other methods you've thought would never work. In a real essence, it's really only a matter of doing it right.
Of course, like everything else in life, it takes multiple practices to make these methods work. But I let me assure you that what you're about the learn, will reduce your learning curve significantly. This can definitely reduce the guesswork and mistakes.
Now let's move on to the first of the 8 methods you can use in boosting your affiliate promotion and your commissions.
Of course, like everything else in life, it takes multiple practices to make these methods work. But I let me assure you that what you're about the learn, will reduce your learning curve significantly. This can definitely reduce the guesswork and mistakes.
Now let's move on to the first of the 8 methods you can use in boosting your affiliate promotion and your commissions.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Classified Ads
The process of using classified ads to generate sales for any product whether it be an original product or an affiliate product is often over-simplified and discouraged. This is, in part, because it actually is one of the harder ways in which you can advertise.
It requires you to use a small amount of words to communicate an important point, which will either make or break your ability to garner interest in the product in question. In most cases, supposed experts will discourage you from using classified ads because they themselves have never had much luck using them - NOT because classified ads aren't a viable method of advertising.
So how can you use classified ads correctly to generate a considerable amount of traffic to your affiliate product sales page?
The first step entails finding viable places to advertise. Again, many of the so-called experts will jump in and either tell you to use free sites or that free sites never work. The truth here, too, is somewhat in between: free sites can work, but you must use them carefully. For instance, if you want to generate traffic from sites that allow you to post free classifieds, you will have to find ones that actually receive traffic themselves.
One example of a site that receives a massive amount of traffic, but also allows you to post classified ads for free is craigslist, which you can find at the following URL:
http://www.craigslist.com
As long as you post classified ads in the proper section, you can do it completely free of charge. Additionally, you can do this on each of the craigslist sites for the metropolitan areas in the United States.
Another place you can post free classified ads is Yahoo. You can find this feature at the following URL:
http://classifieds.yahoo.com/.
Again, as long as its on topic, you can post a classified at for whatever you want.
It requires you to use a small amount of words to communicate an important point, which will either make or break your ability to garner interest in the product in question. In most cases, supposed experts will discourage you from using classified ads because they themselves have never had much luck using them - NOT because classified ads aren't a viable method of advertising.
So how can you use classified ads correctly to generate a considerable amount of traffic to your affiliate product sales page?
The first step entails finding viable places to advertise. Again, many of the so-called experts will jump in and either tell you to use free sites or that free sites never work. The truth here, too, is somewhat in between: free sites can work, but you must use them carefully. For instance, if you want to generate traffic from sites that allow you to post free classifieds, you will have to find ones that actually receive traffic themselves.
One example of a site that receives a massive amount of traffic, but also allows you to post classified ads for free is craigslist, which you can find at the following URL:
http://www.craigslist.com
As long as you post classified ads in the proper section, you can do it completely free of charge. Additionally, you can do this on each of the craigslist sites for the metropolitan areas in the United States.
Another place you can post free classified ads is Yahoo. You can find this feature at the following URL:
http://classifieds.yahoo.com/.
Again, as long as its on topic, you can post a classified at for whatever you want.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Classified Ads... continued
Now, with this in mind, you will want to consider the best way in which you can construct your classified ad. I personally suggest creating a headline or first line that uses psychological triggers.
Remember, with classifieds, you're not paying by the click. It's either free or you're paying for a certain period of time or impressions, so your goal should be to generate as many clicks as possible, so use words like "cheap," "free," "proven," and "shocking" to draw attention to your ad.
Once you have successfully drawn attention to your ad through the headline, you will then want to seal the deal by providing viewers with a reason to click through, provided that your affiliate product is something they will want to buy. You can do this by explicitly stating a quantifiable benefit in the second line of the classified ad - and then stating a crucial feature in the third line.
Once you have gained some experience posting ads on free classified ad mediums, you will want to move on to major electronic publications, including large e-zines and authority sites; however, before you do this, you could be confident in the classified ad and your conversion rate.
Remember, with classifieds, you're not paying by the click. It's either free or you're paying for a certain period of time or impressions, so your goal should be to generate as many clicks as possible, so use words like "cheap," "free," "proven," and "shocking" to draw attention to your ad.
Once you have successfully drawn attention to your ad through the headline, you will then want to seal the deal by providing viewers with a reason to click through, provided that your affiliate product is something they will want to buy. You can do this by explicitly stating a quantifiable benefit in the second line of the classified ad - and then stating a crucial feature in the third line.
Once you have gained some experience posting ads on free classified ad mediums, you will want to move on to major electronic publications, including large e-zines and authority sites; however, before you do this, you could be confident in the classified ad and your conversion rate.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using E-zine Advertising
Before you get started with this method, please go to an Internet marketing forum and post a question asking how well e-zine advertising fares in comparison to other marketing methods.
The answers you get are likely to be diametrically opposed. This is not only because each marketer has his own product to sell and it is in his best interest to justify the purpose of that product but it is also because there has been a genuine debate raging for the past few years about the effectiveness and direction of e-zines and e-zine advertising.
There are those who posit that e-zine advertising is dead or is near the bottom of a very steep decline. They see the average person as being overwhelmed by superfluous emails on a daily basis some coming from friends and others coming from businesses and e-zines.
In their eyes, this amounts to a continuing decrease in attention paid to any emails that look business related, even if they specifically subscribed to them.
Additionally, they argue that many people forget that they joined lists and eventually begin to ignore emails coming from that address. And all of this is true which is precisely why it is important to take it into consideration when you are conducting e-zine advertising campaigns.
So how can you affectively advertise in e-zines and reap a profit from affiliate products?
The answers you get are likely to be diametrically opposed. This is not only because each marketer has his own product to sell and it is in his best interest to justify the purpose of that product but it is also because there has been a genuine debate raging for the past few years about the effectiveness and direction of e-zines and e-zine advertising.
There are those who posit that e-zine advertising is dead or is near the bottom of a very steep decline. They see the average person as being overwhelmed by superfluous emails on a daily basis some coming from friends and others coming from businesses and e-zines.
In their eyes, this amounts to a continuing decrease in attention paid to any emails that look business related, even if they specifically subscribed to them.
Additionally, they argue that many people forget that they joined lists and eventually begin to ignore emails coming from that address. And all of this is true which is precisely why it is important to take it into consideration when you are conducting e-zine advertising campaigns.
So how can you affectively advertise in e-zines and reap a profit from affiliate products?
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using E-zine Advertising...continued
There are a number of different ways, of which, I will cover three below:
1) Target e-zines that are related to your specific affiliate product.
Create a viral report that is related to your affiliate product (as we discussed in the previous lesson). Purchase sponsor ads in reputable e-zines and send all of those interested to a page where they can download your viral report for free. This report will have an embedded affiliate link, which will generate sales on your behalf.
2) Create a persuasive solo ad.
Again, start off by purchasing solo ad space in cheaper e-zines ones that are responsive, but have a low subscription count. Test your solo ads to determine your approximate conversion rate with the given affiliate product. Once you have a rough handle on your profit margin, attempt to market your solo ads in larger publications, including e-zines with subscriber bases of over 100,000. Keep in mind that this will be expensive, but it will also pay off if you did your homework in the previous steps.
3) Last, consider targeting high-end online publications with your ads.
These will include ones that don't normally include their sites in e-zine directories, such as authority sites that publish a monthly e-zine in PDF format. These often have high response rates and will similarly draw the best response if you use them correctly.
For regular e-zines with reasonable fees, you will want to check out the following site, which lists most e-zines that offer advertising:
http://www.ezineadvertising.com/
If you're looking for something less expensive, you may want to check out the following URL:
http://www.ezinead.net/
http://www.ezines-r-us.com/
1) Target e-zines that are related to your specific affiliate product.
Create a viral report that is related to your affiliate product (as we discussed in the previous lesson). Purchase sponsor ads in reputable e-zines and send all of those interested to a page where they can download your viral report for free. This report will have an embedded affiliate link, which will generate sales on your behalf.
2) Create a persuasive solo ad.
Again, start off by purchasing solo ad space in cheaper e-zines ones that are responsive, but have a low subscription count. Test your solo ads to determine your approximate conversion rate with the given affiliate product. Once you have a rough handle on your profit margin, attempt to market your solo ads in larger publications, including e-zines with subscriber bases of over 100,000. Keep in mind that this will be expensive, but it will also pay off if you did your homework in the previous steps.
3) Last, consider targeting high-end online publications with your ads.
These will include ones that don't normally include their sites in e-zine directories, such as authority sites that publish a monthly e-zine in PDF format. These often have high response rates and will similarly draw the best response if you use them correctly.
For regular e-zines with reasonable fees, you will want to check out the following site, which lists most e-zines that offer advertising:
http://www.ezineadvertising.com/
If you're looking for something less expensive, you may want to check out the following URL:
http://www.ezinead.net/
http://www.ezines-r-us.com/
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Solo Ads
For years, internet marketers have asserted that solo ads are simply outdated. They're a dinosaur that no longer has the potential to reap any profits. However, another group of internet marketers knows that the exact opposite is the truth - solo ads can reap massive profits, but in order to do so, they must be engineered perfectly, as must the selection of the solo ad distributor.
A solo ad can be a number of things. Usually, it is a large ad between 200 and 300 words that is placed at the very center of a page. The rate on solo ads is higher than on all other potential options, but it also captures readers' attention the most by far. If you have the money to spend on a solo ad, it can be an excellent investment.
However, as with all investments (and advertisements for that matter), you must conduct your due diligence. This involves a considerable amount of research.
Now, when conducting research for a solo ad, there are two things you will want to look at:
1) The first is a list of your potential advertising outlets (in this case, probably e-zines); and
2) A list of potential approaches you can take on your solo ad.
Let's start with the first part finding a list of e-zines in which you can put a solo ad. I personally suggest starting with Directory of e-zines, which you can find at the following URL:
http://www.directoryofezines.com/
This is the ultimate resource for advertisers who want access to all e-zines and also want tips for advertising in them. If you don't have any money to spend, I would suggest starting here instead:
http://www.ezinedir.com/
A solo ad can be a number of things. Usually, it is a large ad between 200 and 300 words that is placed at the very center of a page. The rate on solo ads is higher than on all other potential options, but it also captures readers' attention the most by far. If you have the money to spend on a solo ad, it can be an excellent investment.
However, as with all investments (and advertisements for that matter), you must conduct your due diligence. This involves a considerable amount of research.
Now, when conducting research for a solo ad, there are two things you will want to look at:
1) The first is a list of your potential advertising outlets (in this case, probably e-zines); and
2) A list of potential approaches you can take on your solo ad.
Let's start with the first part finding a list of e-zines in which you can put a solo ad. I personally suggest starting with Directory of e-zines, which you can find at the following URL:
http://www.directoryofezines.com/
This is the ultimate resource for advertisers who want access to all e-zines and also want tips for advertising in them. If you don't have any money to spend, I would suggest starting here instead:
http://www.ezinedir.com/
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Solo Ads...continued
Once you have selected reputable e-zines to advertise in, you will then want to begin creating your solo ad. There are a number of writing "formulas" you can use to do this; however, you will always want to keep in mind what it is that your potential customer wants most.
In advertising, it is often easy to project our own wants in a given product onto potential buyers; however, it is important when communicating with them that you talk about their wants, not yours.
Now, when it comes to creating solo ads, I personally suggest that you spend some time at the following URL, learning about what it takes to convert readers into buyers:
http://www.copywritersboard.com/
Furthermore, I suggest that you go beyond simply writing copy and write as you would in the specific medium. For instance, if your solo ad will be featured in an e-zine, then you will want to write as if you are contacting members of a mailing list about a special offer or something similar. You may even want to refer to the owner of the list by his/her first name if he/she allows that.
Keep all of these skills in mind when conducting solo ad campaigns. All you have to do is select the right advertising mediums and create an excellent ad and your effort will pay off three fold.
In advertising, it is often easy to project our own wants in a given product onto potential buyers; however, it is important when communicating with them that you talk about their wants, not yours.
Now, when it comes to creating solo ads, I personally suggest that you spend some time at the following URL, learning about what it takes to convert readers into buyers:
http://www.copywritersboard.com/
Furthermore, I suggest that you go beyond simply writing copy and write as you would in the specific medium. For instance, if your solo ad will be featured in an e-zine, then you will want to write as if you are contacting members of a mailing list about a special offer or something similar. You may even want to refer to the owner of the list by his/her first name if he/she allows that.
Keep all of these skills in mind when conducting solo ad campaigns. All you have to do is select the right advertising mediums and create an excellent ad and your effort will pay off three fold.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Forum Posting
Posting on forums is one of the cheapest and fastest ways in which you can advertise affiliates products on the Internet. However, in order to do this successfully, you must do a number of things carefully.
But first, remember this. Simply starting a thread that contains an affiliate link might be a good way to get banned from a particular forum board, but it will never be a good way to make sales.
The general procedure involves making multiple posts on a forum board before you even setup a signature file, which includes a link to your site. Even if the particular forum you are using does not specifically mandate this, you will want to do this, anyway, as it will increase your credibility which is your real goal.
You can start by finding a number of forums for your particular niche or marketing angle. You can find massive lists of forums at the following two URLs:
http://www.big-boards.com/
http://board123.com/forum_directory.php
The first resource is currently the largest forum directory on the Internet. The second resource contains lesser directories, but includes some that are not listed on Big Boards.
Now, once you have selected a number of directories that match your specific marketing angle and affiliate product, you will want to investigate to determine whether or not they have excess rules regulating signature files.
For instance, some sites do not allow any links in signature files; others, by contrast, allow links, but do not allow any commercial links. Make sure you know what the rules are before you post. Otherwise, you are simply setting yourself up to be banned from the forum.
But first, remember this. Simply starting a thread that contains an affiliate link might be a good way to get banned from a particular forum board, but it will never be a good way to make sales.
The general procedure involves making multiple posts on a forum board before you even setup a signature file, which includes a link to your site. Even if the particular forum you are using does not specifically mandate this, you will want to do this, anyway, as it will increase your credibility which is your real goal.
You can start by finding a number of forums for your particular niche or marketing angle. You can find massive lists of forums at the following two URLs:
http://www.big-boards.com/
http://board123.com/forum_directory.php
The first resource is currently the largest forum directory on the Internet. The second resource contains lesser directories, but includes some that are not listed on Big Boards.
Now, once you have selected a number of directories that match your specific marketing angle and affiliate product, you will want to investigate to determine whether or not they have excess rules regulating signature files.
For instance, some sites do not allow any links in signature files; others, by contrast, allow links, but do not allow any commercial links. Make sure you know what the rules are before you post. Otherwise, you are simply setting yourself up to be banned from the forum.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Forum Posting... continued
Next, take the list of forums you have created that are both relevant to your topic and allow commercial links and begin developing a reputation on those forums. Post regularly, avoid meaningless fights and flaming, and contribute useful, on-target information to discussions. In a matter of 1-2 weeks, you will have developed a reputation, provided that the forum receives a considerable amount of traffic.
Once you have developed a good reputation, you will want to begin advertising through your forum signature. Ideally, you will want to include some eye-catching assortment of colors, symbols, and words in your signature.
This will draw people's attention. You will then want to link them to something other than an affiliate page whether it's a page you created to sell an affiliate product or an auto responder course used to capture email addresses.
Remember to repeat this process in all applicable forums. Look for high traffic forums that allow commercial link posting in signature files and that also happen to fit with your specific audience-targeting and marketing angle goals.
Next, create a reputation. Last, add your signature in some attractive way that draws visitors' attention, but is also likely to convert them into interested clickers. You will find that this form of advertising pays off considerably and does so faster than other methods available.
Once you have developed a good reputation, you will want to begin advertising through your forum signature. Ideally, you will want to include some eye-catching assortment of colors, symbols, and words in your signature.
This will draw people's attention. You will then want to link them to something other than an affiliate page whether it's a page you created to sell an affiliate product or an auto responder course used to capture email addresses.
Remember to repeat this process in all applicable forums. Look for high traffic forums that allow commercial link posting in signature files and that also happen to fit with your specific audience-targeting and marketing angle goals.
Next, create a reputation. Last, add your signature in some attractive way that draws visitors' attention, but is also likely to convert them into interested clickers. You will find that this form of advertising pays off considerably and does so faster than other methods available.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Traffic Exchanges
One of the best ways in which you can promote affiliate programs is through various traffic exchanges. Almost all well-defined, robust niches on the Internet have some form of traffic exchange. For instance, casinos, gaming sites, niche forums, and Internet marketing sites all have some form of traffic exchange system. IM, in particular, has dozens of exchanges.
A traffic exchange can serve multiple functions; however, in most cases, it does two important things:
1) It allows you to surf sites, gain credits, and then cash in those credits
2) It allows you to put banners or dynamically-generated link boxes on your site that will generate credits, which you can then cash in. Cashing in credits, with most exchanges, results in a certain amount of traffic being drive to your site via the exchange site or via banners on other sites that are members of the exchange.
A good place to start when working with traffic exchanges is to determine which ones are most reputable and which ones have reasonable point systems. For instance, some traffic exchanges allow users to cheat and some have bad systems of exchange, which heavily favor paying members over non-members. You will want to find the best possible exchange given the amount of money you are willing to spend and the product you are marketing.
I suggest using the following sites, which list top traffic exchanges. Additionally, you may want to talk to friends to see if any particular exchange has worked well for them:
http://www.paramind.net/paramindtrafficexchanges.html
http://www.trafficexchangelist.com/
A traffic exchange can serve multiple functions; however, in most cases, it does two important things:
1) It allows you to surf sites, gain credits, and then cash in those credits
2) It allows you to put banners or dynamically-generated link boxes on your site that will generate credits, which you can then cash in. Cashing in credits, with most exchanges, results in a certain amount of traffic being drive to your site via the exchange site or via banners on other sites that are members of the exchange.
A good place to start when working with traffic exchanges is to determine which ones are most reputable and which ones have reasonable point systems. For instance, some traffic exchanges allow users to cheat and some have bad systems of exchange, which heavily favor paying members over non-members. You will want to find the best possible exchange given the amount of money you are willing to spend and the product you are marketing.
I suggest using the following sites, which list top traffic exchanges. Additionally, you may want to talk to friends to see if any particular exchange has worked well for them:
http://www.paramind.net/paramindtrafficexchanges.html
http://www.trafficexchangelist.com/
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Traffic Exchanges... continued
Once you have selected an optimal exchange, you will want to determine the best way in which you can use it to maximize the amount of high-quality traffic you extract from it.
You will want to answer the following questions to aid yourself in determining this: do I earn credits from impressions or clicks? And do I lose credits based on impressions or clicks?
This is important to ask, as different exchanges have different policies on this issue. If you lose credits based on impressions, you will want to make sure that you get the absolute largest amount of clicks per impressions. This will involve over-hyping your ads and creating flashy banners (if they allow them).
In contrast, if you are getting charged per click, you will want to make sure your ads ONLY appeal to the most interested buyers. Whichever route you take, make sure that it is matched up with a model for maximum revenue generation.
The last thing you will want to consider when using a traffic exchange is precisely what you should promote.
You already have a product in mind - probably an affiliate product - but how will you promote it?
Will you direct visitors to the affiliate page?
Will you direct them to a page on your site, which features the product?
Or will you direct them to an opt-in form, which will capture their information and then coax them into buying over a period of time?
I personally suggest doing the last or the second and avoiding the first whenever possible.
You will want to answer the following questions to aid yourself in determining this: do I earn credits from impressions or clicks? And do I lose credits based on impressions or clicks?
This is important to ask, as different exchanges have different policies on this issue. If you lose credits based on impressions, you will want to make sure that you get the absolute largest amount of clicks per impressions. This will involve over-hyping your ads and creating flashy banners (if they allow them).
In contrast, if you are getting charged per click, you will want to make sure your ads ONLY appeal to the most interested buyers. Whichever route you take, make sure that it is matched up with a model for maximum revenue generation.
The last thing you will want to consider when using a traffic exchange is precisely what you should promote.
You already have a product in mind - probably an affiliate product - but how will you promote it?
Will you direct visitors to the affiliate page?
Will you direct them to a page on your site, which features the product?
Or will you direct them to an opt-in form, which will capture their information and then coax them into buying over a period of time?
I personally suggest doing the last or the second and avoiding the first whenever possible.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Social Networking
You might not know this, but social networking sites aren't just for teenagers anymore. In fact, social networking sites have evolved into something different altogether than what they once were, networks composed mainly of teenage girls.
Today, social networking sites span the spectrum of demographic groups. While teenagers are still more apt to use them than older people, there are now niche social networking sites, which target people who all share some common interest, such as a skateboarding or investing.
Now, in addition to teenagers and adults, social networks are increasingly becoming used by another group - businesses. That's right. Many businesses are now infiltrating social networks to advertise in some subtle manner and then replicate their message through systems that are already available within the social network.
The most prominent social network is MySpace, which boasts a membership base of 1.06 hundred million (and still growing).
If the affiliate product you are selling has a broad appeal, you may want to use MySpace to market your product, as you will be able to reach the largest crowd quickly.
Now, there are a number of different ways in which you can market your affiliate product through MySpace. One way is to setup a profile, purchase what is called an "adder robot" and then begin adding friends to your list on a daily basis. The robot can add as many as 300 per day without any problems. I recommend "badder adder" for this purpose.
Depending on your goals, you may want to add a personal profile for yourself and then talk about your business/product on your page; or you may want to simply create a profile for your business and use that to market your product.
While you can send out bulletins advertising your product through MySpace, this is generally discouraged by the MySpace staff and could lead to your getting banned. It is probably a good idea to avoid this; instead, post related bulletins that don't advertise your product, but talk about something similar.
Today, social networking sites span the spectrum of demographic groups. While teenagers are still more apt to use them than older people, there are now niche social networking sites, which target people who all share some common interest, such as a skateboarding or investing.
Now, in addition to teenagers and adults, social networks are increasingly becoming used by another group - businesses. That's right. Many businesses are now infiltrating social networks to advertise in some subtle manner and then replicate their message through systems that are already available within the social network.
The most prominent social network is MySpace, which boasts a membership base of 1.06 hundred million (and still growing).
If the affiliate product you are selling has a broad appeal, you may want to use MySpace to market your product, as you will be able to reach the largest crowd quickly.
Now, there are a number of different ways in which you can market your affiliate product through MySpace. One way is to setup a profile, purchase what is called an "adder robot" and then begin adding friends to your list on a daily basis. The robot can add as many as 300 per day without any problems. I recommend "badder adder" for this purpose.
Depending on your goals, you may want to add a personal profile for yourself and then talk about your business/product on your page; or you may want to simply create a profile for your business and use that to market your product.
While you can send out bulletins advertising your product through MySpace, this is generally discouraged by the MySpace staff and could lead to your getting banned. It is probably a good idea to avoid this; instead, post related bulletins that don't advertise your product, but talk about something similar.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Social Networking... continued
This will drive interested visitors to your page, where they can learn more about the affiliate product you are selling. Note, however, that you will have to link to a non-affiliate page, as affiliate links are expressly forbid on MySpace.
Once you have had some experience marketing to the MySpace crowd, you will want to consider looking at other social networking sites.
One other large site is Friendster. Bear in mind though, that this site is generally very popular in South-East Asia and other Asian countries.
FaceBook is another large social networking site, which caters specifically to college and high school students. You will also want to look for niche networking sites, which will afford you an opportunity to capture a more targeted audience.
Whichever sites you decide to use, keep the following in mind: your goal should be to develop a network of people who share a common interest and could potentially be interested in your specific product.
For this reason, it is always a good idea to think long term (i.e. don't do things that are going to get you banned); instead, concentrate on building your network and introducing them to your affiliate product.
Once you have had some experience marketing to the MySpace crowd, you will want to consider looking at other social networking sites.
One other large site is Friendster. Bear in mind though, that this site is generally very popular in South-East Asia and other Asian countries.
FaceBook is another large social networking site, which caters specifically to college and high school students. You will also want to look for niche networking sites, which will afford you an opportunity to capture a more targeted audience.
Whichever sites you decide to use, keep the following in mind: your goal should be to develop a network of people who share a common interest and could potentially be interested in your specific product.
For this reason, it is always a good idea to think long term (i.e. don't do things that are going to get you banned); instead, concentrate on building your network and introducing them to your affiliate product.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Free Viral Report
Did you know that the free viral report is quite possibly the most deadly weapon in an affiliate marketer's arsenal?
It allows you to quickly multiply your efforts while slashing down on marketing costs. All the marketer has to do is develop a viral report for little or no cost, embed an affiliate link in the report, and then find various avenues of distribution that will ensure that the report is perpetuated as far as possible - from group to group to group.
Now, with this being said, when it comes to developing free viral reports, a considerable amount of precise calculation and back-end system setup is needed. Simply jotting down garbage, tossing in an affiliate link, and then attempting to send it to everyone you know in isn't likely to gain you anything; nor is it likely to multiply your efforts by inducing other marketers to redistribute the report for you.
Instead, you must start from a different point. You must determine what topic people are looking for related to your specific affiliate product.
For instance, do they need more information about the product itself? Do they need to know how to use that product effectively?
Whatever your angle happens to be, make sure that it lines up with the wants of your customers and also ties in nicely with your affiliate product.
Next, create the actual viral report and embed your affiliate link in multiple places. If you have a site and a list, you may want to instead post a link to your list - and then use back-end mechanisms to make the sale.
It allows you to quickly multiply your efforts while slashing down on marketing costs. All the marketer has to do is develop a viral report for little or no cost, embed an affiliate link in the report, and then find various avenues of distribution that will ensure that the report is perpetuated as far as possible - from group to group to group.
Now, with this being said, when it comes to developing free viral reports, a considerable amount of precise calculation and back-end system setup is needed. Simply jotting down garbage, tossing in an affiliate link, and then attempting to send it to everyone you know in isn't likely to gain you anything; nor is it likely to multiply your efforts by inducing other marketers to redistribute the report for you.
Instead, you must start from a different point. You must determine what topic people are looking for related to your specific affiliate product.
For instance, do they need more information about the product itself? Do they need to know how to use that product effectively?
Whatever your angle happens to be, make sure that it lines up with the wants of your customers and also ties in nicely with your affiliate product.
Next, create the actual viral report and embed your affiliate link in multiple places. If you have a site and a list, you may want to instead post a link to your list - and then use back-end mechanisms to make the sale.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Free Viral Report... continued
Your last step is to actually ensure that this viral report. Get into as many people's hands as humanly possible and get into the hands of people who will definitely redistribute it to others without charging any fees. This is where the art of free viral report distribution comes into play.
A good way to distribute your viral report is to create a buzz on forums. You will want to discuss some specific experience you had related to the topic you will cover in the report - and you will want to do it well in advance of your release date.
You will then want to start talking up your release and also explain that the report will be completely free. Furthermore, you may want to even start locking people in for immediate distribution via email by getting them to join a list.
Once you have begun building a forum buzz for the report, you will want to go to e-zine owners in your particular niche and ask them if they are interested in getting a free report on whichever subject you are marketing. The distribution effect will multiply, subsequently multiplying your sales.
A good way to distribute your viral report is to create a buzz on forums. You will want to discuss some specific experience you had related to the topic you will cover in the report - and you will want to do it well in advance of your release date.
You will then want to start talking up your release and also explain that the report will be completely free. Furthermore, you may want to even start locking people in for immediate distribution via email by getting them to join a list.
Once you have begun building a forum buzz for the report, you will want to go to e-zine owners in your particular niche and ask them if they are interested in getting a free report on whichever subject you are marketing. The distribution effect will multiply, subsequently multiplying your sales.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Mailing List
I want to share with you one of the biggest mistakes affiliates make so that you wont make the same mistake. The one major mistake many affiliates make is NOT setting up a list.
Affiliates will often send traffic that they generated to affiliate links, rather than a list. When they do this, they are unknowingly making a bet that visitor will buy on first contact. Unfortunately, this is generally not the case.
Visitors often need to be warmed up to a product through the course of multiple visits and additional information, before they are willing to purchase from a person or a business. This is where building a list comes into play.
By building a list, affiliates can fix this problem. Additionally, they can retain traffic, warm it up, and then direct it to different purchases in the future. This means that it isn't a one-shot deal: instead, they can attempt to sell the same person multiple products over the course of time.
Now, in order to do this successfully, the affiliate in question must purchase the necessary tools. I personally suggest using Aweber for the actual auto responder service.
Aweber is relatively inexpensive and comes with a formidable range of services, including spam checkers and macros. Best of all, it is whitelisted by many email clients and boasts a delivery rate of 99%.
This service will not only manage your list, but it will also help you build it. It includes free tools that allow you to create web forms, pop-ups, and hover-ins, all of which can be used to increase your opt-in rate.
Now, in addition to purchasing the auto responder service, you will need to setup your own site if you do not already own one. If you already own a related site, you can simply add your opt in form to a page on your existing site. If not, I suggest purchasing inexpensive quality web hosting and using this to host your list forms.
Affiliates will often send traffic that they generated to affiliate links, rather than a list. When they do this, they are unknowingly making a bet that visitor will buy on first contact. Unfortunately, this is generally not the case.
Visitors often need to be warmed up to a product through the course of multiple visits and additional information, before they are willing to purchase from a person or a business. This is where building a list comes into play.
By building a list, affiliates can fix this problem. Additionally, they can retain traffic, warm it up, and then direct it to different purchases in the future. This means that it isn't a one-shot deal: instead, they can attempt to sell the same person multiple products over the course of time.
Now, in order to do this successfully, the affiliate in question must purchase the necessary tools. I personally suggest using Aweber for the actual auto responder service.
Aweber is relatively inexpensive and comes with a formidable range of services, including spam checkers and macros. Best of all, it is whitelisted by many email clients and boasts a delivery rate of 99%.
This service will not only manage your list, but it will also help you build it. It includes free tools that allow you to create web forms, pop-ups, and hover-ins, all of which can be used to increase your opt-in rate.
Now, in addition to purchasing the auto responder service, you will need to setup your own site if you do not already own one. If you already own a related site, you can simply add your opt in form to a page on your existing site. If not, I suggest purchasing inexpensive quality web hosting and using this to host your list forms.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Mailing List... continued
VodaHost offers some of the cheapest hosting available on the market which includes a free domain. You'll also love the easy-to-use free website builder, that comes with the hosting package.
Once you have your site and your auto responder setup, there are only two steps left: the first is building a course of some sort that is related to the affiliate products you will sell; and the second is creating an opt-in form that converts.
The first part is relatively easy. Start by determining your topic and then outline it over the course of five to seven days. Remember that everything should be written as if you are talking to a person, rather than as if you were writing a formal article.
If you don't feel comfortable writing these articles yourself, you can always hire a ghostwriter at Elance for $5-15 per issue, depending on the size.
Once you have created your auto responder series, you will want to feed it into your auto responder, setup advertisements in the text for the affiliate product you are planning to sell, and then create an opt-in form for your list.
Once you have setup your opt-in form, the only remaining step is to drive various traffic sources to your opt-in list, collect their email addresses and then wait for the commissions to roll in.
Once you have your site and your auto responder setup, there are only two steps left: the first is building a course of some sort that is related to the affiliate products you will sell; and the second is creating an opt-in form that converts.
The first part is relatively easy. Start by determining your topic and then outline it over the course of five to seven days. Remember that everything should be written as if you are talking to a person, rather than as if you were writing a formal article.
If you don't feel comfortable writing these articles yourself, you can always hire a ghostwriter at Elance for $5-15 per issue, depending on the size.
Once you have created your auto responder series, you will want to feed it into your auto responder, setup advertisements in the text for the affiliate product you are planning to sell, and then create an opt-in form for your list.
Once you have setup your opt-in form, the only remaining step is to drive various traffic sources to your opt-in list, collect their email addresses and then wait for the commissions to roll in.
Affiliate Marketers - 4 Most Important Advice You Should Follow at All Cost
If you are an old hand at affiliate marketing, you probably know what all of the pitfalls are. However, if you are new, you may not know where those pitfalls are until you fall into them. Here are some common problems that you can avoid in your affiliate marketing endeavors.
1) Avoid Bad Affiliate Programs
People who are new to affiliate programs don't generally know how to recognize a bad program. In order to figure out which programs are good, and which are bad, you have to be paying attention from the very beginning.
First, consider how you found out about the program. Did you learn about it from a piece of spam email you received? If so, it may be a bad program. Even if it is not a bad program, it is about to quickly become one, because if you were spammed, you can bet others were. This can literally ruin a program for everyone involved, including the owner of the product.
Is the information, such as the terms and conditions, the affiliate agreement, and the commission structure made available to you either before or during the sign up process? If so, continue on, after reading that information of course. Next, do you receive an email immediately upon sign up?
You should receive an email, even if the email is just to inform you that the company has a manual selection process for affiliates (which
would be good for you if you are selected). If there is no manual selection, and the whole thing is automated, you should immediately receive your affiliate link information, as well as login information for the affiliate area of the company's website.
In the affiliates area you should again find your affiliate link, as well as a way to edit your contact or payment information, and a way to see how many sales you have made, and possibly how many clicks or leads came through your affiliate link. Of course, you should also see records concerning commissions that are owed to you, as well as commissions that have been paid to you.
A good program will provide you with creatives to use, even if you opt not to use them. These include banners, text ads, articles, sales letters, ebooks, and other promotional materials. If these things are not provided, it does not necessarily mean that it isn't a good program but the best programs do provide these things.
1) Avoid Bad Affiliate Programs
People who are new to affiliate programs don't generally know how to recognize a bad program. In order to figure out which programs are good, and which are bad, you have to be paying attention from the very beginning.
First, consider how you found out about the program. Did you learn about it from a piece of spam email you received? If so, it may be a bad program. Even if it is not a bad program, it is about to quickly become one, because if you were spammed, you can bet others were. This can literally ruin a program for everyone involved, including the owner of the product.
Is the information, such as the terms and conditions, the affiliate agreement, and the commission structure made available to you either before or during the sign up process? If so, continue on, after reading that information of course. Next, do you receive an email immediately upon sign up?
You should receive an email, even if the email is just to inform you that the company has a manual selection process for affiliates (which
would be good for you if you are selected). If there is no manual selection, and the whole thing is automated, you should immediately receive your affiliate link information, as well as login information for the affiliate area of the company's website.
In the affiliates area you should again find your affiliate link, as well as a way to edit your contact or payment information, and a way to see how many sales you have made, and possibly how many clicks or leads came through your affiliate link. Of course, you should also see records concerning commissions that are owed to you, as well as commissions that have been paid to you.
A good program will provide you with creatives to use, even if you opt not to use them. These include banners, text ads, articles, sales letters, ebooks, and other promotional materials. If these things are not provided, it does not necessarily mean that it isn't a good program but the best programs do provide these things.
Affiliate Marketers - 4 Most Important Advice You Should Follow at All Cost...continued
The biggest test, of course, will come when it is time to receive your commission check. If the check comes on time, and in the right amount, and all of the above conditions apply, you've found a winning program.
2) Avoid Low Commissions
Money is what it is all about. Why else would you promote someone else's product? If it wasn't for the money, or the potential to earn the money, you wouldn't do it, and neither would most other people.
So why would you go with a program that offers low commissions on already low-priced products? Remember that you will put forth a lot of time and energy, and possibly even your own money, to promote this program. If the commission is low, such as 20%, of a product that is already low priced, such as $50, this probably isn't worth your time, unless you consider $10 worth the time and effort you are about to put forth.
Ideally, you should look for a payout of 50% to 75% for low priced products. Some affiliate program owners will offer an even bigger commission because they will make their money on a backend product.
High ticket items should have a commission payout between 20% and 50%. As above, for a $50 product at 20%, you would only make ten bucks. But for a product that costs $1000, you would make $200 per sale, and this is worth your time, especially if you can make four or five sales per week.
Again, figure out how much you need to earn each month. Get a total figure, then determine what products you can realistically afford to market, and how many sales will be required to make your needed income. You really just cannot afford to market some products simply because the commissions won't pay you enough.
If you find a product that you really believe in, and you feel it would be beneficial to your customers, contact the product owner. Tell him what you can do, and ask him if he or she is open to a higher commission rate agreement with you. Better yet, join the low commission affiliate program and show them what you can do for a couple of months. Just don't do this for more than a couple of months without getting your commission percentage raised.
Also look to see if higher commissions are offered for a higher number of sales, and see what the payout is for sales made by affiliates who sign up under you. Take all of this into account when making your choices, and also consider whether or not there will be residual income.
2) Avoid Low Commissions
Money is what it is all about. Why else would you promote someone else's product? If it wasn't for the money, or the potential to earn the money, you wouldn't do it, and neither would most other people.
So why would you go with a program that offers low commissions on already low-priced products? Remember that you will put forth a lot of time and energy, and possibly even your own money, to promote this program. If the commission is low, such as 20%, of a product that is already low priced, such as $50, this probably isn't worth your time, unless you consider $10 worth the time and effort you are about to put forth.
Ideally, you should look for a payout of 50% to 75% for low priced products. Some affiliate program owners will offer an even bigger commission because they will make their money on a backend product.
High ticket items should have a commission payout between 20% and 50%. As above, for a $50 product at 20%, you would only make ten bucks. But for a product that costs $1000, you would make $200 per sale, and this is worth your time, especially if you can make four or five sales per week.
Again, figure out how much you need to earn each month. Get a total figure, then determine what products you can realistically afford to market, and how many sales will be required to make your needed income. You really just cannot afford to market some products simply because the commissions won't pay you enough.
If you find a product that you really believe in, and you feel it would be beneficial to your customers, contact the product owner. Tell him what you can do, and ask him if he or she is open to a higher commission rate agreement with you. Better yet, join the low commission affiliate program and show them what you can do for a couple of months. Just don't do this for more than a couple of months without getting your commission percentage raised.
Also look to see if higher commissions are offered for a higher number of sales, and see what the payout is for sales made by affiliates who sign up under you. Take all of this into account when making your choices, and also consider whether or not there will be residual income.
Affiliate Marketers - 4 Most Important Advice You Should Follow at All Cost...continued
3) Read The Terms and Conditions
This is where a lot of affiliates fail. They simply don't take the time to read through the terms and conditions, as well as the affiliate agreement. This is often called 'fine print.' Even if you have to squint or use a magnifying glass, make sure you read and understand every part of each of these legal documents.
The terms and conditions will most likely let you know the company's policy regarding spam and/or the use of spam to promote their products, their tracking system, their liabilities, and what they will not be held legally responsible for, such as failure of the tracking system to track a sale. It should also tell you under what conditions you will be removed from the program, and what would give them the right to not pay you commissions that you have earned.
In most cases, you don't need a lawyer to interpret these things for you. You can read through the terms and conditions and make sure that it is at the very least 'standard.' If there is anything within the terms and conditions that you do not understand, you should contact the company for clarification before you promote the product.
The affiliate agreement, on the other hand, simply states that you agree to the terms and conditions and that you understand them. The commission structure may be part of either the affiliate agreement or the terms and conditions. You should also be able to find out how and when commissions are paid in this information as well.
In most cases, you will have to check a box stating that you have read and understand the terms and conditions, and possibly the agreement, and that your submission of the sign up form is evidence of that.
Things that you really want to watch out for in these legal documents is the information that tells you why the company may not pay you. Not paying for the first x number of sales should give you reason to pause. A sale is a sale, whether it is the first or the tenth, and you should be compensated for all of them.
This is where a lot of affiliates fail. They simply don't take the time to read through the terms and conditions, as well as the affiliate agreement. This is often called 'fine print.' Even if you have to squint or use a magnifying glass, make sure you read and understand every part of each of these legal documents.
The terms and conditions will most likely let you know the company's policy regarding spam and/or the use of spam to promote their products, their tracking system, their liabilities, and what they will not be held legally responsible for, such as failure of the tracking system to track a sale. It should also tell you under what conditions you will be removed from the program, and what would give them the right to not pay you commissions that you have earned.
In most cases, you don't need a lawyer to interpret these things for you. You can read through the terms and conditions and make sure that it is at the very least 'standard.' If there is anything within the terms and conditions that you do not understand, you should contact the company for clarification before you promote the product.
The affiliate agreement, on the other hand, simply states that you agree to the terms and conditions and that you understand them. The commission structure may be part of either the affiliate agreement or the terms and conditions. You should also be able to find out how and when commissions are paid in this information as well.
In most cases, you will have to check a box stating that you have read and understand the terms and conditions, and possibly the agreement, and that your submission of the sign up form is evidence of that.
Things that you really want to watch out for in these legal documents is the information that tells you why the company may not pay you. Not paying for the first x number of sales should give you reason to pause. A sale is a sale, whether it is the first or the tenth, and you should be compensated for all of them.
Affiliate Marketers - 4 Most Important Advice You Should Follow at All Cost...continued
If you see that the company will not pay you until you've earned a large amount in commissions, this is also a cause to pause. It is realistic for a company to hold your commissions until your sales reach $25 or even $50. It costs the company money to issue checks, and when you consider paying a payroll department, the cost of mailing the check, bank fees, and the cost of the check itself, it isn't reasonable to issue a check that costs more to issue than the company earned from the sales you made. But to withhold commissions until you've reached $500 or $1000 in commissions isn't reasonable.
4) "You Get Out What You Put In"
This is the most important information of all. You get out of it what you put into it. This is true for just about everything in life, and this includes affiliate marketing. People who know little or nothing about Internet marketing tend to sign up for programs, get replicated websites, and wait for the traffic to come and the sales to happen.
Of course, if you know the slightest bit about how business is done on the Internet, you know that people like that never earn a single dime from affiliate marketing. You have to promote the products. It's just that simple. The more you promote the products, the more money you are likely to earn in commissions.
If you want to earn more, do more. Take your affiliate marketing business seriously. It is a business. If you don't think that right now, then you will most likely fail. It is a business, and it should be treated as a business.
You should set aside regular business hours, when you will be doing your marketing, as well as administrative work. During those business hours, you should also include time for research. This research may include learning new marketing techniques, or learning about new products in your niche.
4) "You Get Out What You Put In"
This is the most important information of all. You get out of it what you put into it. This is true for just about everything in life, and this includes affiliate marketing. People who know little or nothing about Internet marketing tend to sign up for programs, get replicated websites, and wait for the traffic to come and the sales to happen.
Of course, if you know the slightest bit about how business is done on the Internet, you know that people like that never earn a single dime from affiliate marketing. You have to promote the products. It's just that simple. The more you promote the products, the more money you are likely to earn in commissions.
If you want to earn more, do more. Take your affiliate marketing business seriously. It is a business. If you don't think that right now, then you will most likely fail. It is a business, and it should be treated as a business.
You should set aside regular business hours, when you will be doing your marketing, as well as administrative work. During those business hours, you should also include time for research. This research may include learning new marketing techniques, or learning about new products in your niche.
Affiliate Marketers - 4 Most Important Advice You Should Follow at All Cost...continued
However, as an affiliate marketer, 99% of your work hours should be spent on marketing, whether this is writing sales copy, writing emails, placing ads, or developing new products to promote other products, such as ebooks or free reports.
The quickest way to fail is to not do anything at all, and statistics show that 90% of the people who sign up for affiliate programs that don't have any screening processes will do absolutely nothing. You need to strive to be one of the 10% that will do what is necessary to promote the product.
Don't believe for one minute that you can sit at home doing absolutely nothing, or only working five minutes a day, and earn $1000 a week. That does not happen, unless you have a trust fund or unless you have built a nice sized list in a small niche and built a solid relationship with that list. When you get to that point, and you've made a name for yourself, you may be able to cut back on work a little but if you get too lax, you can bet that you won't have your affiliate marketing profits for long.
The quickest way to fail is to not do anything at all, and statistics show that 90% of the people who sign up for affiliate programs that don't have any screening processes will do absolutely nothing. You need to strive to be one of the 10% that will do what is necessary to promote the product.
Don't believe for one minute that you can sit at home doing absolutely nothing, or only working five minutes a day, and earn $1000 a week. That does not happen, unless you have a trust fund or unless you have built a nice sized list in a small niche and built a solid relationship with that list. When you get to that point, and you've made a name for yourself, you may be able to cut back on work a little but if you get too lax, you can bet that you won't have your affiliate marketing profits for long.
Affiliate Marketing Guide: Find The Best Affiliate Programs
Now that you know what type of products you want to market, where do you find the best ones that have affiliate programs? Well, there are multiple places that you can start looking, depending on what your objective is. You must know what your objective is first.
If you plan to use affiliate programs as add-ons, such as upsells or backends to a product that you have, or another high ticket product that you are promoting, you may want to look for inexpensive "lead in" or entry level products, such as ebooks. ClickBank and PayDotCom are the best places to find affiliate programs for information products.
If you want to promote hard goods, meaning goods that are delivered via a shipping company or postal mail, there are many different places you can look. Here are a few major and essentially affiliate directories for non-information products.
Link Share
Commission Junction
Share-A-Sale
Performics
The majority of these sites are networks, where many different affiliate programs are managed. This allows you to promote a large number of affiliate products and services, and to receive one check for all sales across the network.
Alternately, you can use Google to search for products that you are interested in promoting, and visit those sites to see if they have affiliate programs. This is usually ideal for more specialized products. Also, if you don't see a link for an affiliate program on the site you are interested in promoting, use the contact email that is usually provided to inquire about the possibility of an affiliate program, or an affiliate arrangement with the company.
If you plan to use affiliate programs as add-ons, such as upsells or backends to a product that you have, or another high ticket product that you are promoting, you may want to look for inexpensive "lead in" or entry level products, such as ebooks. ClickBank and PayDotCom are the best places to find affiliate programs for information products.
If you want to promote hard goods, meaning goods that are delivered via a shipping company or postal mail, there are many different places you can look. Here are a few major and essentially affiliate directories for non-information products.
Link Share
Commission Junction
Share-A-Sale
Performics
The majority of these sites are networks, where many different affiliate programs are managed. This allows you to promote a large number of affiliate products and services, and to receive one check for all sales across the network.
Alternately, you can use Google to search for products that you are interested in promoting, and visit those sites to see if they have affiliate programs. This is usually ideal for more specialized products. Also, if you don't see a link for an affiliate program on the site you are interested in promoting, use the contact email that is usually provided to inquire about the possibility of an affiliate program, or an affiliate arrangement with the company.
Affiliate Marketing Tip: Get The Best Commission Payout
"How much money will I make?" That is always the burning question. Well, the sky is virtually the limit, but let's start by making sure that you get the best commission possible.
When you look at affiliate programs, this should be one of the first things you look at - the commission per sale. Again, this may be portrayed as a percentage, or as a dollar figure. If the commission is presented as a dollar figure, it is important to locate the sale price of the product, and figure the commission percentage.
Typically, you want to go with affiliate programs that offer a 50% commission. If the product is high priced, you may consider going as low as a 20% or 30% commission. But for lower priced products, don't accept anything less than 50% on the 1st tier.
You should also consider how many sales it will take to earn the income that you desire or require. $100 per sale may sound like a lot, but if you require $4,000 a month to live, you will have to make forty sales each month. This is very realistic for some products, in some markets, and not realistic at all for other products in other markets. Consider what you are selling, and whom you are selling it to, and determine whether the number of sales needed to make the money you require is indeed realistic.
If the number of sales required is not realistic, you will need to either look for something different to sell, or look for additional products to sell. You could also start small with smaller commissions and work your way up. This is what many super affiliates do.
Super affiliates often show the product owner/affiliate manager that they have the ability to make a large number of sales each and every month, consistently, and then they negotiate directly with the product owner for a higher commission. They prove themselves by making those sales first, and then they are in a position to negotiate.
When looking at the commission, also consider what it will cost you to promote the product. You cannot afford to spend more on promotions than you are making in commissions obviously. Know your numbers.
When you look at affiliate programs, this should be one of the first things you look at - the commission per sale. Again, this may be portrayed as a percentage, or as a dollar figure. If the commission is presented as a dollar figure, it is important to locate the sale price of the product, and figure the commission percentage.
Typically, you want to go with affiliate programs that offer a 50% commission. If the product is high priced, you may consider going as low as a 20% or 30% commission. But for lower priced products, don't accept anything less than 50% on the 1st tier.
You should also consider how many sales it will take to earn the income that you desire or require. $100 per sale may sound like a lot, but if you require $4,000 a month to live, you will have to make forty sales each month. This is very realistic for some products, in some markets, and not realistic at all for other products in other markets. Consider what you are selling, and whom you are selling it to, and determine whether the number of sales needed to make the money you require is indeed realistic.
If the number of sales required is not realistic, you will need to either look for something different to sell, or look for additional products to sell. You could also start small with smaller commissions and work your way up. This is what many super affiliates do.
Super affiliates often show the product owner/affiliate manager that they have the ability to make a large number of sales each and every month, consistently, and then they negotiate directly with the product owner for a higher commission. They prove themselves by making those sales first, and then they are in a position to negotiate.
When looking at the commission, also consider what it will cost you to promote the product. You cannot afford to spend more on promotions than you are making in commissions obviously. Know your numbers.
Affiliate Programs: One-Time or Residual?
The difference between one-time commission affiliate programs and residual affiliate programs is astronomical - in terms of income. Essentially, a one-time commission affiliate program pays you one commission, one time - upon the initial sale. Residual programs, however, continue to provide you with an income, either for the life of the customer or for a set term.
When choosing between one-time commission programs and residual programs, always choose residual programs. These allow you to make one sale to a customer, and then to profit from that customers repeat or ongoing business with the company, usually for the life of the customer/business relationship.
Where you may make $100 for a one-time commission, with a residual program, you may make $100 per month, every month, just from making one sale. The choice is obvious - residual programs typically provide you with more income for less work.
Residual programs that pay for the life of the customer are better than residual programs that only pay for a set term. You want to have the income from one sale for as long as possible.
Generally, a residual income potential exists when you sell services, such as webhosting, where the customer pays a monthly fee for the service. Every month that the customer pays the fees, you earn a commission. However, when the customer stops paying the fee, you no longer receive a commission for that customer.
For this reason, it may be best to look for services that are vitally needed by your potential customers. For instance, anyone who does business on the Internet has a need for webhosting, and they don't want their site to go down, so the chances are good that this will be a very long residual income for you.
When choosing between one-time commission programs and residual programs, always choose residual programs. These allow you to make one sale to a customer, and then to profit from that customers repeat or ongoing business with the company, usually for the life of the customer/business relationship.
Where you may make $100 for a one-time commission, with a residual program, you may make $100 per month, every month, just from making one sale. The choice is obvious - residual programs typically provide you with more income for less work.
Residual programs that pay for the life of the customer are better than residual programs that only pay for a set term. You want to have the income from one sale for as long as possible.
Generally, a residual income potential exists when you sell services, such as webhosting, where the customer pays a monthly fee for the service. Every month that the customer pays the fees, you earn a commission. However, when the customer stops paying the fee, you no longer receive a commission for that customer.
For this reason, it may be best to look for services that are vitally needed by your potential customers. For instance, anyone who does business on the Internet has a need for webhosting, and they don't want their site to go down, so the chances are good that this will be a very long residual income for you.
Affiliate Programs: One-Time or Residual?... continued
Telephone services also provide a nice residual income. Everyone needs their telephone, and most need long distance services. If you are promoting a company that provides such services at great prices, then again, this could provide a very nice long term residual income for you.
However, services that are not long term in nature can also be good if the commission is high enough. For instance, membership websites that provide customers with some type of course or learning experience may provide you with a residual income while the customer is a member of the site. However, once the customer feels that they have gleaned all that they can from that membership site, they will most likely cancel their membership, which cancels your residual income from that customer.
Certain types of products can also provide you with long term or life time residual income. Health care related products, such as vitamins and medication are good examples of this. Also, many companies give life time commissions to the affiliate for every purchase the customer makes from the very first purchase, even for different products that the company sells.
Keep these things in mind when you are searching for programs to promote. Residual is better than one-time, and life time residual is better than termed residual. Look for products or services that will provide you with life time residual income.
However, services that are not long term in nature can also be good if the commission is high enough. For instance, membership websites that provide customers with some type of course or learning experience may provide you with a residual income while the customer is a member of the site. However, once the customer feels that they have gleaned all that they can from that membership site, they will most likely cancel their membership, which cancels your residual income from that customer.
Certain types of products can also provide you with long term or life time residual income. Health care related products, such as vitamins and medication are good examples of this. Also, many companies give life time commissions to the affiliate for every purchase the customer makes from the very first purchase, even for different products that the company sells.
Keep these things in mind when you are searching for programs to promote. Residual is better than one-time, and life time residual is better than termed residual. Look for products or services that will provide you with life time residual income.
Affiliate Marketing Tip: Promote the Product and the Program
One mistake that affiliates often make, in terms of two-tiered programs or multi-tiered programs, is that they tend to spend most of their time trying to get others to sign up for the program, as an affiliate, and less time actually promoting the product.
Ideally, you should promote the product more and the affiliate programs as you go along, bringing your customers into the affiliate program after you've sold them the product. This tends to get you the most income in the long run.
Furthermore, with multi-tiered programs, residual income is not always available. For instance, if Joe signs up under you as an affiliate in a two tiered program, he may have residual income from a sale, but you may only get a one time commission from that sale he makes. In this instance, you are better off selling the product, not the program, because you would make more in residual income from your own sales in the long run.
While it is nice to have others doing the work for you, the greatest income will come from the work that you do yourself. This also keeps the company that you are selling for stable. For example, if you only promote the program, which is free to join, and everyone that joins under you only promotes the program, nobody is going to make any money, including the company!
Find a balance between promoting the program and the product, promoting the product first, then promoting the program to those who have purchased the product.
Ideally, you should promote the product more and the affiliate programs as you go along, bringing your customers into the affiliate program after you've sold them the product. This tends to get you the most income in the long run.
Furthermore, with multi-tiered programs, residual income is not always available. For instance, if Joe signs up under you as an affiliate in a two tiered program, he may have residual income from a sale, but you may only get a one time commission from that sale he makes. In this instance, you are better off selling the product, not the program, because you would make more in residual income from your own sales in the long run.
While it is nice to have others doing the work for you, the greatest income will come from the work that you do yourself. This also keeps the company that you are selling for stable. For example, if you only promote the program, which is free to join, and everyone that joins under you only promotes the program, nobody is going to make any money, including the company!
Find a balance between promoting the program and the product, promoting the product first, then promoting the program to those who have purchased the product.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using A Blog
If you aren't already blogging you need to be. Furthermore, you need to blog within the niches for the products that you are promoting. For instance, if you are promoting cat care products and gardening supplies, you need a blog for cats, and a blog for gardening. Blogs have become very useful and effective marketing tools.
Not only are blogs effective, if you look around, you will find that everybody is blogging. Some marketers think that blogging may be a waste of time simply because everyone else is doing it. This isn't the case. It is because everybody else is doing it that you should blog as well. The exposure that you will receive from blogging is astounding, and it can even become viral.
Not only are blogs effective, if you look around, you will find that everybody is blogging. Some marketers think that blogging may be a waste of time simply because everyone else is doing it. This isn't the case. It is because everybody else is doing it that you should blog as well. The exposure that you will receive from blogging is astounding, and it can even become viral.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using A Blog...continued
Blogging software is usually available with web hosting accounts. You should definitely have web hosting for the domain name that you should also have. You can typically install blog software with the click of your mouse in this case.
You can also get a free blog account at hosted sites such as Blogger. Some marketers have a blog hosted on their website, and an identical blog hosted at a hosted blog site. This way, they are providing links to their website every time they make a blog entry, which enhances search engine optimization.
If possible, add a new blog entry every single day. If you just cannot do that, make sure that you post at the very least once a week, or a few times a week. The more often you post, the more exposure your blog will receive.
One way to find something to write about is to visit other people's blogs, or to read industry trade magazines. For instance, if you are promoting cat products, you might get blog ideas from Cat Channel, which is an online cat magazine, as well as from cat blogs that have a lot of readers.
Forums about cats may also give you lots of writing ideas. Another option is to use the same method that you use with writing content for your list. Hire a ghostwriter to blog for you. Many people do this, and your hired blogger will be adding content on a regular basis, coming up with appropriate topics for your affiliate links, as you specify. This will free up your time considerably.
You can also get a free blog account at hosted sites such as Blogger. Some marketers have a blog hosted on their website, and an identical blog hosted at a hosted blog site. This way, they are providing links to their website every time they make a blog entry, which enhances search engine optimization.
If possible, add a new blog entry every single day. If you just cannot do that, make sure that you post at the very least once a week, or a few times a week. The more often you post, the more exposure your blog will receive.
One way to find something to write about is to visit other people's blogs, or to read industry trade magazines. For instance, if you are promoting cat products, you might get blog ideas from Cat Channel, which is an online cat magazine, as well as from cat blogs that have a lot of readers.
Forums about cats may also give you lots of writing ideas. Another option is to use the same method that you use with writing content for your list. Hire a ghostwriter to blog for you. Many people do this, and your hired blogger will be adding content on a regular basis, coming up with appropriate topics for your affiliate links, as you specify. This will free up your time considerably.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using A Blog...continued
Just as a website won't do you any good with visitors, a blog won't do you any good without readers. However, getting blog readers is often easier than getting website visitors. There are several ways to go about this.
First, make sure that each time you make a blog entry, you ping the blog. You can do this by going to Ping-O-Matic or Pingoat. Also, make sure that your blog has RSS capabilities. This will allow readers to load your blog in their newsreader, and it will also allow them to syndicate what you write on their own websites, which gives you more exposure.
Read and contribute to other blogs. This is vital if you want to succeed with blogging. Blogging itself is a community - no matter what the topic is. For instance, if you have a blog about cats, you should visit other people's cat blogs. Read the posts, and when you can, add a comment that is relevant to the post, and link to one of your blog posts that is also relevant. Avoid blog spamming!
Alternately, you should quote other people's blogs and provide trackback links in your own blog posts. Those trackbacks will appear on the other person's blog, leading back to your own blog.
List your blog in the search engines. You should only need to do this once, as spiders will then crawl your blog regularly and will find and index your blog entries. Even though you will be pinging the blog directories, you should also visit the directories initially to get your blog listed there as well.
Look for sites that allow you to add a link to your website, and list your blog and your website. Look specifically for sites that relate to your topic. A reciprocal link may be required, but you can easily do this with software that is provided by your hosting company.
Finally, put the link to your blog in your signature file. When you post to newsgroups and forums, and when you send email, make sure that you include that signature file.
Just remember, it is easier to promote a website than it is to promote a product, and it is easier to promote a blog than it is to promote a website. For this reason, make blogging a priority, and you will be astounded at the results.
First, make sure that each time you make a blog entry, you ping the blog. You can do this by going to Ping-O-Matic or Pingoat. Also, make sure that your blog has RSS capabilities. This will allow readers to load your blog in their newsreader, and it will also allow them to syndicate what you write on their own websites, which gives you more exposure.
Read and contribute to other blogs. This is vital if you want to succeed with blogging. Blogging itself is a community - no matter what the topic is. For instance, if you have a blog about cats, you should visit other people's cat blogs. Read the posts, and when you can, add a comment that is relevant to the post, and link to one of your blog posts that is also relevant. Avoid blog spamming!
Alternately, you should quote other people's blogs and provide trackback links in your own blog posts. Those trackbacks will appear on the other person's blog, leading back to your own blog.
List your blog in the search engines. You should only need to do this once, as spiders will then crawl your blog regularly and will find and index your blog entries. Even though you will be pinging the blog directories, you should also visit the directories initially to get your blog listed there as well.
Look for sites that allow you to add a link to your website, and list your blog and your website. Look specifically for sites that relate to your topic. A reciprocal link may be required, but you can easily do this with software that is provided by your hosting company.
Finally, put the link to your blog in your signature file. When you post to newsgroups and forums, and when you send email, make sure that you include that signature file.
Just remember, it is easier to promote a website than it is to promote a product, and it is easier to promote a blog than it is to promote a website. For this reason, make blogging a priority, and you will be astounded at the results.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using A Blog...continued
You can profit with your blog in more than one way. The first way is to get readers to your site to read your sales letter, or to your affiliate site. Unfortunately, many people leave it at that, not using the blog for any other purpose. They are leaving money on the table.
First, add Google AdSense to your blog. You will profit from clicks on the ads, and there is no reason not to do this. Remember, the important thing is that profit is made, and it ends up in your pocket. You should have one Google AdSense unit on the border of your page, and then paste in the code for each blog post as well.
Add affiliate banners around the borders of your blog. Don't use annoying banners, and make sure that all affiliate programs are relevant to your main topic. Also, promote affiliate programs within your blog posts, using your affiliate links or directing the visitor to your sales page. When doing this, however, make sure that the post is informative. Avoid just posting an advertisement as a blog entry.
If your blog becomes very popular with a high readership, sell advertising to other people on your blog! It may take a long time to get to this point, but with time and effort, you will get there.
Always be on the lookout for ways to profit from your blog. Use every opportunity for profit as it presents itself. Just remember that while people like to buy, they do not like to be sold to. Use your blog to inform people about your niche, and also use it to build a relationship with your readers.
Once the relationship is established, and you've proven yourself to be an expert in your niche, you can easily make recommendations to your readers, and your most loyal followers will buy the product solely based on your recommendation. This is very powerful.
Think about this. Is it better to market to a huge list or readership of people who really aren't all that interested in what you are saying, much less in what you are selling or is it better to market to a small list or a small following of devoted readers, of which the majority will make a purchase every time you make a recommendation? The second option is the one you want, and this is where you should focus your time and energy.
First, add Google AdSense to your blog. You will profit from clicks on the ads, and there is no reason not to do this. Remember, the important thing is that profit is made, and it ends up in your pocket. You should have one Google AdSense unit on the border of your page, and then paste in the code for each blog post as well.
Add affiliate banners around the borders of your blog. Don't use annoying banners, and make sure that all affiliate programs are relevant to your main topic. Also, promote affiliate programs within your blog posts, using your affiliate links or directing the visitor to your sales page. When doing this, however, make sure that the post is informative. Avoid just posting an advertisement as a blog entry.
If your blog becomes very popular with a high readership, sell advertising to other people on your blog! It may take a long time to get to this point, but with time and effort, you will get there.
Always be on the lookout for ways to profit from your blog. Use every opportunity for profit as it presents itself. Just remember that while people like to buy, they do not like to be sold to. Use your blog to inform people about your niche, and also use it to build a relationship with your readers.
Once the relationship is established, and you've proven yourself to be an expert in your niche, you can easily make recommendations to your readers, and your most loyal followers will buy the product solely based on your recommendation. This is very powerful.
Think about this. Is it better to market to a huge list or readership of people who really aren't all that interested in what you are saying, much less in what you are selling or is it better to market to a small list or a small following of devoted readers, of which the majority will make a purchase every time you make a recommendation? The second option is the one you want, and this is where you should focus your time and energy.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Pay-Per-Click is an effective option for affiliate promotion, if it is done correctly. You should be aware of the word 'pay' in PPC. You will be required to pay for every click you receive on your link, and if you don't pay close attention, your PPC costs can become astronomical.
PPC doesn't always work for affiliate marketing. First, you must be aware of the rules at the site where you are getting your PPC. For instance, Google has rules about promoting affiliate programs with Google AdWords PPC program.
Google does permit affiliate links in their AdWords, but they will only display one affiliate ad per search query, and this includes that of the parent company. They also will not allow links to replicated affiliate websites.
So, what you must consider here is that since there are other affiliates selling the same product you are selling, the chances of your ad actually being seen and clicked on are very slim. Second, if you have a replicated website for your affiliate programs, your ad won't show at all - ever.
You must get more creative if you hope to profit from your affiliate programs using PPC. First, don't use an affiliate link. Use your own link for your own domain, and send the visitor to your website first. You should also have them pass through a squeeze page first to collect their name and email address!
Start small with your PPC campaigns. Do your keyword research, and set yourself a budget. Work within that budget to test different ads. Also, avoid using long affiliate links. These links are obvious to people, and many people avoid them. Again, people do not like to be sold to.
Instead of using PPC to sell a product, use PPC to get qualified leads and to build a list. You will find that this is a much more economical and effective use of PPC in the long run. It may take just a little longer to make the sale, but if you are patient, you will earn more money than you would have otherwise.
PPC doesn't always work for affiliate marketing. First, you must be aware of the rules at the site where you are getting your PPC. For instance, Google has rules about promoting affiliate programs with Google AdWords PPC program.
Google does permit affiliate links in their AdWords, but they will only display one affiliate ad per search query, and this includes that of the parent company. They also will not allow links to replicated affiliate websites.
So, what you must consider here is that since there are other affiliates selling the same product you are selling, the chances of your ad actually being seen and clicked on are very slim. Second, if you have a replicated website for your affiliate programs, your ad won't show at all - ever.
You must get more creative if you hope to profit from your affiliate programs using PPC. First, don't use an affiliate link. Use your own link for your own domain, and send the visitor to your website first. You should also have them pass through a squeeze page first to collect their name and email address!
Start small with your PPC campaigns. Do your keyword research, and set yourself a budget. Work within that budget to test different ads. Also, avoid using long affiliate links. These links are obvious to people, and many people avoid them. Again, people do not like to be sold to.
Instead of using PPC to sell a product, use PPC to get qualified leads and to build a list. You will find that this is a much more economical and effective use of PPC in the long run. It may take just a little longer to make the sale, but if you are patient, you will earn more money than you would have otherwise.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Pay-Per-Click (PPC)... continued
Even if you use a PPC company that does allow the use of replicated websites, or will show more than one affiliate ad at a time, where your ad does have more potential for being seen and clicked, it is important that you drive your PPC traffic to the right place.
Again, the squeeze page is essential, as this will help you build a quality list of qualified leads. Many successful marketers use PPC for this purpose and this purpose only. If you drive the traffic straight from the PPC ad to the affiliate link, you won't have any way to contact that visitor in the future.
Further more, you will most likely be driving the visitor to a sales page that may or may not convert the visitor. It is better to bring the visitor to your site and prep them for the sale. By the time they click on your affiliate link, they should have their credit card in hand, ready to make a purchase. This typically won't happen if they are going from Google Search to your affiliate sales page.
The majority of buyers do not start out with the intention to buy - this is especially true on the Internet. On the Internet, where everything is free (according to many people), what buyers are looking for is free information or help.
If you can provide these people with the free information that they are looking for, or free tools that help them with their problem, you've won half the battle. Now, you are building a relationship, and you will profit greatly from that relationship over time.
When setting up a PPC campaign, become the customer in your mind. What does the customer want or need? How can you provide them with this free of charge in order to build a relationship? At what point is the customer primed to buy?
Only you can answer these questions, based on your niche, but in answer to the last question, you can bet that in most cases, the customer is not ready to buy when they click on your PPC link! You've got to get them into your process, and groom them for the sale.
Affiliate marketing isn't just a question of signing up and then using PPC to sell the product, no matter what you've read elsewhere. Again, it's about building a relationship with your future customers, so that they become life long customers.
Again, the squeeze page is essential, as this will help you build a quality list of qualified leads. Many successful marketers use PPC for this purpose and this purpose only. If you drive the traffic straight from the PPC ad to the affiliate link, you won't have any way to contact that visitor in the future.
Further more, you will most likely be driving the visitor to a sales page that may or may not convert the visitor. It is better to bring the visitor to your site and prep them for the sale. By the time they click on your affiliate link, they should have their credit card in hand, ready to make a purchase. This typically won't happen if they are going from Google Search to your affiliate sales page.
The majority of buyers do not start out with the intention to buy - this is especially true on the Internet. On the Internet, where everything is free (according to many people), what buyers are looking for is free information or help.
If you can provide these people with the free information that they are looking for, or free tools that help them with their problem, you've won half the battle. Now, you are building a relationship, and you will profit greatly from that relationship over time.
When setting up a PPC campaign, become the customer in your mind. What does the customer want or need? How can you provide them with this free of charge in order to build a relationship? At what point is the customer primed to buy?
Only you can answer these questions, based on your niche, but in answer to the last question, you can bet that in most cases, the customer is not ready to buy when they click on your PPC link! You've got to get them into your process, and groom them for the sale.
Affiliate marketing isn't just a question of signing up and then using PPC to sell the product, no matter what you've read elsewhere. Again, it's about building a relationship with your future customers, so that they become life long customers.
How to Promote Affiliate Programs - Using Pay-Per-Click (PPC)... continued
There are people who literally spend their entire days analyzing keywords, tweaking and tuning their PPC campaigns based on their findings. Many are successful, and many are not.
Keeping in mind that many PPC services won't show more than one affiliate ad per search, the top keywords are not always the best keywords. The beauty of PPC is that you only pay for the advertising when someone actually clicks on the link. There is no time limit for your ad, and you can afford to be patient and wait for the click. Therefore, if you are selling a weight loss product, weight loss, lose weight, and other common keywords that people search for are probably not your most profitable keywords.
First, you will have big time competition for those common keywords - and this is true in any popular niche. You will be competing against companies who have the big advertising budgets - and you cannot compete with that, not to mention the large number of other affiliates within the niche.
Don't waste your time competing with that. Instead, look for another door or window to climb through. For instance, children's weight loss or weight loss for children may be more targeted to what you are promoting, the keywords may not be as expensive, and most other affiliates probably won't consider looking for that other door or window.
Think about your product, and choose keywords that are tightly connected with it. In the weight loss niche, some less common keywords might be weight loss foods, low calorie foods, low carbohydrate foods, or even low carbohydrate food for women - or men, or children, or even dogs if that applies to your product.
The key is to narrow your niche as much as possible to choose keywords that relate as closely as possible to what you are trying to promote. You will receive fewer clicks, but from the clicks that you do receive, you will find that you make more sales than you might have with the more popular search terms or keywords - simply because the market you targeted was more qualified. The people who find you in this fashion are literally looking to buy exactly what you are selling.
Keeping in mind that many PPC services won't show more than one affiliate ad per search, the top keywords are not always the best keywords. The beauty of PPC is that you only pay for the advertising when someone actually clicks on the link. There is no time limit for your ad, and you can afford to be patient and wait for the click. Therefore, if you are selling a weight loss product, weight loss, lose weight, and other common keywords that people search for are probably not your most profitable keywords.
First, you will have big time competition for those common keywords - and this is true in any popular niche. You will be competing against companies who have the big advertising budgets - and you cannot compete with that, not to mention the large number of other affiliates within the niche.
Don't waste your time competing with that. Instead, look for another door or window to climb through. For instance, children's weight loss or weight loss for children may be more targeted to what you are promoting, the keywords may not be as expensive, and most other affiliates probably won't consider looking for that other door or window.
Think about your product, and choose keywords that are tightly connected with it. In the weight loss niche, some less common keywords might be weight loss foods, low calorie foods, low carbohydrate foods, or even low carbohydrate food for women - or men, or children, or even dogs if that applies to your product.
The key is to narrow your niche as much as possible to choose keywords that relate as closely as possible to what you are trying to promote. You will receive fewer clicks, but from the clicks that you do receive, you will find that you make more sales than you might have with the more popular search terms or keywords - simply because the market you targeted was more qualified. The people who find you in this fashion are literally looking to buy exactly what you are selling.
How to Increase Your Website Traffic and Sales - A Very Short Course
An Introduction
I'm sharing in this information because I truly believe without a doubt that this short course can literally change your financial future.
Having said that however, you need to understand that in order to change your future, you have to start by taking some sort of action.
That's why it's imperative that you realize right from the start that you can't just read this course that won't do you any good.
You have to put the information I'm about to share with you into action.
Action produces results!
Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to learn some new skills over the next few days and then put those new skills into action?
You are? Good, then let's move on.
So, what is this stealth marketing tactic that's guaranteed to bring more visitors and more profits in for your business?
Well, it's a closely guarded secret that very few marketers are willing to share.
It's the power of article promotion!
You see, one of the most effective ways you'll ever discover for bringing more traffic to your website is simply by writing highly targeted, informative, entertaining articles that can be freely distributed throughout the Internet.
This short course is going to take you step by step through the process and show you exactly what you need to do and how to do it efficiently and effectively to consistently build your traffic and ultimately increase your sales.
The truth is I literally bring hundreds of new customers to my websites each and every day just from writing a few articles each week that specifically relate to various niches I'm involved in.
Best of all, once you've written an article, they become a viral marketing tool for years to come (as you'll soon see).
Plus add to that the fact that each and every article you write can also be added to your website as content for the search engines, and you'll quickly begin to see just how powerful this stealth marketing tactic can become to quickly put more cash in your pocket.
Later, we're also going to discuss how you can turn the articles you've written into ingenious "viral marketing tools" that will attract a lot more traffic, establish your credibility in your niche', and ultimately make a lot more sales.
Having said that however, you need to understand that in order to change your future, you have to start by taking some sort of action.
That's why it's imperative that you realize right from the start that you can't just read this course that won't do you any good.
You have to put the information I'm about to share with you into action.
Action produces results!
Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to learn some new skills over the next few days and then put those new skills into action?
You are? Good, then let's move on.
So, what is this stealth marketing tactic that's guaranteed to bring more visitors and more profits in for your business?
Well, it's a closely guarded secret that very few marketers are willing to share.
It's the power of article promotion!
You see, one of the most effective ways you'll ever discover for bringing more traffic to your website is simply by writing highly targeted, informative, entertaining articles that can be freely distributed throughout the Internet.
This short course is going to take you step by step through the process and show you exactly what you need to do and how to do it efficiently and effectively to consistently build your traffic and ultimately increase your sales.
The truth is I literally bring hundreds of new customers to my websites each and every day just from writing a few articles each week that specifically relate to various niches I'm involved in.
Best of all, once you've written an article, they become a viral marketing tool for years to come (as you'll soon see).
Plus add to that the fact that each and every article you write can also be added to your website as content for the search engines, and you'll quickly begin to see just how powerful this stealth marketing tactic can become to quickly put more cash in your pocket.
Later, we're also going to discuss how you can turn the articles you've written into ingenious "viral marketing tools" that will attract a lot more traffic, establish your credibility in your niche', and ultimately make a lot more sales.
How to Increase Your Website Traffic and Sales - A Very Short Course ...continued
Unfortunately, I can hear many of you now,
- I can't write
- I hate to write
- I failed English class and I can't even spell
And I say, B.S!
Everybody can write. And I'm here to help you on your journey. In actuality:
- If you've ever written an email to a friend or family member - you can write
- If you've ever written a little apology to your spouse - you can write
- If you've ever written an essay for school - you can write
- If you've ever written a complaint about poor customer service, then you can write
- If you've ever jotted down your "favorite recipe" and gave it to a family member or friend - you can write
The list goes on and on.
And just for the sake of argument, let's say you've never written one "semi-intelligent" letter or article in your entire life, then it's time you started learning how to write.
It's that important!
Really! It's time you give it a little practice! It gets easier with practice.
Lesson #1 - the Internet is the "Information Highway". Folks are logging onto the Internet to look for information - plain and simple.
It's your job to provide them with this information if you're going to have any success online. I just cannot stress enough the importance and the overall benefits you'll receive from being able to create some quality, entertaining articles (and content) on your own so, just do it! You'll thank me down the road.
So, let's get started.
Right now, I'd like to offer you a condensed, brief crash course on article writing and quickly demonstrate to you how these little "viral goldmines" can instantly increase your website traffic and sales.
- I can't write
- I hate to write
- I failed English class and I can't even spell
And I say, B.S!
Everybody can write. And I'm here to help you on your journey. In actuality:
- If you've ever written an email to a friend or family member - you can write
- If you've ever written a little apology to your spouse - you can write
- If you've ever written an essay for school - you can write
- If you've ever written a complaint about poor customer service, then you can write
- If you've ever jotted down your "favorite recipe" and gave it to a family member or friend - you can write
The list goes on and on.
And just for the sake of argument, let's say you've never written one "semi-intelligent" letter or article in your entire life, then it's time you started learning how to write.
It's that important!
Really! It's time you give it a little practice! It gets easier with practice.
Lesson #1 - the Internet is the "Information Highway". Folks are logging onto the Internet to look for information - plain and simple.
It's your job to provide them with this information if you're going to have any success online. I just cannot stress enough the importance and the overall benefits you'll receive from being able to create some quality, entertaining articles (and content) on your own so, just do it! You'll thank me down the road.
So, let's get started.
Right now, I'd like to offer you a condensed, brief crash course on article writing and quickly demonstrate to you how these little "viral goldmines" can instantly increase your website traffic and sales.
How To Write A Great Article
1) Forget everything you were taught in English class. Writing articles is "meatball writing". You want to write in your own style and at an 8th grade reader level.
- Don't try to impress your readers with your sheer intelligence.
- Don't use big words when you can use much simpler, shorter words that have the same meaning.
- Don't bore your readers! Add some sizzle and spice.
- Be unique and show your personality! Don't be afraid to be yourself.
2) Each article you write should be approximately 500 -1000 words.
Always keep your articles short, sweet, concise and to the point.
When adding articles (as content) to your website, you can make your article as long as you'd like, however when submitting these articles to article directories to promote your website (we'll discuss in a moment) you want to follow their strict guidelines which usually involve a specific maximum word count and format.
Use bulleted points and break up lines of text with transitional effects like this... and this -- or use (parenthesis like this) to make it easier on your reader's eyes.
A well written article should consist of short sentences and short paragraphs, bulleted points and sub-headings, each addressing a specific point of topic in your article.
3) Stay focused on your topic and provide useful information.
Quality is most important. Do your research and write your articles to educate your readers.
Folks like it when you're specific so give them specifics. Offer links to additional resources if needed.
Use popular search engines like Google and Yahoo to read over similar articles and find websites focused on your subject to research your topic.
IMPORTANT: There's nothing illegal or unethical about using information you've discovered from another article or website to create an article of your very own. Just remember, NEVER copy someone else's work word for word. This is copyright infringement.
You can take notes from an informative article you've read and use that information to write your own article just as long as you put things into your own words.
- Don't try to impress your readers with your sheer intelligence.
- Don't use big words when you can use much simpler, shorter words that have the same meaning.
- Don't bore your readers! Add some sizzle and spice.
- Be unique and show your personality! Don't be afraid to be yourself.
2) Each article you write should be approximately 500 -1000 words.
Always keep your articles short, sweet, concise and to the point.
When adding articles (as content) to your website, you can make your article as long as you'd like, however when submitting these articles to article directories to promote your website (we'll discuss in a moment) you want to follow their strict guidelines which usually involve a specific maximum word count and format.
Use bulleted points and break up lines of text with transitional effects like this... and this -- or use (parenthesis like this) to make it easier on your reader's eyes.
A well written article should consist of short sentences and short paragraphs, bulleted points and sub-headings, each addressing a specific point of topic in your article.
3) Stay focused on your topic and provide useful information.
Quality is most important. Do your research and write your articles to educate your readers.
Folks like it when you're specific so give them specifics. Offer links to additional resources if needed.
Use popular search engines like Google and Yahoo to read over similar articles and find websites focused on your subject to research your topic.
IMPORTANT: There's nothing illegal or unethical about using information you've discovered from another article or website to create an article of your very own. Just remember, NEVER copy someone else's work word for word. This is copyright infringement.
You can take notes from an informative article you've read and use that information to write your own article just as long as you put things into your own words.
How To Write A Great Article ...continued
For example:
Let's say you wanted to write an article titled:
"How To Effortlessly Sweep Your Spouse Off Her Feet -- Wine Her And Dine Her - And Make Her Wonder Who The Great Imposter Is - All For Less Than $16."
What you should do is:
- List everything you already know about this subject in an easy to reference list.
- Next, go to Google and do a few searches on the topic. I'm sure you'll find several listings related to the subject. Yes, you might have to be clever in your search, but rest assured -- you'll find the info if you dig deep enough.
- Then, read over the best of those articles and websites you find and make yourself an ultra-resourceful list on your topic.
- Finally, take your notes and construct your own article in a simple, easy to read format.
That's all there is to it.
IMPORTANT TIP: You want to provide superior, quality information in each and every article you write. Having said that, you also want to try to be somewhat clever in your approach.
Let's use our example from above once again:
"How To Effortlessly Sweep Your Spouse Off Her Feet -- Wine Her And Dine Her - And Make Her Wonder Who The Great Imposter Is - All For Less Than $16."
- You might write about properly preparing for the occasion in advance -- how to be sure you have a baby sitter lined up for the kids, no guests stopping by unexpectedly, your entire menu planned out, etc...
- You may write about how important it is to have her favorite fresh flowers and her favorite music playing when she arrives home... Setting The MOOD!
- You might discuss the benefits to including a "special" little present that you know she's mentioned wanting recently...
- You can include tips on how to dress for the occasion -- why putting on a shirt and tie would really impress her and show her how serious you are about the special occasion...
- You can mention how to properly set the table with candles and fresh fruit, what types of wines go best with what dishes, some delicious romantic "finger foods" you can prepare, and how to layout the table settings perfectly...
- And finally, you can mention how important it is to prepare the perfect meal for the occasion...
Let's say you wanted to write an article titled:
"How To Effortlessly Sweep Your Spouse Off Her Feet -- Wine Her And Dine Her - And Make Her Wonder Who The Great Imposter Is - All For Less Than $16."
What you should do is:
- List everything you already know about this subject in an easy to reference list.
- Next, go to Google and do a few searches on the topic. I'm sure you'll find several listings related to the subject. Yes, you might have to be clever in your search, but rest assured -- you'll find the info if you dig deep enough.
- Then, read over the best of those articles and websites you find and make yourself an ultra-resourceful list on your topic.
- Finally, take your notes and construct your own article in a simple, easy to read format.
That's all there is to it.
IMPORTANT TIP: You want to provide superior, quality information in each and every article you write. Having said that, you also want to try to be somewhat clever in your approach.
Let's use our example from above once again:
"How To Effortlessly Sweep Your Spouse Off Her Feet -- Wine Her And Dine Her - And Make Her Wonder Who The Great Imposter Is - All For Less Than $16."
- You might write about properly preparing for the occasion in advance -- how to be sure you have a baby sitter lined up for the kids, no guests stopping by unexpectedly, your entire menu planned out, etc...
- You may write about how important it is to have her favorite fresh flowers and her favorite music playing when she arrives home... Setting The MOOD!
- You might discuss the benefits to including a "special" little present that you know she's mentioned wanting recently...
- You can include tips on how to dress for the occasion -- why putting on a shirt and tie would really impress her and show her how serious you are about the special occasion...
- You can mention how to properly set the table with candles and fresh fruit, what types of wines go best with what dishes, some delicious romantic "finger foods" you can prepare, and how to layout the table settings perfectly...
- And finally, you can mention how important it is to prepare the perfect meal for the occasion...
How To Write A Great Article ...continued
And here's the sales pitch: Every article you write can include a "resource box" at the end of the article. A resource box is basically a few lines of text that provides a little "snapshot" about the author of the article. This resource box also allows you to include a subtle "PLUG" about you, your website, your newsletter, etc.
It's extremely important not to abuse your resource box with blatant plugs and sales pitches. It's also extremely important that you NOT try to sell anything directly from your article content. Just write a quality, informative article and that's it.
When preparing your resource box, you'll want to do so in the third person context. For example, if I were to write the article above, I would include a resource box at the end of the article something like this:
About The Author:
David Nayavich is a cooking enthusiast and self proclaimed romantic. His website at http://www.mywebsite.com offers simple yet delicious recipes for creating the perfect meal on a fixed budget. David's Free E-course "Cookie Cutter Cooking" is jam packed with tips and techniques for the cooking enthusiast. Subscribe for FREE by sending a blank email to: mailto:cooking@myautoresponder.com or at http://www.mywebsite.com
Do you see why that resource box is so powerful?
I just wrote an article about how to "WOW" your mate with a nice romantic evening, included dozens of helpful tips to accomplish the task, gave specific instructions (just like the title promised), and closed with a paragraph about the importance of cooking up a great meal to top off the evening.
Now, when someone reads my resource box, it explains how they can visit my website and find all sorts of delicious recipes. Because they were interested enough to read my article, they now understand how equally important the "perfectly prepared meal" is to the occasion.
Do you think they'll click through from one of the links in the resource box to our website?
It's extremely important not to abuse your resource box with blatant plugs and sales pitches. It's also extremely important that you NOT try to sell anything directly from your article content. Just write a quality, informative article and that's it.
When preparing your resource box, you'll want to do so in the third person context. For example, if I were to write the article above, I would include a resource box at the end of the article something like this:
About The Author:
David Nayavich is a cooking enthusiast and self proclaimed romantic. His website at http://www.mywebsite.com offers simple yet delicious recipes for creating the perfect meal on a fixed budget. David's Free E-course "Cookie Cutter Cooking" is jam packed with tips and techniques for the cooking enthusiast. Subscribe for FREE by sending a blank email to: mailto:cooking@myautoresponder.com or at http://www.mywebsite.com
Do you see why that resource box is so powerful?
I just wrote an article about how to "WOW" your mate with a nice romantic evening, included dozens of helpful tips to accomplish the task, gave specific instructions (just like the title promised), and closed with a paragraph about the importance of cooking up a great meal to top off the evening.
Now, when someone reads my resource box, it explains how they can visit my website and find all sorts of delicious recipes. Because they were interested enough to read my article, they now understand how equally important the "perfectly prepared meal" is to the occasion.
Do you think they'll click through from one of the links in the resource box to our website?
How To Write A Great Article ...continued
Absolutely!
Plus, if they're already a "Master Chef" they also have the option to easily (with just a blank email sent by clicking on the link) sign up for a FREE e-course.
Brilliant? No.
Spend 50% of your efforts on the "TITLE" of your article. This is extremely important. If your title isn't full of benefits for it's readers, chances are the article won't even get read, so spend a lot of time on it.
The above point is extremely important. The title of your article will decide it's success or failure - plain and simple.
Here are two of my favorite ways to insure you create a killer title for your article:
1) Ask a question in the title. For example:
- Do You Make These 4 Stupid Mistakes When Asking Someone Out On A First Date? This May Be The Reason You're Sitting Home Every Weekend!
- Are You Embarrassed To Smile? Try These "Secret" Home Whitening Remedies And Never Be Ashamed To Show Those "Pearly Whites" Again!
- Are You Tired Of Searching For Your Perfect Soul Mate? Take This Romance Quiz And Find Out Where You're Failing...And How To Correct It!
- Is Your Spouse Having An Affair? Discover These Three "Dead Giveaways" And You'll Immediately Know For Sure...
2) Offer "How To" advice. For example:
- How To Win Back Your Old Flame's Affection In Three Easy Steps - Do This And You'll Quickly Mend Your Broken Heart!
- How To Effortlessly Sweep Your Spouse Off Her Feet -- Wine Her And Dine Her -- And Make Her Wonder Who The Great Imposter Is -- All For Less Than $16.
- How To Win The Heart Of That "Special Someone" Using These Five Simple Questions -- Best Of All... They'll Never Realize You've Cast Your Magic Spell!
Plus, if they're already a "Master Chef" they also have the option to easily (with just a blank email sent by clicking on the link) sign up for a FREE e-course.
Brilliant? No.
Spend 50% of your efforts on the "TITLE" of your article. This is extremely important. If your title isn't full of benefits for it's readers, chances are the article won't even get read, so spend a lot of time on it.
The above point is extremely important. The title of your article will decide it's success or failure - plain and simple.
Here are two of my favorite ways to insure you create a killer title for your article:
1) Ask a question in the title. For example:
- Do You Make These 4 Stupid Mistakes When Asking Someone Out On A First Date? This May Be The Reason You're Sitting Home Every Weekend!
- Are You Embarrassed To Smile? Try These "Secret" Home Whitening Remedies And Never Be Ashamed To Show Those "Pearly Whites" Again!
- Are You Tired Of Searching For Your Perfect Soul Mate? Take This Romance Quiz And Find Out Where You're Failing...And How To Correct It!
- Is Your Spouse Having An Affair? Discover These Three "Dead Giveaways" And You'll Immediately Know For Sure...
2) Offer "How To" advice. For example:
- How To Win Back Your Old Flame's Affection In Three Easy Steps - Do This And You'll Quickly Mend Your Broken Heart!
- How To Effortlessly Sweep Your Spouse Off Her Feet -- Wine Her And Dine Her -- And Make Her Wonder Who The Great Imposter Is -- All For Less Than $16.
- How To Win The Heart Of That "Special Someone" Using These Five Simple Questions -- Best Of All... They'll Never Realize You've Cast Your Magic Spell!
How to Write Titles for Your Articles - Additional Tips
Be very specific:
- Three Keys To A Successful....
- Four "Ultra-Resourceful" Ways You Can....
- Seven Crucial Steps To Take To...
Or...
... In Only 3 Days Or Less!
... In Just One Weekend!
... For Under $10
... Just Listening To Your CD Player While Driving Home From Work!
For example... Don't just say:
"Your Family Will Love My Famous Homemade Spaghetti And Meatballs Recipe -- Guaranteed!"
But instead say:
"Discover "Grandma Lucia's" Traditional Pasta Recipe... Spaghetti And Meatballs... Still Being Served Daily In Her Sicilian Pasta House -- Prepared In Under 20 Minutes For Less Than $4 Bucks A Serving -- Deliciouso!"
If you sell electronics on your website and plan to write an article on installing a home theatre system...
Don't Say:
"Discover My Clever Little Secrets To Installing A Home Theatre System In Your Home"
But instead say:
"Learn How To Install Your Very Own Home Theatre System In Under Two Hours -- NO TOOLS REQUIRED -- For Less Than $50... Using Only The Equipment You Already Have In Your Home!"
You get the idea? Be very specific in your title and clearly state the benefits of reading the article in the title. Benefits... Benefits... Benefits...!
Be specific! Don't say several ways you can learn how to do something:
= say 5 ways
= or 10 ways
= or 3 ways
Don't just say quickly and easily:
= say in less than two hours
= in only a weekend
= no tools required
Use the word "YOU" as often as possible in your title. People want to know "what's in it for me if I read this? By using the word "YOU", it's a psychological trigger that tells them that there is something in it for them.
Okay? Let's do one more.
- Three Keys To A Successful....
- Four "Ultra-Resourceful" Ways You Can....
- Seven Crucial Steps To Take To...
Or...
... In Only 3 Days Or Less!
... In Just One Weekend!
... For Under $10
... Just Listening To Your CD Player While Driving Home From Work!
For example... Don't just say:
"Your Family Will Love My Famous Homemade Spaghetti And Meatballs Recipe -- Guaranteed!"
But instead say:
"Discover "Grandma Lucia's" Traditional Pasta Recipe... Spaghetti And Meatballs... Still Being Served Daily In Her Sicilian Pasta House -- Prepared In Under 20 Minutes For Less Than $4 Bucks A Serving -- Deliciouso!"
If you sell electronics on your website and plan to write an article on installing a home theatre system...
Don't Say:
"Discover My Clever Little Secrets To Installing A Home Theatre System In Your Home"
But instead say:
"Learn How To Install Your Very Own Home Theatre System In Under Two Hours -- NO TOOLS REQUIRED -- For Less Than $50... Using Only The Equipment You Already Have In Your Home!"
You get the idea? Be very specific in your title and clearly state the benefits of reading the article in the title. Benefits... Benefits... Benefits...!
Be specific! Don't say several ways you can learn how to do something:
= say 5 ways
= or 10 ways
= or 3 ways
Don't just say quickly and easily:
= say in less than two hours
= in only a weekend
= no tools required
Use the word "YOU" as often as possible in your title. People want to know "what's in it for me if I read this? By using the word "YOU", it's a psychological trigger that tells them that there is something in it for them.
Okay? Let's do one more.
How to Write Titles for Your Articles - Additional Tips ...continued
Let's say you have a website selling pet products. You're capture page (homepage) is all setup to capture a customer's email address by offering a free report and free e-course about a topic related to pets.
Now, let's take things one step further and let's assume you want to write an article that you can submit to several article directories (FREE) to get a rush of traffic to your site. Here's the type of article you might write:
"Discover 3 Safe And Natural Remedies Guaranteed To Rid Your Home Of Fleas In 5 Days Or Less Using Only Five Basic Ingredients Found Right In Your Pantry -- Plus Save Over $200 A Year On Harmful Pesticides.
Or here's another.
"Discover An Amazingly Simple Yet Effective Shortcut To Housebreak Your New Puppy In 7 Days or Less...Spending Only 10 Minutes A Day!"
Be unique, entertaining and show off your personality.
In my opinion, this one element of writing to a targeted audience is critical. Think back for a moment to when you were in school. I'll bet you remember a favorite teacher or professor who you just absolutely loved learning from.
Why?
Usually, it's because of their personality, one that seemed to shine through in their teaching. In it's simplest terms, learning is boring. Most folks hate the thought of learning something new. It's a painful experience. So it's your job to ease the pain and make the learning process fun and entertaining while still providing quality content.
Once you master this skill, you'll have a dedicated following of readers who will look forward to each and every article (or email) you write.
Don't be afraid to be yourself and offer a little bit of humor once in a while. Show folks that you're a real person and not some robot hiding behind a computer screen.
Don't try to be someone or something you're not. Your readers will see right through you. Just be yourself and you'll be appreciated for it, guaranteed.
Okay then. Understand?
That about sums it up for my "crash course" on writing a good article.
Once you've created some informative and entertaining articles, then it's time to "set them free" onto the internet.
Now, let's take things one step further and let's assume you want to write an article that you can submit to several article directories (FREE) to get a rush of traffic to your site. Here's the type of article you might write:
"Discover 3 Safe And Natural Remedies Guaranteed To Rid Your Home Of Fleas In 5 Days Or Less Using Only Five Basic Ingredients Found Right In Your Pantry -- Plus Save Over $200 A Year On Harmful Pesticides.
Or here's another.
"Discover An Amazingly Simple Yet Effective Shortcut To Housebreak Your New Puppy In 7 Days or Less...Spending Only 10 Minutes A Day!"
Be unique, entertaining and show off your personality.
In my opinion, this one element of writing to a targeted audience is critical. Think back for a moment to when you were in school. I'll bet you remember a favorite teacher or professor who you just absolutely loved learning from.
Why?
Usually, it's because of their personality, one that seemed to shine through in their teaching. In it's simplest terms, learning is boring. Most folks hate the thought of learning something new. It's a painful experience. So it's your job to ease the pain and make the learning process fun and entertaining while still providing quality content.
Once you master this skill, you'll have a dedicated following of readers who will look forward to each and every article (or email) you write.
Don't be afraid to be yourself and offer a little bit of humor once in a while. Show folks that you're a real person and not some robot hiding behind a computer screen.
Don't try to be someone or something you're not. Your readers will see right through you. Just be yourself and you'll be appreciated for it, guaranteed.
Okay then. Understand?
That about sums it up for my "crash course" on writing a good article.
Once you've created some informative and entertaining articles, then it's time to "set them free" onto the internet.
How To Submit Your Articles To Article Banks and Directories
Before you pitch your articles to anyone, you must read their guidelines carefully. Failing to follow the set guidelines for posting/submitting your article will usually end with straight out rejection.
My first recommendation is to start by submitting your articles to article directories. Article directories are by far the very best FREE resource to gain quality links and traffic back to your website.
Now, instead of simply providing you with a list of hundreds of article directories, I'm going to offer you one ultra resourceful "invaluable" resource in just a moment. This one resource will submit your article to many of the most popular directories on the web for you... FREE.
But first, I want you to truly understand how this will benefit you.
Here's how. You create one article and then have it submitted to thousands of publishers and/or directories with only a few clicks of your mouse.
Sound profitable and easy? Well it is.
Once you've done this, you'll have thousands of links all across the Internet, each pointing back to your website, again FREE.
Submit two, three, five, ten articles and you'll start building back links to your website in no time.
I can only hope you're beginning to grasp the sheer power and viral effects of this type of marketing.
Best of all, you can also allow other webmasters to use your articles on their website for content, including your "resource box" (you remember the resource box, don't you?) which will always remain in tact and unedited -- providing multiple links back to your website, newsletter subscription form or alternate opt-in offer.
In my humble opinion, this is by far the best way to grab hundreds of page visits to your website, plus build your opt-in list quickly and easily, all on a zero budget.
NOTE: Not only can you write an article and have hundreds of webmasters from all across the Internet use your article for content on their website, but you can also use other author's articles on your own website as well.
Remember, search engines love content. So when you're just starting out building a new website, you'll need to have quick content. One of the best sources for quick, fresh, quality content for your website is by using other author's articles on your site.
My first recommendation is to start by submitting your articles to article directories. Article directories are by far the very best FREE resource to gain quality links and traffic back to your website.
Now, instead of simply providing you with a list of hundreds of article directories, I'm going to offer you one ultra resourceful "invaluable" resource in just a moment. This one resource will submit your article to many of the most popular directories on the web for you... FREE.
But first, I want you to truly understand how this will benefit you.
Here's how. You create one article and then have it submitted to thousands of publishers and/or directories with only a few clicks of your mouse.
Sound profitable and easy? Well it is.
Once you've done this, you'll have thousands of links all across the Internet, each pointing back to your website, again FREE.
Submit two, three, five, ten articles and you'll start building back links to your website in no time.
I can only hope you're beginning to grasp the sheer power and viral effects of this type of marketing.
Best of all, you can also allow other webmasters to use your articles on their website for content, including your "resource box" (you remember the resource box, don't you?) which will always remain in tact and unedited -- providing multiple links back to your website, newsletter subscription form or alternate opt-in offer.
In my humble opinion, this is by far the best way to grab hundreds of page visits to your website, plus build your opt-in list quickly and easily, all on a zero budget.
NOTE: Not only can you write an article and have hundreds of webmasters from all across the Internet use your article for content on their website, but you can also use other author's articles on your own website as well.
Remember, search engines love content. So when you're just starting out building a new website, you'll need to have quick content. One of the best sources for quick, fresh, quality content for your website is by using other author's articles on your site.
How To Submit Your Articles To Article Banks and Directories... continued
For example:
Let's assume we need some content for our website. We could start writing some articles that would pertain to our "niche" and add them to our website as we progress along.
But the problem is time. How many "quality" articles can we write in a week? It takes some time and effort to product a quality, informative and entertaining article. And time is something we're a bit short on when just setting up a new site. We want to get our website riddled with high quality content ASAP.
So what do we do?
We browse a few article banks and grab some free articles written by other authors and add those articles we find interesting to our website.
The important thing to remember is that we only want "top shelf" quality, laser-targeted articles that will fit perfectly into our niche website.
The only requirement is that we include the author's resource box in the article.
No problem! We'll gladly credit the author of the article for their work. They'll, in turn, receive some quality links from our website and we've just grabbed instant content for our site as well. Sounds like a lucrative trade, wouldn't you agree?
Extremely powerful suff here.
And what's even more powerful is the fact that once we begin writing our own articles and submitting them out into the article banks and directories, we'll reap the same rewards from other webmasters looking to add content to their websites.
Perhaps they'll use a few of our articles. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Let's assume we need some content for our website. We could start writing some articles that would pertain to our "niche" and add them to our website as we progress along.
But the problem is time. How many "quality" articles can we write in a week? It takes some time and effort to product a quality, informative and entertaining article. And time is something we're a bit short on when just setting up a new site. We want to get our website riddled with high quality content ASAP.
So what do we do?
We browse a few article banks and grab some free articles written by other authors and add those articles we find interesting to our website.
The important thing to remember is that we only want "top shelf" quality, laser-targeted articles that will fit perfectly into our niche website.
The only requirement is that we include the author's resource box in the article.
No problem! We'll gladly credit the author of the article for their work. They'll, in turn, receive some quality links from our website and we've just grabbed instant content for our site as well. Sounds like a lucrative trade, wouldn't you agree?
Extremely powerful suff here.
And what's even more powerful is the fact that once we begin writing our own articles and submitting them out into the article banks and directories, we'll reap the same rewards from other webmasters looking to add content to their websites.
Perhaps they'll use a few of our articles. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved.
How To Submit Your Articles To Article Banks and Directories... continued
From the webmasters point of view:
- They receive quality, informative content for their website.
- Their website will increase in the search engine rankings (search engines love sites with a lot of fresh, updated content on a regular basis).
- Their site will be of greater benefit to it's customers and visitors because of the quality of information it will provide.
- They'll receive more "repeat traffic" from the continuously updated, fresh, entertaining content they can add regularly.
- More and more webmasters will refer traffic to their website because it becomes a valuable resource on the web and more traffic ultimately leads to more sales.
- This will increase their "link popularity" and ultimately increase their search engine rankings and traffic as well.
From the author's point of view:
- They receive hundreds (even thousands) of links from related websites through the articles being published on other websites with similar topics.
- They'll gain credibility and recognition in their niche as a respected author and expert in their field.
- They'll likely open up new doors of opportunity such as ezine publishers and alike who may want to reprint their articles in one of their monthly ezines or similar websites who may want to trade links for increased traffic.
- More affiliate promotions and joint venture opportunities.
- More overall exposure for their website, products and services.
- Increased opportunity to build their mailing list, newsletter subscription or opt-in offers.
- Etc., etc., etc.
And that's just a few of the countless opportunities that can arise from writing your own articles and content.
Right now, let me explain more about this marketing tactic by giving you just one quick example.
- They receive quality, informative content for their website.
- Their website will increase in the search engine rankings (search engines love sites with a lot of fresh, updated content on a regular basis).
- Their site will be of greater benefit to it's customers and visitors because of the quality of information it will provide.
- They'll receive more "repeat traffic" from the continuously updated, fresh, entertaining content they can add regularly.
- More and more webmasters will refer traffic to their website because it becomes a valuable resource on the web and more traffic ultimately leads to more sales.
- This will increase their "link popularity" and ultimately increase their search engine rankings and traffic as well.
From the author's point of view:
- They receive hundreds (even thousands) of links from related websites through the articles being published on other websites with similar topics.
- They'll gain credibility and recognition in their niche as a respected author and expert in their field.
- They'll likely open up new doors of opportunity such as ezine publishers and alike who may want to reprint their articles in one of their monthly ezines or similar websites who may want to trade links for increased traffic.
- More affiliate promotions and joint venture opportunities.
- More overall exposure for their website, products and services.
- Increased opportunity to build their mailing list, newsletter subscription or opt-in offers.
- Etc., etc., etc.
And that's just a few of the countless opportunities that can arise from writing your own articles and content.
Right now, let me explain more about this marketing tactic by giving you just one quick example.
How To Submit Your Articles To Article Banks and Directories... continued
Let's say I've written an article to promote traffic back to my website "Cooking On A Budget" and I'm planning to submit the article to dozens (maybe hundreds) of article directories.
The title of my article might read something like this:
"Discover "Grandma Lucia's" Traditional Pasta Recipe... Spaghetti And Meatballs -- Still Being Served Daily In Her Sicilian Pasta House -- Prepared In Under 20 Minutes For Less Than $4 Bucks A Serving-- Deliciouso!"
Now, I've written a brilliant article full of benefits to the reader. At the closing of my article (as we discussed), I've left the reader wanting more information about the subject (REMEMBER - informative but incomplete, leaving the reader wanting more).
And also at the end of my "brilliant and entertaining" article, I've also added my resource box plugging my website and free e-course like the resource box below:
------------------------------------------------------
About The Author: David Nayavich is a cooking enthusiast and self proclaimed romantic. His website at http://www.mywebsite.com offers simple yet delicious recipes for creating the perfect meal on a fixed budget. David's Free E-course "Cookie Cutter Cooking" is jam packed with tips and techniques for the cooking enthusiast. Subscribe for FREE by sending a blank email to: mailto:cooking@myautoresponder.com or at http://www.mywebsite.com
------------------------------------------------------
I would now do two things. First, I would use the services of Article Marketers to submit my article all across the internet for a reasonable fee.
In my opinion, they are one of the best article submission services available on the web. Check them out and see for yourself.
The title of my article might read something like this:
"Discover "Grandma Lucia's" Traditional Pasta Recipe... Spaghetti And Meatballs -- Still Being Served Daily In Her Sicilian Pasta House -- Prepared In Under 20 Minutes For Less Than $4 Bucks A Serving-- Deliciouso!"
Now, I've written a brilliant article full of benefits to the reader. At the closing of my article (as we discussed), I've left the reader wanting more information about the subject (REMEMBER - informative but incomplete, leaving the reader wanting more).
And also at the end of my "brilliant and entertaining" article, I've also added my resource box plugging my website and free e-course like the resource box below:
------------------------------------------------------
About The Author: David Nayavich is a cooking enthusiast and self proclaimed romantic. His website at http://www.mywebsite.com offers simple yet delicious recipes for creating the perfect meal on a fixed budget. David's Free E-course "Cookie Cutter Cooking" is jam packed with tips and techniques for the cooking enthusiast. Subscribe for FREE by sending a blank email to: mailto:cooking@myautoresponder.com or at http://www.mywebsite.com
------------------------------------------------------
I would now do two things. First, I would use the services of Article Marketers to submit my article all across the internet for a reasonable fee.
In my opinion, they are one of the best article submission services available on the web. Check them out and see for yourself.
How to Submit Your Articles to Ezine Publishers
In addition to using Article Marketer, I would then locate several targeted ezines focused on my niche (cooking) and send an email to the publisher of the ezine informing him or her that I have a great article that I feel would be of great benefit to their readers.
Ezine publishers are constantly looking for quality and entertaining content to add to their ezines and our article just might "wet their whistle" this time.
Don't get me wrong, it can be a difficult task (especially those ezines that are well established and have very large circulations) but it's not impossible and all it takes is an email to the publisher. The worst thing that can happen is they say no or simply don't respond back to us with any interest.
The best scenario is our article is accepted by an ezine publisher because of it's quality, informative, entertaining content and we now have the potential for tens of thousands of visitors to our website for FREE.
Then, all you want to do is capture the email address of each and every visitor who arrives at your website!
A simple, yet powerful way to generate additional sales.
Right now we've only just begun to implement our clever little marketing strategies so hang on. We're going to shift into high gear and really discover how to explode our sales and profits with our articles.
Next, contacting the ezine publishers.
It's very important when contacting ezine publishers that you act in a professional manner when submitting your articles to them for their review. Trust me when I tell you that no ezine publisher with half a brain will want to use your article in their publication if you don't follow a few simple yet extremely important guidelines.
Remember, they've worked long and hard years, perhaps on building credibility with their loyal list of subscribers and they won't take any chances on messing things up. You should (at the least) respect them for that.
Ezine publishers are constantly looking for quality and entertaining content to add to their ezines and our article just might "wet their whistle" this time.
Don't get me wrong, it can be a difficult task (especially those ezines that are well established and have very large circulations) but it's not impossible and all it takes is an email to the publisher. The worst thing that can happen is they say no or simply don't respond back to us with any interest.
The best scenario is our article is accepted by an ezine publisher because of it's quality, informative, entertaining content and we now have the potential for tens of thousands of visitors to our website for FREE.
Then, all you want to do is capture the email address of each and every visitor who arrives at your website!
A simple, yet powerful way to generate additional sales.
Right now we've only just begun to implement our clever little marketing strategies so hang on. We're going to shift into high gear and really discover how to explode our sales and profits with our articles.
Next, contacting the ezine publishers.
It's very important when contacting ezine publishers that you act in a professional manner when submitting your articles to them for their review. Trust me when I tell you that no ezine publisher with half a brain will want to use your article in their publication if you don't follow a few simple yet extremely important guidelines.
Remember, they've worked long and hard years, perhaps on building credibility with their loyal list of subscribers and they won't take any chances on messing things up. You should (at the least) respect them for that.
How to Submit Your Articles to Ezine Publishers... continued
So again, remember these few guidelines when contacting them:
1. Be professional.
2. Make the process of including your article in their ezine as simple as possible.
3. Make sure your article stands "head and shoulders" above any competition by providing "top notch" information.
4. Format your article and the email itself in a professional manner.
5. Before sending your email to the publisher with your request for inclusion of your article, be sure you've read several back issues of their publication so you can become familiar with the ezine (look through the archives on their website and subscribe to the publication as well).
6. Don't hesitate to tell the publisher how much you've enjoyed their ezine and offer one or two specific examples if possible (a little sucking up can go a long way as long as you don't overdo it).
7. Include all the information the publisher will need about you and your article in an easy to understand format.
8. Be sure to fully explain any "Affiliate Promotions" that they can earn commissions from and offer to sign them up for your affiliate program at their request.
9. Be sure to explain the affiliate structure and don't be afraid to offer a publisher more commissions than you would normally offer other "standard affiliates" for the same sale.
10. Most importantly, be sure to include the article in the body of the email. NEVER send the article as an attachment. With the risk of viruses and alike being sent out by the millions daily, everyone is now becoming more and more hesitant about opening up attachments in their email.
1. Be professional.
2. Make the process of including your article in their ezine as simple as possible.
3. Make sure your article stands "head and shoulders" above any competition by providing "top notch" information.
4. Format your article and the email itself in a professional manner.
5. Before sending your email to the publisher with your request for inclusion of your article, be sure you've read several back issues of their publication so you can become familiar with the ezine (look through the archives on their website and subscribe to the publication as well).
6. Don't hesitate to tell the publisher how much you've enjoyed their ezine and offer one or two specific examples if possible (a little sucking up can go a long way as long as you don't overdo it).
7. Include all the information the publisher will need about you and your article in an easy to understand format.
8. Be sure to fully explain any "Affiliate Promotions" that they can earn commissions from and offer to sign them up for your affiliate program at their request.
9. Be sure to explain the affiliate structure and don't be afraid to offer a publisher more commissions than you would normally offer other "standard affiliates" for the same sale.
10. Most importantly, be sure to include the article in the body of the email. NEVER send the article as an attachment. With the risk of viruses and alike being sent out by the millions daily, everyone is now becoming more and more hesitant about opening up attachments in their email.
How to Submit Your Articles to Ezine Publishers... continued
Here is an example of what your email to the publisher might look like:
Dear Mrs. Jones,
I've been an avid reader of your ezine for several months now and really enjoy the quality of information you continue to provide in each issue. I especially enjoyed the article from your November, 2005 issue titled:
"Seven Simple Ways To Save $300 A Month On Your Food Budget - Without Sacrificing Taste!"
I myself own and operate a website related to cooking and I'd welcome the opportunity to have my most recent article published in your ezine.
Knowing first hand that quality, informative content is the key ingredient in each and every issue you publish, I'm certain you'll not only appreciate the article, but also welcome the opportunity to share it with your subscribers.
Furthermore, because your ezine is one of the few that actually provides a unique section specifically designed to offer easy yet tasteful recipes that anyone can prepare, I think my article would make a perfect fit.
Most importantly, we do offer a 50% commission on all cookbook sales via our affiliate program and I'd be more than happy to extend a more lucrative offer your way. I think a 70% commission to you (instantly via PayPal) on all sales would surely be a very lucrative opportunity for you.
I'd also be eager and willing to have the article below coded with your affiliate links to save you the time and effort. Just let me know how you'd like to approach this, and again.. I'll be more than happy to accommodate your needs.
You can also sign up for our affiliate program manually if you prefer at:
http://www.mywebsite/affiliates/
NOTE: All commissions are paid twice weekly via Paypal so you will receive your commissions quickly and easily online.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Keep up the great work.
I've copied and formatted the article below for your review.
Your Name
yourname@mywebsite.com
(...continuation of this email example below)
Dear Mrs. Jones,
I've been an avid reader of your ezine for several months now and really enjoy the quality of information you continue to provide in each issue. I especially enjoyed the article from your November, 2005 issue titled:
"Seven Simple Ways To Save $300 A Month On Your Food Budget - Without Sacrificing Taste!"
I myself own and operate a website related to cooking and I'd welcome the opportunity to have my most recent article published in your ezine.
Knowing first hand that quality, informative content is the key ingredient in each and every issue you publish, I'm certain you'll not only appreciate the article, but also welcome the opportunity to share it with your subscribers.
Furthermore, because your ezine is one of the few that actually provides a unique section specifically designed to offer easy yet tasteful recipes that anyone can prepare, I think my article would make a perfect fit.
Most importantly, we do offer a 50% commission on all cookbook sales via our affiliate program and I'd be more than happy to extend a more lucrative offer your way. I think a 70% commission to you (instantly via PayPal) on all sales would surely be a very lucrative opportunity for you.
I'd also be eager and willing to have the article below coded with your affiliate links to save you the time and effort. Just let me know how you'd like to approach this, and again.. I'll be more than happy to accommodate your needs.
You can also sign up for our affiliate program manually if you prefer at:
http://www.mywebsite/affiliates/
NOTE: All commissions are paid twice weekly via Paypal so you will receive your commissions quickly and easily online.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Keep up the great work.
I've copied and formatted the article below for your review.
Your Name
yourname@mywebsite.com
(...continuation of this email example below)
How to Submit Your Articles to Ezine Publishers... continued
------------- BEGIN ------------
"Discover "Grandma Lucia's" Traditional Pasta Recipe... Spaghetti And Meatballs - Still Being Served Daily In Her Sicilian Pasta House - Prepared In Under 20 Minutes For Less Than $4 Bucks A Serving - Deliciouso!"
AUTHOR: Your Name
WORD COUNT: 727
WRAP: 65
URL: http://www.mywebsite.com/article120.htm
CATEGORY: Cooking
COPYRIGHT DATE: 2007
Formatted at 65 characters per line.
This article will pass safely through most email filters.
===========================================
Publishing Guidelines: You may publish this article free of charge in your ezine, web site, ebook or printed publication as long as the copyright notice and the resource paragraph (at the end of the article) are included.
You have authorization to re-format this article to your publishing requirements as long as no changes are made to the original text.
A courtesy copy of your publication or web address where this article is published would be appreciated
yourname@mywebsite.com
============================================
------------------- FEATURE ARTICLE -------------------
"Discover "Grandma Lucia's" Traditional Pasta Recipe... Spaghetti And Meatballs - Still Being Served Daily In Her Sicilian Pasta House - Prepared In Under 20 Minutes For Less Than $4 Bucks A Serving -Deliciouso!"
Copyright 2007 Your Name
PLACE YOUR ARTILE TEXT HERE
==========================================
About The Author:
Your Name is a cooking enthusiast and romantic. His website at http://www.mywebsite.com offers simple yet delicious recipes for creating the perfect candle light meal for that "special person" in your life. David's Free E-course "Candle-Lite Chronicles" is jam packed with tips and techniques guaranteed to "Spark" a hotter flame in any relationship. Subscribe by sending a blank email to: mailto:myemail@myautoresponder.com or at http://www.mywebsite.com
===========================================
IMPORTANT: Feel free to substitute your affiliate links in place of any links in the resource box as well. Earn two-tier commissions from every sale you refer.
Affiliate details are available at:
http://www.mywebsite.com/affiliates/
------------- END ------------
Now,let me ask you another question.
What do you think will happen to your hit counter if the publisher of a popular ezine decided to take you up on an offer and publish your article (complete with our resource box) in their ezine?
"Discover "Grandma Lucia's" Traditional Pasta Recipe... Spaghetti And Meatballs - Still Being Served Daily In Her Sicilian Pasta House - Prepared In Under 20 Minutes For Less Than $4 Bucks A Serving - Deliciouso!"
AUTHOR: Your Name
WORD COUNT: 727
WRAP: 65
URL: http://www.mywebsite.com/article120.htm
CATEGORY: Cooking
COPYRIGHT DATE: 2007
Formatted at 65 characters per line.
This article will pass safely through most email filters.
===========================================
Publishing Guidelines: You may publish this article free of charge in your ezine, web site, ebook or printed publication as long as the copyright notice and the resource paragraph (at the end of the article) are included.
You have authorization to re-format this article to your publishing requirements as long as no changes are made to the original text.
A courtesy copy of your publication or web address where this article is published would be appreciated
yourname@mywebsite.com
============================================
------------------- FEATURE ARTICLE -------------------
"Discover "Grandma Lucia's" Traditional Pasta Recipe... Spaghetti And Meatballs - Still Being Served Daily In Her Sicilian Pasta House - Prepared In Under 20 Minutes For Less Than $4 Bucks A Serving -Deliciouso!"
Copyright 2007 Your Name
PLACE YOUR ARTILE TEXT HERE
==========================================
About The Author:
Your Name is a cooking enthusiast and romantic. His website at http://www.mywebsite.com offers simple yet delicious recipes for creating the perfect candle light meal for that "special person" in your life. David's Free E-course "Candle-Lite Chronicles" is jam packed with tips and techniques guaranteed to "Spark" a hotter flame in any relationship. Subscribe by sending a blank email to: mailto:myemail@myautoresponder.com or at http://www.mywebsite.com
===========================================
IMPORTANT: Feel free to substitute your affiliate links in place of any links in the resource box as well. Earn two-tier commissions from every sale you refer.
Affiliate details are available at:
http://www.mywebsite.com/affiliates/
------------- END ------------
Now,let me ask you another question.
What do you think will happen to your hit counter if the publisher of a popular ezine decided to take you up on an offer and publish your article (complete with our resource box) in their ezine?
How to Submit Your Articles to Ezine Publishers... continued
Yup, you guessed it. Your hit counter will spin out of control. Then, as I mentioned previously, your only job at that point would be to make sure each and every single visitor who clicks through to your website from the resource box opts into your list.
A simple recipe for huge profits!
Continuing along...
Below you will find hundreds (possibly thousands) of ezines that are looking to publish articles on all topics:
http://www.published.com
http://www.ezine-dir.com
http://www.writerswrite.com/epublishing/mldirectory.htm
http://www.zinos.com
http://www.directoryofezines.com
http://www.ezinesearch.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com
http://www.ezinelinks.com
http://ezine-universe.com
http://www.ezineseek.com
http://www.list-city.com
Now understand, not everyone on these lists above will accept articles at this time, and not every ezine directory will tell you which ezines are or are not accepting articles, so it will be a bit of a process in finding out which ones do and don't. But the end result from your efforts will pay off in a big way.
Make sure you write down all the details of who you submit your articles to and make a simple list or directory for yourself. This way, you'll know where to send your articles the next time, who accepted your articles in the past, which publishers were open to the idea, etc..
The key here is this.
1. LEARN from the other authors.
2. Notice their various writing styles. Which do you like best and why?
3. Take notes of those articles that grab your attention with a great headline, then use those headlines as a swipe file for your own headlines.
4. Check out the resources boxes at the end of the articles. Do they make you want to click through to their websites or sign up for their newsletter? Why?
5. Use the articles as an example of how you can construct your own articles.
And there you have it!
Being able to write informatively online is imperative to your success. Just like learning how to drive a car, in my opinion, is necessary in the real world.
Can you get around in the real world without knowing how to drive a car?
YES , you can.
But you'll have to rely on a lot of others to get you where you want to go.
Good luck in all your ventures.
----- End of short course, "How to Increase Your Website Traffic and Sales" -----
A simple recipe for huge profits!
Continuing along...
Below you will find hundreds (possibly thousands) of ezines that are looking to publish articles on all topics:
http://www.published.com
http://www.ezine-dir.com
http://www.writerswrite.com/epublishing/mldirectory.htm
http://www.zinos.com
http://www.directoryofezines.com
http://www.ezinesearch.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com
http://www.ezinelinks.com
http://ezine-universe.com
http://www.ezineseek.com
http://www.list-city.com
Now understand, not everyone on these lists above will accept articles at this time, and not every ezine directory will tell you which ezines are or are not accepting articles, so it will be a bit of a process in finding out which ones do and don't. But the end result from your efforts will pay off in a big way.
Make sure you write down all the details of who you submit your articles to and make a simple list or directory for yourself. This way, you'll know where to send your articles the next time, who accepted your articles in the past, which publishers were open to the idea, etc..
The key here is this.
1. LEARN from the other authors.
2. Notice their various writing styles. Which do you like best and why?
3. Take notes of those articles that grab your attention with a great headline, then use those headlines as a swipe file for your own headlines.
4. Check out the resources boxes at the end of the articles. Do they make you want to click through to their websites or sign up for their newsletter? Why?
5. Use the articles as an example of how you can construct your own articles.
And there you have it!
Being able to write informatively online is imperative to your success. Just like learning how to drive a car, in my opinion, is necessary in the real world.
Can you get around in the real world without knowing how to drive a car?
YES , you can.
But you'll have to rely on a lot of others to get you where you want to go.
Good luck in all your ventures.
----- End of short course, "How to Increase Your Website Traffic and Sales" -----
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 1
How do I get hits?
This has to be the number one question asked by online marketers, and I come across it regularly, and for good reason. After all without getting hits to your site you can't sell anything. The problem is not only do most people go about this the wrong way, but when this question is approached either directly or through guides, they're giving incorrect answers too, which, if you've asked it before, will consist of buying some sort of service or some sort of ad that will solve all of your traffic problems. Although this may seem like the way to go at first glance it's actually totally counter productive to your efforts.
One thing I want to point out to you first is that your initial aim isn't to get hits to your site at all, and getting a massive amount of them isn't a priority. Understand that you only need to pull ten or twenty thousand hits in total, ever, to your sites to make them successful. Of course this will go up as you progress through your resource building, and that's key here, the resources that are built and that you can use over and over again. (That's your big 5, affiliates, list, customers, long term customers and joint venture partners).
The problem comes when someone tells you to go out and buy ads from wherever it might be, search engines, e-zines, whatever. If you don't have the resource collection methods set up to collect the big 5, you're going to have to be starting all over again with your promotion every single time you launch a product. This is the exact reason that, no matter how many hits some marketers get to their sites, they will never earn more than a couple of thousand dollars a month profit, if that even.
The second problem comes when people assume, or are indeed told, that you need to get hundreds of thousands of hits to be a success. This is definitely not true either, although again I see how it may seem like that on the surface. That's why I always teach intro products and follow-up large products, because lets face it, how many $1200 products do you need to sell in a month to equal your current personal income from your job, if you have one, or to reach your goals of having more free time, more money in the bank etc.
One thing I want to point out to you first is that your initial aim isn't to get hits to your site at all, and getting a massive amount of them isn't a priority. Understand that you only need to pull ten or twenty thousand hits in total, ever, to your sites to make them successful. Of course this will go up as you progress through your resource building, and that's key here, the resources that are built and that you can use over and over again. (That's your big 5, affiliates, list, customers, long term customers and joint venture partners).
The problem comes when someone tells you to go out and buy ads from wherever it might be, search engines, e-zines, whatever. If you don't have the resource collection methods set up to collect the big 5, you're going to have to be starting all over again with your promotion every single time you launch a product. This is the exact reason that, no matter how many hits some marketers get to their sites, they will never earn more than a couple of thousand dollars a month profit, if that even.
The second problem comes when people assume, or are indeed told, that you need to get hundreds of thousands of hits to be a success. This is definitely not true either, although again I see how it may seem like that on the surface. That's why I always teach intro products and follow-up large products, because lets face it, how many $1200 products do you need to sell in a month to equal your current personal income from your job, if you have one, or to reach your goals of having more free time, more money in the bank etc.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 1 ...continued
Also, lets not lose sight of why we started in online marketing in the first place. It definitely wasn't to spend massive amounts of cash trying to get your website stats to read high numbers. Numbers don't mean quality, no matter what anyone tells you, this is fact. Compare one single 10k list of joint venturing to 100k subscribers of an e-zine ad. I assure you, for a start, you'll get more click-thru from the JV in the first place but put the numbers together and you'll get a far higher percentage of sales through the single quality joint venture.
So how do you get more hits to your site? Well first off the question is void because more rarely means you'll get better results. Look for quality, and the answer is joint venturing, building these resources, and having others promote your products for really high commissions to attract the numbers. If you're only hitting a few thousand hits per month from these joint ventures, that's not a problem. Forget guaranteed hits, forget e-zine ads for directly promoting your site and forget search engine positioning. They might bring you more in the way of numbers, but it's big sales we want, not big numbers. In that situation always think quality over quantity, which is what the whole of this report is teaching.
So ask me again when you've carried out a couple of joint ventures and have begun to build your affiliates, your customer base, your contacts and your list, how do you get hits to your site? That's why you've been building your resources. That's where your visits and sales come from. The more products you launch, the more resources you gather, the easier this is. The most expensive time consuming part is getting started. After this, it's cheap, quick and easy to recycle what you've gathered to produce a never ending flow of visits and sales.
So how do you get more hits to your site? Well first off the question is void because more rarely means you'll get better results. Look for quality, and the answer is joint venturing, building these resources, and having others promote your products for really high commissions to attract the numbers. If you're only hitting a few thousand hits per month from these joint ventures, that's not a problem. Forget guaranteed hits, forget e-zine ads for directly promoting your site and forget search engine positioning. They might bring you more in the way of numbers, but it's big sales we want, not big numbers. In that situation always think quality over quantity, which is what the whole of this report is teaching.
So ask me again when you've carried out a couple of joint ventures and have begun to build your affiliates, your customer base, your contacts and your list, how do you get hits to your site? That's why you've been building your resources. That's where your visits and sales come from. The more products you launch, the more resources you gather, the easier this is. The most expensive time consuming part is getting started. After this, it's cheap, quick and easy to recycle what you've gathered to produce a never ending flow of visits and sales.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 2
How do I build my list?
Another of the most frequently asked questions in the online marketing scene that comes especially from people who haven't created their own products yet, is how do I build my list. Everyone has grasped the concept of building your own media outlet, that you can promote to again and again without having to pay a penny, that usually consists of the most targeted people, and those who are going to buy your products on the grounds of trust and the quality of your previous work.
And right there, that is the key to it all. By the time you have your own list that stretches over the five thousand mark, you should at least have one product, and the majority of people should have come from the promotion of that product. Avoid anything that asks you for cash to put subscribers on your list, because, if you haven't tried them already, let me assure you that compared to what you can achieve through joint ventures and other means, the quality of the list will suffer although not necessarily it's size. As we talked about above however, it's the quality that matters for both your current promotion and your future promotion. Size is definitely not everything here.
The ways in which we're building your list don't involve direct methods. Something that you can plug money into to, wake up in the morning and suddenly have a massive responsive list to promote to. Agreed you might end up with a massive list but they'll be far from responsive. Concentrate your efforts on promoting your products and at the same time, whatever action someone takes through your sites, make sure that they end up on one of your lists. If we look at things this way, all it takes is for them to either buy something, signup for something, jump into some follow-up, join your affiliate program and so on.
Never create anything that allows customers to go through the sales process on your site, or any process at all for that matter, and then lose contact with them. This is not the way to do things. Of course, speed is also an issue for many people out there. I'm sure you don't want to be hanging around only to find a few years later that your list has only reached two or three thousand subscribers. You want a lot, you want a big list and you want it quickly. I understand how it is and I hate waiting for things to build up over time too. This is exactly why we make sure that everything you do, related to your site, involves collecting names and email addresses for your list at some point or another.
And right there, that is the key to it all. By the time you have your own list that stretches over the five thousand mark, you should at least have one product, and the majority of people should have come from the promotion of that product. Avoid anything that asks you for cash to put subscribers on your list, because, if you haven't tried them already, let me assure you that compared to what you can achieve through joint ventures and other means, the quality of the list will suffer although not necessarily it's size. As we talked about above however, it's the quality that matters for both your current promotion and your future promotion. Size is definitely not everything here.
The ways in which we're building your list don't involve direct methods. Something that you can plug money into to, wake up in the morning and suddenly have a massive responsive list to promote to. Agreed you might end up with a massive list but they'll be far from responsive. Concentrate your efforts on promoting your products and at the same time, whatever action someone takes through your sites, make sure that they end up on one of your lists. If we look at things this way, all it takes is for them to either buy something, signup for something, jump into some follow-up, join your affiliate program and so on.
Never create anything that allows customers to go through the sales process on your site, or any process at all for that matter, and then lose contact with them. This is not the way to do things. Of course, speed is also an issue for many people out there. I'm sure you don't want to be hanging around only to find a few years later that your list has only reached two or three thousand subscribers. You want a lot, you want a big list and you want it quickly. I understand how it is and I hate waiting for things to build up over time too. This is exactly why we make sure that everything you do, related to your site, involves collecting names and email addresses for your list at some point or another.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 2 ...continued
Let's look at some numbers starting off with the simple joint ventures. Say for example you score a joint venture that brings you two thousand visits from someone's personal list. Now with standard e-zines I can understand how you might not see this as being much, as the number of people who subscribe, compared to the number of people that visit, can indeed be lower than you expect. But through joint ventures, with these quality lists, I've seen subscription rates top one in three, and it's not unusual for at least 25% of your visitors to subscribe to something if your sales copy is doing its job.
That may not seem like a lot right now, but let's say you take ten joint ventures and manage to pull in a list of 5k, which shouldn't be too much of a problem if the quality of your JV's is nice and high and you get a good number of visits. A 5k list is all great, and you'll also be making money through sales on those joint ventures. Although when you start to couple in your affiliate commissions that you make sure are real high, in fact, so high that you may not even be making a direct profit, the resources will sail in.
This is your profit. Not the money from the sales, but the resources that you're building. This is why you gave up $50 per sale, and it's your affiliates coupled with joint ventures that are going to, if you'll excuse the cliché, set your list building on fire, not just numbers wise, but speed wise. Every single time you release a new product, you're going to be adding more and more people to your lists that you can promote to and have promote for you. It's another snowball effect, which is great because this means that you know the more you put in, the more you're going to get out, and every single product that you release will increase your resources, your list size included, and will add to your promotion power for future products. Thus you'll make a whole load more cash than you would have done by other means and methods.
That may not seem like a lot right now, but let's say you take ten joint ventures and manage to pull in a list of 5k, which shouldn't be too much of a problem if the quality of your JV's is nice and high and you get a good number of visits. A 5k list is all great, and you'll also be making money through sales on those joint ventures. Although when you start to couple in your affiliate commissions that you make sure are real high, in fact, so high that you may not even be making a direct profit, the resources will sail in.
This is your profit. Not the money from the sales, but the resources that you're building. This is why you gave up $50 per sale, and it's your affiliates coupled with joint ventures that are going to, if you'll excuse the cliché, set your list building on fire, not just numbers wise, but speed wise. Every single time you release a new product, you're going to be adding more and more people to your lists that you can promote to and have promote for you. It's another snowball effect, which is great because this means that you know the more you put in, the more you're going to get out, and every single product that you release will increase your resources, your list size included, and will add to your promotion power for future products. Thus you'll make a whole load more cash than you would have done by other means and methods.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 2 ...continued
Before we move on I want to make one hundred percent sure that you understand how this works. People create their own list building sites that are geared directly to building their lists. This is great, it works, but when guides tell you that you should concentrate all your efforts on building your list, it kind of makes me a little bit angry sometimes, for the simple reason that they're not giving you the whole story by far. It's ok to look at list building as one of your main priorities, and indeed it should be, along with building affiliates, customers, long term customers and joint venture prospects, but for it to be successful, you have to integrate it into your other marketing methods, and this is what most fail to tell you.
Once you've mastered this and understand, again, how each of these resources tie into each other, and cannot be seen as separate entities, you'll start to see bigger and better results, and they will come more quickly too. Now if you think about what I've just told you, and step back, you should be able to see immediately how this isn't a case of go out and get as bigger list as possible, as quickly as possible, on your own. This is what many guides teach, but as with the success of the whole system it's tying resources in together through the launch of your own products.
Once you've mastered this and understand, again, how each of these resources tie into each other, and cannot be seen as separate entities, you'll start to see bigger and better results, and they will come more quickly too. Now if you think about what I've just told you, and step back, you should be able to see immediately how this isn't a case of go out and get as bigger list as possible, as quickly as possible, on your own. This is what many guides teach, but as with the success of the whole system it's tying resources in together through the launch of your own products.
Affiliate Marketing Guide : How to Squidoo for Fun and Profits - Fast Track
Do You Want to Know How Squidoo Can Help You to Make Money with Affiliate Programs?
First, you need to build Squidoo lenses, pre-selling the affiliate products you're promoting. Each lens for each product.
Next you need to get your lens to rank high in the Top 100 chart. This is the place where most people will visit, when searching for lenses that interest them. The traffic mainly will come either from Squidoo communities or search engines.
When you're in the chart, your lens will be wildely expose to potential buyers. They'll browse through the title of the lens to see if there're any lens that excites them. If they find your lens title intriguing, they'll click on it to go to your lens. So make sure to write a very good lens title.
You'll notice the Top 100 page has a page rank of 6, which means, it's very likely that this page will be found easily in the SERPs. Here, you'll get free traffic from the search engines which will help your lens to be seen by more potential buyers.
What you need to do is to build Squidoo lenses and make sure they rank well in Squidoo Top 100 Lenses. The more people visit your lens, the higher the posibility of you making affiliate sales.
So, if you want to know how to build Squidoo lenses that will rank high so that you can make money from affiliate programs, then here's one of many ways you can learn how to do it, easily and quickly. Click on the link below to find out.
How to Squidoo for Fun and Profit
Next you need to get your lens to rank high in the Top 100 chart. This is the place where most people will visit, when searching for lenses that interest them. The traffic mainly will come either from Squidoo communities or search engines.
When you're in the chart, your lens will be wildely expose to potential buyers. They'll browse through the title of the lens to see if there're any lens that excites them. If they find your lens title intriguing, they'll click on it to go to your lens. So make sure to write a very good lens title.
You'll notice the Top 100 page has a page rank of 6, which means, it's very likely that this page will be found easily in the SERPs. Here, you'll get free traffic from the search engines which will help your lens to be seen by more potential buyers.
What you need to do is to build Squidoo lenses and make sure they rank well in Squidoo Top 100 Lenses. The more people visit your lens, the higher the posibility of you making affiliate sales.
So, if you want to know how to build Squidoo lenses that will rank high so that you can make money from affiliate programs, then here's one of many ways you can learn how to do it, easily and quickly. Click on the link below to find out.
How to Squidoo for Fun and Profit
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 3
I've bought X amount of guides before. Why didn't they work?
Well, this is a big question. While we don't claim to be perfect in every way to all people, there's all manner of things that I've seen wrong with other guides, but I don't like to dwell on it, I'd rather talk to you about why these manuals are different, and as far as I'm concerned they definitely are.
I had an idea a long time ago that was related to all the things I wish I knew before I started, and at different stages of my online marketing career. I decided that when I figured this whole thing out, I was going to write the biggest and brightest guide and use every piece of information I've got in my head that I've learned over the years relating to how to become successful in online marketing, and here we are, you're reading it.
What I've tried to do, and hopefully succeeded over this and the other 14 manuals, is at the start of each report, give you clear goals so that you know exactly what you're learning and why you're learning it. Also at the end of the reports we've got summary sections that show you exactly what you've learned to do. What I didn't want to happen, was to get this out on the market, and have people come to me and say that they learned nothing at all. This was the reason for this particular style of presentation.
The way in which this differs to other reports, is it plugs all the gaps in as many ways as possible. For example, how many other reports have you read that tell you how to do something but not why? How can you adapt and learn if you don't know why you're doing something? Or maybe they tell you why you should do something but not tell you exactly how to do it. Maybe they even tell you the how's and whys but it doesn't work and this tells me that, there is a missing piece of the puzzle somewhere and, they haven't told you the full story.
So what makes what you're reading right now different from the others? Well it's the fact that I haven't left anything out here, and you have my word on that. There are no secrets that I don't want you to know and there's not an amount of money or success that I don't want you to have. In fact, when you get launching your own successful products and have some heavy resources on your own, I hope very much to be able to joint venture with you, and hear about your success stories, and of course for you to tell other people.
I had an idea a long time ago that was related to all the things I wish I knew before I started, and at different stages of my online marketing career. I decided that when I figured this whole thing out, I was going to write the biggest and brightest guide and use every piece of information I've got in my head that I've learned over the years relating to how to become successful in online marketing, and here we are, you're reading it.
What I've tried to do, and hopefully succeeded over this and the other 14 manuals, is at the start of each report, give you clear goals so that you know exactly what you're learning and why you're learning it. Also at the end of the reports we've got summary sections that show you exactly what you've learned to do. What I didn't want to happen, was to get this out on the market, and have people come to me and say that they learned nothing at all. This was the reason for this particular style of presentation.
The way in which this differs to other reports, is it plugs all the gaps in as many ways as possible. For example, how many other reports have you read that tell you how to do something but not why? How can you adapt and learn if you don't know why you're doing something? Or maybe they tell you why you should do something but not tell you exactly how to do it. Maybe they even tell you the how's and whys but it doesn't work and this tells me that, there is a missing piece of the puzzle somewhere and, they haven't told you the full story.
So what makes what you're reading right now different from the others? Well it's the fact that I haven't left anything out here, and you have my word on that. There are no secrets that I don't want you to know and there's not an amount of money or success that I don't want you to have. In fact, when you get launching your own successful products and have some heavy resources on your own, I hope very much to be able to joint venture with you, and hear about your success stories, and of course for you to tell other people.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 3 ...continued
With this very guide, whilst some will say it's too vague because it doesn't tell them step by step, to click here, go here, buy this, promote that, others, which I'm hoping will be the majority of readers, will say hey, yeah, I've filled in the gaps now and I feel like I'm confident enough to go out and promote my own products that I create. Get my own contacts, my own list and stand on my own two feet. If something changes now you know why and, the details of exactly how everything works and ties into other aspects of this whole system, it allows you to change and adapt the way you do business on your own terms.
This is why I believe that you're going to find yourself in a heck of a lot better condition in a year's time than if you were to buy another step by step taking you by the hand e-book that only details one input, and one outcome. This is why you're going to succeed using the new knowledge you acquire here, where others have failed, simply because you were only previously given a very shallow look at the world of marketing, and have been told that there is only one best way. Now you know different and can carve your own path using the templates given in each section throughout this particular course.
This is why I believe that you're going to find yourself in a heck of a lot better condition in a year's time than if you were to buy another step by step taking you by the hand e-book that only details one input, and one outcome. This is why you're going to succeed using the new knowledge you acquire here, where others have failed, simply because you were only previously given a very shallow look at the world of marketing, and have been told that there is only one best way. Now you know different and can carve your own path using the templates given in each section throughout this particular course.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 4
How do I get my affiliates to actually promote my product?
An interesting question, maybe not as heavily asked as some, because many marketers out there haven't actually got to this stage yet, even though it's one of the first problems you're going to come across once you start pulling affiliates into your system.
Back on the subject, so how do you get affiliates to actually promote for you? Well the first stage is attracting them in the first place. Quite obviously, without affiliates they're not going to promote for you. This is a big part of your intro product and the reason why you should set your commissions nice and high (55% up to 90%), especially when you're starting out. You can't afford to be missing out on affiliates sign-ups because of the massive promotion potential they hold.
Now after you've attracted them in the first place, you're likely to stumble upon the big problem of why the heck aren't they promoting my stuff for me? Well, there are a few reasons for this. One of them may actually contradict the question, and the answer for the most part is, they are promoting for you they're just not doing it very effectively. As I'm sure you've figured out already, the number of people that know how to promote affiliate programs and have their own resources that allow them to do so, for little or no cost, is far lower than those who have probably never released their own products before and, therefore, don't have the lists and the power to promote effectively.
There are a few ways around this, but I should warn you in advance, if you manage to get yourself a hundred affiliates signed up, don't be shocked if only four or five of them make any significant amount of sales. Sure you'll get others that maybe make a low number of sales, but high volume requires experienced marketers with resources that have already been built up. So don't be put off, don't be worried or think you're doing something wrong if you're affiliates aren't performing. It's most likely that they don't know how to perform.
Back on the subject, so how do you get affiliates to actually promote for you? Well the first stage is attracting them in the first place. Quite obviously, without affiliates they're not going to promote for you. This is a big part of your intro product and the reason why you should set your commissions nice and high (55% up to 90%), especially when you're starting out. You can't afford to be missing out on affiliates sign-ups because of the massive promotion potential they hold.
Now after you've attracted them in the first place, you're likely to stumble upon the big problem of why the heck aren't they promoting my stuff for me? Well, there are a few reasons for this. One of them may actually contradict the question, and the answer for the most part is, they are promoting for you they're just not doing it very effectively. As I'm sure you've figured out already, the number of people that know how to promote affiliate programs and have their own resources that allow them to do so, for little or no cost, is far lower than those who have probably never released their own products before and, therefore, don't have the lists and the power to promote effectively.
There are a few ways around this, but I should warn you in advance, if you manage to get yourself a hundred affiliates signed up, don't be shocked if only four or five of them make any significant amount of sales. Sure you'll get others that maybe make a low number of sales, but high volume requires experienced marketers with resources that have already been built up. So don't be put off, don't be worried or think you're doing something wrong if you're affiliates aren't performing. It's most likely that they don't know how to perform.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 4 ...continued
The real affiliates that you're going to be seeing and that are going to be making you a lot of money are the ones with the big and effective lists, with good response rates, which I have to say are few and far between. This doesn't necessarily mean that none of your affiliates will make any sales, but I want you to prepare for the fact that barely ten percent of them are going to be experienced.
Hits can't always be a good indicator of someone's promotion power either. For example, I remember my very first experience with this. It involved me waking up one morning, and taking a look at my affiliate stats, and seeing that there's one person in there that's had over a thousand hits come through overnight, but not a single sale. Now you can imagine how worried this had me, because when I did my testing I was pulling in one sale every forty to sixty five visits. So naturally, being a little paranoid that my sales letter wasn't up to scratch or something had gone wrong throughout the sales process, I mailed him, and his reply put my mind at rest. He'd actually gone out and bought a bunch of guaranteed hits. By this stage the number of visits happened to go flying up to the five thousand mark and still only one sale for him. I'd been around the houses, and seen my fair share of hit programs and so on, and I knew that it wasn't my sales process that was at fault, it was his lack of knowledge relating to how to promote affiliate programs.
Hits can't always be a good indicator of someone's promotion power either. For example, I remember my very first experience with this. It involved me waking up one morning, and taking a look at my affiliate stats, and seeing that there's one person in there that's had over a thousand hits come through overnight, but not a single sale. Now you can imagine how worried this had me, because when I did my testing I was pulling in one sale every forty to sixty five visits. So naturally, being a little paranoid that my sales letter wasn't up to scratch or something had gone wrong throughout the sales process, I mailed him, and his reply put my mind at rest. He'd actually gone out and bought a bunch of guaranteed hits. By this stage the number of visits happened to go flying up to the five thousand mark and still only one sale for him. I'd been around the houses, and seen my fair share of hit programs and so on, and I knew that it wasn't my sales process that was at fault, it was his lack of knowledge relating to how to promote affiliate programs.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 4 ...continued
So you see it's not always your fault. The number of visitors brought in by the affiliates doesn't always reflect on the quality of your sales system. Saying that, it is always best to check your sales system for faults if you start to see an odd number of visitors come through and a lack of sales compared to, the research you did and, your own findings through your own methods of promotion. It can, however, be your fault entirely at times. Again this is when your research comes in and you have to try and figure out what turns your affiliates on. Do they need special offers of some sort? Or are they inexperienced and lacking in knowledge about how to promote in general.
The only way to find out is to test. Send them a few offers, a few special deals that involve higher commissions the more sales they make, or even send them promotion guides and a little info about how to promote for themselves if you feel up to writing such guides. Keep in mind though, if you see strange stats, visitors to sale ratios, or people only getting very small amounts of visits, it's more often than not, not going to be your fault. Either hit them with offers, educate them, or keep building and hold out for more of those joint ventures or people with plenty of experience and big lists and resources for promotion of their own. Aside from that, everything else is down to the individual and their skills, and pretty much out of your control, so don't be put off if your first one fifty or so affiliates never make any sales. You'll get plenty more, again snowballing, the more products that you release.
The only way to find out is to test. Send them a few offers, a few special deals that involve higher commissions the more sales they make, or even send them promotion guides and a little info about how to promote for themselves if you feel up to writing such guides. Keep in mind though, if you see strange stats, visitors to sale ratios, or people only getting very small amounts of visits, it's more often than not, not going to be your fault. Either hit them with offers, educate them, or keep building and hold out for more of those joint ventures or people with plenty of experience and big lists and resources for promotion of their own. Aside from that, everything else is down to the individual and their skills, and pretty much out of your control, so don't be put off if your first one fifty or so affiliates never make any sales. You'll get plenty more, again snowballing, the more products that you release.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 5
I don't have my own product. What can I sell?
A good question that comes up on many occasions, even many of my close friends who see me sitting here working away whenever I feel like it. They often ask me, 'How can I start my own business?' The response comes that you need an idea first for your own product. After a quick pondering look towards the sky, they turn back and reply, but I don't have my own products what can I sell?
Well, the simple answer is if you don't have your own product you're going to have a hard time selling anything, online or offline. There's so much raw promotion power that comes with having your own products. Look at it this way, without them, you can't joint venture, you can't have an army of affiliates promoting for you, you can't control the sales process and gain new knowledge through your research, you can't build up your resources for future promotion, in fact, there isn't much good to come out of not having your own product.
So make one. The longer time you spend looking around in your target market, the easier it will be to come up with ideas for your own product. I don't expect to plant this guide in front of a random person who thinks all we do is send e-mails out all day and scam people (which seems to be the usual joke when I mention to someone that I'm in online marketing) and then tell them to create a product out of the blue.
In much the same way, if this was literally your first day in the business I wouldn't expect you to be able to go out and create your own online marketing product. You need to have the knowledge first, even if you're not creating an info product. Once you've found yourself mingling with the crowd and getting down and buying products and talking to people, it's very rare that you can come out of a situation without coming up with a new idea, even out of the simplest of situations.
Well, the simple answer is if you don't have your own product you're going to have a hard time selling anything, online or offline. There's so much raw promotion power that comes with having your own products. Look at it this way, without them, you can't joint venture, you can't have an army of affiliates promoting for you, you can't control the sales process and gain new knowledge through your research, you can't build up your resources for future promotion, in fact, there isn't much good to come out of not having your own product.
So make one. The longer time you spend looking around in your target market, the easier it will be to come up with ideas for your own product. I don't expect to plant this guide in front of a random person who thinks all we do is send e-mails out all day and scam people (which seems to be the usual joke when I mention to someone that I'm in online marketing) and then tell them to create a product out of the blue.
In much the same way, if this was literally your first day in the business I wouldn't expect you to be able to go out and create your own online marketing product. You need to have the knowledge first, even if you're not creating an info product. Once you've found yourself mingling with the crowd and getting down and buying products and talking to people, it's very rare that you can come out of a situation without coming up with a new idea, even out of the simplest of situations.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 5 ...continued
A good example of this is a conversation I had a couple of weeks ago with a fellow marketer. He'd just written a shed load of reports and wanted to do something a little special with them. Unfortunately he had to go through each one manually and do this by hand. We just could not find a piece of software to do this for him. But as you can see, just by living as an online marketer, it's real easy to come up with product ideas that are solutions to problems you might have.
How about revelations? I've had these too, not necessarily with online marketing, but when you're trying to figure out how to do something, and after a long while thinking, it comes to you, you try it out, and it works like a charm. That's valuable information you have there that could easily be sold. Remember that when you come to creating a product, it doesn't have to be a piece of furniture or something that costs hundreds of dollars to manufacture, it can be something as simple as information contained within your head that people will want to buy, or a piece of software, that also generally has low overheads, as you can pay someone to complete the build and then go off and sell it.
The choices really are endless, and the more ideas you come up with the more ideas those ideas will spawn. It only takes one idea to create a five or six product venture that could last you a whole year. Whatever you do though, don't skip over this. Don't say ah well, I'll just promote other peoples stuff, because you'll find yourself in the same position this time next year going about things like that. It's all about creating products that allow you to build your resources, and starting out not creating your own, is out of the question.
How about revelations? I've had these too, not necessarily with online marketing, but when you're trying to figure out how to do something, and after a long while thinking, it comes to you, you try it out, and it works like a charm. That's valuable information you have there that could easily be sold. Remember that when you come to creating a product, it doesn't have to be a piece of furniture or something that costs hundreds of dollars to manufacture, it can be something as simple as information contained within your head that people will want to buy, or a piece of software, that also generally has low overheads, as you can pay someone to complete the build and then go off and sell it.
The choices really are endless, and the more ideas you come up with the more ideas those ideas will spawn. It only takes one idea to create a five or six product venture that could last you a whole year. Whatever you do though, don't skip over this. Don't say ah well, I'll just promote other peoples stuff, because you'll find yourself in the same position this time next year going about things like that. It's all about creating products that allow you to build your resources, and starting out not creating your own, is out of the question.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 6
I'm worried that I won't succeed, that people will say no or not like my work. What do I do?
Moving on now to question number six. If you're worried that you won't succeed this time, or that people won't like your work, have no fear because you're not alone, and I believe that this is healthy to an extent. As far as my experience shows me, there are three types of people out there. The first type are those who don't really care. They just want to make some money so they throw any old thing out there as quickly as they can. This is surely unhealthy, and we can't be doing with bad quality products.
Then there are type two, who are indeed bothered about what people want out of a product, what the reactions will be and so on. For this reason they make sure everything is up to scratch and the best they can make it before it's released. As far as I can tell, the majority of good marketers are at this stage. That doesn't mean anyone who isn't doesn't have the ability, but it could well mean they're stuck in a rut, and going nowhere fast, and this is where things get damaging.
Type three, the marketers that want everything to go smoothly, just as the above states, but have a problem getting anything done because either, they've failed before and have a problem coming back from that, or they're worried what people might say to them, which some of the time will be things they really didn't want to hear. For example, a straight up no I'm not interested in your joint venture proposal and on the lighter side of things, and the odd strange customer that decides to send abusive mails. We all have one no matter how good the product, let me assure you, in which case a cool, polite helpful reply often does the job to fix the situation.
Then there are type two, who are indeed bothered about what people want out of a product, what the reactions will be and so on. For this reason they make sure everything is up to scratch and the best they can make it before it's released. As far as I can tell, the majority of good marketers are at this stage. That doesn't mean anyone who isn't doesn't have the ability, but it could well mean they're stuck in a rut, and going nowhere fast, and this is where things get damaging.
Type three, the marketers that want everything to go smoothly, just as the above states, but have a problem getting anything done because either, they've failed before and have a problem coming back from that, or they're worried what people might say to them, which some of the time will be things they really didn't want to hear. For example, a straight up no I'm not interested in your joint venture proposal and on the lighter side of things, and the odd strange customer that decides to send abusive mails. We all have one no matter how good the product, let me assure you, in which case a cool, polite helpful reply often does the job to fix the situation.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 6 ...continued
What you mustn't do is let your past experiences get you stuck in a rut, and get you all worked up about not being able to succeed in the future. Everyone makes mistakes, and you can't please everyone all the time even though it would be nice. So no matter what you do with online marketing, or any other business for that matter, don't let past experiences stop you from moving forward. If someone doesn't like your stuff, that's fine, as long as you're comfortable with it, give them a refund, or just take it on the nose, say ok then and move on.
Don't let this type of thing hold you back. I solidly believe that this is one of the big reasons so many people out there can't succeed, because although they may be working long hours and putting everything into their business, they're avoiding the things that they really need to do because of past experiences. Don't fall into this trap, keep moving and be true to what you're doing. Don't hide from it. If what you're doing isn't working, you have to make a conscious effort to look at what you need to do to move forward, then do it, because when you do, you'll find yourself with a lot more cash in your pocket, a lot more spare time on your hands, and a business that is moving forward, not standing still. This is a hurdle everyone needs to get over if they're going to get anywhere in online marketing.
The thing is I can't do anything from here to change that. It's totally in your hands, so be aware of what you're doing all the time, and make sure you're moving forward. Going around in circles or standing still doesn't count, and if you do find yourself knocked a little by someone's reaction to you work, remember, it's nothing personal, it's just business, and hey, you're the easy one to pick on, because they've never met you. You can bet someone, somewhere is going to take out their frustrations on you because they can't achieve what they want, and place the blame on the product that in all actuality does work, and you can be proud of.
Don't let this type of thing hold you back. I solidly believe that this is one of the big reasons so many people out there can't succeed, because although they may be working long hours and putting everything into their business, they're avoiding the things that they really need to do because of past experiences. Don't fall into this trap, keep moving and be true to what you're doing. Don't hide from it. If what you're doing isn't working, you have to make a conscious effort to look at what you need to do to move forward, then do it, because when you do, you'll find yourself with a lot more cash in your pocket, a lot more spare time on your hands, and a business that is moving forward, not standing still. This is a hurdle everyone needs to get over if they're going to get anywhere in online marketing.
The thing is I can't do anything from here to change that. It's totally in your hands, so be aware of what you're doing all the time, and make sure you're moving forward. Going around in circles or standing still doesn't count, and if you do find yourself knocked a little by someone's reaction to you work, remember, it's nothing personal, it's just business, and hey, you're the easy one to pick on, because they've never met you. You can bet someone, somewhere is going to take out their frustrations on you because they can't achieve what they want, and place the blame on the product that in all actuality does work, and you can be proud of.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 7
How are people making $10,000 a month? I can't get near that figure.
That's one heck of a huge question, but I won't avoid answering it for that reason. Instead I'm going to go ahead and talk to you about the number one reason why these online marketers are out there and making their huge monthly sums of cash that most could only dream of earning in a whole year.
The first big part of this is the resources. How many people out there do you speak to on a regular basis that tell you that they can't seem to pull in enough business to keep them afloat or to make them enough money? Even that they're confused about how the big guys can go around talking about their huge incomes when they've bought all the guides, and have this wealth of knowledge that's been passed onto them.
The big thing that you'll find most of these people are missing is the leverage and the man-power. Next time someone asks you this (if they never have, they more than likely will do so in the future when you start launching your own products), you ask them what they're doing to promote. They will reply e-zines, guaranteed hits, hit exchanges, lead purchases, and the like. This isn't the way of the knowledgeable online marketer. They know better than that.
Lets assume that you've set up all your sales and tracking systems, and have launched your first product or two along with an affiliate system in place, a means of list building, joint ventures, and keeping in touch with your customers and long term customers. What's the difference between you and the example above? It's the leverage. When you carry out such a system and start putting your feelers out, making contacts and pulling in affiliates, you're also bringing with you a heck of a lot of promotion power in terms of the number of people promoting for you.
Let me ask you another question. If I were to tell you that you had to make twenty thousand a month for example, you have six months to achieve that status, but you have to use standardized advertising methods. No joint ventures, no affiliates, no new contacts etc. How would you do it? More to the point would you want to do it in the first place, because when you look at how things should be done, it's far easier to understand why people fail and continue to fail, whilst those of us who understand this continue to succeed over and over.
Remember we talked previously about doing things on your own.
The first big part of this is the resources. How many people out there do you speak to on a regular basis that tell you that they can't seem to pull in enough business to keep them afloat or to make them enough money? Even that they're confused about how the big guys can go around talking about their huge incomes when they've bought all the guides, and have this wealth of knowledge that's been passed onto them.
The big thing that you'll find most of these people are missing is the leverage and the man-power. Next time someone asks you this (if they never have, they more than likely will do so in the future when you start launching your own products), you ask them what they're doing to promote. They will reply e-zines, guaranteed hits, hit exchanges, lead purchases, and the like. This isn't the way of the knowledgeable online marketer. They know better than that.
Lets assume that you've set up all your sales and tracking systems, and have launched your first product or two along with an affiliate system in place, a means of list building, joint ventures, and keeping in touch with your customers and long term customers. What's the difference between you and the example above? It's the leverage. When you carry out such a system and start putting your feelers out, making contacts and pulling in affiliates, you're also bringing with you a heck of a lot of promotion power in terms of the number of people promoting for you.
Let me ask you another question. If I were to tell you that you had to make twenty thousand a month for example, you have six months to achieve that status, but you have to use standardized advertising methods. No joint ventures, no affiliates, no new contacts etc. How would you do it? More to the point would you want to do it in the first place, because when you look at how things should be done, it's far easier to understand why people fail and continue to fail, whilst those of us who understand this continue to succeed over and over.
Remember we talked previously about doing things on your own.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 7 ...continued
This ties into that, and it doesn't take a genius to work out that twenty people promoting your product with the same efficiency as you, at fifty percent commissions, are going to bring you in ten times the amount of sales than you would have got on your own, with ten times less expenses for you, not to mention the time it would take for you to try and do the job of ten people.
You see, when we talk about these things in this guide, we're not beating around the bush or repeating the same thing over and over again. We really are showing you what's what, and how to succeed. Having a bunch of affiliates behind you, backed by a number of joint ventures with their own promotion for half the profits is a good deal. When spreading your efforts like this it's far more likely that you'll succeed just because of the sheer number of people promoting for you, and the circulation your site gets.
So the bottom line, how are big marketers making so much cash every month? The answer is simple. And it's that they have hundreds upon hundreds of people promoting their products in different ways most of which mainly revolve around standard affiliates and joint ventures or they have built up the resources, more often than not through these means to have that kind of promotion power themselves. Look at this time wise on your part. How many hours a day do you work right now on your online business? I'll go for five hours for examples sake. It seems like a nice mid way between the full time marketer and the part timer.
Now how much do you earn? Let's say again, for this examples sake, a thousand dollars a month. Ok, now how much would you like to be earning? Say you'd like 30k a month. Do you see that to make that much cash at your current level would take you 30kx5 hours in a day? So at your current level you'd have to work 150 hours a day to reach that goal, which isn't even possible. The amount of people you have behind you and promoting as affiliates and joint ventures is the key to reaching these seemingly impossible heights. Leverage.
Just because it's your own business, it doesn't mean you're the only one that's going to be promoting it. That, my friends, is how the big guys make so much money. When mathematically looking at it from a sole trader's point of view, it looks almost impossible. I assure you it's not. Understand this and you'll start to see why, and more importantly how, you can apply this to your business.
You see, when we talk about these things in this guide, we're not beating around the bush or repeating the same thing over and over again. We really are showing you what's what, and how to succeed. Having a bunch of affiliates behind you, backed by a number of joint ventures with their own promotion for half the profits is a good deal. When spreading your efforts like this it's far more likely that you'll succeed just because of the sheer number of people promoting for you, and the circulation your site gets.
So the bottom line, how are big marketers making so much cash every month? The answer is simple. And it's that they have hundreds upon hundreds of people promoting their products in different ways most of which mainly revolve around standard affiliates and joint ventures or they have built up the resources, more often than not through these means to have that kind of promotion power themselves. Look at this time wise on your part. How many hours a day do you work right now on your online business? I'll go for five hours for examples sake. It seems like a nice mid way between the full time marketer and the part timer.
Now how much do you earn? Let's say again, for this examples sake, a thousand dollars a month. Ok, now how much would you like to be earning? Say you'd like 30k a month. Do you see that to make that much cash at your current level would take you 30kx5 hours in a day? So at your current level you'd have to work 150 hours a day to reach that goal, which isn't even possible. The amount of people you have behind you and promoting as affiliates and joint ventures is the key to reaching these seemingly impossible heights. Leverage.
Just because it's your own business, it doesn't mean you're the only one that's going to be promoting it. That, my friends, is how the big guys make so much money. When mathematically looking at it from a sole trader's point of view, it looks almost impossible. I assure you it's not. Understand this and you'll start to see why, and more importantly how, you can apply this to your business.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 8
You keep talking about joint ventures, but I can't seem to JV with anyone.
Joint ventures are a very interesting subject. Many people unfortunately misunderstand the concept when they're told to go out and get joint ventures. If you're having trouble pulling in the deals that you need to get your business off the ground, the first thing you need to carefully look at is, who are you contacting about these joint ventures?
Many people seem to think that the answer to all their problems is to get an ad to a list through the big names, but with this comes a problem. Imagine you were earning at least 20k a month and releasing your own products, had a nice sized list of customers, and a large affiliate base, and that this is widely known. All the people that think you're the answer to their problem, and the list and people you're in contact with are the answer to their problems, you can imagine how many joint venture request mails you're going to get every week. All these people out there that see you earning all that cash, and think that if they get access to your list, they'll earn this cash too.
This is not the case at all. When we speak about joint ventures, I'm definitely not advising you to go out there, pick every big earner out of the bag, contact them and try to get an ad to their list, because there are already so many people doing the same. So unless you have something under your belt in the way of resources and products already, it's not going to be easy to prove that you're going to be worth it. And at the end of the day, that's what we're all doing including me.
Every time I contact someone for a joint venture, I'm in a position where I have to sell myself and my product to them, proving that it's going to be worth their while, and you're doing exactly the same thing. As you can imagine, if you have a few products under your belt already, this is going to be far easier to do this, especially to the big names.
Don't worry though, all is not lost and, there's a lot more potential out there than you may think. When we previously talked about subscribing to peoples lists as a first step in the joint venture operations, we were talking about, not just the biggest names that you know but, the ones where you're more likely to get a response and noticed, simply because there aren't so many people vying for the same thing.
Many people seem to think that the answer to all their problems is to get an ad to a list through the big names, but with this comes a problem. Imagine you were earning at least 20k a month and releasing your own products, had a nice sized list of customers, and a large affiliate base, and that this is widely known. All the people that think you're the answer to their problem, and the list and people you're in contact with are the answer to their problems, you can imagine how many joint venture request mails you're going to get every week. All these people out there that see you earning all that cash, and think that if they get access to your list, they'll earn this cash too.
This is not the case at all. When we speak about joint ventures, I'm definitely not advising you to go out there, pick every big earner out of the bag, contact them and try to get an ad to their list, because there are already so many people doing the same. So unless you have something under your belt in the way of resources and products already, it's not going to be easy to prove that you're going to be worth it. And at the end of the day, that's what we're all doing including me.
Every time I contact someone for a joint venture, I'm in a position where I have to sell myself and my product to them, proving that it's going to be worth their while, and you're doing exactly the same thing. As you can imagine, if you have a few products under your belt already, this is going to be far easier to do this, especially to the big names.
Don't worry though, all is not lost and, there's a lot more potential out there than you may think. When we previously talked about subscribing to peoples lists as a first step in the joint venture operations, we were talking about, not just the biggest names that you know but, the ones where you're more likely to get a response and noticed, simply because there aren't so many people vying for the same thing.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 8 ...continued
That's not to say you're settling for second best, far from it. There have been plenty of sites that I've joined previously that displayed top affiliates, those that obviously have the big targeted resources already built up to promote to. Throughout these names I come across some of the big guys, that is true, but it might surprise you to find out that at least ninety five percent of those top affiliates I've not heard of before. They're not big names, but they sure bring in as much cash as the big names. Don't for a moment think that your resources are limited to the ten or so big guys you know, because let me tell you there are thousands and thousands of people out there, even just taking the online marketing scene for example, that are doing really well, even though they haven't achieved this almost celebrity status with your particular circle of marketers.
Keep this in mind, and don't feel trapped or constrained by being fooled into thinking you have to compete with hundreds of others for a single joint venture. That's not to say you shouldn't contact big famous names at all, or ever, but be advised, many others are doing the same. One joint venture with a relatively unknown can be far more powerful than joint ventures with the well known too. It all depends on the resources they have in hand, so if I could give you one tip about joint venturing, and one tip only, it would be to widen your search, and don't just stick to those that you've heard about.
Thankfully, we're not limited to one tip, so I'm going to give you another big one and hopefully put your mind at rest. Now when you create and launch your own product, and manage to pull your target number of joint ventures, don't fret and worry about how hard it was, because, I won't lie, making the contacts in the first place is by far the hardest part, but, again, this snowballs. You meet person one, who introduces you to person two, three and four, and so on preventing the need to go out and look for new joint ventures for each and every product you create. You simply don't have to do it.
Keep this in mind, and don't feel trapped or constrained by being fooled into thinking you have to compete with hundreds of others for a single joint venture. That's not to say you shouldn't contact big famous names at all, or ever, but be advised, many others are doing the same. One joint venture with a relatively unknown can be far more powerful than joint ventures with the well known too. It all depends on the resources they have in hand, so if I could give you one tip about joint venturing, and one tip only, it would be to widen your search, and don't just stick to those that you've heard about.
Thankfully, we're not limited to one tip, so I'm going to give you another big one and hopefully put your mind at rest. Now when you create and launch your own product, and manage to pull your target number of joint ventures, don't fret and worry about how hard it was, because, I won't lie, making the contacts in the first place is by far the hardest part, but, again, this snowballs. You meet person one, who introduces you to person two, three and four, and so on preventing the need to go out and look for new joint ventures for each and every product you create. You simply don't have to do it.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 8 ...continued
In addition don't neglect the people you've done joint ventures with before. Work with them again, look at their proposals, listen to their ideas and what they have to say, and you'll find that once you have your first few you don't need to go out doing all of that again, kind of creating one big circle of marketers that promote each others stuff and joint venture with each other.
Not only that but add in the fact that after your first few successful products with this system, for want of a better word, is set up in such a way that you're going to be gathering your resources, and be pretty hot joint venture material yourself. Most importantly, it's at this stage, even if your name is only known by your customers and affiliates, that they're going to start coming to you with proposals which will allow you to develop your already rather large pile of resources and promotion power.
So you see as far as joint ventures are concerned, it's only something you have to do heavily once or twice, because after this you're going to be the one that people are searching out. If you put in the hard work now, and set up everything as we've said in this report, and build your resources at the same time, you may not be a millionaire in six months, but you're going to have a mighty good base of resources to start moving towards achieving your goals for your life and for your business.
This is what this whole guide is based on, not making a small profit as quickly as possible, but building your resources as quickly and as effectively as you can, making your life of promotion a simple case of four e-mails and a few conversations for each product you launch. Of course there's a catch, and that is, if you want that to happen to you later, there's a lot of leg work to be done now, which is probably not what many people want to hear, but I can't lie. The effect I'm really trying to put across in this report is that it doesn't have to be slow, it doesn't have to be hard, boring or expensive, but it will require effort. Trust me when I say, the result is worth it.
Not only that but add in the fact that after your first few successful products with this system, for want of a better word, is set up in such a way that you're going to be gathering your resources, and be pretty hot joint venture material yourself. Most importantly, it's at this stage, even if your name is only known by your customers and affiliates, that they're going to start coming to you with proposals which will allow you to develop your already rather large pile of resources and promotion power.
So you see as far as joint ventures are concerned, it's only something you have to do heavily once or twice, because after this you're going to be the one that people are searching out. If you put in the hard work now, and set up everything as we've said in this report, and build your resources at the same time, you may not be a millionaire in six months, but you're going to have a mighty good base of resources to start moving towards achieving your goals for your life and for your business.
This is what this whole guide is based on, not making a small profit as quickly as possible, but building your resources as quickly and as effectively as you can, making your life of promotion a simple case of four e-mails and a few conversations for each product you launch. Of course there's a catch, and that is, if you want that to happen to you later, there's a lot of leg work to be done now, which is probably not what many people want to hear, but I can't lie. The effect I'm really trying to put across in this report is that it doesn't have to be slow, it doesn't have to be hard, boring or expensive, but it will require effort. Trust me when I say, the result is worth it.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 9
I just want to promote affiliate programs instead of my own products. But, how?
As you may have guessed this question is going to be very similar to the previous question relating to what you can sell if you don't have your own product. My advice would be, again, to create your own product. Even if you don't want one, it's amazing how much additional promotion power your own product gives you and all the resources it can bring in.
I think what we need to ask here is why don't you want your own product? I can understand how cool it must be to think about being able to just mail your list and rake in the cash without doing any additional work, but you're really selling yourself short if you go straight for this option.
There are however two instances where it is actually possibly to do this. That's either you've already got yourself a load of resources and a big list to promote to through previous products, or you manage to get yourself in at the top of a really big program that everyone joins, and you're just that good at 'recruiting' and building your down line. If you're not, the best way to learn is your own products and you can always go all out affiliate promotion later when you have resources tailored to that need.
If you've been told that it's as easy as plunging in a load of your cash for leads and hits and stuff, forget all that. It's just not true unless you're planning to spend many thousands, which I don't see why anyone would, because there are plenty of faster, more effective ways to do this, with your own product. Have I sold you on that yet? The other alternative is search engine marketing, however that's a whole course in itself and a totally different subject matter altogether.
I think what we need to ask here is why don't you want your own product? I can understand how cool it must be to think about being able to just mail your list and rake in the cash without doing any additional work, but you're really selling yourself short if you go straight for this option.
There are however two instances where it is actually possibly to do this. That's either you've already got yourself a load of resources and a big list to promote to through previous products, or you manage to get yourself in at the top of a really big program that everyone joins, and you're just that good at 'recruiting' and building your down line. If you're not, the best way to learn is your own products and you can always go all out affiliate promotion later when you have resources tailored to that need.
If you've been told that it's as easy as plunging in a load of your cash for leads and hits and stuff, forget all that. It's just not true unless you're planning to spend many thousands, which I don't see why anyone would, because there are plenty of faster, more effective ways to do this, with your own product. Have I sold you on that yet? The other alternative is search engine marketing, however that's a whole course in itself and a totally different subject matter altogether.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 10
I've got all these information, but where do I start?
With regard to online marketing, no matter where you are in your career, the starting place is always the same. No matter if you have a stash of affiliates or a big list and previous customers already, in fact that's great. Whatever you do, don't feel like you have to ditch everything and start all over again. This is not the case. I would say that all businesses start with five things. An idea and a desire to develop that idea, the tools you need to do so, the preparation and groundwork to make it all possible, a budget, and a market for your product.
Without an idea you're going nowhere. With a good idea, on the other hand, you're on your way to multiple products that you can create and sell at different prices that will no doubt spawn other ideas. If you want to take things further, you need to keep your mind open, and always look at ways of developing and evolving that original idea into the best possible form for the people who are going to be buying it and spawning more ideas from your original plan.
Before you get started you're also going to need the tools that will form the basis of your business. Like we mentioned in the creating a base for your business report, there really isn't much out there that you literally need to be successful. The only things that you'll really need to shell out for are, an affiliate script or membership, access to tracking tools, and autoresponders to maintain your list. That's really very little compared to the earning potential that they bring you. What's more, they're all one off purchases that you won't have to spend money on over and over again. This is a pretty good deal when you consider in most peoples eyes you need to shell out for promotion on top of that. We now know that this is not the case at all. This is also relevant to your budget, which doesn't have to be huge.
Without an idea you're going nowhere. With a good idea, on the other hand, you're on your way to multiple products that you can create and sell at different prices that will no doubt spawn other ideas. If you want to take things further, you need to keep your mind open, and always look at ways of developing and evolving that original idea into the best possible form for the people who are going to be buying it and spawning more ideas from your original plan.
Before you get started you're also going to need the tools that will form the basis of your business. Like we mentioned in the creating a base for your business report, there really isn't much out there that you literally need to be successful. The only things that you'll really need to shell out for are, an affiliate script or membership, access to tracking tools, and autoresponders to maintain your list. That's really very little compared to the earning potential that they bring you. What's more, they're all one off purchases that you won't have to spend money on over and over again. This is a pretty good deal when you consider in most peoples eyes you need to shell out for promotion on top of that. We now know that this is not the case at all. This is also relevant to your budget, which doesn't have to be huge.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 10 ...continued
Once those tools are set up, that's most of your preparation and groundwork done. All you need to do is slot a product into your sales system each time and off you go.
Identify a target market, someone to sell your products to. Unless you're super brainy and come up with a totally original idea, it's likely there are other products out there already trying to solve the same problems for customers. Do some research to check out the competition, but don't be overwhelmed by it all. There's plenty of space for everyone. And hey, competition for your brand new idea is a good thing, because this means there's already a market for your product, and people with access to the customers that you need to be getting in touch with to sell it. This should put your mind at ease straight away.
Lastly, and most importantly, wherever you decide to start, please do start. We're here giving you all this information but you must do something with it. Ask yourself, in the last six months, how far has my business moved forward? Then ask yourself how far do you want to move forward in the next six months. Do you really want to repeat everything at the same speed, or could you knuckle down and get double, triple or even quadruple the amount of work done through eliminating distractions and focusing on the solution not the problem. That's totally in your hands now, but do start. Start today.
Identify a target market, someone to sell your products to. Unless you're super brainy and come up with a totally original idea, it's likely there are other products out there already trying to solve the same problems for customers. Do some research to check out the competition, but don't be overwhelmed by it all. There's plenty of space for everyone. And hey, competition for your brand new idea is a good thing, because this means there's already a market for your product, and people with access to the customers that you need to be getting in touch with to sell it. This should put your mind at ease straight away.
Lastly, and most importantly, wherever you decide to start, please do start. We're here giving you all this information but you must do something with it. Ask yourself, in the last six months, how far has my business moved forward? Then ask yourself how far do you want to move forward in the next six months. Do you really want to repeat everything at the same speed, or could you knuckle down and get double, triple or even quadruple the amount of work done through eliminating distractions and focusing on the solution not the problem. That's totally in your hands now, but do start. Start today.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 11
I want to learn more and keep buying guides, but how do I know who to trust and if their stuff works?
An interesting question, which will occur to most people at the start of their internet marketing career, especially as there's not really anyone out there that teaches this stuff outside of the internet. With things being so impersonal, and with such a huge selection of information laying around for you to pick up, I'm going to give you some pointers from which you should be able to establish yourself a solid ground of online marketers that hold good information about the subject you're looking for without having to buy and test, and buy and test, which in the end will only put a big dent in your pocket.
Let's look at some things that you should be looking for when buying other peoples stuff, and some things that you should avoid at all costs. First up: testimonials. Who's saying what about these people and their products? We're looking for real testimonials here, plain text, audio, video, or all of those put together, the more the better. Look out for marketers that you already know and trust writing testimonials about these people on their sites, but failing that, you can always look at who's promoting it.
But hold on, back up a second. What does this mean for you as a marketer? Like I said before, to get the attention of the big guys, you'll need to be pretty established already, so what if you can't get testimonials by well known people that everyone knows and trusts? Well, you can, in a more indirect way. Remember how I said everything connects to everything else in this system, and they all develop and build each other in so many ways that I'm still discovering them myself?
Let's look at some things that you should be looking for when buying other peoples stuff, and some things that you should avoid at all costs. First up: testimonials. Who's saying what about these people and their products? We're looking for real testimonials here, plain text, audio, video, or all of those put together, the more the better. Look out for marketers that you already know and trust writing testimonials about these people on their sites, but failing that, you can always look at who's promoting it.
But hold on, back up a second. What does this mean for you as a marketer? Like I said before, to get the attention of the big guys, you'll need to be pretty established already, so what if you can't get testimonials by well known people that everyone knows and trusts? Well, you can, in a more indirect way. Remember how I said everything connects to everything else in this system, and they all develop and build each other in so many ways that I'm still discovering them myself?
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 11 ...continued
Well, think about your joint ventures. These are the people who are going to be telling their lists, and the people that have been on them for years, and totally trust them. This is another advantage you have, and another big reason to score these joint ventures. It's not only going to form the basis of your sales and your resource building, but the basis of trust that's going to be passed from the list owner, to their subscribers, to your site. Again, this is another way to succeed without having to fight over pulling big names, and far more effective.
This is one of my favorites. Because I'm subscribed to so many marketers lists now, that exclusively promote affiliate programs after building their resources, that's the perfect place for me to find out, not only who to trust, but as a bonus, what's hot and what's not. This is why you'll never see me touch the unsubscribe button as long as I'm receiving ads from top marketers, because it's such a powerful tool, they're doing me a service and they get to advertise their stuff and make a whole bundle of cash at the same time, steering me in the right direction based on the research that they've already done.
How's that for a silent joint venture? It's a win, win situation. I would suggest you do the same, and don't forget to keep yourself a record too, so that if you change e-mail addresses you can edit your subscription so that you're not missing anything.
The other great thing about this is, the more you mingle in your chosen market, the more people you meet and contacts you gain (most of who will come to you after your first few products) the more you hear, the more information you're fed, the wiser you become. As with any part of online marketing, from product creation to understanding and spotting who to trust, it all develops with time and experience. As you can see, using those two methods, there's no need for extensive research or to pull your wallet out for every well written sales letter.
This is one of my favorites. Because I'm subscribed to so many marketers lists now, that exclusively promote affiliate programs after building their resources, that's the perfect place for me to find out, not only who to trust, but as a bonus, what's hot and what's not. This is why you'll never see me touch the unsubscribe button as long as I'm receiving ads from top marketers, because it's such a powerful tool, they're doing me a service and they get to advertise their stuff and make a whole bundle of cash at the same time, steering me in the right direction based on the research that they've already done.
How's that for a silent joint venture? It's a win, win situation. I would suggest you do the same, and don't forget to keep yourself a record too, so that if you change e-mail addresses you can edit your subscription so that you're not missing anything.
The other great thing about this is, the more you mingle in your chosen market, the more people you meet and contacts you gain (most of who will come to you after your first few products) the more you hear, the more information you're fed, the wiser you become. As with any part of online marketing, from product creation to understanding and spotting who to trust, it all develops with time and experience. As you can see, using those two methods, there's no need for extensive research or to pull your wallet out for every well written sales letter.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 12
How much money do I have to spend to be successful?
The answer to this question is, quite simply, not a lot. The beauty of online marketing is that the products that you create yourself cost next to nothing money wise. With most products, you're only paying for the time it took the seller to complete, and the knowledge or the piece of software contained within. Anyone who tells you that you have to go out and spend a wad of your hard earned cash on any service, aside from admin of your business and information on how to run your business is incorrect.
The whole basis of this report is creating a viable product in a viable market, and learning to sell it through means and methods that don't cost you any money to carry out. Of course they may cost you other things but it won't come directly out of your pocket. Let's take a standard joint venture. Say you're selling a product with a price tag of a thousand dollars that you've created yourself in your own time. Giving that product away as part of the joint venture, although it seems like you're giving away a heck of a lot, it's not really, compared to what you get in return. It's not like a standard offline business, where you have expenses to worry about, so making a loss on a giveaway of this sort is almost impossible.
What's most important is that you don't try to do everything for free. Set aside a budget that you can afford for that year, and you'll find that most of it goes towards setting up your first product or service. Once you've done that, it becomes a case of wake up, come up with product idea, develop product, and place inside promotion system using all the software that you acquired when you first started out. Aside from this, and any other guides or software your purchase, actually getting your product out there will cost you nothing but your monthly hosting cost. ($15-$25 shared hosting or $200-$500 for dedicated hosting).
The whole basis of this report is creating a viable product in a viable market, and learning to sell it through means and methods that don't cost you any money to carry out. Of course they may cost you other things but it won't come directly out of your pocket. Let's take a standard joint venture. Say you're selling a product with a price tag of a thousand dollars that you've created yourself in your own time. Giving that product away as part of the joint venture, although it seems like you're giving away a heck of a lot, it's not really, compared to what you get in return. It's not like a standard offline business, where you have expenses to worry about, so making a loss on a giveaway of this sort is almost impossible.
What's most important is that you don't try to do everything for free. Set aside a budget that you can afford for that year, and you'll find that most of it goes towards setting up your first product or service. Once you've done that, it becomes a case of wake up, come up with product idea, develop product, and place inside promotion system using all the software that you acquired when you first started out. Aside from this, and any other guides or software your purchase, actually getting your product out there will cost you nothing but your monthly hosting cost. ($15-$25 shared hosting or $200-$500 for dedicated hosting).
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 12 ...continued
So where does it all go? How can people claim that they've lost tens of thousands trying to succeed in online marketing? Well, I myself have spent tens of thousands, but I wouldn't call it lost, all the guides, all the experiences, the product launches, the software. But in all honesty, most of what I've spent was on mistakes. I've bought guides on this, guides on that, how-to about marketing, membership programs and so on. In my early days, I also spent a lot of time being mislead by people who told me about the amazing results they got with particular forms of marketing or memberships they've signed up for, and different ways to promote my products.
You might call me gullible for spending that much, but like so many other people out there struggling for the action, I was just out looking for the answers to all my questions, and you know, I'm glad I did too, because that much money spent brought me a wealth of knowledge only a set of manuals such as this could have brought me without actually having to spend it, and of course, if I didn't do that, this very document wouldn't be here today. Sometimes it's good to screw up a lot.
Unfortunately, while we're sitting here talking about all the answers that we've discovered, there's still countless people out there looking for them. I wouldn't even like to guess at how many there are exactly, but the sales of info products about online marketing in particular, just keep on coming. I'm sure if everyone found their answers right away, this wouldn't be the case.
So I'll make you a deal right now. All those other guides out there, that tell you to go out and buy particular products and services with your hard earned cash, whoever they're written by, put them on hold, just for a few months. Put them aside and first try what I'm demonstrating to you throughout these manuals before you go all out spending all your cash on hits or leads or anything like that. I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed, and your pockets will be a lot deeper at the end of the day too, not just through your earnings, but by how much you've saved by doing things correctly.
You might call me gullible for spending that much, but like so many other people out there struggling for the action, I was just out looking for the answers to all my questions, and you know, I'm glad I did too, because that much money spent brought me a wealth of knowledge only a set of manuals such as this could have brought me without actually having to spend it, and of course, if I didn't do that, this very document wouldn't be here today. Sometimes it's good to screw up a lot.
Unfortunately, while we're sitting here talking about all the answers that we've discovered, there's still countless people out there looking for them. I wouldn't even like to guess at how many there are exactly, but the sales of info products about online marketing in particular, just keep on coming. I'm sure if everyone found their answers right away, this wouldn't be the case.
So I'll make you a deal right now. All those other guides out there, that tell you to go out and buy particular products and services with your hard earned cash, whoever they're written by, put them on hold, just for a few months. Put them aside and first try what I'm demonstrating to you throughout these manuals before you go all out spending all your cash on hits or leads or anything like that. I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed, and your pockets will be a lot deeper at the end of the day too, not just through your earnings, but by how much you've saved by doing things correctly.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 13
How much time do I have to spend on my business for it to be successful?
An understandable question as it's nice to know exactly where you stand with anything, and how much time it takes to create and run your own online business is no exception. The real problem is that this is an extremely difficult question to answer, not only because our businesses are going to vary, how much we get done per hour is going to vary, but also because different tasks require different amounts of time.
First up, let me give you an hypothetical example of exactly what I mean. I run my business full time. Although I say full time it really isn't in most cases. Let's take a look at a typical day. I'd get up, jump on the computer, spend twenty minutes or so checking my mail and such, replying to customers and talking to people on my IM list about what's been happening overnight. I'd then check my sales, check that everything is running smoothly, then log off for the day and go and do something with family or friends. Great, huh? Well that's not quite the full story.
Example two: I wake up, jump on the computer with the intention of developing a new product that I've either been thinking about recently or have started the design outlines for to pass onto a programmer. Well at this stage, there's a heck of a lot to do, so I'd do my usual, log on, check my mail, have a chat to people on my messengers and find out what's been going on, then settle down to create this product. It might take a few hours, or it might take a few months, in which case you'll find me at my computer for anything between five and fifteen hours in a day. That's not so bad, because really, it only applies to two or three months of each year in total so far.
But then comes example three. Site launches, a most exciting time, especially when you've been working up to it for many weeks, or even months as in the case of this particular project. Six or so hours before everything is set to go, you'll find me checking and double checking everything, making sure the payment system works and doesn't have any sudden outages (major disaster for set time joint ventures) getting backups, testing the software, making sure the product is ready to download and so on, general final preparation work. Not forgetting to check my mail and have chat to people on my IM list at the same time.
First up, let me give you an hypothetical example of exactly what I mean. I run my business full time. Although I say full time it really isn't in most cases. Let's take a look at a typical day. I'd get up, jump on the computer, spend twenty minutes or so checking my mail and such, replying to customers and talking to people on my IM list about what's been happening overnight. I'd then check my sales, check that everything is running smoothly, then log off for the day and go and do something with family or friends. Great, huh? Well that's not quite the full story.
Example two: I wake up, jump on the computer with the intention of developing a new product that I've either been thinking about recently or have started the design outlines for to pass onto a programmer. Well at this stage, there's a heck of a lot to do, so I'd do my usual, log on, check my mail, have a chat to people on my messengers and find out what's been going on, then settle down to create this product. It might take a few hours, or it might take a few months, in which case you'll find me at my computer for anything between five and fifteen hours in a day. That's not so bad, because really, it only applies to two or three months of each year in total so far.
But then comes example three. Site launches, a most exciting time, especially when you've been working up to it for many weeks, or even months as in the case of this particular project. Six or so hours before everything is set to go, you'll find me checking and double checking everything, making sure the payment system works and doesn't have any sudden outages (major disaster for set time joint ventures) getting backups, testing the software, making sure the product is ready to download and so on, general final preparation work. Not forgetting to check my mail and have chat to people on my IM list at the same time.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 13 ...continued
Then comes the product launch itself. Sometimes things can go perfectly, and on rare occasions things go horribly wrong. I want to make sure that I'm there for the initial drive, so zero hour, I'll be sitting by my computer, waiting for mails to come through and the sales to start coming in, and again making doubly one hundred percent sure that nothing goes wrong. Not to mention keeping an eye on my tracking to see if I can spot any short term anomalies and problems that may have occurred but not been reported.
If all goes smoothly after the first twelve hours or so, I'd head to bed and get some rest, but on the occasions that something is reported and needs to be fixed, it usually has to be fixed quickly, due to the nature of how each resource ties into the next one. You may in fact find me sitting at the computer shouting at the screen 48 hours after the product has gone live. In my eyes this needs to be done, and as crazy as it sounds, if launch day goes pear shaped, I don't hold out much hope for the rest of the promotion drive. I like to be there until everything is flowing perfectly.
So you see, depending on the circumstances, you may find yourself at the computer for an hour a day five days a week, or you may find yourself glued to the screen into the early hours of the morning (and the next morning even). I think the most important thing to get out of this is that the need to be flexible is definitely there, without a doubt. When you're logging on and checking e-mails, it's not so bad, and when something needs to be fixed, it's obvious what you have to do, so it's just common sense to go ahead and do it.
The problem comes when you're looking at the bits in the middle. The long hours don't bother me, and I'm sure they wouldn't bother you either if you could take most of the rest of the year off anyway. What does bother me though is the non directed work that everyone needs to be doing to make a success of their business. It's not really a case of being lazy, but it's definitely very strange going from working where everyone tells you what to do and when to do it, right on over to you being in total control, just like that.
If all goes smoothly after the first twelve hours or so, I'd head to bed and get some rest, but on the occasions that something is reported and needs to be fixed, it usually has to be fixed quickly, due to the nature of how each resource ties into the next one. You may in fact find me sitting at the computer shouting at the screen 48 hours after the product has gone live. In my eyes this needs to be done, and as crazy as it sounds, if launch day goes pear shaped, I don't hold out much hope for the rest of the promotion drive. I like to be there until everything is flowing perfectly.
So you see, depending on the circumstances, you may find yourself at the computer for an hour a day five days a week, or you may find yourself glued to the screen into the early hours of the morning (and the next morning even). I think the most important thing to get out of this is that the need to be flexible is definitely there, without a doubt. When you're logging on and checking e-mails, it's not so bad, and when something needs to be fixed, it's obvious what you have to do, so it's just common sense to go ahead and do it.
The problem comes when you're looking at the bits in the middle. The long hours don't bother me, and I'm sure they wouldn't bother you either if you could take most of the rest of the year off anyway. What does bother me though is the non directed work that everyone needs to be doing to make a success of their business. It's not really a case of being lazy, but it's definitely very strange going from working where everyone tells you what to do and when to do it, right on over to you being in total control, just like that.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 13 ...continued
This is where I believe most people fail, and it's also where it's most important to succeed, and that's getting started working on your own projects. It's not easy sometimes to give up the day off so that you can type fifty straight pages of text about your chosen field of expertise, but it's something you have to prepare yourself to do, because if you don't and only wait for those times where you're in a position of, do this or lose something, you're missing a lot of new development and designing time. At least fifty percent of your online efforts, excluding promotion, should go towards new product designs and development.
That doesn't mean you have to work overnight or sixteen hours a day seven days a week. I understand that many people have jobs, and others started their businesses to have more free time, not less. So my proposition to you is, next time you're doing a task, ask yourself, is this something that I've been forced to do through circumstance? Fixing bugs, answering mails and so on, or is this something that I picked up, and decided to do off my own back, with no one there to tell me what to do and when to do it. Product creation for example, or report writing, or designing a product, writing sales copy, making the first move in trying to score joint ventures. This kind of work is important, the type that you aren't forced into by circumstance, the only type of work that will move you forward instead of holding you in the same place or even pulling you backwards.
The more time you put in to these aspects of your business, the more you will get out. The more you stick to forced circumstance work, the less you will get out. So the answer is really making the question void. It's not how much time you spend working on your business, it's what you're doing with that time. Spending ten hours with circumstantial tasks like this won't get you anywhere compared to spending one hour doing tasks of your own free will. Control your business, don't let it control you, and you can be sure no matter how much time you spend working your business, it will be time well spent, and you are moving forward. That's the most important thing.
That doesn't mean you have to work overnight or sixteen hours a day seven days a week. I understand that many people have jobs, and others started their businesses to have more free time, not less. So my proposition to you is, next time you're doing a task, ask yourself, is this something that I've been forced to do through circumstance? Fixing bugs, answering mails and so on, or is this something that I picked up, and decided to do off my own back, with no one there to tell me what to do and when to do it. Product creation for example, or report writing, or designing a product, writing sales copy, making the first move in trying to score joint ventures. This kind of work is important, the type that you aren't forced into by circumstance, the only type of work that will move you forward instead of holding you in the same place or even pulling you backwards.
The more time you put in to these aspects of your business, the more you will get out. The more you stick to forced circumstance work, the less you will get out. So the answer is really making the question void. It's not how much time you spend working on your business, it's what you're doing with that time. Spending ten hours with circumstantial tasks like this won't get you anywhere compared to spending one hour doing tasks of your own free will. Control your business, don't let it control you, and you can be sure no matter how much time you spend working your business, it will be time well spent, and you are moving forward. That's the most important thing.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 14
This is my first time in online marketing. How do I know it's not all a scam?
If this is your first time in online marketing, it's quite understandable how you may have seen or heard internet marketing spoken about as if it were one big group of people scamming other people into scamming more people. I'm sure you've figured out, that is definitely not the case. This is a serious business. It's a real business and it involves real people and real products, even though many of them are published and brought to our attention through a digital format, and many contain pure information.
Let me tell you that when I first started out in internet marketing I started telling my friends. They came over and had a look at my sites, and unfortunately, much to my surprise, they scoffed. Not just friends, but family too. All they could see was the standard make money online message from the headline (it didn't read exactly that but that's all they picked up) and they all either didn't say anything at all, or they joked about me being one of those types that sends them e-mails all day long when they don't want them.
Of course I knew they were wrong. The contents of the site, at that time, revolved around automation, and not once was money making mentioned, aside from in the standard two level affiliate program. It's a shame that people automatically assume it's a scam if it involves referring people. They've heard about the impossible matrix stuff, the fifty gazillion level mlm-instant-super-cash-millionaire-overnight-system, and they've either fallen for it themselves, assume it's a scam because someone they know has fallen for it, or seen some sort of harsh words about this in the media.
The problem comes when they mix these up, and believe online marketing to all be a scam. Look at your standard matrix, and do the math. You'll soon figure out a few things. First, the odds of earning are miniscule. Who knows how many millions of people you need to refer on your level to come into profit. You'd be amazed that if you took a calculator to many of these old systems, you'd need to refer more people than there actually are in the world on level 25, to get you $100 per month. Second the products. Look at what we're doing here. Look at what we're selling. They're not referral programs that ask to refer for the sake of referring. They're real products, quality, with real value.
Let me tell you that when I first started out in internet marketing I started telling my friends. They came over and had a look at my sites, and unfortunately, much to my surprise, they scoffed. Not just friends, but family too. All they could see was the standard make money online message from the headline (it didn't read exactly that but that's all they picked up) and they all either didn't say anything at all, or they joked about me being one of those types that sends them e-mails all day long when they don't want them.
Of course I knew they were wrong. The contents of the site, at that time, revolved around automation, and not once was money making mentioned, aside from in the standard two level affiliate program. It's a shame that people automatically assume it's a scam if it involves referring people. They've heard about the impossible matrix stuff, the fifty gazillion level mlm-instant-super-cash-millionaire-overnight-system, and they've either fallen for it themselves, assume it's a scam because someone they know has fallen for it, or seen some sort of harsh words about this in the media.
The problem comes when they mix these up, and believe online marketing to all be a scam. Look at your standard matrix, and do the math. You'll soon figure out a few things. First, the odds of earning are miniscule. Who knows how many millions of people you need to refer on your level to come into profit. You'd be amazed that if you took a calculator to many of these old systems, you'd need to refer more people than there actually are in the world on level 25, to get you $100 per month. Second the products. Look at what we're doing here. Look at what we're selling. They're not referral programs that ask to refer for the sake of referring. They're real products, quality, with real value.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 14 ...continued
When people now ask me about what I do, and after telling them I make comments, my response is easy, and yours could be the same. Hey, Amazon.com has an affiliate program, where people refer others and make money on anything they purchase. Does that make them an illegal scheme that is only out to make you broke? Just because we're not a huge business with huge names, usually only a single person or with a small staff promoting single products on single websites, it does not mean our products are not valuable, and it doesn't mean they're a scam just because there's a two level referral system up there.
In fact, it often means that the information and type of products and services open to the customer are even more diverse. No longer are you only seeing books published by big companies, no longer are you only seeing three choices of software when looking to accomplish a job. The internet has made things amazingly easy for us to get our products circulated and, because of the diversity or types and quality of product and the low cost of doing this, there are inevitably some shoddy pieces of work out there by people who just want to make a quick buck.
As you can see, not only is this big money, but it's a serious business too. It's not a joke, or a scam, or anything like that. It's a diverse number of people coming together, and finally being able to afford to put their ideas in motion and add to the diversity of every single market you can possibly think of. Remember, a referral program, doesn't make a scam. With a document telling you how to make money online, even though that phrase is a major 'yeah right' cliché nowadays, the concept is still the same. The only difference between reality, and peoples perceptions through what they've heard via the media, their friends, and what they think they know, makes it a scam in their mind. In reality, it's as legitimate a business as any big name multinational you can think of that's out there, just in a smaller package.
In fact, it often means that the information and type of products and services open to the customer are even more diverse. No longer are you only seeing books published by big companies, no longer are you only seeing three choices of software when looking to accomplish a job. The internet has made things amazingly easy for us to get our products circulated and, because of the diversity or types and quality of product and the low cost of doing this, there are inevitably some shoddy pieces of work out there by people who just want to make a quick buck.
As you can see, not only is this big money, but it's a serious business too. It's not a joke, or a scam, or anything like that. It's a diverse number of people coming together, and finally being able to afford to put their ideas in motion and add to the diversity of every single market you can possibly think of. Remember, a referral program, doesn't make a scam. With a document telling you how to make money online, even though that phrase is a major 'yeah right' cliché nowadays, the concept is still the same. The only difference between reality, and peoples perceptions through what they've heard via the media, their friends, and what they think they know, makes it a scam in their mind. In reality, it's as legitimate a business as any big name multinational you can think of that's out there, just in a smaller package.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 15
How long will it take me to be successful, and can you guarantee it will happen?
Let's look for a start at how long it will take you to be successful. I'll be honest with you. I have almost no insight about that. I know about the techniques I'm teaching you, I know they give you the power to be successful, but I don't know you. I don't know how often you work on your business, I don't know if you're working on a product that customers want, in fact with this one way dialogue, the only thing that I can do is give you the formulas. You have to feed those formulas through your own effort, and in your own way. Hey, again, I'm not calling you lazy. I know how it is when you're working all day, studying all night, cooking, cleaning so on and so forth. I don't assume that everyone has even half their day to work on their business yet.
What I will say to you is, take heed of the active and reactive situations we talked about above, pay close attention to the type and quality of the work you're doing, and whether you're doing it correctly. You know, just one product can pull in a 10-12k list without a problem through some joint venturing and affiliates, setting up everything the way we've talked about here. It's not unusual to see these types of lists pull in two, three or even four thousand dollars per mailing. I can't guarantee you'll be successful, for the simple reason it's up to you to stop planning, stop thinking and start doing, for the same reasons I can't tell you how long it's going to take.
What I will say to you is, take heed of the active and reactive situations we talked about above, pay close attention to the type and quality of the work you're doing, and whether you're doing it correctly. You know, just one product can pull in a 10-12k list without a problem through some joint venturing and affiliates, setting up everything the way we've talked about here. It's not unusual to see these types of lists pull in two, three or even four thousand dollars per mailing. I can't guarantee you'll be successful, for the simple reason it's up to you to stop planning, stop thinking and start doing, for the same reasons I can't tell you how long it's going to take.
Affiliate Marketing - Most Frequently Asked Questions No. 15 ...continued
The first step is getting started. Once you're clear of successful product two you're going to find yourself on a role. Let me ask you. Do you honestly believe that you're going to follow this whole guide and put it all into action, taking into account that you really should get two products up and running ASAP through joint ventures, and linking your resources as well as we've talked about? If you do great, if you don't, why not make this the one? The one you actually say ok, yeah, I'll go for that, and get working on it tonight and for the rest of the month until you've finally launched your own product or two?
This is what I'm talking about. I've already discussed with you how much I dislike the whole clichéd positive thinking thing. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't take action. Don't throw in the towel and say hey, I've read many other guides before, and only half heartedly followed them, tossed them to the side, dug them out months later to find I'm still in the same place when everyone else is moving on and making cash with their own products, and their own business. Don't let it be someone else this time. Seriously, make sure it's you. Get up and go. If you take the info in this guide, put it all together, and then take that advice and really do get up and go, and start moving forwards, then this is the closest I can ever get to guarantee your success. That's mighty close to a perfect score. It's in your hands. You know what to do now you have your hands on such valuable information. It's time you made use of it.
This is what I'm talking about. I've already discussed with you how much I dislike the whole clichéd positive thinking thing. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't take action. Don't throw in the towel and say hey, I've read many other guides before, and only half heartedly followed them, tossed them to the side, dug them out months later to find I'm still in the same place when everyone else is moving on and making cash with their own products, and their own business. Don't let it be someone else this time. Seriously, make sure it's you. Get up and go. If you take the info in this guide, put it all together, and then take that advice and really do get up and go, and start moving forwards, then this is the closest I can ever get to guarantee your success. That's mighty close to a perfect score. It's in your hands. You know what to do now you have your hands on such valuable information. It's time you made use of it.
Affiliate Marketing Trusted Resources
The truth is, I only recommend and endorse products that I bought and these are the products I own and still using today.
- How to Turn Words into Traffic
- We'll show you our quick and easy techniques for pumping out high-quality, professional articles.
We'll also show you how to persuade dozens, hundreds, even thousands of website owners and ezine publishers to put your article in front of very targeted readers who can visit your website and purchase your products.
If you don't have time to write articles yourself, we'll show you how to easily find other people to write them for you and you can claim the articles as your own.
Regardless of whether you actually "write" your articles or not, since these visitors come to your website after having read an article you wrote, they come with a very different mindset than if they're clicking on a search engine listing, a banner, or an affiliate link.
Anyone who comes to your Web site as a result of reading your articles is very interested in learning more about you and your products.
They are "pre-sold" on you! Why?
Because they now see you as an expert who can help them solve a problem or fulfill a need.
Click to find out more on How to Turn Words into Traffic
Please Rate My Lens If You Find the Information Interesting and Helpful
Squidooers, please sincerely rate my lens if you find it, informative and helpful to you.
You can go right to the top of this page and look for the word "Your rating:" with 5 cute little stars next to it.
Point your cursor on the 5th star from your left and you'll see all the stars will turned into yellow color. Then click once.
That's it. You've rated my lens. Thank you.
But before you can do this, you must be a Squidoo member. Once you've signed up, then you need to login to rate my or any other lens.
If you don't want to be a member, then you can just drop a note at the "Submit Your Own Blurb" section.
Just scroll down and you'll see the title header that says "Dear Affiliate Marketers, Newbies and Seasoned Players!".
Click on the "Submit Your Own Blurb" orange button and write your comment. Simple as that.
Thank you very much.
You can go right to the top of this page and look for the word "Your rating:" with 5 cute little stars next to it.
Point your cursor on the 5th star from your left and you'll see all the stars will turned into yellow color. Then click once.
That's it. You've rated my lens. Thank you.
But before you can do this, you must be a Squidoo member. Once you've signed up, then you need to login to rate my or any other lens.
If you don't want to be a member, then you can just drop a note at the "Submit Your Own Blurb" section.
Just scroll down and you'll see the title header that says "Dear Affiliate Marketers, Newbies and Seasoned Players!".
Click on the "Submit Your Own Blurb" orange button and write your comment. Simple as that.
Thank you very much.
Dear Affiliate Marketers - Please Give Your Support
If You Find This Lens Useful and Helpful, Please Leave A Comment. Thank You.
Lensmaster
eadamsfamily
Loved the lens. This product really helps affiliate marketers make money through ppc. See the review at PPC Bully Review
-Elliot
Posted May 19, 2009
chip3926 wrote...
This was a very infromative lens this is the kind of thing I myself have desided to do with my site www.onlinemarketinginfo.info.Which is give free information on building an affiliate marketing business. Because everyone don't have the money to pay for the so called gurus for a little advice. Keep up the good work.
Posted April 11, 2009
Lensmaster
Niche wrote
Good informative lens. Rather long though. Perhaps breking it up into a few lenses is an option
webmaster
http://www.AffiliateMarketingIntro.com
Posted April 11, 2009
Gale10 wrote...
Hi there,
This is a fantastically useful lens, but it's huge! If this lens was mine I would take the information and build it into a website, you would probably do well with your SEO if you did.
I didn't read to the bottom, and if you do want people to read everything I would break things up with pictures.
The information however, is absolutely top-notch, well done!
Posted February 19, 2009
staples wrote...
I really like your lens! Let me know what you think of google sucks
Posted November 14, 2008
Lensmaster
Instant Guru Status wrote
Full of easy to understand profound information! Great lens!
http://www.instantgurustatus.com
Posted November 14, 2008
myTanny wrote...
Hello jasman,
I am just a newbie, I finished my first lens today. I am really interested in involving in affiliate marketing.
The detail info that you post here is tremendous, more than 112 pages without ads or picture.
Thank you for your effort. Once I finished reading, I will come back and seek more helps from you
.myTanny
Posted November 09, 2008
Lensmaster
blingish wrote
WOW! This is one of the best lens I've seen. Great info Top Notch! If more newbies saw this they would probably be able to save some pretty serious cash!
Feel free to check out my
/affiliateinternetmarketingprogram.hotdope.com">affiliate internet marketing program blog
Posted October 28, 2008
RentMyGarden wrote...
This Affiliate Marketing Guide Lens provides excellent information to help the novice web entrepreneur earn extra money from Affiliate Programs. ***** 5 stars!
Posted October 24, 2008
San1 wrote...
Wow; Quite a lot of content you have here. 5 Stars, would have given more stars if it were possible
Posted October 13, 2008
cannedguds wrote...
I've been doing affiliate marketing for so long now doing good business with different kinds of checks online from Wild Life Checks , Humane Society Checks to Photo Personal Checks and I still considered myself a newbie, eager to learn many more things and this lens of yours has given me more opportunity to learn! thanks for sharing this 5-star lens of yours!
Posted October 02, 2008
danny_barnes wrote...
Excellent lens, ive given it a 5 star rating, just go's to show that even if you think you know alot, you can still learn new things!
This is the sort of quality that i hope to maintain in my new lens How to earn money online from the comfort of your own home.
Many thanks for some top info!
Danny
Posted August 23, 2008
Lensmaster
Oscar wrote
Hey jasman,
It's great to see someone giving advice on this subject. I have been searching far & wide to find answers on how to become an affiliate marketer & couldn't find anything with this much info upfront.
Posted August 14, 2008
DutchBlogger wrote...
Hi there Jasman,
What a great Affiliate Marketing Guide! Definitely worth 5 stars. Always nice to read this kind of quality information without the BS and hype. Keep it up ;-)
I've been making money online with affiliate marketing for a while now and I absolutely love it.
Thanks for sharing!
One more thing, I recently purchased an amazing new program for making money online and also wrote a review about it at: Super Speed Wealth - The Super Speed Wealth Honest Review
Please feel free to visit. I promise it will be worth your time :-)
Posted July 29, 2008
PaulGuyon wrote...
Very comprehensive lens. You covered the topic very well. How about adding a list of favorite affiliate resource site so we can vote on our favorites?
Posted July 28, 2008
Rick-1 wrote...
All I can say is Holly Cow! I don't believe I've ever seen such a detailed guide to affiliate marketing and I've been researching this for years. As the owner of this webmaster forum and an affiliate marketer myself, I highly recommend any new marketers to bookmark this page and read it several times. Thanks for the hard work. I only wish I could rate 10 stars.
Posted July 25, 2008
Lensmaster
Jon O. wrote
I came across your site when looking for information to share with our network of credit repair affiliates. We recently started offering an affiliate program for our 10-yr credit repair company at ncacreditrepair.com. I found your information to be very helpfull and will promote it to our affiliates as a resouce.
Posted July 15, 2008
Lensmaster
Lalit wrote
Nice site. T hanks for your valuable information. I would like to ue this information in my website
http://www.earnathomejobs.com
Posted June 26, 2008
anilg wrote...
Nice lens. I as well have a lens that will help you make money online
Posted June 17, 2008
Affiliate_Biz_News wrote...
Hey! Good lens, I five starred it! Once you have the niches, IM gets MUCH easier if you have a system - hence I recommend my Secret Affiliate Code review page as a perfect combination.
Check it out and leave a comment!
This Lens is also a great example of a Squidoo Lens that newbies can use as a great example!
great content and good job!
Simon
Posted June 16, 2008
Invroz wrote...
Wow! A really detailed, comprehensive and informative lens on Affiliate Marketing. Very well written and presented. Would be a good idea to bookmark for later reading or reference. You seem to know your stuff well. A definite 5-star from me. Keep up the good work.
Invroz
http://www.squidoo.com/pipsworkathomeopportunity
http://www.squidoo.com/retirementresources
Posted June 07, 2008
Junyuan wrote...
Great information you have in your lens on affiliate marketing. It's really detailed and useful and I think these information will benefit newbies the most - especially those who are looking for more information about affiliate marketing. I've given your lens a 5 star rating. By the way, I've just created a lens on affiliate marketing - where I've answered questions that most people have when they are looking to start off with affiliate marketing. You may want to consider adding your lens to my Internet Marketing directory which I've created and give you more traffic to your lens. Hope to see you there! :)
Posted May 28, 2008
InternetJunkie wrote...
What a great quality lens with lots of information. You certainly know your stuff!
Posted May 23, 2008
the-secret wrote...
You've got some great articles, a good game plan!
http://www.achievesuccessontheweb.com/
Posted April 29, 2008
Lensmaster
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Posted April 20, 2008
LillianSmith25 wrote...
Affiliate marketing is undeniably a great way to earn money online. No wonder this business is so popular and gaining even more prominence. With effort and dedication, an affiliate Web site can be a smashing success. Business tracking software also help those marketers who want no margin for errors. These software record all company activities, effectively highlighting any problem areas. Here's an informative resource on how business tracking software can simplify the business process. Please stop by!
Posted April 12, 2008
archangelptx wrote...
Wow. GREAT Lens. I just started in affiliate marketing, and this is amazing. Thanks! I can't wait to try some of the products you recommended (Turning Words Into Traffic and SEO Web Builder.) Come check out my lens sometime and give me some feedback =). http://www.squidoo.com/ebayrox. Thanks!
Posted April 12, 2008
stemcells wrote...
Excellent Information, Thank You so much for sharing this.
To Find out How To Get
Instant Affiliate Commission into your Paypal please go here and Click Affiliates at the Bottom
">
Posted April 08, 2008
eaglesden wrote...
Jasman,
Very detailed and informative lens. Good useable info and not a lot of fluff and stuff. Other's talking about keyword tools and such to have to buy and how expensive it is. Most webmasters don't spend any money to make money because they get what software and stuff they need for free. You too can find free things to run your business if you look.
Check out my blog Learn How To Recognize An Affiliate Marketing Opportunity.
Posted March 11, 2008
RedMarketeer wrote...
Excellent lens. Lot of stuff. I'm definitely will come back to take a look at all of them. Thanks for sharing all that. If you have some free time please visit my Top Paying Affiliate Program lens.
Posted March 05, 2008
mp1 wrote...
Good information about internet marketing. That's a 5 star rating from me. You can find information about Residual Income Opportunity from Pay Per Play Online Audio Ads Company... If you have some time, please feel free to check it out.
Posted March 05, 2008
quickbiz wrote...
Great Page lots of interesting stuff here! Bookmarked you and will be back often!
Affiliate Marketing Software Reviews
Posted March 04, 2008
Lensmaster
Great lens but too much to digest all in one go. I have Bookmarked you for later :)
Posted February 23, 2008
Petri wrote...
Hi!!
Great information and thanks for sharing this all for FREE!
--------------------------------------------------------
I would engourage you to read my review of Chris Rempel's "Confessions of a Lazy Super Affiliate" E-book! This book will show you a step by step, how an average lazy 23 years old kid makes Six Figure through online!
He's very relevant and unique approach got my attention immediately in the first chapter of his book!
Go to my review page here, http://www.squidoo.com/review-of-confessions-of-a-lazy-super-affiliate
Posted February 12, 2008
mpp1 wrote...
Hi Jasman!
Lens has lots of great info and I really like the Frequently Asked Questions - thats a really cool idea. Drop by sometime!
Daz
http://squidoo.com/internetmarketers7insights
Posted January 27, 2008
charanyanond wrote...
This is a top SEO website you can find.Thanks a lot for your informations
Posted January 22, 2008
Junglepocket wrote...
Handy lense with some valuable information. Thats a 5 star from me.
Come by and check out my lense if you have time. I have a new one about prepaid debit cards in the UK.
Prepaid debit cards uk
Posted December 24, 2007
Coluden wrote...
Jasman you have a great lens here. I cannot even finish
this is one sitting, but I am bookmarking and will
definitely come back to this. You have offered a lot of
information here. Thanks
Anthony
Posted December 14, 2007
Lensmaster
Ami wrote
Great summary of affiliate marketing
Autoresponders are particularly important in building an affiliate marketing business.
An Affiliate marketing autoresponder series is crucial and should be set up early
Posted December 07, 2007
Lensmaster
Good information about credit card. That's a 5 star rating from me. You can find all type of credit card news from my lens. If you have some time, please feel free to check it out.
Posted December 06, 2007
krisManuel wrote...
Hey Jasman, great tips! alot of info to digest. 5-stars! If you have time, stop by my lens Your Health and Freedom and tell me what you think. Thanks!
Posted November 20, 2007
Zedd wrote...
OMFG that is a great lens you have there, Very informative. Expect traffic from my sites, I will definately link your lens to my site regarding affiliate resources. ~Zedd
http://squidoo.com/hypnosisselfhelp
http://squidoo.com/theforexlens
Posted November 20, 2007
kcgagne wrote...
There is a ton of great information here. Maybe too much. It would benefit your readers if it were broken down into multiple lenses or put in an affiliate marketing ebook. Just my opinion.
Posted October 28, 2007
Tom_Antion wrote...
Hi! I appreciate your lens with all the great information. Great job! Please visit Great Intenet Marketing Training. Learn to make a fortune online the easy way! Your friend, TOM
Posted October 12, 2007
Tom_Antion wrote...
Hi! Great lens! I appreciate all the useful info. Please visit my Great Internet Marketing lens. Thanks! Your friend, TOM
Posted September 27, 2007
qcj wrote...
pretty great lens
I've read hundreds of articles like this, as well as xpnsive ebooks. Thing is, what I needed was a prsonal online coach, always ready to answer questions. check successclub n myreview
Posted September 27, 2007
LisaJesse wrote...
Hi! This is a great lens! I can't wait to see more from you.
Please stop by my wildly popular lens Jewelry Trends 2008!
How much do you love me ?! I know you'll love it....
Hit me back! Your friend, ~LISA~
Posted September 20, 2007
by jasman
I'm Jasman Arifin and am a affiliate marketer since August 2006.
The main reason I'm writing this lens is to share information and knowledge...
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