So what is affiliate marketing?
Ill try to explain in its most simple form. Have you ever bought anything from the Avon Lady knocking at you door? Yes…. Then you have probably bought from an affiliate marketer. The Avon lady selling the hand cream and shampoo do not normally work for Avon but are selling Avon products for them and will receive a commission for doing so. That is it in a nutshell – Affiliate Marketing is not a new trend and has been going on for years in one form of another.
Why do companies need affiliate marketing?
Companies or merchants as they are known in the affiliate world need additional sales, by using affiliates as an additional sales channel will enable them to achieve their goals (sales targets). In the web world there are so many opportunities to get a customer into your website, but the site can not always get everyone it can not be all things to all men and affiliates who get a lot of web traffic can send this traffic towards a retailer by advertising the products on their own site for the merchant.
For example – I own a mobile phone forum and people on my forum are all taking about the latest Motorola Mobile Phones– i know of a site that sells the latest Motorola Mobile Phones and can simply allow my customers to click through to buy them. Another alternative could be, Your visitors are talking about Vodafone and you can provide them with access to all the options that are available through Vodafone.
3 Golden rules.
Satisfy the customer – You will get greater success by giving the customers products which match the theme of your website. Also make sure that you pick merchants with a good customer service, a customer is less likely to visit you again if the customer has received a bad experience.
Satisfy the merchant – Essentially merchants want quality, this may be in the form of “Web Hits, % of Web hits that buy a product, % of leads that become a sale and % of products which are despatched and not returned” Some of this may be out of your control, but if the merchant is good at affiliate marketing they will understand your stats and be able to work with you improve your performance.
Satisfy your self – If you get the 2 points above correct i believe that affiliate marketing can be easy and you will earn big money. Customers do not want to click on products that do not meet their needs and merchants do not want lots of web hits only for them not to buy. Your relationships with the Merchant and Customers is key.
All merchants should be available to speak to either by email, forums or by the telephone to help you with your programmes and you should try and make yourself available to them.
Who can do it?
Anyone could do it really. Many news stories tell you that Affiliate Marketing is now the easiest way for anyone to make a profit online – this can be true, but you must ensure that you are willing to put in some hard work and make sure you pick the right companies to work with and work with them on matters that achieve the 3 golden rules above.
Do i need to have a website?
Being an Avon lady or Ann Summers rep shows that you do not need a website to be able to be an affiliate – in the web world this can also be the case. There are merchants who offer a white label website so if you are able to find a white label affiliate programme then this could satisfy your needs. You will need alternative ways to drive traffic to the website, such as PPC marketing, Cold calling or even by telling your mates in the pub.
You could make a fortune!
Affiliate marketing programmes are normally Free to join, so affiliates do not have to worry about start up costs. There are thousands of products and services that you can choose to be affiliated with. Remember the Golden Rules, work hard and pick the right merchants to work with.
Matt Sharp
http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/affiliate-marketing-make-money-online-134618.html
7 Responses to “Affiliate Marketing – Make Money Online”
Does anyone really make any money with Affiliate Marketing online or is this only a dream?
I’ve seen a lot sites selling ebooks and offering to mentor and help people make affiliate income over the web and some of these are from some very popular(and fairly trust worth people)that have been around a while, so is this money making affiliate stuff legit or just a pipe dream.
By Think Greater Thoughts on Mar 11, 2010
Yes, there are people out there making money as affiliate marketers. But, then again, there are people completely failing at it. There are a few key differences in these people.
The people who are making it have these qualities:
- they treat marketing like a business
- they stick with it even when things aren’t working right
- they remain consistent with their goals and focus
- they continue learning and expanding
- they are in service to others, not just out to get paid
– and above all, they realize that the only thing between success and failure is themselves.
It is completely legit, if you are willing to commit and stick with it. Affiliate marketing is NOT a get rich quick deal, but it is legit and you can create an amazing income fairly easy once you learn how. But, the first step is gaining knowledge on how to be an internet marketer. If you learn how to market to consumers and do it successfully, then there is no limit to the amount of money you can earn. Once you learn this trade, there will ALWAYS be a way for you to earn money online, even in uncertain times.
Learning to become an affiliate marketer can be a daunting task, especially when you don’t know where to start. I will tell you now to stay away from the online "gurus." Just because their name is plastered all over the internet, doesn’t mean they really know anything. It just shows they know how to market, but very well may not tell you how they did it themselves. I’ve wasted tons of money thinking they would impart their knowledge on me in their books and courses, but I honestly learned very little. The biggest knowledge I learned from them, was don’t buy their information.
If you’ve found a site that will mentor you, then that is better. You will be able to ask questions and not just read a book and be left with tons of unanswered questions. However, you don’t need to spend tons of money for this mentoring. You can waste alot of money online if you don’t know what you are doing or what you should be looking for.
Also, too many people think they can join something, throw out a website, advertise and then the money rolls in. It isn’t so and don’t let anyone tell you different. There is a learning curve to internet marketing, but you can learn it.
If you need a place to start learning, then click below.
If you are looking to learn what it takes to be a successful affiliate marketer then I recommend:
http://www.wealthyaffiliate.com?a_aid=xslZjDQ0
They will personally teach you the basics to advanced and then some more. You have access to personal mentoring from the owners of the company and the community forum. There are tons of free marketing tools, web hosting, site building, and so much more. The knowledge and tools here are like nothing I’ve seen before and I’ve found a place where I don’t need to look any further for help making money online. They ended my search for sure!
It does cost $29.99 per month, but you get WAY more than you money’s worth!
I hope this has helped answer your question and good luck with your online endeavors. God Bless
References :
By BethZ on Mar 11, 2010
Yes , and there are a lot of people online make over $1,000 per day, but it’s need hard work in the beginning.
And if you want to make money too, you must work very hard, then you should get a lot of money.
Besides, you should join some good affiliate network.
I recommended these 4 affiliate network you should join, here is a review of them, they are the best affiliate network online, you can take a look.
http://review-pedia.com/index.php/affiliate-network/top-4-affiliate-network-review.html
References :
By landey on Mar 11, 2010
Yes, people really do make money through affiliate marketing. Some quite lucratively in fact. However, it can become an unfulfilled dream for those who perceive it to be easy. Being a successful affiliate marketer is an acquired skill. I would recommend much study of how affiliate marketing works prior to getting involved. If you would like some study and tips on this topic. You can visit a web page from the web host that I personally use at http://affiliatemarketing.sitesell.com/UnstoppableDreams.html
BEST WISHES!
References :
By Unstoppable Dreams on Mar 11, 2010
No it isn’t a quick fix. Yes, there is no limit to how much you can make as an affiliate. The key is finding a niche and becoming a "sticky" site where people come back over and over again as a community. Then, provided you have great original content, you can convert these page views into sales. For example, one of my friends runs a poker community/resource website with a few links to sign up to various poker outfits. When people sign up, he receives a cut of all revenue the poker site makes off that customer. Believe it or not, he is making over 100k a month. Now, thats not to say you will be that successful, but it’s proof that one can make money as an affiliate. Remember, find a niche and deliver good original content and the sales will follow.
References :
http://edaptedstudents.com/Affiliate_Marketing.html
By Spade21 on Mar 11, 2010
There is a lot of money to be made as long as you know what you are doing. Just make sure you avoid things like paid surveys and things that promise you millions of dollars with little work.
There are so many scams out there, make sure you visit forums like the warrior forum to ask about anything before you buy it they have a very good reviews section there
References :
http://www.computerdns.com
By trinitron00 on Mar 11, 2010