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The Newbie World of Affiliate Programs

11/14/2008, Posted by S.A, No Comment

An affiliate program is a relationship with an on-line merchant where the affiliate earns a commission for referring potential customers to the merchant’s site, which subsequently results in a sale.

Over recent years the number of Affiliate marketing programs has increased dramatically. This is due to several reasons. Firstly an increase in the number of people seeking a work-from-home, low start-up cost business. Secondly the attraction to the merchants of having an army of salespeople selling their products has meant that more and more merchants are offering such schemes. Thirdly the increase is partly due to the ease with which it is now possible for most people to have a web presence. Some affiliate marketing schemes even provide completed web pages that only require simple personalization and the site can be up and running almost immediately. Sadly, another factor having its influence is the false impression created by some marketers that the Internet provides the means to get rich quickly and easily with minimum of effort. Some skilled affiliate marketers earn thousands of dollars a month. Some of the reasons why you should consider such a scheme are

No experience required

No stock to purchase

Low set-up cost

No premises to rent or buy

Can be operated from home

No sales experience needed

No goods to ship

Potentially good income

Addressing a world marketplace

Operates 24x7

So what factors do you need to take into account if you are just starting out as a newbie affiliate?

What commission does the affiliate scheme pay?

Commission rates vary considerably depending upon the type of product chosen. These can range from, say, 5% on a range of garden products to 50% and over on ranges of ebooks. Initially you should consider the high paying rates usually to be found on books and software.

How frequently are the commissions paid?

The frequency of commission payment varies from company to company. Determine whether your selected affiliate schemes pay weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly. Some companies require a minimum accumulated amount of commission before making a payment.

What form of tracking cookies does the company operate?

Tracking cookies, which have a set like, are used by the marketing company so that they can trace a customer back to you as an affiliate. Often purchases are not impulse buys, consequently the longer the life of the cookie, the greater chance you have of earning commission. The life of a cookie can range from several days to several years.

Does the affiliate scheme cater for second purchases and beyond?

Some schemes pay commission only on the product that you are promoting. Better schemes credit you with commission on any future products that the customer you introduced subsequently makes. If you can, therefore, opt for this latter group, and check that this applies if the customer, in future goes directly to the merchants site.

What marketing materials are available on the merchant’s site? As nearly all affiliate programs are free to join you can easily gain access to the resource pages of your intended merchants. Examine the quality of the material. Do they provide free gifts for you to offer? Do they offer any means of branding ebooks so that you can stamp you affiliate identity on them?

Do they respond to emails?

A future relationship between you as an affiliate, your customer and a merchant of your choice, can be partly dependant upon the ease with which you, can communicate. Send the merchant an email with a question about their affiliate scheme and look at how you are treated. Discount the affiliate if there is a delayed reply, or worse still, no reply at all.

How popular is the merchant’s website?

Alexa at www.alexa.com carries out a continuous process of site ranking. And will tell you how your merchant’s site ranks in popularity against all of the other sites on the web. Ranking somewhere between 100,000 and 500,000 might be considered ideal. A word of caution here, however. If the ranking is below 100,000 there may already be too many affiliates associated with that merchant. If the ranking is greater than 500,000 it could just be that you have come across a new product where you have chance to make money as one of the first affiliates. Always examine the product in detail, and do a Google search to find any adverse postings. Join the forum at www.warriorforum.com and post a topic asking the members if they have any experience of the merchant. Again a word of caution. Be aware that any glowing report may be coming from an existing affiliate.



You can see the authors first web site, with an in-depth review of the product that created it, at http://www.re viewxsitepro.com

Paul is also CEO of Demovision, a company specializing in talking heads. You can see examples if you go to the "Contact Us" page at http://www.re viewxsitepro.com

TOP 5 Reasons WHY Affiliate Marketing Is The Quickest Way To Get Started Online

11/14/2008, Posted by S.A, No Comment

Looking to start a home based business online for some extra $Cash$ and are looking for ideas on How-To get started as quickly as possible with as little or NO start up costs?

Well... let me share with you my idea on how 'Anyone' can get started online within the next 24 hours without a website or product of their own.

Are you ready?

The quickest way 'Anyone' can get started online is by becoming an - Affiliate Marketer.

What is a Affiliate Marketer you ask? The answers simple. You simply market others peoples products for a cut(usually between 30-70% commission on every sale made by you).

That's as easy as a definition gets, so I hope you get the picture.

Now that you understand what the quickest way to get started online is its now time for me to explain to you the "TOP 5 Reasons WHY" this is the answer.

Reason #1. NO Domain Costs.

The beautiful thing about being an affiliate is they supply you with a unique Domain with your affiliate ID for you to promote. Though some affiliate domains are quite ugly, the fact remains that you don't have to worry about paying to register any domains to get started with your promotions.

There are advanced affiliate marketing techniques using domains but I won't get into that here.

Reason #2. NO Hosting Costs.

By being an affiliate you don't have to worry about web hosting because once you sign up as an affiliate you get your own unique URL which simply redirects your potential customer to the main affiliate website.

Again there are advanced affiliate marketing techniques that require hosting but that's a whole other article in itself.

Reason #3. NO Product to worry about creating.

Once again the advantage to being an affiliate is that you don't have to worry about creating your own product. That's why you became an affiliate in the first place.

Reason #4. NO Website or Salesletter to create.

Creating a profitable Website and Salesletter can be quite the costly task especially when it comes to your salesletter.

By being a affiliate you can choose a good converting affiliate product and not have to worry about all the Trial and Error and testing involved when setting up a direct response website.

Reason #5. NO Refunds to deal with.

This again is another benefit to being an affiliate and that is you don't have to worry about dealing with any refunds from customers who are unhappy with their purchase.

The less headaches you have to worry about the better.

Well, that's it. Those are my "TOP 5 Reasons WHY".

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't start your own website, I'm simply sharing with you the quickest way to get started online.

You definitely will want to set up your own website once you feel comfortable with what you want to do online as your own business.

Affiliate marketing is just a EASY way to get in the game and see how things are done online.

If you really want to see how the affiliate marketing Pro's do it online then I have a special Free report I'd like you to have that will show you a simple '7 Step Formula' for getting started.

http://www.internetwondersezine.com/7-step-formula.html (Right click this link and select 'Save Target As' to download)

Well, I truly hope you see the benefits to being an affiliate marketer and see my point as to WHY getting started online as an affiliate marketer is the most cost effective and cautious way to start your online home based business.

Cory Threlfall is the Editor and Publisher of a online webmaster publication called... The Internet Wonders eZine, where you'll receive 'Daily' via the Web or RSS syndication Expert Articles, Product Reviews, HOT Tips, and More on how to Promote and Build your business online. Go NOW to ==> http://www.internetwondersezine.com

Six Tips For Successful Affiliates Marketing

11/14/2008, Posted by S.A, No Comment

by Edward Rizzo


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Affiliate marketing has become increasingly popular in recent years. Affiliate programs offer merchants the opportunity to employ vast armies of sales people who only get paid for the results they achieve. Many beginners to affiliate marketing can also enjoy the fact that they can start an internet business even if they only have a shoestring budget. Just about every affiliate program I have been involved with and researched comes complete with a website all ready set up to take orders. They even come with sales letters and ads that you can use.

The rewards for affiliates are high also, and the skilled affiliate marketer can earn many thousands of dollars a month. This win-win situation has led to an explosion in the number of affiliate programs that are available to the would-be marketer. With this increase of opportunities has come many questions; how do you go about choosing the right opportunity for you? What qualities should you look for in a program and which gives you a good chance of making a sustainable income?

Below are some tips that will help you to evaluate merchants and their programs, and help you to avoid wasting time and money.

1. How Much Commission Does The Merchant Pay?
This may seem obvious, but it is very important that you know how much you can expect to earn from a sale. There is no point in spending time and money promoting a product that doesn't pay well. You could end up spending more on marketing than you are likely to make on sales. It is probably best to stick with marketing products with a high commission value, unless you have found a niche market where you can sell vast quantities of product, and make substantial commissions on your volume of sales. I recommend sticking with programs that offer at least a 50% commission. Anything less and you’ll be spending more on advertising than what you’ll make

2. How Much Traffic is the Merchant's Website Getting?
Try to discover the amount of traffic the merchant's website is already receiving. Alexa.com could be a useful tool for doing this research. If the website is ranked in the top 100,000, the merchant is getting a good volume of traffic, and there may already be too many affiliates. If it is ranked below 500,000 it is either no good or it could just be a golden opportunity to make some real money! Always research a merchant's product if their website has a low traffic ranking. It may be a good idea to buy the product yourself if you can afford to. Otherwise you could do a search to find out if there are any adverse comments about it on the internet. If all is well and the product is good, you may have found a gold mine!

3. How Often Are Commissions Paid?
Some merchants pay commissions every week; some once a month, others only pay every quarter. It is important that you know how often you can expect a pay check if you are going to have financial control over your business. Do you have the financial resources to continue to market a product if you have to wait a long time before you get paid?

It would also be wise to find out the minimum commission that you have to earn before you get paid. Some affiliates don’t send your money until you accumulate a certain amount. What I like are the affiliates that pay as soon as a sale is made. They are the only programs I promote and recommend. I don’t like to wait for my money.

4. Does The Company Use Tracking Cookies?
Many customers do not buy on their first visit to a merchant's website. It is important therefore that the merchant uses cookies on their site, so that you get credit if the customer returns and buys at a later date. Check out how long the cookies last. The longer the cookies lasts; the better the chance of getting paid! I also like to cloak the URL of my affiliates. This way the link is changed and you are certain that you won’t lose your commissions.

5. Does The Merchant Pay On Subsequent Sales?
The best time to learn about affiliate marketing is before you're in the thick of things. Wise readers will keep reading to earn some valuable affiliate marketing experience while it's still free.

Some merchants will only pay commission on sales that come through customers visiting their site via a direct link from your site. They pay you nothing for any subsequent purchases that the customer makes if they visit the merchants site directly. It is important that you get paid no matter what route the customer returns by if you are to build a sustainable business.

6. What Promotional Resources Does The Merchant Offer?
Look at the type and quality of the promotional material that they provide for there affiliates Do they provide articles or content that you can use to promote them on your site or free guides, special offers or samples? If the promotional resources are good it is likely that the merchant will provide good support for their affiliates. I also like to write my own ads for the affiliates I promote.

Sometimes you will get a better response using your own ads. If the affiliate program you are marketing has been around a long time, it’s likely all the ads that come with the program have been seen over and over again. Fresh ads will have your reader think it’s a new product.

Affiliate marketing can be a very lucrative business and an excellent starting point for anyone new to internet marketing. Finding the right merchant can be a tricky business. The best advice is to do your own research. Use the above questions as an aid to finding a merchant that enables you to reach your financial goals. You never know - You could strike gold!by Ed Rizzo

About the author:
Ed Rizzo's website http://www.dpdmarketing.com reveals his inside secrets and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 a month . To find out more about affiliate marketing check out his DPD Marketing website http://www.dpdmarketing.com/onlinebusinessresources.htm

Making Your Affiliate Marketing Website Payoff!

11/14/2008, Posted by S.A, No Comment

When creating an affiliate marketing website, here are some valuable tips you should know. The key to great performance is of course having the right product—and the right marketing niche. Make sure that the content and links are easy to follow, user friendly, and that there is key contact information for your customers to reach you with follow up questions.

The headline of an affiliate website, or any website in general, should have a strong headline that grabs the attention of the reader. This should be immediate. Studies rule that the attention span of people surfing the net is far shorter than if reading a book or newspaper. Make sure the content is such that a reader will want to read more.

Plan for solid endorsement content on your web page. As a rule people like to know what others who have tried the product or service really feel about it. This is where having a hybrid sales letter/article, will be the best way to quickly inform the reader of the benefits of making a purchase. However, at this stage, the goal of an affiliate website and its content should be working to build trust. What you’ll be offering is content, reviews, and articles that will help the buyer make a decision to purchase. This necessary material will also provide search engines with the material that your prospects are looking to find. In short, this means more traffic to the web site—and the results are increased sales.

A good piece of advice is to also build in an informative FAQ section. A customer should always have every available piece of information possible at their fingertips. A FAQ section entails facts about the product and services and how they impact the customer’s level of satisfaction. This will keep them at the website.

Consider scripting support and e-commerce services as part of your affiliate marketing website development plan. The scripting option will allow you to gather information on the customers shopping habits. This can proves useful down the line when developing or offering new products. Make sure you don’t overdue it with the scripts though. Your customers should not be caught in a snag if they want to depart.

There are even web page analyzer tools that can gauge how fast your page is downloading. This information will reveal if the website is too busy. Customers will tend to shy away from websites that take too long to download. Remember, you want the customer to have easy and speedy access to the products or services. All of these things are important because they allow you to know your business up close and personal. And don’t feel lacking if you’re unfamiliar with some of these elements right now. Knowledge comes with time, often by trial and error. The goal is to reduce the error rate and maximize your time and money.

Don’t be shy either in utilizing the links on your page to their maximum advantage. A common mistake is to make the links too small or obscure at first. Try for a workable balance of size and quantity that is proportional to other word content on the site. The goal is to direct the reader to more information that can help them make a well-informed decision. A well-informed decision results in a sale—that leads into repeat buys.

If you’re serious about growing your affiliate marketing business, it’ll help to have some type of answering service also that can screen and direct inquiries if you’re unavailable to be on the other end. The most successful web sites understand this and provide immediate access for the reader. This gives the impression that the website is run by a professional. Once again, you’ll be building the trust that allows the reader to ultimately make a purchase.

What would turn people off from a potentially dynamic affiliate website, and from signing on to an affiliate marketing program is too much initial hype. People can sense if the message is all about signing up new prospects. There has to be sincerity about fulfilling a need in the initial message conveyed. The goal is find buying customers—and to retain them possibly as affiliates who will be as loyal and charged about the service as you are. Another major turnoff is a pushy response to buy now. The buy now concept may work on merchant web sites, but an affiliate marketing approach has to be far more subtle. Remember, the primary goal of the affiliate marketing program is to win friends—and influence people.

David Cooper is the editor of the Affiliate Marketing Articles Newsletter. David specializes in helping people make their affiliate marketing website payoff. http://www.affiliatemarketingarticles.com.by David Cooper

3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online!

11/14/2008, Posted by S.A, No Comment

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest pay cheque. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.

If you intend to be a successful affiliate marketer, first of all, you need to be using the right tools. You can get all the right tools here: http://www.profityesterday.com/rep/fobshop/

Then of course there are the tactics that have worked well before with online marketing and they are continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in affiliate marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very topside of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create auto responder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day. Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can make 10 sales, based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above do not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end up maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do. Besides, think of the huge pay cheques you will be receiving.

Now go forward and multiply.by Frank O'Brien

Frank O'Brien's website provides you with all the Tools and Resources, every successful person online is using and teamed up with some great partners to ensure your continued success. http://www.profityesterday.com/rep/fobshop/

Affiliate Marketing - The Ultimate Online Business!

11/14/2008, Posted by S.A, No Comment

Affiliate Marketing is The Ultimate Home Business opportunity. Today, affiliate marketing is the single fastest growth industry on the Internet. It is a wonderful way for new Internet Marketer to start making money. At its best, affiliate marketing is a win-win scenario for everyone involved. Affiliate marketing is truly a professional business, and a very profitable one at that and learning Affiliate Marketing is extremely easy.

You don't need a large amount of capital to start up with. Because of the minimal start up costs, affiliate marketing is fast becoming one of the easiest and most popular ways to begin making an income online from home. It is exciting, it is highly rewarding, it needs no technical knowledge or experience to start up and you can bet that it is here to stay.

When starting an Affiliate Marketing business, you first need to nail down a need, and then nail down the affiliate marketing programs with great products that you will be proud to represent. Then write down your goals and your plan of action to accomplish your goals. When talking about a plan of action, we are describing the step by step procedure we are going to take to achieve our goals. This does not have to be a comprehensive business plan for starting a multinational corporation. Just write down a simple plan, one that will give you a map to follow to achieve your business goals.

Then you need to take ACTION! You can have the best goals in the world but if you fail to take action they are no more than simple dreams. It has been said that a Goal is a Dream with a Deadline! Of course, you need to work really hard to achieve your goals, which is ultimately to gain more profit out of your affiliate marketing business and this hard work will in return give you a lifetime of wonderful benefits.

For the most part the only investment you really need to make in Affiliate Marketing is time. But, if you are truly serious about becoming a successful affiliate marketer, you will need to have your own affiliate marketing website. As in any venture, you need the right tools and you need to know what you're doing. So take the time to research and learn the proper way to conduct your business.

All it takes is patience, education, a little capital, and of course a decision. Many people are scared to start a home based business because of the usual capital required to start. That is not the case with Affiliate Marketing because you don't need to make a large capital investment to start. Affiliate Programs allow you to earn money online with a very low capital investment.

Affiliate Marketing is a true home business opportunity and a brilliant way to begin earning on the Internet, for those who haven't as yet got their own products. It is truly the opportunity of the decade. The amount of money you can make with affiliate marketing is virtually limitless.

Vinnie Gallagher is the author, webmaster of http://www.AffiliateMarketingInsight.com a great resource website with affiliate marketing articles, tips, advice and so much more.

How To Start Your Internet Affiliate Business

11/14/2008, Posted by S.A, No Comment

n case you are wondering how to start "My Internet Business"-or rather your internet business-plenty of resources are available to you.

For instance, you can view the video series for beginning through advanced business users. You can also view all tutorials regarding aspects of business such as creating Pay Per Click Ads, Blogging, Classified Advertising, and Bank Office Functionality.

These along with information about writing great website content and press releases is very essential. There are a few different ways you can access this information.

Some of it is available for free via You Tube videos, or video tours on various affiliate programs that support their members with online business tutorials and training. The free introductory you receive can get you started.

However, in order to gain the full benefit of top earners you are advised to sign up and put your foot in the water rather than waiting until you feel you know it all. The reason for this thinking is because the internet is a moving target and new ways to do business are always being created. Not only that, but you will be officially be in business for yourself and you can learn and work on a part time basis of need be..

Learning how to start your Internet Business via free affiliate programs is much like taking classes at school. This formal training system will help you succeed online if you give yourself enough time to learn while not getting discouraged that the money isn't pouring in in the first month.

The largest difference, however, between attending a regular business school and learning from top internet Gurus is results. You rub shoulders in your Internet Business with people who really know how to earn money.

In addition to all of the above, you will also learn about Internet Business Turnkey Systems. This includes professional lead capture pages (new customer prospect sign-up pages), automatic sign-up pages, and video-guided web pages.

You will learn how to implement all of these tools in order to create fully-automated transactions. This will speed up the time you need to spend on the banking end of your business so you can continue to meet new prospects.

Your job in the business is going to be mostly promotion. The affiliate programs' professional sales material are the sales tools helps close all your sales. It is like you are an executive who has hired a whole team.

In addition to recruiting new affiliate member sign-ups, you also have the opportunity to earn money on individual products and services. These are the products are comprised of nutritional, cleaning, personal care, pet care, telecommunication products, and a library of business books - the same libraries that you use for reference.

With free affiliate programs you have the ability to create direct commissions and residual commissions.

As you can see learning how to start your Internet Business does not need to be complicated. More importantly, any time you have any questions there is going to be a qualified person to answer it for you.

Furthermore, you will have opportunity to make enough income to change your lifestyle and that is what you have to look forward to. by by Michael Laleye