5 Essential Tools of the Successful Affiliate Marketer

In the time I have been running my internet home business I have realized that there is a wealth of information available about 'working at home'. Unfortunately a lot of this info does nothing more than waste your time and money. It has become very difficult for the beginner entrepreneur to get started successfully in the online world. I am writing this article because I believe I have found the 5 essential tools necessary to run a successful home business as an affiliate marketer. The tools outlined below play the biggest role in the operation of my home business and they don't break the bank either.

Essential Tool #1 - Your own Website:

The first step is finding a good product to sell along with a nice website to promote it. For the average person this can be a little overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Thanks to PlugInProfit, anybody can now have a fully functional website up and running and accepting orders within 24 hours. What you get is a very professional looking website as well as memberships into 5 of the internets most successful affiliate programs.

When I found out about this opportunity I really couldn't believe it. Thanks to Plug in Profit I was really able to kick-start my home business and start promoting my products almost instantly. You can find out more by clicking the link below.

http://www.homeworksolutions.biz/pips.html

Essential Tool #2 ? An Email Auto Responder:

Now you will need a means to drive traffic to your website and that's where our 2nd essential tool enters the picture, the email autoresponder. Where do you get such a program? Well, you see what I didn't tell you about PlugInProfit is that you also get your very own 360 day business newsletter which is in turn hooked up to an email autoresponder, so basically whenever someone signs up for your free newsletter, they will receive 360 days of emails from your business promoting your website. Doesn't that sound great?

If you would like an example of the newsletter that comes with PluginProfit click on the link below and then enter your first name and email address in the box at the left of the screen. That will sign you up for my newsletter.

http://www.homeworksolutions.biz

Ok, now you are probably wondering how someone would find your newsletter and get entered into your autoresponder. There are basically 2 ways to get potential customers into your autoresponder. 1. Visit your website and signup. This requires your website to rank fairly well in the search engines or be advertised somewhere. We will talk more about that during essential tools #3 and #4. 2. Buy leads that get entered into your autoresponder automatically. There are many places out there that sell leads for this purpose.

Here are 3 examples: List Opt, Leads Factory, Traffic Oasis. Once the leads get entered into your autoresponder it becomes completely automated. You can sit back and watch your business grow. Having an email autoresponder has really made my work a lot easier and definitely continues to play a key role in the success of my business.

Essential Tool #3 ? Reciprocal Linking Campaign:

A key factor that determines your website rank in the search engines is often how many and what kind of websites are linking to your site. If you can partner with a couple hundred relevant websites your search engine rank will skyrocket. I learned how to do this with Jack Humphrey's e-book PowerLinking. I highly recommend this e-book; it provides all the tools and information necessary to produce a highly effective Reciprocal Linking Campaign which is sure increase the traffic to your website. You can find out more by clicking below:

http://www.power-linking-profits.com/swres/c6798.html

Essential Tool #4 ? Word Tracker Software:

Along with your linking campaign you will also want to optimize your website around a select a number of keywords. However, you will want to choose your words carefully. Select keywords that not only describe your website but are also popular with the search engines. Word Tracker is a great tool for tracking the popularity of selected keywords. This tool will tell how often each keyword is searched for in Google, Yahoo, Excite, etc. You can try it for free at wordtracker.com.

Essential Tool #5 ? The Warrior Forum:

The Warrior forum is the #1 marketing group on the net for 6 years. When you become a member you will get the opportunity to chat with some of the internets top affiliate marketers and in my experience they are always willing to help those who want to work. Just browsing through all the forum topics can generate tons of ideas and answer any question you may have. The Warrior forum is an excellent resource and when you sign up for the Plug in Profit site discussed in 'Essential Tool #1' you will automatically get a free membership.

If you are interested in becoming a successful affiliate marketer I suggest you at least check these tools out. If you go as far as to learn how to use them and then invest about $100 a month to make them work you could have a full blown affiliate marketing business that will eventually generate a six figure income quite easily. The key is simply planting the seeds and sticking with it. I hope this has motivated you a little and that now you are considering getting started on your own internet business venture. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions or feedback.

Curtis Sexton

http://www.homeworksolutions.biz

curtissexton@gmail.com

Internet Tip of the Week: Reality Check

Every time you turn around it seems you see another affiliate program which promises you vast riches. They give you all the sales material you need, and even throw in a free web page. How can I loose, one might think. Everything is all set up for me, and all I need is get a bigger PO Box to handle all the checks that will roll in. Your web site will be carried by the search engines, you have the "pre-written" ads ready to go - how can you lose?

A few ads are placed here and there, and the responses "trickle in" but there are few, if any sales. Time for a reality check. If you have seen one affiliate web site for a particular product, service or opportunity, you have seen them all. There are a number of affiliate programs, which have thousands of people who have bit. Why should a person go to your site when they know from the URL (address of your web page) what it is already?

They won't. Am I saying that affiliate programs don't work? No - I am saying that the tools they provide "don't cut the mustard". It is a proven marketing fact that it takes 5-7 exposures to your ad before someone might purchase from you. If you have a "canned" web site, what are the odds of them coming back to you to buy? Slim to none.

So how does a person who is serious about marketing an affiliate program get you to buy from them? First, they "deep six" the affiliate web site as their primary web contact, and create their own. On their web site they provide content which is interesting for anyone who stops by. They also change the content on a regular basis to keep them coming back, and let them know when it does change. They also provide a link to their affiliate web site.

The next step is to try to get a listing on the search engines. Now, think about this. There are most likely several thousand people who have an identical web site to the one you get as an affiliate. What do you think the odds are of someone "stumbling across" your site when surfing the web? Again - slim to none. But if you have your own site, your chances take a giant leap forward. The link to your affiliate site is a minor part of your web site, even though it is where you want them to eventually wind up.

Now - can you use a site that is not your own domain? While not the preferred route to take, it is "head and shoulders" above the link you get from the affiliate program. Most ISP's give you web space free. Learn a little HTML code and you're in business. Or, if push comes to shove, hire someone to do it for you. Let's face it, if I see a URL that I recognize as an affiliate program, and I've been there before, I will simply "click away".

The old saying, that if "salespeople sell themselves first, the sale of their product or service, follows shortly thereafter" is certainly true. Establish yourself on the web and in the newsletters/ezines as someone who can be trusted, and is knowledgeable in their field. If people get to know and trust you, your recommendation to join your affiliate program will carry a lot more weight.

Now that you have control over your web page, you should have a guest book that visitors can sign. Now you have their email address. Folks, these are literally worth their weight in gold. You can now send them email about upcoming events on your web site, and not be accused of spamming.

Run a contest on your web site - the prizes don't have to be off the wall. An ebook (and there are a number available for free) can be your prize - and again more email addresses. Write a free newsletter/ezine and publish it on a regular basis - even more email addresses. As long as there is content of interest, they won't mind a gentle reminder to visit your web site.

Consider a "non-competing" partner to help you with the site or to write articles for the ezine. It makes no difference to you if there is another link to another affiliate program on your site. If they are willing to share the work in return for the link, it is to your advantage. The key here is "non-competing".

So - are affiliate programs a sure thing? If you simply join and sit back waiting for the money to flow, no. If you are a "take charge" type of person and are willing to work a little, it can be a great opportunity.

Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the "Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web Site? Great Business and Computer Tips ? Monday. Wednesday. and Friday. Instructions on how to place an ad are in the Newsletter.

Subscribe at: http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm.

Affiliate Assets -- Discover the 3 Secrets That Will Turn Your Affiliate Link Into a Business

Your affiliate marketing business is just that ? a business. To be successful, you need to treat your business like a business and focus on growth. Your affiliate links are your business; you are the owner of a marketing company, and it is an asset you can grow into more and more assets. Here are three strategies to build your marketing business.

1. Get your own website and domain name.

It looks cheap and marks you as a "newbie" when you post a long affiliate link in your ads. With domain names as inexpensive as they are now you can purchase your own domain name. You can then either forward your URL to your affiliate link or set yourself up with some free hosting and establish more of a web presence. Your best bet is to write a benefit-full description of your affiliate program and link to your program via an HTML link that is part of your description.

2. Build your own list.

Stop relying on one-shot ads to make you money. Real businesses have repeat customers that they cultivate in order to make more profits. You must do the same. Make a commitment to establish relationships with your customers and especially with visitors to your site. Create an email list to keep in touch. Send out periodic tips or articles and focus on helping your customers. Only promote your affiliate links in unobtrusive ways; don't make your emails one big ad.

One of the best ways to build traffic to your list is to write a short report that describes the benefits of your affiliate program. Make this report available only by email. When someone sends for your report, they are added to your list and you can continue to communicate with them.

3. Build traffic to your own site and list.

This is where you really make your affiliate links your own business. By having your own site and building your own list you are building your own business and brand, not just marketing someone else's. By doing this, you can market to your own customers over and over again. Do not overlook this point: When your ad redirects a customer to your affiliate link, you have lost that person as your own customer because you lost the ability to communicate with them on a repeat basis. When you direct customers to your own site and list, they build a relationship with you.

There are many ways to build traffic: write articles, post in forums, market in safelists, advertise offline, etc. My advice is to pick one traffic-building method, work on it for awhile, and master it before moving on to something else. If you focus on offline advertising, write and rewrite your ads until you determine how to get the best response. If you market on safelists, make a list of the top 50, and send your ad to 10 each day. Keep testing to make sure your safelists are responsive.

These three strategies will help you build and grow your affiliate marketing business.

Jeremy Hoover is the owner of Hoover Marketing where he uses these methods to build his own affiliate marketing assets.

Five Knockout Affiliate Tips

Here are five "hook em in the jaw" affiliate tips that really work. Implement them and see how well they work for you.

(1) Develop a positive and realistic mindset. Do you believe that you can get rich quick or that your business will take time to grow? Those who believe in the online hype are the ones who normally lose. Think positive and know in your heart you can earn an income from your efforts.

(2) Too much information or the lack of it can be dangerous. Not using the knowledge that you have gain can stop your business from getting off the ground and not having the right information can have the same effect.

(3) Market your programs with Google Adwords. This is a powerful strategy you can use and as long as you earn more in commissions than your PPC costs, then you are getting something for nothing.

(4) Write your own ads, articles and reviews instead of the pre-formatted ones offered by affiliate programs. This will set you apart from all the other affiliates in the same program.

(5) Make sure your affiliate program matches the content of your website or newsletter. If you have marketing content then you should promote marketing products on that page. Think of it like matching ads to the page content like the way Adsense does. There may a few exceptions to the rule though, even Adsense does it some time.

There you go. A few tips to help you with your affiliate programs whether you are looking for your first check or to boost your current earnings. Try them all or even a couple and test and track your results. I am sure Lennox Lewis would be proud of your hooks and jabs

Copyright © Nicholas Dixon

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Nicholas Dixon is a Jamaican webmaster, writer and affiliate marketer. Find out
how you too can create an online income with our list of highly recommended
programs by visiting http://WWW.Oceanroc.com/affiliate-directory
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Collect Visitors Info First Before Sending Them To Affiliate

Honestly, I'm not a big affiliate fan because in the past I haven't gotten 90% of the money promised either because they disappear before they pay out or they have so many exceptions -- paying out once a quarter, has to be over X dollars first, etc. Another negative side is that some of them think that 10% commission or some low amount is worth the 20 hours it takes for us to sell it. Usually the 10% equal $10 and $10 isn't worth my reputation even $1000 actually.

Today's article is not about the pros and cons of being an affiliate member. There are some good affiliate programs out there where you will get a check, their exceptions are small or nil, and the commission reasonable for the amount of time, risk, and reputation you place on the line for their product or program.

This article focuses on collecting their information before you give them the affiliate link so you can increase your mailing list numbers or residual income.

Almost all affiliate referrals are handled by providing someone with the affiliate link. The reader then goes from your place to their place. If this is what you have been doing, take the "L" (for loser) off your forehead, and read this to "get SMART quick."

Stop LOOSING a valuable marketing opportunity -- and stop it now!

Instead, set up a bridge page (also called a portal page or doorway page). Use the terms bridge and portal instead since the word doorway has a separate search engine meaning that can be confusing.

A bridge page works simply like this. You set up a bridge page on your web site. You send them to this page instead of to the affiliate site, collect their information, and THEN send them to the affiliate site.

The objective is to offer them something for fr*e*e that they must register for on that bridge page so you collect their information. In fact, you can offer several things.

You set up two pages actually. One that is the bridge page and the other a thank you page. After you collect their information THEN you send them to the thank you page. On the thank you page, you thank them for whatever it is they did and then give them an option to NOW access the affiliate site.

Here are a few ideas on items you can offer on the bridge page to collect their information:

* To subscribe to your ezine. If you have more than one, list these all. * To register for an ecourse. * To receive an ebook. * Offer your opinion or testimonials on using the affiliate's product/program.

Now, one of the main things most people do not think about is offering them something to purchase. And this is something affiliate offerers lookout for when you sign up to be an affiliate (at least the good ones do). They don't want their competition becoming an affiliate and then snatching the customer on the way to their site. I am chuckling on this one -- I think it is great actually. Most affiliates don't even know this is happening to them.

Here is a duzie of a hint that I've only seen one affiliate program do. This will give you a head start and it's kind of sneaky too.

You can offer something at a price on the bridge page that has to do with that topic (you have a focused buyer here). Example: The affiliate item is a software product. You can write an ebook on the same topic. Yes, will this piss off some affiliates. You bet, but guess what -- that's business. And also guess what -- it's going to take them a while to figure it out what you are doing too. They are so busy trying to obtain more affiliates they don't have the time to research each one.

Offering something for a price isn't as effective as something for fr*e*e. Then again, you have to decide what is your call to action for the bridge page. Is it to collect name and increase your mailing list or to make residual income. Don't get greedy and offer both. It will bite you in the "assets". Too many choices and it confuses the visitor and so they don't make any decision at all and leave without choosing anything -- no freebie, no affiliate link.

When you set up your doorway page, set up the metatags and searchable keywords that you wouldn't otherwise be able to place on your site. Make sure that these same words are in the content.

Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing & Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

The Key to a Successful Affiliate Program

Two Christmases ago I tugged on one of those paper crackersand after a small bang, out popped a piece of yellow paperthe size of a credit card.

On one side was a riddle that didn't make much sense, buton the other side was an 'Inspirational Quote' that made alot of sense.

So much so, that I still have it in my wallet.

This is what it said: "The shortest and best way to makeyour fortune is to let people see clearly that it is intheir interests to promote yours".

I'm constantly amazed to see affiliate programs that offer20%, or even as little as 15%, to their affiliates.

It is generally accepted that the production of anyinformation product is only 10 percent of the wholeprocess.

What's the other 90 per cent? Marketing!

My own affiliate program gives 50% commissions, and Iwouldn't dream of offering less. After all, who makes thesale - me or the affiliate?

It may be disappointing to see 50% of your sale price goingto your affiliates. But it's worth remembering this:without your affiliate, that sale simply wouldn't haveoccurred.

Of course, there are many other factors involved inbuilding a successful affiliate program, but this is thefirst and most important: make your affiliates your equalpartners, because they'll be doing 90% of the work.

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Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
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The Key To High-Volume Web Sales

The quickest way to achieve high-volume sales on the web is to set up your own affiliate program.

There are two ways to set up an affiliate program: you can install affiliate tracking software on your server or you can use a 3rd party affiliate tracker.

Here is a list of sites that offer affiliate tracking software: http://www.ezine-writer.com/affiliatesoftware.html

For most people, a much easier option is to use 3rd party (or web-based) affiliate tracking.

There are literally dozens of web-based affiliate management services. Some have setup fees, some have monthly fees and others charge monthly commissions on your sales.

Here is a list of 3rd party affiliate trackers: http://www.ezine-writer.com/3rdpartyaffiliate.html

One of the most popular 3rd party affiliate trackers is ClickBank (http://www.clickbank.com).

Compared to some other affiliate programs, ClickBank's system is quite basic - for example they only offer one-tier affiliate tracking and they don't provide click-thru stats.

But the one big advantage of ClickBank is they are widely used (by over 10,000 merchants) and trusted - and that means your customers will feel safer when ordering your products.

Here are some of the features of the ClickBank affiliate program:

=> one time setup fee of $49


=> no monthly fees


=> 7.5% commission on your sales


=> automatic email (to you and your affiliates) every


time you make a sale


=> ClickBank issues checks to your affiliates


=> checks issued every 2 weeks


=> low minimum ($5) before a check is issued

One drawback to using ClickBank is that the links your affiliates post on their websites won't contain your domain name - so they won't increase your link popularity.

But there is a way around this - a script specifically designed for ClickBank merchants that generates URLs for your affiliates, based on your domain name: http://www.easybiztools.com

With this script, your ClickBank affiliates would use a link that looks like this: http://www.yoursite.com/sales.php?offer=nickname&pid=1

Once you have your affiliate program set up, you'll need some promotion tools to offer your affiliates.

Here are some ideas:

=> free eBook - this could be as little as 5 or 10 pages explaining the benefits of your product or service. Make sure it contains some valuable tips and include links to your website that your affiliates can customize with their own affiliate link.

=> your own articles - if you write free articles, encourage your affiliates to use them in their newsletter and on the website, with their affiliate link in the resource box.

=> ezine ads - offer your affiliates 30-word ads they can place in newsletters (preferably ads you have tested and found to be effective)

=> email course - if you have an email mini-course, allow your affiliates to offer it from their website, with their affiliate links

=> popups - give your affiliates a template popup for their website, with instructions on how to install it

=> affiliate kit - put all your affiliate tools into an eBook that your affiliates can download

That's it! All the information you need to set up your own affiliate program.

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Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/

10 Sizzling Tips For Affiliates

1. Create an infopacked mini site. Build your mini site for a specific niche audience and then choose affiliate programs specifically for that niche audience.

2. Test and track your ads and promotions for your affiliate programs.

Tracking and testing your ads will show you exactly which ads, promotions and affiliate programs pay off the most for you and are excellent choices for you to continue to promote.

3. Publish an ezine.

Your ezine will give you a powerful way to promote your affiliate programs to your subscribers.

Choose affiliate programs that relate to the content of your ezine and that make it worth your while to promote them.

4. Promote your affiliate programs by recommending their products.

You could recommend your affiliate programs to your ezine subscribers in your publisher's note or you could create a recommended resources section where you promote your affiliate programs in every issue.

You could also recommend your affiliate programs to your visitors by creating a recommended affiliate programs section where you list your favorite affiliate programs along with descriptions of their products or services.

In addition, you could create a best affiliate programs section that helps you build up your second tier by listing the affiliate programs that have paid off the most for you.

5. Write product reviews where you detail the benefits you like about your affiliate program's product.

Make your product reviews honest and hype f~ree and post them on your site along with your other articles.

6. Write your own ads for your affiliate program.

A good way to create your ads is to look at the ad copy on the site of the business you want to promote and also ads they provide for their affiliates to use, and use their unique selling proposition or USP to write your ads.

Their unique selling proposition is a unique benefit that they promote in their ad copy that their competitors don't stress or offer to their visitors.

It could be that their product saves lots of time, is easy to understand, that their product is a complete answer to a problem, or it could involve their price.

Some businesses develop more than one USP so you'll be able to choose the one that you think works best in getting more targeted visitors to their site.

7. Try out the support of the companies you want to promote by asking questions.

This will help you to find out how long it takes them to respond to emails (if they respond to emails) and how professional they are.

8. Create freebies that promote your affiliate programs.

You could offer your visitors a f~ree email course, an ebook filled with your tips or articles or an ebook that provides your visitors with places to promote their businesses.

When creating freebies for an affiliate program that is 2 tier, increase your profits by letting your affiliates in your second tier use your freebies as a promotional item.

9. Create a directory.

Your directory could be an article, ezine, ebook or affiliate program directory.

List your own resources within your directory to increase your commissions. For example, you could add your own affiliate programs to your affiliate programs directory or your ebooks to your ebook directory.

Add a what's new section to your directory to garner more repeat traffic from your visitors.

You could also provide a tutorial on the subject of your directory, or add things to your directory that your visitors can use on a regular basis to get more repeat traffic.

10. Run ezine ads for your affiliate programs.

You could purchase sponsor, feature, classified or solo ads for your affiliate program.

Choose ezines with subscribers targeted to be interested in the products of the business you want to promote.

Run your ads for multiple issues in a row when possible to maximize the profit you get from your ads.

You can also run f~ree ads in ezines as many ezines offer
f~ree advertising on a weekly, monthly or per issue basis to
get more new subscriptions.

Running f~ree ads can help you find out which ads work best,
and which ezines are most responsive before you purchase
ezine advertising.

Article by writer, Ken Hill. Get more marketing tips by
joining Ken's Top Notch Marketing Ezine at:
http://www.netpromarketer.com/