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Posts Tagged ‘ Affiliate Programs ’

Niche Research – Tip of the Day

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One of the hardest parts of getting started in affiliate marketing is deciding what to pick as a niche or product. Don’t let this slow you down. You don’t need to feel a passion or dire need to excel. What you need is the desire to find something you can build interest in. Everyone has that ability to find a point of interest and build on it. So go to Amazon, pick through the magazine or book section and choose whatever strikes your fancy. That’s all you need to start.

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Choosing An Affiliate Program

What To Look For In An Affiliate Program

Trying to find an affiliate program for the new person just starting out on the Web is like walking into the proverbial Star Wars bar. There are many strange looking creatures and none have your best interest in mind. So what can you do? When you are choosing an affiliate program there are some key things to look for as you do your due diligence.

Program Research Terms and Condtions

The first thing is to research the legitimacy of the business. How long has the business been in operation? Who is the principal owner? Is there contact information so you can contact him or her to verify company information. What is the company track record? What are people saying about the program? One option is to google the program or the owner name. I tried that and avoided a number of scams. Another option is to find a reputable forum and post a question about a program you are looking at. You will be surprised by the information people will give you. Look for leaks and click outs like toll free phone numbers, opt-in boxes and text links leading to other sites.  These will all be signs that the affiliate marketer is not in the best position to get paid if your referral goes out to buy elsewhere or if you are just building the vendors list.

Another factor is whether the affiliate charges a membership fee. Many affiliates do not, but some do and if you are new to the business, this can be a good thing. If you pay a fee, see what you are getting for the money. Do they have marketing tools to help sell the product? Is there a proprietary system that will increase your sales? Fees are not necessarily a bad thing if there is good return on your investment. Many programs that say they have a system have nothing more than a written report. Though the information may be nice to know, the report often offers nothing about HOW to implement an action plan.

Commission Payment

Check and see how affiliate payments are disbursed. Are they monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly? Is there a minimum volume that triggers a payment. Whatever the system, make sure you understand it thoroughly before you make your decision to join.

What is the commission rate? Some affiliate programs offer a 25% commission. while others offer 75%. Some may pay a fraction of a percent on certain offerings. Generally you can get that information if you go through Clickbank or Paydotcom but make sure to get that information up front before you sign up.

Conversion Tracking

See whether the affiliate offers tracking information to oversee what the conversion rate is for incoming prospects. You also want to know the number of impressions and click throughs that are being generated by your campaign. This is important because some programs pay for impressions and click throughs.

Recurring Income

Finally, see if the program is a single tier or double tier system. A one tier pays you for the business you send to the program. A double tier pays you for the business generated by someone you have referred to the program.

These are some of the important points to understand when selecting an affiliate program. Asking the right questions up front can ensure that you will have a very prosperous experience.

Good luck and may your travels be prosperous!

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Review of the Day

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I just spent the week end with the StomperNet 2.0 dvd set that was distributed as a freebie.  For the newcomer to the affiliate marketing scene this is material that is very useful to have.

The first dvd is a series of conversations between Brad Fallon and Andy Jenkins on the basics of keyword research and SEO optimization along with anecdotal history behind their respective success as internet marketers.  It is definitely very educational and useful stuff to hear.  The process and logic that they offer is a must to know about and practice.

The downside of the first dvd is that the conversations took place in 2004.  A lot has changed on the Web since then so some of what they talk about, like Yahoo Overture for example, no longer is relevant today.  So that is the limitation of the first dvd.

The second dvd is up to date and gives an overview of the program they will offer along with informaiton about the current search engine environment regarding spamming, white,gray,and black seo practice and what to expect in upcoming lessons to get you going.  There is a presentation of the first major lesson on how search engines work.

The program then goes on to 8 more modules that I will review as I move through the program.

To follow up after the freebie you have to sign up for the program.

I found the material really useful and a must know if you want to be in this business in a serious way.

May Your Travels Be Prosperous

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Your Picture and of Your Voice—Video and Audio Products

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Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: Audio Information Products

Affiliate marketing is moving into the digital age of audio and video. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a picture with a thousand words may be even more powerful. As information products make their way to the marketplace, and as the volume of people looking for information increases, the importance of multimedia distribution cannot be underestimated.

The Marketplace

There is still a very important place for the written word in the creation and distribution of information products. But the role of audio and video, in the form of an audio pod cast or webinar or as a video program, is becoming more commonplace and expected. Video tutorials have proliferated and are now very much the rage with the super affiliate community. There is no doubt that anyone intending to do business online will have to learn to master the creation and distribution of audio and video information programming.

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Looking for a good Affiliate Program to make your fortune?

Some Tips on what to look for.

One of the most important tasks in setting up an affiliate online business is finding a legitimate and reliable affiliate online program. How do you know where to look and what to look for in selecting an internet marketing program?

Here are some things to consider.

Is the business reputable?

Is the merchant or owner a reputable business? Here you have to do some research. Use an affiliate network service like Clickbank and Commission Junction where merchants are vetted and information is easy to check out. Do a Google or Yahoo Search to see sponsored listing for the product or service you are considering. The larger the results the better it is for you. Check out some of the product sites and see what you find. Patterns and trends will emerge and you will see who’s hot and who’s not.

Affiliate Agreement

Is there an affiliate agreement? There better be one and you had better read it thoroughly to find out the terms. Is it easy to join? Is it easy to drop if things don’t work out? Is there a fee to join? If there is, there better be a very good reason for it.

Commission Rate

How you will be paid is one of the most important questions to have answered. Different affiliate programs have different commission structures and different payout rates. This will affect which products you will promote. Some affiliate network services will sort information for you by payout per lead or payout per sale. This allows you to compare programs and determine which one is more likely to mean a better revenue stream for you. Obviously you want to start with the companies that pay the highest payout per lead or payout per sale. But there are circumstances when high volume sales of a low priced product can mean higher revenue for you.

You will also want to know whether you can get lifetime commissions that are a commission for each and every product your customer buys from that merchant. Are there residual commissions? These are commissions you get every time your customer renews the subscription or purchase of a product.

Some programs will pay you not only for the product sales you generate but also for referring new affiliates to the merchant. This is called a 2-tier program. While this is a nice way to supplement your income, your focus in starting out should be on product sales.

When and How do I get Paid?

Payments will vary from program to program. Some programs give the option to pay by check or through a third party provider such as PayPal, Clickbank or Paydotcom. The recommended choice is to get paid by check if you can and then opt for the third party options. The reason is that with check payment you collect a full commission. With third party payments you will pay a service fee and that will get taken out of your commission.

Different programs pay on different time periods; they can be weekly, biweekly, monthly and quarterly. That is something that is spelled out in the affiliate agreement.

Cookies

A cookie is some code a computer carries that identifies it during a visit to a web site. They are harmless text files and pose no threat to your computer in any way. When you refer a lead to a merchant, a cookie on that lead’s computer will identify that person as your referral and you will get a commission. That’s great. But there is a very important thing to look for. How long is the cookie coded to last? Merchants can code cookies to last one day, one month, one quarter, one year or even a lifetime. You want to get lifetime or at least year long cookies because the standard number of contacts a lead typically makes before deciding to purchase is seven. So the longer the cookie lasts the better your chances of getting paid. If a purchase is made after your cookie has expired, you are out of the commission you worked hard to generate.

Marketing Tools and Customer Service

A good affiliate program will offer marketing tools and training on how to use them. They will also offer an affiliate center where you can check your stats and get your promotional tools and links to sell your product.

Customer service means good and timely communication with you and your customer base. How long does it take for the merchant to respond to any question? A good affiliate program will get back to a request within 24-48 hours. Often there will be an FAQ section you should check out before you send in your question.

Conversion Rate

One item to check out is the conversion rate the merchant gets with their sales page. The standard conversion on the low end is 1.5-2%. Some of the Super Affiliates can achieve 6% up to 20% on some of their offerings. You want to ask and see what you find out. One indication is the quality of the sales page. Is it well written? How does it present the product or service? Are the testimonials believable? Can you check them out? Does the sales page reflect a professional and high quality standard?

What to Look out for

Some programs will have sales minimums before you get paid. You have to be careful here. For a low payout, that will mean you will need high volume and that is not always possible. You will have to do the math and see if the numbers make sense to you.

Also be careful to see if there are other links, ads or Google Adsense postings on the sales page or web site to which you are sending your leads. You really don’t want to have your lead click away from your product or service because of competing ads on the landing page you are sending them to. So check out to see if there are any distractions or reasons for your lead to go elsewhere when they land where you send them.

Finding the right internet marketing program for an associate affiliate is an important part of the business development process. Obviously you want to do your market research, traffic testing and conversion testing as you go about choosing a product. But once you have an idea of what product or service you want to market, then you are ready to start researching and selecting the right online affiliate program for you. Online affiliate marketing can be a very satisfying and rewarding business if you take the time, put in the effort and stay focused along the way. Follow the steps above and you should be well on your way to success.

May Your Travels be Prosperous.


Claude Pelanne on Google+