It always surprises me how much money you can make by selling other people's stuff on the Internet. The real numbers never truly hit you until you fill out your taxes. Eight years in and the numbers still shock me. Always.
More than the numbers, what really amazes me the most is the lifestyle one can achieve from online marketing. You can be your own boss, work your own hours, carry out your business from anywhere in the world you want to live. You can create automatic marketing systems that work 24/7/365 days of the year. Earn money even when you're sleeping, vacationing or out enjoying a gourmet meal at your favorite restaurant. Total freedom.
So is it any wonder then why I am constantly analyzing my whole marketing structure to figure out what is working and what is not working? Finding out just what strategies are giving me the best returns on my efforts and time. And I am constantly trying to discover just what I can do to increase my affiliate sales and online traffic.
It basically means breaking down your online marketing into its core elements and examining each one with close scrutiny. What can be improved? What can be eliminated? What needs to be redesigned? Any serious online marketer must be actively working on these core elements to stay competitive in the affiliate game.
With these thoughts in mind, here are some simple marketing strategies that can affect and contribute to your success for selling affiliate products on the web. Marketing factors that should always be at the back of your mind, influencing your every move.
1. Quality Content
People use the web to find quality content or information. Always remember this fact and apply it to each step of your marketing plan - give your visitors quality content and you will succeed online. There are no ironclad guarantees, but get this one step right and you will probably make money online.
Design your website and your webpages around quality content. Useful, relevant content will give people a reason to come to your site and also give them a reason to return. Provide good information first and let the sale or selling be secondary. People do not like a pushy salesperson, not in real life and not on the web. Develop a friendly, helpful relationship with your potential customer and you will succeed.
2. Keyword Driven
The Internet is keyword driven. These are words or phrases people type into search engines to find what they're looking for on the web. They are also your keys to online success if you're going the SEO route, picking the right keywords will be your main starting point.
Professional marketers use keyword software like Brad Callen's Keyword Elite to research and find their profitable keywords, but there are many free tools/sites which you can find online to help you do your keyword research - Seobook.com is a good one. Daily monitoring of your major keywords is also important to keeping them in the top positions. Any movement downwards should spark more link and/or content building immediately.
Keep in mind, Google, which controls 60 percent of the web's search traffic, is also a great source of information on your keywords. Use Google to search the sites in the top 10 spots for your keywords; also check Google for the Paid Ads related to your keywords and monitor these ads over a period of time to see which ones are profitable. Do your keyword homework and your affiliate marketing will be a lot easier.
3. Niche Focused
If you're into affiliate marketing, you must concentrate your efforts on small niche markets where the competition is not too stiff. Choosing the right niche markets is vital to your affiliate success. Demand should be high and/or you're selling a high-ticket custom item.
Once you have chosen your particular niches, concentrate on dominating these in all the search engines. But don't forget that the fastest and sometimes the most profitable way to tackle a niche is through PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising - especially if there is little or low bidding on your keywords. Google Adwords, Yahoo Marketing, Microsoft AdCenter... should be explored and tried.
4. List Building
The power is always in the list. Make sure you collect the contact information of your site's visitors. Offer free ebooks, guides, special deals or bonuses... to get your prospects to opt-in to your AR follow-up systems. Studies have shown that people usually don't buy until the six or seventh follow-up.
I like building hundreds of micro-lists for all my major promoted affiliate products. These follow-ups with specialized information and special deals, coupons and bonuses will increase your sales.
5. Traffic
Obviously, traffic is one of the key elements to earning money online mainly because without traffic you're dead in the water. You must explore all avenues to generate quality traffic to your affiliate links. These sources are always changing; blogging and social bookmark sites are very important now. So too are video and audio formats so make sure you use them in your marketing.
Article marketing has worked extremely well for me and it is, along with search traffic, the main reason I can earn income online. A simple marketing technique that still works because articles will bring targeted traffic to your site or sites.
6. Conversion Rates Are Crucial
In affiliate marketing or in any kind of marketing, your conversion rates are crucial to your success. You can get all the quality traffic you want but if you can't turn those visitors into a sale, it's game over.
Your sales pages or content must convert into a sale in order for you to succeed. With affiliate marketing it is a little trickier because not only do your pages have to "pre-sell" the affiliate product but the landing page/site where you send that traffic must also convert into a sale.
However, I have discovered one of the keys to high conversion rates has nothing to do with landing pages, sales pitches, etc., but has to do mainly with which products that you decide to promote. You must thoroughly research your affiliate products and ONLY promote the top quality brands in your niche and you will have much better success. Also choosing products that are only available online will increase your conversion numbers; so too will promoting products that offer special discount coupons and deals.
7. Multiple Streams and Residual Income
Any serious online marketer will leverage their traffic and marketing by promoting many different products and services. They will develop different sources of income from their sites with affiliate links, Google Adsense, paid advertising, partnerships... are all used to develop multiple streams of income. It one should dry up, there are countless others still producing income.
I have found the major third-party affiliate networks like Commission Junction, LinkShare, Shareasale, Affiliate Window, Amazon are really good for finding and promoting products online. These sites will handle all the record keeping and sales stats for you. Plus, they send your monthly checks to you like clockwork. All you have to worry about is providing quality traffic to your affiliate links.
However, like any professional marketer, I save my special promotions and efforts to affiliate products or services that will give me a high return on my marketing efforts. Mainly, I only promote high-ticket items or products that will give me residual income. Make one sale; get paid time and time again. I also like forming partnerships with companies so that I get a percentage of the sales for the life of any client I refer. Those arrangements have special priority for the obvious reason they give me long-term residual income.
8. Testing Will Show You The Money.
Perhaps, like in those multiple-choice exams, there is one sticking point. You can check-off "None of the above" if you don't apply one thing for all of the "success strategies" listed above.
You Must TEST Everything.
You must constantly test and track what is working and what is not? Which traffic is converting? Which keywords are converting? Which products are converting? Which niches are profitable... you simply must TEST and KNOW which factors are working in your online marketing structure? Unless you test and track everything you will be marketing blind, and that's no way to run an online business.
I have found Google Analytics to be extremely helpful for testing and improving your conversion rates. I am also a firm believer in the daily reading of your traffic logs and stats... these places will show you where the real money is hiding. Use this information to improve your traffic and sales.
Like any endeavor, the more knowledge you have, the more successful you will be in reaching your goals. This is especially true for affiliate marketing on the web. And always remember, affiliate marketing does take some work and time to set-up, but the rewards are extremely rewarding. I hope you will use some of the marketing tips I have given you so you can experience these rewards for yourself.
About The Author:
The author is a full-time web marketer who owns and runs numerous websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. He contributes his online affiliate success to using the best Internet Marketing Tools and his proven strategies at List Building
Copyright (c) 2008 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Free Articles: How to Stay Motivated When You Work At Home
Having your own home-based business provides amazing freedoms and great challenges. You can start the day ready to take on the world only to end it feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. So how does one stay motivated?
Here are three simple tricks that should get you back on track.
One of the easiest ways to lose your motivation when working at home is to allow yourself to become isolated. Maintaining communication with your friends and colleagues is a great way to blow off steam, get advice, brainstorm, or even escape for a little while. Schedule time to get out of the house every week by joining a networking group or just having lunch with a friend.
Participate daily in online forums for your industry seek and offer advice. There is nothing better for your mental well-being than communicating with someone who knows exactly what you are going through or having the ability to provide assistance to someone in need. Find a mentor, someone who has achieved what you want and whose life you would like to emulate.
Make sure they are willing and have the time to coach you. When you take the time to reach out to people who inspire you, believe in you or just make you laugh, the isolation disappears and is replaced with a renewed spirit and enthusiasm.
When you can’t get out to talk to other people, learn to talk to yourself. Just make sure that you are having a positive conversation. Write down a list of positive affirmations that you can tell yourself and keep them on your desk, if you are having a hard time with this ask a friend to help. Repeat these affirmations out loud when you find yourself doubting your abilities or feeling overwhelmed. If they feel a little forced in the beginning remember the “fake it till you make it” mantra and just keep trying. There is tremendous power in positive self-talk.
Remember to take breaks. One of the great advantages of working at home is being your own boss. So give yourself permission to take breaks everyday. Just like your time out of the house, your breaks should be scheduled so you have something to look forward to. Take a walk, listen to some music, go talk to your neighbor, read an article in a magazine, or do whatever you want that is away from your desk. Sometimes just walking away from a project can provide new insights, ideas, and motivation.
Be kind to yourself but remember that you are the key to your own success. Take the steps you need to maintain your motivation and you will have a thriving and profitable business.
Chris Simpson
Free Articles: Help Achieve Success In Home Based Business
Now that you are seriously contemplating a home business opportunity with gusto and have heard from other online entrepreneurs how utterly rewarding and addictive it is, it will help to take note of some finer points that will help you give impressive finishing touches to your business. A home business is definitely about being in control of your business and taking independent decisions for its betterment. This very attribute makes it all the more imperative for a home-based entrepreneur to be in complete possession of knowledge related to his business domain and the systems that power the business. Here are some tips on how to create a home based business that will be the cynosure of all enviable eyes.
Never underestimate the power of having a business plan in place. The demeanor of a home based business has several people treating it with triviality and an air of casualness. An ambiance which is stress free and devoid of superiors, targets and deadlines can sometimes inspire individuals to lose focus and go astray. It is a must to have professionally determine goals and lay down strict work guidelines in tandem with the goals. You have to religiously follow a stipulated work schedule without succumbing to the attraction of a comfortable work environment. Be self-motivated. Have your own targets and small milestones to be achieved periodically. Focus on the things you want in life and work towards fulfilling them with commitment, dedication and non-negotiable hard-work.
Learn to cash in on your inherent talent and acquired skills to build profitable ventures. If you have an aesthetic bent of mind and are known for the lovely bead jewelry you create for your family and friends, turn your passion into a money-making conduit. Market exclusively handcrafted creations with your own brand name and put them up at local exhibitions, stores or even e-commerce sites like eBay. If you have a flair for writing, start your very own content development venture on the internet and offer your services to clients around the world.
Network, network and network! One can never emphasize enough the importance of networking to build a successful home business. Reach out to your audience, spread the word and give wide exposure to your products. Market extensively on the internet using specialized forums and other tools or organize house parties and community events to showcase your business
by Valerie B Knotts
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