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Most people’s understanding of “affiliate marketing” begins and ends with Amazon Associates, one of the largest affiliate networks in the world.
For the entrepreneur, the challenge with Amazon Associates generates enough traffic to generate significant revenue from this channel alone. For the beginner, the roadblock is almost insurmountable. But don’t despair! You can create a successful affiliate marketing business if you do it strategically.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is when a publisher or company gives you a cut of every sale they make when you promote them on their site. There are many different affiliate opportunities, from courses to web hosting to books, tapes, and DVDs. More on affiliate marketing.
Let the affiliate marketer take heed
Affiliate marketing is often referred to as a “rich quick program” by shadowy sites that offer pyramids that promise fast cash for little effort. Make no mistake – successful affiliate marketers, such as Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income, have put a lot of effort into building an audience and creating quality content that will bring sustainable passive income. You expect to move in many ways – but if you play your cards correctly, you can create a steady source of revenue over time.
Your success as an affiliate marketer depends on how you answer these questions:
Can you find products or services to offer you a great commission?
Can you find a niche market that is likely to buy what you are offering?
Can you create content and traffic around these products?
If the answer to each of these questions is a resounding yes, instead of jumping to conclusions right away, take the time to research whether or not others are out there making a viable affiliate income from the products and content in this niche.
In a sense, competition is a good thing here – it will help you validate your idea and prove that it is worth building a business around.
How to find a favorable commission rate
Amazon’s commission rate is pennies on every dollar of merchandise you sell. What many people do not know is that there are affiliate opportunities out there that pay commissions that are much more favorable, from $ 20- $ 100 (and more). Go to affiliate networks such as Junction Commission, Share-a-Sale, Rakuten and E-junkie for opportunities and their overall commission rate.
Target a niche
If you are just starting out, a niche market is an obvious way to go. Look for a market that has a clearly defined need and a willing audience. Next, find the affiliate opportunities associated with this niche market.
Create an effective website
Once you have a great product you believe in and a target market, you will need to maintain a quality content site that will help you increase traffic to your affiliates. This article has some great tips on the nervous gritty of creating your own website. Once you’ve created your site, you’ll want to optimize it for conversions and sales. Learn about the four properties of an effective website.
Build an audience through trust
The most successful affiliate marketers first generate exciting content and affiliate revenue later. Chris Brogan said: “when there is an opportunity to make something in your community and make some money for your efforts, then you will consider what I consider to be a great opportunity.”
To create a successful affiliate program, it helps to take care of the products they sell and offer legitimate value beyond a quick sale. While you can build an affiliate business around every type of product, it helps if you really use the product and support it personally.
Make sure you understand the revelation
Two years ago, the FCC introduced new rules that covered the increasingly specialized world of bloggers. Now you need to find out when you have a financial interest in a product or service that you display on your blog.
This applies to the positions that are funded, but most importantly affiliate links.
Many affiliate marketers, including Copyblogger Media and Chris Brogan, are trying to use it to their advantage. How? They use revelation as an opportunity to talk about how much they personally love the product they are selling.