Affiliate Marketing Tips - 3 Blunders to Avoid at All Costs

Lots of marketers tell you what to do when it comes to affiliate marketing. The problem is, very few marketers tell you what NOT to do. Unfortunately, the blunders that you make can be more costly than all the proper steps that you take. One mistake can undo a world of good. So in this article, I'm going to share with you three blunders that you need to avoid at all costs. If you do this, you'll give yourself a decent chance at being a successful affiliate marketer.

At the very top of the list is probably one of the biggest blunders that affiliate marketers make. I call it jumping on the bandwagon. Don't know what I mean? Well, tell me if this doesn't sound familiar. The latest and greatest product of the day comes out and you're all over it like a cheap suit.

You and 500 other affiliates are all promoting the same product. Well, unless you have some serious marketing chops, your chances of making any significant sales at all are slim to none. And yet, this is what most new affiliates do and then they wonder why they're failing.

Next on the blunder parade is how you actually go about marketing the product. This is where laziness usually takes over. See, most affiliates will simply write to the product creator and ask him for any canned ads that he might have. Now, any good product creator will have a few of these. Unfortunately, he doesn't have enough of them to go around to 500 affiliates. What happens is that each affiliate is promoting the product with the same ads. As a result, nobody stands out. This greatly contributes to the reason why so many affiliates don't make any money.

Finally, there is your reputation. This is the last thing that marketers think of. Unfortunately, it should be the first thing everybody thinks of. Okay, what am I talking about? Well, how many marketers promote products that are pure garbage? I'm not going to point any fingers, but you know it's true. Well, let me ask you a question. If you promote a substandard product and people buy it from you, do you think they're going to buy the next product that you recommend? Trust me, they won't.

There you have it. Those are the top three blunders to avoid at all costs. If you do this much, you'll give yourself a decent chance at being a successful affiliate marketer.

About the Author
Tired of being an affiliate failure? Want to turn yourself into an affiliate assassin like I am? Want to land in the top 20 of every affiliate promotion you tackle just like I do? Check out my site at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/affiliateassassin/index.html and start earning a solid income as an affiliate marketer.

How to Find a Top Rated Affiliate Program?

If you're reading this, then it's pretty safe to assume that you are interested in marketing and very interested in making as much money as possible without working too hard. Well, that's what top rated affiliate programs are for because the only way a program can get to the top of the affiliate world is to provide the affiliates with everything they want and then some. Being proactive in meeting the needs of affiliates pay handsomely, which is why top rated affiliate programs can be counted on to offer the terms that make a marketer's heart race with excitement.

What are the features of a top rated affiliate program? For starters, such a program offers high commissions. The people behind it know that their products will sell very well and don't mind giving up a bigger share of the money in order to motivate affiliates and reward their efforts. If you're spending a couple of hours everyday pondering traffic statistics, thinking up ways to improve your website to get top search engine placement and generating a lot of sales then you deserve those high commissions. And if your conversion rate is high enough, you will be making a lot of money in a short time.

Aside from the high commissions you will need quality affiliate support from the associate program in the shape of free website templates to choose from, free content for your website (or websites) written by professional copywriters, tutorials and guides if you're only just beginning and lots of information and advice on the niche market you are going to be operating in. Plus, you get access to advanced affiliate tools for keyword research and traffic tracking. Another very important thing to look out for is the way products are sold. If the managers ask you to buy the products and resell it to customers, then you're walking into a scam.

But you probably know by now that there are no magic buttons to push that can make you a super affiliate in a couple of days. You'll have to work your way to a position of financial security and you have a lot to learn about how to be a good marketer. But joining a top rated affiliate program goes a long way to making your dreams come true as fast as humanly possible because the sad alternative is to do the same amount of work for less money. And that runs contrary to the fact that you deserve to get as much as possible for your efforts.

Low commissions and small percentages of low prices are highly NOT recommended and working for a greedy bunch of managers is an experience that should be avoided. Why waste time and effort when you can start on the right foot by joining a top rated affiliate program? If some people out there are willing to work for low commissions and others can't find anything wrong with investing their own money in a business that doesn't ever pay off, then let them do it. You have other priorities.

Are These The Reasons You Fail In Affiliate Marketing?

By Shawn Lim

You probably have heard about these:

"Make $1000 per week by working only 1 hour per day!"

"Go from Zero to Hero in 7 days with NO Investment!"

"This Business-In-A-Box Will Make You $50,000 This Year, Guaranteed!"

Sounds familiar? I bet that you have seen these kind of ads when you surf around the net. These kind of ads are targeting for opportunity seekers. If you are looking for an opportunity, then most probably you will click on one of those ads and buy their products. These ads convert well. Why? Simply because they are looking for people who wants to make money online with a fast and easy way. And I called these people the opportunity seekers. They are seeking for opportunities which promise them that they can make a lot of money with little or no effort. Opportunity seekers believe that there are some 'secrets' that can make them rich with no effort and in a very short time. So do not be an opportunity seeker!

What you want here is not an opportunity for you to make easy money. What you want to have is a solid business that can last long enough, a business that can make you earn a continuous flow of income. You want a business that can grow and expand where you will able to achieve your freedom, time freedom, financial freedom, and the lifestyle you have always desired.

If you think that affiliate marketing is easy and instant money maker, then you are wrong! Very often, people misunderstand that affiliate marketing is easy and it takes no effort to make money. This is wrong. Just like every other business, you need to put your effort and time to develop your affiliate business. Yes you can make lots of money and it can be fast. However this is only if you spend your time and effort doing it seriously! Do not underestimate affiliate marketing my friend. Every business needs time to develop, and you need to put a lot of effort in it. Do not think about making millions with affiliate marketing overnight, it is impossible. But still, there are a few exceptions, very rare cases which break this myth. Just keep this in mind, there is no easy money in this world.

So do not think that you can become a Millionaire overnight with affiliate programs, not the first week and not the first month. Most probably it will take you a few months before you can see steady streams of income flowing into your pocket. Therefore when you see ads that claim they can make you a Millionaire in just 24 hours, you should know that they are targeting people who are looking for opportunity. And you are NOT an opportunity seeker, what you want is a real and solid business which can brings you continuous flow of cash.

No matter what kind of business, be it online or offline brick and mortar business. There are differences between those that who made it so successful and those failed. And some people called these differences mistakes. We all made mistakes. Nobody is perfect in this world, and nobody can success without making any mistakes. Hence you can see here, we need to make mistakes in order to success. I just wanted to tell you that do not be afraid of making mistakes in affiliate marketing. So if you want to make more money in affiliate marketing, you will need to go through the entire tough path. Are you ready to take the challenge? Have you prepared yourself?


About The Author
Learn how to Make Money Online, live a Millionaire lifestyle in no time. Get all Free Tips Making Money Online here, http://www.themillionairesecrets.net/making-you-richer/ If you do not act on this information today you may never get the opportunity to take this life changing step again. Just follow the link.

Affiliate Marketing vs Google Adsense: Let the Battle Begin

By: John Farina

Lately there has been a lot of discussion on how to make tons of money with Google Adsense. In fact, many people are making the claim that Adsense sites can earn a higher revenue then an affiliate-marketing site.

So that brings us to an important question: Which is a better online business - Affiliate-Marketing sites or Google Adsense sites?

Let's explore each one and then find out which online business is better option:
Google Adsense

How do you like the idea of earning money without dealing with customers or answering emails. This is possible when you run a Google Adsense site. With Adsense sites, you can have a virtual passive-income that requires little maintaining. But is this the best option for an online business?

Here are the positives of Google Adsense sites:
* They are perfect for people who run information sites that have no related affiliate product
* You can set it and leave it. With Google Adsense, you can create a content page, and there is little need to update the content.
* Adsense sites are easy to scale. Since they require little upkeep, you can easily create multiple websites that each make a nice income.
Here are the negatives of Google Adsense sites:
* They are not a great long term solution. Instead of getting your visitors to subscribe to a mailing list, you are focusing on getting people to click on ads. Real online businesses concentrate on building assets that can use for long-term growth.
* These sites are dependent on search engines. Most Google Adsense sites make the mistake of depending on search engines for the majority of their traffic. If the SE algorithms change then your income might drop significantly.

Affiliate Marketing
Being an affiliate marketer is great for those who want build a theme site. With this type of business, you can easily create web pages around a topic and get people to buy products through your products. If done correctly, you can easily build a loyal following that will help you make money for years to come.

But can affiliate marketing make you more money then Google Adsense?

Here are the positives of affiliate marketing:
* A great advantage of affiliate-marketing is that you can build a long term business that will bring in a revenue stream for years.
* With affiliate-marketers you need to focus on building an email list. This list is a major asset of your business. Every time you have an offer, you can go to your list and increase your profits.
* Unlike Google Adsense sites, which only concentrates on high paying keywords, an affiliate marketing site can be centered on a topic that you have an interest in.
Here are the negatives of affiliate marketing:
* You have to learn how to write persuasively and get people to purchase the product that you are recommending. For many people this is a difficult skill to learn.
* Each affiliate marketing site requires a lot of effort. You must spend a lot of time writing product reviews, building your email list and creating web content.

So which is better: Affiliate marketing or Google Adsense?

The answer is that both are great solutions for an online business. Instead of choosing one over the other, you should create websites that can take advantage of both.

Here is how you can do this:
1) Create a content site on a topic that you are interest in, while paying a good amount per Adsense click.
2) Integrate your Adsense into the menu bars and the top of your web content.
3) Add web pages for affiliate-products and your opt-in email list. But, make sure that you leave out the Adsense blocks on these pages. This way you are ensuring that you are building your long-term assets.
4) Create optimized web page articles that focus on a specific keyword phrase. Place your Google Adsense in these blocks.
5) Provide your email list with good content and product recommendations. Once in awhile, email your list and provide a link to some of your web articles. That way, you can earn a little bit of m*ney from your subscribers while giving them good content.

By focusing on both affiliate products and Google Adsense, you will be building both short-term and long-term profits.

John J Farina is a writer and a successful affiliate
marketer. He also provides expert reviews on which affiliate programs to join and ones to avoid like the plague. If you would like to take a look at the affiliate programs he is currently involved with please do so at: www.johnnysreviewsite.com

Three steps to success in Affiliate Marketing

By: Dave Holloway

If you are considering starting an online business in Affiliate Marketing there are basically three prerequisites to success. It is possible to make thousands of dollars per month, so called “super affiliate marketers” boast monthly sales in the tens of thousands of dollars. So, what essentials are required to add your name to the list of super affiliates in the world of online marketing?

I have compiled the three key elements that you will need to start your new career in Affiliate marketing.

Step 1.

The first item required is a “product” to market. For those of you who are not familiar with how affiliate marketing works, the basic idea is as follows: The affiliate marketer directs or refers prospective customers via the internet to merchants’ web sites where “products” are for sale. An example would be: The Merchant (Jim) has a website called “sportingwaresonline.com” where various sporting goods are available for online purchase. The affiliate marketer (Bob) has a website called “prosportsproducts.com” where he has links to various sporting goods websites. A web surfer browses Bob’s site where they see Jim’s online store advertised, usually by means of a banner or informative text describing the goods available. Clicking the link on Bob’s site directs the prospective customer to Jim’s online store, if the customer makes a purchase at Jim’s online store; Bob receives his “affiliate commission”. So we can see here that Bob’s “product” is sporting goods, even though he has no real stock to sell.

Step 2.

If you are planning to start an affiliate marketing online business, you’re going to need a website. This is where the “Bucks” are made. There is no chance of success if your website is not up to scratch. The main or “Home Page” must possess sufficient impact to keep the attention of web browsers once they arrive at your site. The site needs to provide instant interest and contain information unique to your “product” or line of products. You should create individual web pages for each specific product. An example would be: At Bob’s prosportsproducts.com website he would have one page dedicated to sports shoes, another page for tennis products, another for golfing goods and so on. Always include product reviews on the website to provide visitors with an initial understanding on what the product can do for those who buys them. It is also a good idea to include testimonials from users who have used the product.

Step 3.

The third step is to vigorously promote your website to attract a high level of “traffic” to your online “affiliate marketing store”. Without visitors to your site, it will be impossible for you to receive any affiliate commission. Initially you should use “Pay Per Click” (PPC) advertising through the various search engines like Yahoo, Google and MSN to get your website seen by more web surfers. You should also write articles, listing information specific to the products available on your website and include a link to your site somewhere in the article (be sure to follow the Article and Author guidelines specific to the publishing site). Submit your articles to e-zines and receive traffic to your website from readers. It's as simple as that. Be sure to write several articles and post them to as many article directories as possible! You never know how many hits you could receive from article readers, and remember if they are reading your article they must already have an interest in the product you are promoting and there is generally no cost for the service as most article directories offer a free service. Writing and submitting high quality articles to article directories is an excellent way of promoting any product or service online. Article marketing offer you a two fold benefit, firstly, establishing your product knowledge and expertise to readers, secondly, increasing the traffic to your site via your website address in the articles you have written.

The key to successful affiliate marketing and earning a genuine income is selecting the right product or opportunity, and following proven information or guidelines that will produce online success and financial reward. Affiliate marketing will require time and effort on your part, however getting started is a fairly simple process. By using these tips you will be well on the way to earning your first of many “pay checks” from internet affiliate marketing. If you are interested in starting your internet home business you can find more information here at workathomeasy

Dave Holloway has successfully promoted home business options from his website www.workathomeasy.com providing information to anyone looking for a genuineHome Business Opportunity