Tips For Frustrated Affiliate Marketers
By Isaiah Hull
Wednesday, November 10, 2004; 6:20pm EST
Do you go through affiliate programs like most people go through
pairs of socks? Many Internet marketers do. In fact, 97% of all
Internet marketers never make a single cent advertising
opportunities on the Internet. They jump from one opportunity to the
next and never see results. If you want to break free from this
cycle of failure--if you want to earn a living off of your Internet
ventures--continue reading. I will tell you exactly how you can earn
money from any legitimate affiliate program.
In order to get the most information from what I am about to explain
to you, you must accept that these methods are not intended to be
"secrets." These are scientifically-proven, best-practice methods
that all top marketers use. If you want results, you will have to do
and continue to do the following five things:
1. Know your product. Do not advertise for a product or affiliate
program that you are not currently using. I cannot even count the
amount of affiliate programs and product offers I have rejected
immediately from people who know very little about what they are
actually promoting. If you want to make money selling a product or
service, you have to use it, understand it, and be able to convince
your prospects that they should own it. If you yourself do not
believe in it--because you have not even tried it--then you will
have a hard time convincing anyone else it is worthwhile.
2. Know your field. You must continually become more knowledgeable
about the market in which you are selling your product or service.
For instance, I try to read at least 50 pages on Internet marketing
each day to complement the marketing I do. This keeps me learning
about my field. The best part about this is that you can do it
without spending any money at all. The Internet is loaded with free
content sites where you can find free ebooks and special reports on
any subject. The Internet is also loaded with affiliate program
promoters who are out-selling you. Use google to find these sites
and then reverse engineer them--pick apart the source code, page
setup, and content layout to find out how you can become more like
your competition who is outselling you.
3. Focus your efforts and limit your innovation. As much as
"limiting your innovation" may go against your business instincts,
it is an absolute must with a limited marketing budget. Figure out
what works for you scientifically by measuring your advertising
results. When you find something that works, stick with it. If you
are getting traffic from reciprocal links, continue to build them.
If you are getting constant sign-ups from your newsletter, improve
your newsletter and order more leads. Do not stray far from your
original plan. Preset the amount of innovative ideas you want to try
out each night, but center your marketing efforts around getting
better results from methods that have already worked for you.
4. Spend money wisely. The Internet is loaded with scams and bad
information. It is really easy to be tricked into blowing money on
"get rich quick" schemes and information that you can find in free
resources. I personally have spent thousands of dollars needlessly.
But do not get me wrong; I am not saying there are no legitimate
affiliate promotion services or information products out there: I am
saying that the vast majority of them do not work as well as they
say they do. So hold onto your cash. When you find a product that
multiple people have personally recommended to you, then consider
buying it. Otherwise, conserve your cash for purchasing services or
products that will produce hard, definite results, such as email
leads for your newsletter or phone leads you can contact personally
to promote your program.
5. Remember that your success is dependent on your choices and your
work alone. If you get upset about not becoming successful with a
specific affiliate program, do not blame the program--blame
yourself. Do a thorough analysis of what you could be doing better
and how you could be making quantitative progress
every single day. There are people who do not pay any money at all
for promotional services and yet are still able to make a living
just from using free tools on the Internet. If they can do it, there
is no reason at all why you cannot. Joining a marketing group or
forum in your field will help you realize this reality. Seeing and
talking to people who are succeeding in your field will remind you
that it is entirely possible to make money online without having a
million dollars to begin with.
While there are some "secrets" to getting more sign-ups and site
visitors, the bigger part of affiliate program marketing is
following a sound business plan. If you keep the five concepts I
have listed above central to your marketing campaign, you will not
fail. But, if you continue to market sporadically--switching from
product to product and method to method--you will never break out of
that 97% who never make money.
About the Author
Isaiah Hull publishes Home Business Tips Newsletter, a fresh and
informative ezine that focuses on building successful internet
businesses and promoting affiliate programs. Stop by
http://www.workathomerightnow.net.
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