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Targeted Affiliate Marketing
You have heard about
affiliate marketing programs and you probably even know that
they are a viable way to generate income, that is if you are
doing your job right and using the internet to promote your
business and sell products and services. Affiliate
programs can also be an excellent introduction to e-commerce.
But you may have heard some people (even some so-called experts
in the field) say that affiliate marketing "is a numbers game."
Don’t you believe it!
Calling affiliate
marketing a numbers game is like saying that building a downline
for a network marketing business is a numbers game. In
essence, these gurus are saying that the more balls you throw in
the air, the more that will land in your circle. Well,
that may be true, if all you care about is a one shot customer
or downline distributor. But if you want to make the big
money, the reliable money, the consistent money, you better make
sure you cultivate your prospect, not throw them up in the air.
And the same principle applies in affiliate marketing.
You've probably come
across many commercial sites that offer the "best affiliate
program". Have you even asked, best for who? What do
they consider best and why does that make it best for you?
Let’s cut through
some of the flack that is put up on the net and see if we can
save you some time and frustration.
How do affiliate
programs work? An affiliate program is where a company
offers to pay you a commission or specific amount of money for
either a click through from your site or link, a fixed amount
for a lead (where the visitor signs up for a newsletter, etc.)
or a percentage of a purchase made by a visitor as a result of a
click through. Even if the visitor does not make a
purchase on the advertisers site immediately, most programs'
affiliation deals these days will state "cookie duration" of
usually around 30-90 days. This means that as long as the
visitor has the cookie in their cache; even if they return to
the advertiser’s site one month later, you will still receive
the commission from the sale - but, as in all things business
related, cookie duration is something that you need to check and
not assume that this feature is standard.
Finding the best
affiliate programs. When you first begin searching and
implementing affiliations with various companies; it can be one
of the biggest time wasters in marketing your site. You
will probably spend countless hours searching for suitable
affiliate programs, implementing the links and then monitoring
their activity. It is definitely not a get rich quick
scenario.
The income generated
from each program will more than likely be relatively low, as in
the beginning the number of visitors to your site will not be
high. It is not uncommon for companies to disappear
without notice and since most affiliate programs only pay out at
around the $25 mark, you will lose the revenue.
The other aspect
that you will probably not be happy with is the idea of other
companies banners littering your site. If you implement too many
on any given page it only serves to confuse and irritate your
visitors. Any more than one animated element on a web page is
very distracting.
Affiliate tracking
can be a problem. Even after you have successfully applied
to become an affiliate for a company, they will usually supply
you with some personalized code or link. It is very
important that this code is implemented correctly into your
page; otherwise you may be sending the company visitors without
being reimbursed. Most snippets of code contain a unique
user id; which is used by the company to distinguish which site
sent traffic. Even if you do implement this code properly,
it is not uncommon for the codes to on occasion not function
correctly.
All things
considered, the "hunt and peck" method for finding a good
affiliate program is going to be a huge waste of your time.
Time is too valuable and could be better spent creating content
and updating your site.
So with all that
said, what do you look for and how do you pick an affiliate
program that works for you? Basically success in affiliate
marketing will be found in the same place as any other type of
sales or marketing program. You need to be affiliated with
those sites and companies that are targeting and appealing to
the same type market that you are targeting. Pay attention
now, I said the companies appealing to the same market or target
prospect, not companies that are competing with you for the same
product or service sales.
For example if you
are selling high end investment products such as annuities, then
you need to affiliate with those companies or sites who also
cater to that market. Such as high end travel, custom made
items or fairly exclusive leisure offering. You are
looking for people with money, so affiliate with those places
that cater to people with money.
If you are a car
repair shop owner then you want to affiliate with those places
that also appeal to car owners looking for information about
their cars, saving money on their cars or looking for ways to
extend the life of their vehicles.
If you are looking
for prospects for a network marketing downline, then look first
to the field you know best. The one you were trained in
for your first career. You probably know most every aspect
of that field and can identify those people in that industry who
most need to hear your message and can use the additional
income.
Affiliate marketing
is just that....marketing! No less no more. A little
thought in which direction you would like to move will glean you
some rather spectacular results.
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