So Many Affiliate Programs! Which One Do I
Choose?
Ask questions
first before you join an affiliate program. Do a little research about the
choices of program that you intend to join into. Get some answers because they
will be the deciding point of what you will be achieving later on.
Will it cost you anything to join? Most affiliate
programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why settle for
those that charge you some dollars before joining.
When do they issue the commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued.
What is the hit per sale ratio? This is the
average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale
based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because
this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a
commission from the sale.
How are referrals from an affiliate’s site
tracked and for how long do they remain in the system? You need to be
confident on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site.
This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that
those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some
visitors do not buy initially but may want to return later to make the
purchase. Know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some
months from a certain day.
What are the kinds of affiliate stats available? Your choice of
affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be
available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your
individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are
already generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the
banner or text link was viewed by a visitor of your site. A hit is the one
clicking on the banner or text links.
Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions besides
the commissions on sales? It is important that impressions and hits are also
paid, as this will add to the earnings you get
from the sales commission. This is
especially
important if the program you are in offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.
Who is the online retailer? Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.
Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program? A single tier
program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier
program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the on
the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier
programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More
like a recruitment fee.
Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid? 20% - 80%
(and some cases, 100%!)
is the commission paid by most programs. .01% - .05% is the amount paid for
each hit. If you find a program that also pays for impressions, the amount paid
is not much at all. As you can see from the figures, you will now understand
why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.
These are just
some of the questions that needed answering first before you enter into an
affiliate program. You should be familiar with the many important aspects that
your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website.
Try to ask your affiliate program choices these questions. These can help you
select the right program for you site from among the many available.
Which Affiliate Networks To Look Out For When
Promoting
There are many
horror stories about affiliate programs and networks. People have heard them
over and over again, that some are even wary of joining one. The stories they
may have heard are those related to illegal programs or pyramid schemes.
Basically, this kind of market does not have real, worthy product.
You do not want
to be associated with these schemes. It is obvious you want to be with a
program that offers high quality product that you will readily endorse. The
growing number of those who have joined already and are succeeding
immensely is
proof enough that there are reliable and quality affiliate programs out there.
Why participate in an affiliate program?
It allows you to work part-time. It gives you the opportunity to build a generous residual income. And it makes you an owner of a small business. Affiliate programs have already created lots of millionaires. They are the living testimony of how hard work; continuous prospecting, motivating and training others pay off.
If ever you are
deciding to join one, you must take note that you are getting into something
that is patterned to what you are capable of. This will be an assurance that
you are capable of doing anything to come out successful.
How do you choose
a good affiliate program to promote? Here are some tips you may want to look
over before choosing one:
1. A program that you like and have interest in.
One of the best
ways of knowing if that is the kind of program you wish to promote is if you
are interested in purchasing the product yourself. If that is the case, chances
are, there are many others who are also interested in the same program and
products.
2. Look for a program that is of high quality.
For
instance, look for one that is associated with many experts in that particular
industry. This way, you are assured that of the standard of the program you
will be joining into.
3. Join in the ones that offer real and viable products.
How do you know
this? Do some initial research. If possible, track down some of the members and
customers to give you testimonial on the credibility of the program.
4. The program that is catering to a growing target market.
This will ensure
you that there will be more and continuous demands for your referrals. Make
inquiries. There are forums and discussions you can participate in to get good
and reliable feedbacks.
5. A program with a compensation plan that pays out
a residual income and a payout of 40% or more would be a great choice.
There
are some programs offering this kind of compensation. Look closely for one. Do
not waste your time with programs that do not reward substantially for your
efforts.
6. Be aware of the minimum quotas that you must
fulfill or sales target that is too hard to achieve.
Some affiliate
programs imposes pre-requisites before you get your commissions. Just be sure
that you are capable of attaining their requirements.
7. Select one that has plenty of tools and
resources that can help you grow the business in the shortest possible time.
Not all affiliate
programs have these capacities. Make use you decide on one with lots of helpful
tools you can use.
8. Check out if the program has a proven system
that can allow you to check your networks and compensation.
Also check if
they have it available online for you to check anytime and anywhere.
9. The program that is offering strong incentives
for members to renew their membership each time.
The
affiliate program that provides continuous help and upgrades for its products
have the tendency to retain its members. These things can assure the growth of
your networks.
10. Be aware of the things that members are not happy about in a
program.
Like with the
ones mentioned above, you can do your checking at discussion forums. If you
know someone in that same program, there is ho harm asking if there are many
downsides involved.
Have a thorough
and intensive knowledge about the affiliate program and network you will be
promoting on.
Knowing the kind of program you are getting yourself into will make you anticipate and prevent any future problems you may encounter.
Easy Profits Using PPC In Your Affiliate
Marketing Business
PPC or Pay-Per-Click in full is one of the four
basic types of Search Engines. PPC is also one of the most cost-effective ways
of targeted Internet advertising. According to Forbes magazine, PPC or Pay Per
Click, accounts to 2
billion dollars a year and is expected to increase to around 8 billion
dollars by the year 2008.
Let us take a quick look at how PPC Search
Engines work.
These engines
create listings and rate them based on a bid amount the website owner is
willing to pay for each click from that search engine. Advertisers bid against
each other to receive higher ranking for a specific keyword or phrase.
The highest
bidder for a certain keyword or phrase will then have the site ranked as number
1 in the PPC Search Engines followed by the second and third highest bidder, up
to the last number that have placed a bid on the same keyword or phrase. Your
ads then will appear prominently on the results pages based on the dollar
amount bid you will agree to pay per click.
How do you make money by using PPC into your
affiliate marketing business?
Most
affiliate programs only pay when a sale is made or a lead delivered after a
visitor has clickthrough your site. Your earnings will not always be the same
as they will be dependent on the web site content and the traffic market.
The reason why
you should incorporate PPC into your affiliate marketing program is that
earnings are easier to make than in any other kind of affiliate program not
using PPC. This way, you will be making profit based from the clickthroughs
that your visitor will make on the advertiser’s site. Unlike some programs, you
are not paid per sale or action.
PPC can be very
resourceful of your website. With PPC Search Engines incorporated into your
affiliate program, you will be able to profit from the visitor’s who are not
interested in your products or services. The same ones who leave your site and
never comes back.
You will not only
get commissions not only from those who are just searching the web and finding
the products and services that they wanted but you will be able to build your
site’s recognition as a valuable resource. The visitors who have found what
they needed from you site are likely to come back and review what you are offering
more closely. Then they will eventually come back to search the web for other
products.
This kind of
affiliate program is also an easy way for you to generate some more additional
revenues. For example, when a visitor on your site does a search in the PPC
Search Engine and clicks on the advertiser bided listings, the advertisers’
account will then be deducted because of that click. With this, you will be
compensated 30% to 80% of the advertisers’ bid amount.
PPC
is not only a source of generating easy profits; it can also help you promote
your own site. Most of the programs allow the commissions received to be spent
for advertising with them instantly and with no minimum earning requirement.
This is one of
the more effective ways to exchange your raw visitors for targeted surfers who
has more tendencies to purchase your products and services.
What will happen if you when you integrate PPC
into your affiliate program?
PPC usually have
ready-to-use affiliate tools that can be easily integrated into your website.
The most common tools are search boxes, banners, text links and some 404-error
pages. Most search engines utilize custom solutions and can provide you with a
white-label affiliate program. This enables you, using only a few lines of
code, to integrate remotely-hosted co-branded search engine into your website.
The key benefits? Not only more money
generated but also some extra money on the side. Plus a lifetime commissions
once you have referred some webmaster friends to the engine.
Think about it. Where can you get all these
benefits while already generating some income for your site? Knowing some of
the more useful tools you can use for your affiliate program is not a waste of
time. They are rather a means of earning within an earning.
Best know more
about how you can use PPC search engines into your affiliate program than miss
out on a great opportunity to earn more profits.
Using Product Recommendations To Increase Your
Bottom Line
In affiliate
marketing, there are many ways in which you can increase your earnings and
maintain the account that you have worked so hard for already. Most of the
techniques and tactics can be learned easily. No need to go anywhere and any
further. They are available online, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
One
of the more important ways of increasing affiliate marketing bottom line and
sale is through the use of product recommendations. Many marketers know that
this is one of the most effective ways in promoting a certain product.
If the customers
or visitors trust you enough, then they will definitely trust your
recommendations. Be very careful in using this approach, though. If you start
promoting everything by recommendation, your credibility will actually wear
thin. This is seen especially when recommendations are seemingly exaggerated
and without much merit.
Do not be afraid
to mention things that you do not like about a given product or service. Rather
than lose any points for you, this will make your recommendation more realistic
and will tend to increase your credibility.
Furthermore,
if your visitors are really interested in what you are offering, they will be
more than delighted to learn what is good about the product, what is not so
good, and how the product will benefit them.
When you are
recommending a certain product, there are some things to remember on how to
make it work effectively and for your advantage. Sound like the true and
leading expert in your field.
Remember this
simple equation: Price resistance diminishes in direct proportion to trust. If
your visitors feel and believe that you are an expert in your niche, they are
more inclined to making that purchase. On the other hand, if you are not
exuding any confidence and self-assurance in endorsing your products, they will
probably feel that same way and will go in search of another product or service
which is more believable.
How do you establish
this aura of expertise? By offering unique and new solutions they would not get
anywhere else. Show proof that what you are
promoting works
as promised. Display prominent testimonials and endorsements from respected and
known personalities, in related fields of course.
Avoid hype at all
costs. It is better to sound low key and confident, than to scream and seek
attention. Besides, you would not want to sound unprofessional and have that
thinking stick to your potential customers and clients, now would you? Best to
appear cool and self-assured at the same time.
And
remember; prospects are not stupid. They are actually turning to experts and
may already know the things that you know. If you back up your claims with hard
facts and data, they would gladly put down hundreds, or even thousands worth of
money to your promotions. But if you don’t, they are smart enough to try and
look at your competitors and what they are offering.
While
recommending a product, it is also important that you give out promotional
freebies. People are already familiar with the concept of offering freebies to
promoting your won products. But very few people do this to promote affiliate
products. Try to offer freebies that can promote or even have some information
about your products or services.
Before
you add recommendations to you product, it is given that you should try and
test the product and support. Do not run the risk of promoting junk products
and services. Just think how long it took you to build credibility and trust
among your visitors. All that will take to destroy it is one big mistake on
your part.
If
possible, have recommendations of products that you have 100% confidence in.
Test the product support before you begin to ensure that the people you are
referring it to would not be left high and dry when a problem suddenly arouse.
Have a look at
your affiliate market and look at the strategies you are using. You may not be
focusing on the recommendations that your products need to have. You plan of
action is sometimes not the only thing that is making your program works.
Try product
recommendation and be among those few who have proven its worth.
Using Camtasia to Increase Your Affiliate Checks
Since
there are already lots of people getting into affiliate marketing, it is no
wonder that the competition is getting stiff. The challenge is to try and outdo
other affiliates and think of ways to be able to attain this.
There
are also many tips and techniques being taught to these affiliate in order to
best plan their strategy for their program to work effectively so that more
earnings will be achieved.
What better way
to wow your prospects and customers than to record and publish top notch, full
motion and streaming screen-captured videos. Nothing like feeling your hard
work getting paid by having your customers jumping up excitedly in great
anticipation to buy your product right there and then.
This is Camtasia in action. It is a proven
fact; giving your customers something they can actually see can explode your
online sales instantly.
You do not need
to have trainings and education to be able to know how this system can work for
your affiliate program. Anyone can create stunning videos, from multimedia
tutorials and step-by-step presentations available online. The process is like
having your customers seated next to you and looking at your desktop, as you
show them the things they need to see and hear. All this done step by step.
For those who does not know it yet, how does
Camtasia works?
1.
It can record
your desktop activity in a single click. No need to have to save and
compile all your files because it is recorded right there and then.
2.
Can easily
convert your videos into web pages. Once converted you can have your customers
visiting that certain page. Videos are easier to understand and take in unlike
reading texts which oftentimes is a trying thing to do.
3.
Upload your pages. Publish them
through blogs, RSS feed and podcasts. You may want your Camtasis videos to get
around and reach out to other people that may be potential customers in the
future. Nothing like being visible in many sites and pages to advertise
yourself and get your message through.
There are other
things you can do with your affiliate program using Camtasia. You can…
Create
stunning multimedia presentations that are proven to increase sales because all
the senses are engaged. This also has the tendency to reduce skepticism among
hard-to-please customers.
Reduce refunds
and other customer issues by demonstrating visually how to use your product and
how to do it properly. Complaints will also be minimized because all the facts
and the presentation are there for the customers to just see and hear about.
Promote affiliate
products and services using visual presentations. This is an effective way of
redirecting your viewers straight to your affiliate website after they are
finished with the video. Make the most of the presentation by putting your site
location in the end and make them go there directly if they want more
information.
Multiple your
online auction bids exponentially when you give your readers a feel of what you
have to offer. Based from reports, auctions that includes pictures increases
bidding percentage by 400%. Imagine how much higher it will be if it were
videos.
Publish
valuable infoproducts that you can sell for a much higher price. It will be all
worth the price because of the full colored graphics menu and templates that
you will be using.
Minimize
miscommunication with your customers. Instantly showing them what you want they
wanted in the first place is making them understand clearly the essence of your
affiliate program. The good thing about multimedia is, nothing much can go
wrong. It is there already.
These are just
some of the things you can do with Camtasia that can be very helpful in your
chosen affiliate program.
Note that the
main purpose of using Camtasia is to boost the income that is generated from
your affiliate program. Although it can be used for entertainment and enjoyment
purposes, which is not really a valid reason why you choose to get all through
that trouble.
Try to focus on
the goal that you have set upon yourself to and achieve that with the use of
the things that may be quite a lot of help in increasing your earnings.
Top 3 Ways To Boost Your Affiliate Commissions
Overnight
The ideal world
of affiliate marketing does not require having your won website, dealing with
customers, refunds, product development and maintenance. This is one of the
easiest ways of launching into an online business and earning more profits.
Assuming you are
already into an affiliate program, what would be the next thing you would want
to do? Double, or even triple, your commissions, right? How do you do that?
Here are some
powerful tips on how to boost your affiliate program commissions overnight.
1. Know the best program and products to promote.
Obviously, you
would want to promote a program that will enable you to achieve the greatest
profits in the shortest possible time.
There are several
factors to consider in selecting such a program. Choose the ones that have a
generous commission structure. Have products that fit in with your target
audience. And that has a solid track record of paying their affiliate easily
and on time. If you cannot seem to increase your investments, dump that program
and keep looking for better ones.
There are
thousands of affiliate programs online which gives you the reason to be picky.
You may want to select the best to avoid losing your advertising dollars.
Write free
reports or short E-Books to distribute from your site. There is a great
possibility that you are competing with other affiliates that are promoting the
same program. If you start writing short report related to the product you are
promoting, you will be able to distinguish yourself from the other affiliates.
In the reports,
provide some valuable information for free. If possible, add some
recommendations about the products. With E-Books, you get credibility.
Customers will see that in you and they will be enticed to try out what you are
offering.
2. Collect and save the email addresses of those
who download your free E-Books.
It is a known
fact that people do not make a purchase on the first solicitation. You may want
to send out your message more than six times to make a sale.
This is the
simple reason why you should collect the contact information of those who
downloaded your reports and E-Books. You can make follow-ups on these contacts
to remind them to make a purchase from you.
Get the contact
information of a prospect before sending them to the vendor’s website. Keep in
mind that you are providing free advertisement for the product owners. You get
paid only when you make a sale. If you send prospects directly to the vendors,
chances are they would be lost to you forever.
But when you get
their names, you can always send other marketing messages to them to be able to
earn an ongoing commission instead of a one-time sale only.
Publish an online
newsletter or E-zine. It is always best to recommend a product to someone you
know than to sell to a stranger. This is the purpose behind publishing your own
newsletter. This also allows you to develop a relationship based on trust with
your subscribers.
This strategy is
a delicate balance between providing useful information with a sales pitch. If
you continue to write informative editorials you will be able to build a sense
of reciprocity in your readers that may lead them to support you by buying your
products.
3. Ask for higher than normal commission from merchants.
If you are
already successful with a particular promotion, you should try and approach the
merchant and negotiate a percentage commission for your sales.
If the merchant
is smart, he or she will likely grant your request rather than lose a valuable
asset in you. Keep in mind that you are a zero-risk investment to your
merchant; so do not be shy about requesting for addition in your commissions.
Just try to be reasonable about it.
Write strong pay
Per Click ads. PPC search engine is the most effective means of advertising
online. As an affiliate, you can make a small income just by managing PPC
campaigns such as Google AdWords and Overture. Then you
should try and
monitor them to see which ads are more effective and which ones to dispose of.
Try out these
strategies and see the difference it can make to your commission checks in the
shortest of time.
How To Avoid The 3 Most Common Affiliate
Mistakes
As the handbook
draws to a near end and closing publication, here are some hazard signs and
dangerous waters you shouldn’t be treading on in the affiliate marketing scene!
So listen up…
Affiliate
marketing is one of the most effective and powerful ways of earning some money
online. This program gives everybody a chance to make a profit through the
Internet. Since these affiliate marketing programs are easy to join, implement
and pays a commission on a regular basis, more an more people are now willing
in this business.
However, like all
businesses, there are lots of pitfalls in the affiliate marketing business.
Committing some of the most common mistakes will cost the marketers a large
portion taken from the profit they are making everyday. That is why it is
better to avoid them than be regretful in the end.
Mistake number 1: Choosing the wrong affiliate.
Many people want
to earn from affiliate marketing as fast as possible. In their rush to be part
of one, they tend to choose a bandwagon product. This is the kind of products
that the program thinks is “hot”. They choose the product that is in demand
without actually considering if the product appeals to them. This is not a very
wise move obviously.
Instead of
jumping on the bandwagon, try top choose a product in which you are truly
interested in. For any endeavor to succeed, you should take some time to plan
and figure out your actions.
Pick
a product that appeals to you. Then do some research about that product to see
if they are in demand. Promoting a product you are more passionate about is
easier than promoting one for the sake of the earnings only.
Mistake number 2: Joining too many affiliate programs.
Since affiliate
programs are very easy to join, you might be tempted to join multiples of
affiliate programs to try and maximize the earnings you will be getting.
Besides you may think that there is nothing wrong and nothing to lose by being
part of many affiliate programs.
True, that is a
great way to have multiple sources of income. However, joining multiple
programs and attempting to promote them all at the same time will prevent you
from concentrating on each one of them.
The result? The
maximum potential of your affiliate program is not realized and the income
generated will not exactly be as huge as you were thinking initially it would.
The best way to get excellent result is by joining just one program that pays a
40% commission at least. Then give it your best effort by promoting your
products enthusiastically. As soon as you see that it is already making a
reasonable profit, then maybe you can now join another affiliate program.
The technique is
to do it slowly but surely. There is really no need to rush into things,
especially with affiliate marketing. With the way things are going, the future
is looking real bright and it seems affiliate marketing will be staying for a
long time too.
Mistake number 3: Not buying the product or using the service.
As an affiliate,
you main purpose is to effectively and convincingly promote a product or
service and to find customers. For you to achieve this purpose, you must be
able to relay to the customers that certain product and service. It is
therefore difficult for you to do this when you yourself have not tried these things
out. Thus, you will fail to promote and recommend them convincingly. You will
also fail to create a desire in your customers to avail any of what you are
offering.
Try
the product or service personally first before you sign up as an affiliate to
see if it is really delivering what it promises. If you have done so, then you
are one of the credible and living testaments aware of its advantages and
disadvantages.
Your customers
will then feel the sincerity and truthfulness in you and this will trigger them
to try them out for themselves.
Many affiliate
marketers make these mistakes and are paying dearly for their actions. To not
fall into the same situation they have been in, try to do everything to avoid
making the same mistakes.
Time is the key. Take the time
to analyze your marketing strategy and check if you are in the right track. If
done properly, you will be able to maximize your affiliate marketing program
and earn higher profits.