This is part three of my series of 50 Legitimate Ways to Make Money on the Internet. In this article, we look at affiliate marketing. There are many people who have made a fortune online with affiliate marketing. The problem is that you will need to work hard and smart if you want to succeed.
When it comes to affiliate marketing there are only two rules. First, you have to attract traffic. You can do this by writing articles, blogging, running an Ezine or participating in forums, etc. Once you have attracted some visitors, your next job is to convert them into sales. This is where the money comes in.
So, what is the best way to do this? I would say join a popular affiliate program. A popular program means one that is servicing a large and highly targeted audience. A program that targets niche markets is much more likely to make you money. The key is finding these niches. But there are also general affiliate programs available that serve thousands of visitors.
So the question is how do you find them? The answer is to join an affiliate network. An affiliate network will act as your store and all the products that you promote will be associated with your brand. In other words, if you promote a camera from Canon you are promoting the camera brand. If you promote ClickBank products they will be associated with ClickBank. It is really that simple.
Before you join an affiliate network, you must decide what it is that you wish to promote. Once you know you will have a better idea of which niches will be profitable. You can research using Google or any other search engine for popular keywords. Then look at the sites that are ranking for those keywords. These sites can be a goldmine when it comes to affiliate marketing.
Most affiliate marketing schemes these days will offer some sort of training. Many will include step by step guides along with their system. Pay attention to what they tell you and implement it on a daily basis. Remember the one thing they want to teach you is the way to make money. They have already made the money so why make it harder than necessary.
Some of the popular affiliate marketing schemes will provide you with banners, text links, email promotions, blog posts, and video tutorials. Look for the freebies too. Free reports, email courses, and even video tutorials can give you an advantage over the competition.
Once you have learned all of this you are ready to start affiliate marketing. I would advise that you join a few affiliate networks first. Learn all you can and then move onto the big dogs. If you follow this advice you will be a success in no time. Good luck!
The number one rule in affiliate marketing is to make sure you target the right audience. There is no point in promoting dog training products to people who don’t care about dogs at all. The same goes for people who only watch sports or just love golf. It doesn’t matter what you are selling, but you have to find your target audience and market to them.
Another key point is to build a downline. You make money if you have more people buying your products. So the key is to build your network. The best way to do this is to join a high traffic forum or blog site and network with others who share your passion.
So where should you start? Once you’ve learned from other people, go ahead and get started. I recommend starting with a niche you have some knowledge about. It doesn’t have to be anything exotic like weight loss. Just choose something you are passionate about. For example, if you are a keen gardener then go and learn how to grow herbs like basil, chives, oregano, thyme, parsley, dill, etc.
This is the most important part of learning affiliate marketing. You must have a real passion for it. You can become good at it over time. But without a burning desire for it, you will end up doing what hundreds of other people have done before you and will not make any money. So get going!
