By Kevin Craig
One of the first ways people make money online is with affiliate marketing. It’s possible to generate a full time living with affiliate marketing but over ninety per cent of affiliates give up too soon. Following a few techniques is all you need to become a successful affiliate marketer.
Affiliate marketing is beneficial for both the product creator as well as the affiliate. Vendors get the opportunity to showcase their products through affiliate programs, to a much greater number of buyers than otherwise. Using affiliates for the promotion of products brings in a lot more money. Amazon was the first to employ the use of affiliate marketing , and today the company has the largest affiliate program. However, since they deal with physical products, profits are small and consequently commissions are quite low (maximum 15%). Clickbank has the largest affiliate network with regard to digital products, and the commissions can be as high as 70%.
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to start your online business as it requires very little cash to start. You can continue to make further investments as your business expands. The vendor handles all problems, queries and support tickets. Vendors also save you the hassle of interacting with your customers directly. They handle the refunds, and you do not even need your own product to get started. To be successful you need to be careful to avoid a few mistakes that most affiliates make, and these very mistakes are the reason they face failure.
Keep An Email List
From the very first day, you must create an email list. Starting and managing your list well is the key to making money. One of the important things that most affiliates fail to realise is that they need to think about the subscribers and formulate innovative ways of helping them instead of worrying about their own commissions all the time. Focussing on the subscribers is the only way to guarantee success in the long run. This helps to build trust and consequently, a good reputation. Your subscribers will remain on your list and continue to bring in commissions if you keep them happy.
Avoid Laziness
Laziness is a common problem with affiliates. Most of them just copy and paste emails, and content from sales pages creating copied reviews. Providing unique and valuable content will make you stand out. You must also offer bonuses for all the products that you promote, which should be unique in themselves. Working hard and creating different bonuses will work in your favour, and of course you need to make sure that they are related to the product being promoted and add to its value.
Be Careful What You Promote
Most products are not worth promoting, so you should be careful about what you choose to promote. Many a times a really hyped product fails to deliver. Also, never take the risk of promoting products that are created by people known to have a bad reputation. Once your reputation is lost, getting it back is next to impossible. One bad product could cost you everything you have built so far, as subscribers judge affiliates only according to their latest promotion.
Summary –
Keeping these few tips in mind, being a successful affiliate marketer is not all that difficult. A little dedication and commitment will work wonders for your online business.