Came across this little forgotten report/article of mine when I was going through my openoffice.org documents and thought I might as well share it...wasn't going to doing anything else , as it has never..until now...seen the light of day. Anyway hope someone finds an iota of value in it, and I hope some people can add to it. It focuses on earning as an affiliate when you're just starting out, and I think is a good overview. -- In this quick report I want to give you an overview of one of the most powerful & worthwhile strategies, so that you can build up an insanely profitable affiliate business. In essence, this report is a way of making sense of the information overload, and showing you exactly how everything falls into place, so that you get the bigger picture of what to dedicate your time to (your most valuable resource). The technical stuff can be learnt, but having a proper plan and knowing how to grow your business in the quickest time possible is essential otherwise your progress will be very slow or indeed static. Anyway, I'm not one for fluff, so let's get our teeth into it right now! This is what all the good affiliates are doing...and this is the first phase anyone seriously about making it online as an affiliate should take. Anyone looking for those mythical magic bullets should leave now... The Start-Up Affiliate Strategy (a) Identify A Hungry Niche (any market that is desperate to pay for a solution) (b) Create A Multi Paged Website To Cater For Them (c) Offer On It Something Of Insane Value For Free (in exchange for name and email) (d) Obtain Or Drive Crazy Amounts Of RELEVANT Traffic To Your Website (e) Build Up A Relationship/Trust With Your Subscribers So They See You As A Friend And An Authority (f) Monetize Them (be it with your own products and services or affiliated ones) Rinse and repeat in multiple niches. That's it in a nutshell...but can you see why this works? You're being relevant, building trust, providing value, recommending solutions and reaping the subsequent rewards. Quick Analysis Of Each Step (a) Many people say go into a niche where you have an interest in, but I disagree. Go into a niche where money is being spent. Off the top of my head, weight loss, home business, relationships, pets, jewelry and all their related subniches are all GREAT markets to target, as the customer base is large and varied. For instance in the weight loss market you can identify numerous niches like * lose tummy fat * get rid of man boobs * remove menopausal fat * reduce size of bum * slim down for summer * lose weight for wedding (or indeed any other occasion) In short, there are thousands of profitable niches out there...so don't agonize over your market selection. Generally anyone will do, and the more specific you are...the better, as you'll have a more concrete idea of your customers exact wants and needs!! (b) Creating a website may seem daunting, but nowadays you can outsource it for pittance or indeed just create it yourself. You don't have to be the Michelangelo of web-design, just ensure you get your message across to your visitors as clearly as possible, offer good content, mention the benefits of your free offer, and have your opt-in form (that thing which collects names and email address) in a visible place. You can have your opt-in form on full blooded websites and blogs also (which are essential if you use Google Adwords). Remember you'll need to create the code for your opt-in form using Aweber or another reputable email marketing management company Furthermore, a quick search on Google will yield thousands of free squeeze page templates for you to download, edit and upload at your leisure to your site. Alternatively if you like you can download normal website templates at www.oswd.org. But these will have to edited first with a website editor like www.Nvu.com (free) before being uploaded to your site via Core FTP Lite which you can download at www.coreftp.com There are is also Wordpress, which is a blog based platform that you can use for website generation. You know, there are many resources and tutorial websites available for you to learn almost any programming language. Instead of rehashing the same information,I have made a list of my recommendations on places to learn HTML. They are listed below: W3Schools.com HTML Code Tutorial I will stress though, don't obsess about making your webpage perfect, just make sure the actual content and free offer is relevant and desirable to your visitors and you will be ready to go. That cool? No one will give a damn what your site looks like if you give them what they want!! As regards your website, a few investments will have to be made, namely a domain name (quite obvious) and web hosting (which enables your website to come “alive†as it were on the internet). (c) For the free report (it can also be a video, but written reports are easier) that pertains to your market, you can again either outsource it, get a free plr report, or write it yourself (by doing research on forums, reading and re-writing various articles so that you become an ''expert'' etc). Please note this has to be of insane value...you can't give your subscribers junk doncha know! Usually it could address a problem or questions which your chosen niche is having and presenting them with a helpful tip or two to combat it. (d) But how do we get these subscribers? Many folks focus on getting just mass traffic, but believe me if it ain't TARGETED then you are wasting your time. So for me...here are some of the best ways to get targeted traffic to your webpage where you can offer a relevant free report to them. Again this an overview, but if you take the time to research these avenues you will have server crashing traffic...and that's by implementing just a few!! Targeted Traffic Sources Google Adwords Yahoo and Bing PPC Platform Google Display Network (Text Ads + Image Ads...the 1 cent a click secret) Banner Advertising On Relevant Sites Article Marketing Craigslist Video Marketing (Youtube, Yahoo Video, Daily Motion etc) Blog/Article Commenting Facebook (Create A Specific Facebook Group or use their PPC Platform) 7 Search (ppc platform) Miva (ppc platform) Search Engine Optimisation (getting listed organically in the search results) Mobile Marketing Advertising Forum Marketing Adswaps Offering A Skill Or Service In Return For Traffic From A List Owner (eg. article writing/web design/link building) Solo Ads in ezine newsletters (a great way to build a list...see DirectoryofEzines.com) Yahoo Answers Stumble Upon Digg.com Offline Advertising (flyers, radio, newspapers) Other Social Media Platforms Joint Ventures PPV advertising (pop up ads) Online Radio Shows (www.blogtalkradio.com) Edit : Viral Marketing is also another good option...as it can certainly create a ''buzz'' for your site. “Tell a Friend Scripts†are also great for viral distribution, and for increasing your traffic levels significantly. For more on Viral Marketing I wholeheartedly recommend Seth Godin's free ebook: IdeaVirus (e) Once you've subscribers (I use Aweber to collect them, as they have a $1 trial), then you've got to develop the relationship you have with them via email...offer them great advice (show them you're the expert!), give them a shoulder to lean on, make yourself available for questions, do webinars, give them more gifts etc. This will strengthen the relationship you have with them, and they will take any product reocmmendations really seriously as a result So in a nutshell, don't think about making money...think about truly helping your subscribers...coz then the magic will happen!! The monetization on the back end. (f) The best way to monetize your subscribers is through * recommending/reviewing relevant products from www.clickbank.com or www.cj.com and/or * relevant cpa offers (where they don't actually buy stuff..just take free trials or submit their zip codes instead)...I recommend www.Neverblue.com NOTE: When sending promotional emails you have to able to do it in a manner that actually creates desire and lust...an irrestible offer so to speak, otherwise your message will fall on deaf ears...even if you have the trust of your subscribers. Then as long as you keep the quality constant in your promotional and helpful emails...you can keep this process going on indefinitely...where every few weeks you send out promotional content to your list in a friendly (non hype-like) manner. Just be cool about it Anywayz this is a technique that works full stop, and if you implement it, refine it and scale it, then success will come in tsunami like fashion... Extra Tips + Variations For This Strategy (1) On the ''Thank You'' Page after your subscribers enter their details, re-direct them after a few seconds to a one time affiliate or cpa offer [Instant Monetization Tactic] (2) For best conversions...focus on a product rather than a market, as the visitors you'll get from the traffic sources will be late in the consumer cycle, which means they are very close to making a decision. Therefore in this case, make sure the free report relates to the product, and have all follow up emails related to the product. HIGHLY ADVISED Take Action This is a proven plan but it is up to you to execute it accordingly. Therefore I sincerely hope you start applying it...and as you gain subscribers and put them through your sales funnel, then the income will start pouring in in earnest. Internet marketing is all about obtaining relevant traffic and monetizing that traffic through the offering of targeted goods/offers and services (which can be own or someone elses). That is the only secret to success online, and with the sales funnel strategy above you have laid out for you one of the best converting systems out there (much better than direct linking or plain review sites) and furthermore it also allows to target repeat buyers. If you need some extra motivation to go along this strategy, then you can't go far wrong with Think & Grow Rich Hope this helped out a few people, any questions feel free to drop me an email, as I'm looking to invest in some motivated folks
Welcome to DP and thanks for sharing it here with all of us. I've only read up to point one. I do agree with you. I believe a good niche is where there are people hungry to buy a product from you. However, whenever a newbie asks me where to start, I do recommend that they start off on something that they are passionate about... once they become familiar with how everything works around here, they can then go ahead and pick a niche that is profitable.
Thanks for such a vital information. It is easy to understand but difficult to put in practice for newbie. Will you please help me by guiding as to how a newcomer like me can create a website, where i can add multiple pages,without knowledge of uploading pages, http, php etc. I would be grateful to any such advice.
Thank you so much for sharing such a nice article. It is really helpful to many like me who are beginners and still learning concept of Affiliates Strategy and Affiliate Marketing. Worth reading..
Point taken, but I think it's best straight away to go for a profitable niche as this is business after all
Not bad. I wrote an article on "Ways to Make Money From Your Blog" on my blog. Check out if it helps anybody. Thanks.