How to start out with affiliate marketing

Discussion in 'General Marketing' started by discoverwebworks, Sep 2, 2009.

  1. #1
    Ok, I feel like affiliate marketing can be a very profitable area. I'm trying to get some questions answered to I can successfully launch my affiliate campaigns. Here's what I think I should be doing but want to clarify with the experts.

    1. Opened a click bank account and searched for an affiliate that I thought would have a nice return. I only researched one keyword but found it was searched 16,000 times a month according to Google's keyword tool. After searching this specific keyword in the Google search box it returned about 65 million results. What's a good number to target? Is 65 million too much competition?

    2. I assume I'll be needing to buy a domain name for this. Should I buy a domain name or use free blog services to promote the product? What has worked for you? If I do end up purchasing a domain name should I get a .info or a .com? I mean, a .info is like 80 cents on Godaddy, so it's pretty cheap.

    3. When I'm ready to start promoting, should I redirect my domain to the affiliate pitch page or make my own landing page?

    4. What is a good gravity range? The one I may be going with had 300 gravity. I don't want too much competition and when I searched for the search term I selected I didn't see any results that pertained to this specific affiliate.

    5. How many keywords should I target for each affiliate? Should I do PPC? Or should I just stick with organic searching?

    I really would appreciate the help on this. Even if there's a post I couldn't find or some sort of tutorial that addresses my questions that would be great info. Thanks all.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2009
    discoverwebworks, Sep 2, 2009 IP
  2. jaiganesh156

    jaiganesh156 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    254
    Likes Received:
    1
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    113
    #2
    First grow a list by giving away a product thats good in quality free. keep your list members updated on your niche and provide freebies.
    Slowly start promoting your products or join CB.
    You could get help from other marketers once you grow your list

    Thanks
     
    jaiganesh156, Sep 2, 2009 IP
  3. afmark

    afmark Peon

    Messages:
    209
    Likes Received:
    0
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #3
    Hi,
    It is better to use a top-level domain rather than a subdomain provided by free blog provider such as blogspot/ wordpress.com.
    If you find it difficult to get traffic/ sales through organic search, you should try out PPC marketing. Google is offering $100 Google adwords voucher to user of Google Webmaster.
     
    afmark, Sep 2, 2009 IP
  4. JeffCliff

    JeffCliff Guest

    Messages:
    177
    Likes Received:
    2
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #4
    Google is probably offering that because people are fed up with them! They have been freezing and banning accounts for no apparent reason and treating affiliates like their bottom feeders. My advice, just do not put all your eggs in one basket!
     
    JeffCliff, Sep 2, 2009 IP
  5. 5starAffiliates

    5starAffiliates Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,766
    Likes Received:
    115
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    155
    #5
    65 million is way too much competition for a newbie. But try checking what the real competition is by searching allintitle: "key phrase is quotes" to see how many people actually have that phrase in the title.

    1) in addition to CB try to see if there are real physical products that match your niche. Find them on CJ or Google Affiliate Network.

    2) Get a .com and launch a Wordpress blog is one popular way to do ti.
     
    5starAffiliates, Sep 3, 2009 IP
  6. discoverwebworks

    discoverwebworks Peon

    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #6
    Wow. I just put my keyword in quotes and it came back with 241,000 results. I have been going about this all wrong. So for a beginner, what would be a good range to start out with? Nothing over a million results per keyword? Thanks!
     
    discoverwebworks, Sep 3, 2009 IP
  7. Candise

    Candise Peon

    Messages:
    479
    Likes Received:
    9
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #7
    There are tons of companies and webmasters using affiliate programs to boost their online sales and most of these affiliate programs are free to join. When you sign up for an affiliate program, an affiliate link with a unique affiliate ID will be assigned to you.
     
    Candise, Sep 3, 2009 IP
  8. dukeofism

    dukeofism Peon

    Messages:
    739
    Likes Received:
    1
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #8
    It is definitely worthwhile to invest in getting a top level domain. Many affiliates require you to have ownership of your own top level domain (not a freebie sub-domain) inorder to publish their content. Purchasing a domain is a cheap (<$10) investment that will give you good returns if you have a domain like www.goodkeyword.com <----not meant to be a real link
     
    dukeofism, Sep 3, 2009 IP
  9. SunstarShop

    SunstarShop Peon

    Messages:
    582
    Likes Received:
    3
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #9
    There are so many Affliate programs, the key is which one you select and which keyword you target!
     
    SunstarShop, Sep 4, 2009 IP
  10. tuksdrr

    tuksdrr Active Member

    Messages:
    361
    Likes Received:
    14
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    58
    #10
    As an affiliate (or any internet business owner), you will make your money on the strength of the niche you pick. There's a huge difference in financial muscle between different niches - that's why niches like debt help can offer their affiliates (last time I checked) PPLs of $50+ per lead. While other niches like (for example) dog grooming do not.

    So...pick a high paying niche before you invest your time and money in becoming an affiliate. As to your other Qs:


    1. Opened a click bank account and searched for an affiliate that I thought would have a nice return. I only researched one keyword but found it was searched 16,000 times a month according to Google's keyword tool. After searching this specific keyword in the Google search box it returned about 65 million results. What's a good number to target? Is 65 million too much competition?

    It may seem a strange thing to say, but try not to focus on competition too much. Focus on making your own site brilliant and driving traffic to it. If you do these two things, you'll make money.

    2. I assume I'll be needing to buy a domain name for this. Should I buy a domain name or use free blog services to promote the product? What has worked for you? If I do end up purchasing a domain name should I get a .info or a .com? I mean, a .info is like 80 cents on Godaddy, so it's pretty cheap.

    Don't use free blog services - most people will not take you seriously if they know you cant even be bothered to setup your own site with your own domain name.

    3. When I'm ready to start promoting, should I redirect my domain to the affiliate pitch page or make my own landing page?

    I would suggest sending your traffic to a generic home page that is content rich but that also has an opt in form so they can choose to join your newsletter.

    4. What is a good gravity range? The one I may be going with had 300 gravity. I don't want too much competition and when I searched for the search term I selected I didn't see any results that pertained to this specific affiliate.

    Again, I'd say don't get too sucked in by generic stats.

    5. How many keywords should I target for each affiliate? Should I do PPC? Or should I just stick with organic searching?

    PPC is good if you have the budget for it - but, make sure you have a good lead capture system if you're using this method. Offering a free targeted report for example.

    I really would appreciate the help on this. Even if there's a post I couldn't find or some sort of tutorial that addresses my questions that would be great info. Thanks all.

    If you would like some more advice, just PM me - best of luck!
     
    tuksdrr, Sep 8, 2009 IP