I plan on starting an affiliate program soon and have absolutely no idea how to promote it. Are there websites that people can use to advertise their affiliate program? Please keep in mind that I will be hosting my own affiliate program and won't be using a network like Clickbank.
I created several Blogs. squarespace.com is one for example that gives you a 30 day trial, because they will increase your ranking more than others and they have with mine, but most are free as you know. It Walks you through everything step by step for set up and even suggested keywords and shows how those keywords are working. I am not affilaited it with them in any way, just was a tip from someone else but it has increased my traffic in a big way. I believe in SEO fine tunning as well. I am not a big fan of PPC. I am 2 weeks into my free trial and since my traffic stats are so good with them , I will for sure continue with them. Feel free to check it out. and Best of Luck! Here is what I did with them. http://medsrxshop.squarespace.com/welcome/
Sorry one more thing, Also notice how I put my key words on the blog page itself. They suggested that for increased SEO.
You promote it like any other product or service, you can use adwords, forums, you can do jv deals with optin list owners, pay people for ad space on their website or newsletter, buy signature links, blog posts, submit to affiliate directories, submit affiliate articles etc
BTW RxSiteOwner, isn't that considered "keyword spamming" when you add a bunch of keywords at the bottom of your page? I'm not expert at SEO but that's what I heard.
There are many affiliate directories you can list your program on. Forums are also a great way to meet and recruit new affiliates. You have to really be proactive with your affiliate recruiting and meeting people.
create a good sales page first (with own domain, SEO-optimized) it has to be really good before you release it and point PPC traffic to it, put all your effor into it (discuss it on DP or with fellow marketers) and then pull the trigger: Write some press-articles and submit them (have a look at the services threads - article submission), buy ads on other websites, advertize on adwords/yahoo/adbrite etc (beware), there are so many ways of advertizing on the internet these days (also have a look at mailing-lists, facebook ads, communities regarding your product) ..
Do you know of any email lists that deal with your niche? If so try and get mentioned in the newsletter. You can sometimes get mentioned in there list one of the following ways: 1) Give him a preview of the product/service for free if they will review it in their newsletter 2) Offer him an extra incentive (ie more money) if they promote your launch. 3) Offer to give his list members an extra bonus/discount 4) Pay for an ad
best way to go is pay for advertising in places where webmasters gather and they'll be interested in finding more about affiliate programs. Try forum advertising, adwords, compare results. You can also contact directly sites that have the traffic you need and call'em up and talk to them .. Lots of strategies out there