Affiliate Marketing: A Simple & Highly Effective Way of Earning Money From Your Computer

| by Paula Brett |

Imagine, if you will, a trendy cocktail party: the drinks are flowing, the guests are mingling and the air is filled with light chatter and friendly laughter. A young woman is shyly explaining to a young man how she would love to sell books on her website. However, this man is not just any Tom, Dick or Harry; he is Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.com . This young woman set Bezos’s brain buzzing………. why not have her link her website up to Amazon.com and receive a commission for every book she sold? It was a simple but very effective idea and not long afterwards the Amazon Associates Programme was born. Amazon associates would simply place an Amazon banner, text link or product link on their website and earn a commission each time someone clicked on the link and made a purchase.

Now I am sure there are not many of us reading this that are in the Amazon league…………….. well, not quite yet…………… but there is no reason why we cannot put these principals to work ourselves. Nearly everyone who is anyone runs one type of affiliate programme or another nowadays and with all the money flying backwards and forwards across the ether I want to help you get a piece of the action!

If you are:

A Website owner (webmaster, publisher)

i) Ensure that your ads are relevant or in some way related to the content of your website or webpage to attract more clicks e.g. there is not much point in having a link/banner for dog food on a baby website

ii) Try to make your ads fit seamlessly into your webpages as if they are part of the general content. It’s also a nice idea to try to integrate them with the colour scheme and general design of your site.

iii) It is generally thought that text links to products have a much higher click-through rate (i.e. attraction to visitors) than banners. Try to write a short summary of a product (or borrow from the actual sales page of the product) with perhaps a relevant picture and then add something like read more>> for your visitor to click on for more information. The read more>> link will obviously be your affiliate link to the product.

iv) Try to make sure the ads are updated fairly regularly so that repeat visitors have new products to look at and something to look forward to each time they visit. You will soon get a feel for what sort of products attract your visitors and what they like buying.

v) It is not essential but I would personally recommend that you try to promote and associate yourself with good quality products and/or products that you have tried yourself. If you recommend rubbish your visitors will not be happy and will not return to your site. You will also feel this in your `pocket’ when your buyers start asking for refunds and your affiliate earnings diminish. If your visitors feel that your recommendations and opinions of a product are trustworthy then they will return again and again because they trust you. It is very tempting to pick a product to promote that pays a lot in affiliate earnings but remember that these are not necessarily always the best products to promote for your website.

An eBay Trader and/or you do not have a website

i) If you are a reseller of other peoples’ products on eBay i.e. eBooks or software, you can still add your own affiliate products to these items. Why not add an extra file to the zip file that you send your customers containing a) a page showing a link to your website and b) a page with, say a small paragraph each for, say, two relevant or similar products to the item your buyer has just purchased with links for your customers to `click here to read more”. If your buyer has just purchased an eBook on astrology from you then they may well be interested in other similar items about astrology that you are affiliated with.

ii) If you do not sell digital items on eBay but sell, say, curtains or drapes, why not look for products on home decor, home improvement, or say, how to make your own drapes, perhaps relevant books on Amazon or indeed products from one of the other major affiliate websites (see details below). When you mail your product to your buyer, send them a short email letting them know that their item has been dispatched and sign the email something like this:

Best wishes

Joe Bloggs
Your eBay user ID or eBay Shop URL
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For Beautiful Home Decor Ideas Check Out

http://www.youraffiliatelinkhere.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is known as your `sig’ or `signature’. Always add your `sig’ to every single email you send. It might not be an affiliate link that you wish to add to your sig, you might want to add your eBay store URL (make it an affiliate link, though, become an affiliate of eBay!!). There are several emails that you can send through eBay and you can edit all the standard emails in your `My eBay’.

• Send your buyer a `Winning Buyer Notification’ – add your sig

• Send your buyer an invoice – add your sig;

• Send your buyer a `your payment has been received’ email – add your sig

• Send your buyer a `your item has been dispatched’ email – add your sig

• Send your buyer a `feedback reminder’ email – add your sig

• Keep a list of different affiliate links so that you can access them quickly and easily and cut and paste them to your sig in each email you send out.

You will see, there is an opportunity to email your customer five times in the above scenario and to each of these emails you can promote a relevant item or your website URL in your sig. I have never known a buyer that has complained about these emails, on the contrary, they are usually very impressed that you are being so solicitous to their needs and are grateful to be kept well informed of the buying process.

iii) Take advantage of a seldom utilized loop-hole on eBay that allows you to promote your affiliate links on the eBay site. For more information on this plus a mass of other amazing affiliate ideas, check out Jim Cockrum’s mega-seller The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay. This was the very first eBook I bought about three or four years ago and I have to say that it is still one of the best purchases I ever made. A real eye-opener!

Affiliate Websites

Below are a few of the major affiliate websites that you really should sign up to if you are serious about making money as an affiliate – they are all free to join:-

PayDotCom – Products: Mostly digital items. Area: Worldwide. Ease of Use: 5/5
Product categories: Computing & Internet, Money & Employment, Marketing & Ads, Sports & Recreation, Business to Business, Health & Fitness, Home & Family, Fun & Entertainment, Society & Culture.

Commission Junction – Products: Mostly large multi-nationals, shops, stores, physical items. N.B. You can only join as an affiliate of eBay through this company. Area: Worldwide. Ease of Use: 2/5.
Product Categories: Accessories – Cosmetics/Fragrance, Handbags, Jewelry, Shoes. Art/Photo/Music. Automotive – Cars & Trucks Motorcycles, Parts & Accessories, Rentals, Tools and Supplies. Books/Media – Audio Books, Books, Magazines, News, Television, Videos/Movies. Business Business-to-Business, Marketing, Office, Productivity Tools, Travel. Careers – Employment, Military, Clothing/Apparel – Children’s, Malls, Men’s, Women’s. Commerce – Auction, Classifieds, E-commerce Solutions/Providers, New/Used Goods, Telephone Services, Utilities. Computer & Electronics – Computer HW, Computer Support, Computer SW, Consumer Electronics, Peripherals. Education – Children, College, Languages, Professional. Entertainment – Memorabilia. Family – Babies, Children, Entertainment, Teens, Weddings. Financial Services – Banking/Trading, Credit Cards, Credit Reporting, Investment, Loans, Real Estate Services. Food & Drinks – Gourmet, Groceries, Restaurants, Tobacco, Wine & Spirits. Games & Toys – Electronic Toys, Games, Toys. Gifts & Flowers – Care Packages, Collectibles, Flowers, Gifts, Greeting Cards. Health & Beauty – Bath & Body, Cosmetics, Health Food, Nutritional Supplements, Pharmaceuticals, Self Help, Vision Care, Wellness Bed & Bath. Construction Furniture Home & Garden – Garden, Home Appliances, Kitchen, Pets, Real Estate, Utilities. Insurance – Commercial, Personal Insurance. Legal Services Marketing – Business-to-Business, Network Marketing. Medical – Equipment. Phonecard Services – Online/Wireless. Recreation & Leisure – Astrology, Betting/Gaming, Communities, Events, Matchmaking, New Age, Outdoors, Party Goods. Shops/Malls – Virtual Malls. Sports & Fitness – Exercise & Health. Professional Sports Organizations – Sports, Water Sports. Travel – Accessories, Air, Car, Hotel, Luggage, Vacation. Web Services – Advice, Banner Ads, Domain Registrations, Email Marketing, Internet Service Providers, Intranets, Search Engine, Web Design, Web Hosting/Servers, Web Tools.

Affiliate Future – Products: Mostly physical items. Area: Mostly UK. Ease of Use: 5/5
Product categories: Arts & Crafts, Auctions, Baby Gear, Books & Catalogues, Business Services, Cameras, Careers & Jobs, Charities, Clothing & Accessories, Competitions, Freebies & Discounts, Computers, Dating, DVDs, Videos & Games, Education, Electrical Goods, Events & Tickets, Experiences, Financial & Legal, Food, Gadget, Gaming & Gambling, Gifts & Flowers, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Insurance, Internet Services, Jewellery, Legal, Loans, marketing Products & Services, Mobile Phones & Accessories, Motoring, Music, Office Equipment, Outdoor Equipment, Pets, Posters & Memorabilia, Property, Seasonal, Shopping Portals, Smoking Accessories, Sports & Fitness, Telecommunications, Toy Shops, Travel, USA Sites, Weddings & Celebrations, Wine & Drinks, Adult.

Trade Doubler – Products: Mostly physical items. Area: Mostly UK. Ease of Use: 4/5. Product categories: Art & Literature, Business & Finance, Business-to-Business, Careers, Cars & Transport, Computers & Internet, Education & Society, Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Home & Garden, Information & Services, Lifestyle & Fashion, Music, News & Media, Pool Programmes, Restaurants, Shopping, Sports, Telecom & Technology, Travel & Holidays.

Clickbank – Products: Mostly digital items. Area: Worldwide. Ease of Use: 4/5
Product categories: Business to Business, Computing& Internet, Fun & Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Money & Employment, Sports & Recreation, Home & Family, Marketing & Ads, Society & Culture.

Of course, your own website and eBay are only two of the ways to promote affiliate products. Other ideas include:

• Create your own eBook, include your affiliate links to quality products associated with the subject of your eBook and sell it on your website or eBay.

• Join forums and chat-rooms related to the subject of your website or product. Many of these allow you to place the URL of your website or an affiliate link to a product in your sig at the end of each post you make. Warning: It is not a good idea to join a forum and immediately start spamming the forum with links, though. Try to integrate with the community and contribute. Let other members know that you are a helpful member with helpful recommendations and they will naturally check out your sig.

• Create you own forum, chat-room or newsletter around your subject and affiliate products.

• Choose a subject that you are interested in and create your own blog with reviews on your affiliate products based on your subject.

Special Offer:

You may remember the new software launch that I mentioned in last month’s newsletter – well it is just been launched as we speak, today, 1st August, 16.00 GMT. And the great news is, I managed to secure a great discount especially and exclusively for eXpo Members. I am really excited about this new programme and, of course, have got to know it inside out during it’s development. Some of you may have already seen a sneak preview demo including my debut as a `voice-over’ artist

i) You can now check out the full-blown product in all its glory by clicking here. As mentioned above, I managed to secure a Special Discount for eXpo Members ONLY (and this offer is not available if you buy it anywhere else). To claim your discount, all you need to do is forward your PayPal payment confirmation invoice to me at contact@ebooksexpo.com and upon verification I will refund $7.00 direct to your PayPal account. Simple as that!

THIS SPECIAL OFFER IS ONLY OPEN FOR THE FIRST 48-HOURS

Yes, you read that correctly. To claim your discount you need to make your purchase within the first 48-hours. That means that at 16.00 GMT on Thursday, 3rd August this offer will be gone forever and you will have to pay the full price! So click here and hurry along to see what the buzz is about

ii) This exciting new software programme has a great 2-tier affiliate programme for you to get in on. It’s also an excellent one to start with if you want to dip your toe in the waters of affiliate marketing. It offers you a whopping 50% commission on every sale and pays you $2 every time one of your sub-affiliates makes a sale! Oh, and for the month of August, there is also an iPod Video up for grabs. All you need to do is generate one sale and you will be entered into the free prize draw. Click here to join the Affiliate Programme for free and get promoting!

That’s all for now……

Paula

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