4 Common Affiliate Mistakes

Most people are drawn to affiliate marketing without knowing the entire system -- believing that it can give them great fortune overnight.  Stories about affiliates who earn huge amounts of money swim in their heads, and while these stories are true to some, there are those who believe that they are going to have the same fortune.

It is true that affiliate marketing is financially rewarding.  People who have gone through everything to be able to succeed in this business are reaping the fruits of their hard work.  Having gone through A-Z of affiliate marketing, these people are the ones who know that while such business is lucrative, there is absolutely no easy money in it.

Ignorance of this fact is one of the main reasons why there are people who fail miserably in the internet business.  They do not know that there are those who have wasted time, effort and too many resources in trying to pursue the life of ease that they believe affiliate business will give them.  And so they go into affiliate marketing armed with nothing but myths and fantastical notions of wealth floating in their heads,  never realizing that they are bound to make mistakes that would prove to be their downfall.

What may be the reason why in businesses such as affiliate marketing, many are called but few are chosen?  Perhaps the answer lies on the fact that many affiliates make mistakes caused by their ignorance of how the entire business runs.  Affiliate marketing is not as simple as an affiliate promoting a merchant's wares through his website and getting paid for it.  It is also about knowing the market and the customers at hand.

Discovering what the most common affiliate mistakes can perhaps dispel the myths surrounding affiliate marketing by correcting some wrong notions about it.  It might also be able to make those concerned understand that like any other business, there are do's and dont's involved in this one if they want to make each of their steps count. 

The first common mistake affiliates make is their lack of knowledge concerning principles involved in the business. 
This refers to the affiliate's knowledge of search engines in particular. Affiliate marketing involves advertising, and advertising through the internet could not have been better without the existence of search engines.  What every affiliate has to do is to make these search engines his best friend by studying search engine optimization closely.  This way, he is able to know what to do in connection with building a better website to ultimately use for his business.

The second is that affiliates make the mistake of stuffing their sites with banners that do not provide enough information about the product at hand. 
The best way to battle this mistake is to provide good content hand-in-hand with such banners.  It is important for customers to know and understand the features of a product, and good content will be able to help them realize this goal.

The third is that there are affiliates who make the mistake of promoting only one product.  Consequently, customers are not given enough options to choose from.  There is also the risk of generating fewer sales as compared to having more options for customers to ponder about.  It is always better to give them a few better alternatives than to give them only one.

The fourth is that there are affiliates who make the mistake of promoting too many products.  As a result, customers are confused and end up not making a choice.  It is perhaps a good idea to give them only the best choices. 

Affiliates who are doomed to fail in this business are those who do not exert enough effort to understand everything involved in the industry that they are in.  Knowing their path step-by-careful-step will prove to be beneficial to them, as there is no other way to succeed than to go through any path slowly but surely.

Affiliate Marketing Tips

Most of you love the idea of leaving your  current job and getting into your own business but the reality of making that happen is out of your reach.  The majority of people cannot get a business off the ground due to 2 main factors; the first being money and the second being risk.

Starting even a small business takes a fair amount of money. You need to buy or rent premises, purchase your stock and equipment and pay staff if you have them. You will also have other outside expenses such as advertising.

Risk is the factor that kills most businesses off. Even if you’re lucky enough to get the capital to start, nearly 90% of all small businesses fail in the first year. If yours is one of the lucky ones, you have to keep reinvesting your time and money to build up the business’ reputation. It could be anywhere from 5-7 years before any significant profit is seen. Most of you cannot wait that long which is what makes affiliate marketing such an attractive offer.

Affiliate marketing involves you, working as an affiliate for a merchant or company. You sell either goods or services and you’re paid on how much you produce. There are no costs and no risk. You put in what you choose and are rewarded accordingly.

Running an affiliate marketing business is challenging. You’ll have to work very hard to build it up. However, you’ll be rewarded for your hard work not someone else. Getting an affiliate marketing program going may seem difficult. The truth is it is down to you and how much you want to put in.

The following are some affiliate marketing tips for you who wants to get started:

1.Choose products or services you are familiar with.

There are thousands of programs for you to choose from. The product or service you chose to market  may not be the hottest thing or make you a millionaire, but you will come off more confident and sincere with something you know and believe in.

This will also help when it comes to creating your site. Something familiar will allow you to be personal and creative. Trying to create a site around something you know little about will soon become boring and tedious.

2. Watch the number of banners that you put up.

A site full of banners  may put off potential buyers. Carefully place your banners and use them to accent your site. Stuffing it full will not help.

3. Remember -- there is no perfect program.

Most affiliate programs are stuffed full of varying testimonials. Some will be great while others may not do so well. You need to decide for yourself and not be put of by a few bad experiences.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money and work for you.  Now get your website or blog ready and off you go. There are many great affiliate marketing programs out there and choosing the right one may seem like a daunting task… but don’t give up!

Recommended affiliate program:

The Attraction of a Home Based Affiliate Marketing Business

Most people dream of leaving their jobs and start their own business but are scared to do so because of the fear of leaving a secure source of income. This is especially true when you don’t have the capital to get a business up and running.

However, starting a home based affiliate marketing business is relatively easy and its attraction is due to the following factors:

1. Work from Home
One of the most desirable factors is the privilege of being able to work from your own home. Your home is your most comfortable surrounding. Everything you want and need is right there. If you have small children, a home business is even better. You can work and still be home with the children. You also don’t need to worry about commuting and work wardrobes. You can work when you want and schedule your jobs around your other commitments. Working from home does provide people with many wonderful advantages.

2. Low Risk Level
Even small businesses need a fairly large amount of capital. Most people rely on banks for the financing which puts them at further risks. But with affiliate marketing business, when you sign up as an affiliate, the risk level drops by about 90 percent -- as an affiliate, you sell goods or services on behalf of another company. You are paid according to how well you perform. You don’t have to worry about sales targets and making a certain amount every month. The company you work for worries about all of that. You concentrate on selling the goods and services that you want and increasing your earnings.

3. Less Stress due to Competition
Other types of home based business has to worry about competition. Unless you really hit upon a niche market you are likely going to have to attract customers away from already established businesses in your area. This can be difficult because customers tend to trust what they know is good. If you do manage to do it you will be creating some bad blood between you and other businesses. But with affiliate marketing programs, you’ll be selling products that have already been on the market. You can actually check the salability of these products with the company. If the products you choose are well known and trusted then you won’t have a problem attracting customers. This takes the stress off of you.

4. Easier to Manage and Promote
On average, nearly 70 percent of small businesses fail in the first year. Those that do make it still have many hurdles to get past. It usually takes 5-7 years to realize any significant profit in a sole proprietorship. During this time the business owners have to continually promote their business just to keep it afloat. A home based affiliate marketing business is much easier to manage. You will have to work hard to promote yourself but most of the start up work will be done for you. You’ll have your line of products or services,  and you’re provided means to advertise them. You’ll also have support from the company. They will be on hand to answer questions and offer advice on how to increase your sales. Remember, the better you  perform, the bigger their sales.

Affiliate Marketing Basics

Everybody wants to make some extra money.  Even a little amount that can supplement an income can be a huge help. Today it is easier than you think to get a little extra cash in your bank accounts. Most people today have a personal website. You, too can get one for  free and use them to keep others informed of what you are doing. You can even generate some extra cash from your website. By placing some ads on your site, you have the potential to earn some cash.

Here’s how it works -- when people visit your site, they see an ad that may interest them, they click on it,  and you receive what is known as a referral payment. The more clicks the better. Gradually your earnings will increase as your website gets viewed.

You’re not likely going to get rich with just your own personal website. However, it is a way to get started. You may want to create another site and you can start turning this into a money-making venture. You could sign up for an affiliate program and make money through their ads. To do this, you need to think of an appropriate affiliate program that readers of your site would appreciate. For example, if your site is about pets, you may want to look for affiliates that work with pet supplies, pet food or veterinary services. You’ll want to have affiliates that will enhance your site. Having ads for rare books or sporting goods on a pet’s website isn’t going to attract too much attention.

Once you have a site up and running, you need to get a list of affiliate companies that will give you their advertising banners. There are loads of companies on the net that will help you. You can also get performance statistics on them as well. You will be able to track how much you will earn and how you will be paid. Once you get a few banners onto your site you’ll be able to check the progress for yourself.

Two companies that are incredibly popular are commission junction and link share. They will help you find affiliates for your website. They have loads of good, accurate information available on what companies would be best and how well they perform.

Signing up for one of these affiliate programs is easy. You will be asked for personal information so don’t be put off. This is necessary because they will be paying you commission money. Once you sign up you will need to think about which programs to choose.

Commission junction has all of the information available on which companies pay which rates of commission. They also have information on how well and timely they make their payments. If a company is a shaky reputation, commission junction will know about it.

So, if you’re looking to make a little more money, then  take the first step and turn your personal website into a cash-generating site.  Get those affiliate marketing programs running  on your site and start making money.  You can always expand and create different websites. The more ads you can get the better. Affiliate marketing is a great way to help you earn money.

For more information on how you can make money online, visit this site:

Love and Time

Love and Time

by Chris Farrell

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love.

One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all the feelings constructed boats and left.

Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, "Vanity, please help me!"

"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you."

It was an elder.

So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going.

When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way.

Realizing how much was owed to this mystery elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."

Autoresponder

I have stressed the fact that making money online has to start with Building A List. Now -- in order to build a list, we need to drive traffic into our websites. Then to drive traffic into our websites, we need to offer a free gift -- a short report or an eBook about your niche.

Let me just complicate it a little by introducing to you the autoresponder.

Autoresponders are online marketer's secret weapon. The functions of the autoresponder are:

1. It allows the easy creation of an "opt in" form on your website
2. It collects email addresses of visitors to your website
3. It sends automatic messages to your prospects

A prospect is someone who has signed up to your site - those who have given you their email addresses. An autoresponder is very important therefore, because it allows you to build a relationship with the people who have signed up. Your autoresponder will enable you to send emails to your list automatically. This is the reason this type of marketing is called "email marketing." It takes on average 7 messages before a prospect makes a purchase.

The autoresponder does not write the emails for you. What it does is send out to your prospects at regular intervals the sequence of emails that you have written yourself.

This is how it works:

•  A visitor arrives at your site.
• There is an opt in form on your site.
•  In return for the visitor giving you their email address (and now becoming a member of your list) 
•  you offer a free report or something of value.
•  Once you have this prospect's email address your autoresponder will automatically begin emailing
•  your prospect the messages you have previously written. These messages will build a relationship
•  with your prospect.

Getting Started in 3 Easy Steps:

1. You will need to use a professional autoresponder service. If you want to build a list - this is a must have. Your list will be the life blood of your business - treat it well and respect it.

2. Add an Opt In form to your website.

3.  Create and send follow up emails to your list - to forge and nurture a relationship.

People will give you their permission to receive emails from you - in return you will offer something of value, such as: free report, ebook, tips, advice, problem solving articles, etc...

If you find this business as exciting as I have found it... then you need a mentor who will take you by the hand. Don't be like me who did it by "trial and error" and wasted money paying for courses that I haven't learned from. Go directly to the ONE who has been a great help in this endeavor. You will not regret it if you join Chris Farrell Membership Site. He makes learning not only easy but fun.

  

         

  

Free Short Report

A great way to drive traffic to your site is by offering a free short report -- anything between 4-7 pages. This report will deliver targeted information in an easily accessible format -- that your niche will be interested in.

The best thing you can possibly do is give somebody information they want, or answer a question they are asking. Offering a free report that answers a question that many want to know -- will certainly get you noticed.

So how do you know what people are asking?

Go to any forum in your niche -- and look at the hundreds of questions that are being posted. This is a goldmine waiting to be tapped for the savvy individual. What's to stop you  looking at the answers and using the replies and comments to create your own short report?

Suddenly you will have a hot report addressing an issue that you know many are interested in. Although this may be a new concept to you -- the results can be extremely powerful.

Many forums have hundreds of threads and comments to one topic that someone has posted. That's how much interest there is in the subject matter. All you have to do is visit a forum in your niche subject -- and look at the most popular subjects being discussed.

Now -- I am not advocating using other peoples words. Do not do that! But instead read all the replies to a popular topic -- and then re-write into your own words. You will already have a huge amount of material from the replies to use as inspiration.

A really simple way to quickly gather his information and turn it into a free short report - is to write a Top 10 report on your niche subject. Top 10, Top 11, Top 20 formulas always work well.

For example - imagine your niche is the Wedding Business. Others in the same niche could be interested in a free report entitled  "10 Glorious Honeymoon Locations." And you would simply compile this from information gathered from various posts on this subject matter.

In the childcare business - do the "Top 10 Pets for Children" short report. Let your imagination run wild with the Top 10 ideas in your niche subject.

Once you start thinking, it really is very easy to create an original short report within the hour.

However, there is a powerful method to get your short report written for you -- for free.

Working in your niche, think of a topic that would make an interesting report. If your niche is ebay - a short report about the biggest sale made using ebay would be something many would like to read. For Fishing niche - secret great fishing locations. Health niche - the Top 10 Headache Cures.

The possibilities are endless once you start flexing your creative muscles.  Then simply post a new topic on a forum explaining exactly what you are doing and wait for the replies.

Below is an actual example from Chris Farrell. He posted the following thread on 3 different forums:

"Hello everyone... I'm writing an ebook called "My Biggest Website Regret" mainly coz I've made a few and it's always helpful to learn from others.

Would anybody be prepared to share some of your mistakes from your early days in this bizz? Maybe you are still in your early days and you have made a few errors along the way that you'd be prepared to share?

I will gladly include your link in the ebook from any quote/anecdote you can provide.

Thank you all very much..."

Within 24 hours ... he had over 100 replies. All he had to do is compile the responses into a list format - write a quick beginning and end - put his website address at the bottom of every page - and he will have a great targeted information product that he can use to build his list.

He could even call it "The Top 101 Website Mistakes - and How To Avoid them."

Are you now beginning to see how easy it is to post a thread, gather the replies, and package the information into an exclusive ebook or free short report?