Monday, May 30, 2011

The Wonderful World of Internet Marketing

By A. David Beaman
I love Internet Marketing!  As a former offline business owner who got into Internet Marketing full-time when I retired from my offline career, I think Internet Marketing is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  OK, OK.  I know that’s an old cliché and sound over-enthusiastic about this, but it’s true.
Look, I once started a home maintenance business and the tools alone cost me $20,000.  I also owned a shoe store, which I purchased from the former owner.  That cost almost $200,000 with a monthly mall rental of several thousand.
If you start as an affiliate marketer, and advertise through articles posted to highly rated article directories, all you need is a computer to start making money.  Agreed, that perhaps is a bit oversimplified, but not in the start-up cost.  Yes, you need to do some research online into key words and find the article directories with which to have the most success, but that’s about it.
Now, I know some of you will say, but I can’t write well enough.  Well – surprise, surprise – you don’t have to be able to write well.  There is plenty of Private Label Rights (PLR) materials out there that is of reasonably good quality that you can obtain free.  And if you want higher quality stuff, you can purchase it for as low as $5.  Just go to any popular search engine and type in “free plr,” or “free to join plr membership sites,” or any similar search terms and see what comes up.
However, before you join any site do your due diligence.  There are a lot of unscrupulous marketers online, but there are also some really good, honest, ethical ones such as Nicole Dean, Tiffany Dow, Alice Seba & Mila Sidman, and Mark Austin to name but a few.  Read their blogs and other blogs related to what interests you.  Join forums and ask questions.  All of this can be done with an investment of time, but it doesn’t cost any money.
Give it a try!  As another cliché goes, “You’ve got nothing to lose.”
— Note to Publisher —
This article is free for reprint. Please do not change the article in any way, other than to replace the link for The Information Seller Affiliate Program below with your affiliate link.
A. David Beaman is the owner of The Information Seller, where you’ll find a high quality, PLR Membership.  (You can sign up for The Information Seller Affiliate Program here: http://theinformationseller.com/index.php?page=affiliates )
Here’s a question that I get asked regularly by frustrated infoproduct sellers.
“Why aren’t my affiliates promoting my affiliate program? And, how do I get more to sign up?”
Dear Infoproduct Seller:
I can tell you in a heartbeat whether or not your affiliate program is attracting loyal, motivated affiliates. It’s easy. Just put yourself in your affiliate’s shoes. If you’re not creating loyalty in your affiliates, they’re going to look for a better program to promote, and you’ll be left in the dust.
Now that I’ve got your attention, let’s go through some key components of making your affiliate program attractive to affiliates, so they don’t start shopping around.
1. Reputations are on the Line.
Of course, number one is quality. Do you have quality products and customer service? An affiliate’s reputation is on the line every time we consider promoting a product or service. If your products are junk or you’re making our referrals upset in any way – we’ll drop you faster than something *really* hot.

2. Lay the Money on the Table.
It’s not just about the percentage commission. That won’t motivate and make loyal affiliates, but, it is a start. Are you talking 5%? Then, unless you offer millions of products at great prices and have a solid reputation, you’re not going to be getting a whole lot of affiliates.

3. Who’s getting credit?
Show your affiliates that you value them by setting long cookies and they’ll keep sending you traffic. How long are your cookies? The longer the better.

4. Pay on Time.
Affiliates will be loyal unless they are given a reason not to be. Pay on time and don’t make them jump through any hoops to get the money they earned.

5. Like Frosting on the Cake.
Assuming all things are equal, if your program is two-tier or residual, you’ll have affiliates lined up to promote you.

6. Are you even trying?
There is nothing more frustrating than joining an affiliate program that you’re really excited about, logging in and seeing … nothing but a couple of links. No content, no ebooks, no videos. Zip. This is especially disappointing if you know the author or owner is sending out a weekly newsletter. Share your articles with your affiliates, allow them to be rebranded, and I guarantee you’ll get loyalty.

7. That’s just Rude.
Almost more insulting than not providing any content is providing “leaky” articles. Yes, I have seen affiliate programs that so “generously” provide articles for their affiliates. But, the articles had plugs for their other programs in the body of the article. Several big name marketers recruit affiliates inside their rebrandable reports. Now, I’m not naming names, but I do feel that’s pretty cheap to be stealing from your own affiliates.

Those are just a few ways to tell if your affiliate program stinks.
I hope you read and reread this advice. Treat your affiliates like partners and they’ll plaster your link all over the web. You’ll have affiliates lined up to promote every new product you offer, and they’ll sing your praises every chance they get.
Are you ready to attract affiliates who are excited to promote your products? And, would you like to have an affiliate program that doesn’t stink?  Nicole Dean is on a mission to help you. Check out her program at www.IncomeCPR.com – where she’s helping Infoproduct sellers just like you to have more profits and more LIFE.
— Note to Publisher —
This is a free reprint article. You may publish it on your blog, in your ezine/newsletter, or in your infoproducts as long as it is unchanged and the author remains me, Nicole Dean.
When publishing this article online, you may replace the link to IncomeCPR with your affiliate link for that program.
You’ll find everything you need here: