I want to be an affiliate marketer. Typically, the first question that comes after that statement is, "How do I get started?" Everybody has a tip for you or a program they want to sell you that will make millions, but nobody ever gives you the basics. They always want to tell you how they are making money online now, but you never hear the step by step process of how they got started. What was the first thing they did? How long does it take? What comes next?
The initial choice to become involved with affiliate marketing is just the first step in what will seem like an endless journey. In no time you will be off in a maze of links and websites and before you know it you will have spent way too much time and money and have nothing to show for it. Or if you are like I was, you will have plenty to show, but no actual plan of attack. And worse than that, you will not be drowning in cash like everybody promised. So the question still remains, "Where do I start?" and "What are the first steps to making money online with affiliate marketing?" Well, I'm glad you asked. Let me give you my view on the process.
Affiliate marketing comes in all shapes and sizes. You can try to sell anything and everything by running ads on the search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo or social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Google+, which is the newest addition to the Social media sites. The ads that you will be placing on these sites are going to drive potential customers to your affiliate links in the hope that they will like what they see and take the desired action, such as buying a product or signing up for something. When they take this action you get paid. The benefit here is that the merchant, or the company you are promoting, provides the landing page, or web page, and they do the selling for you. Your job is to drive people to their site. The downside to this plan is it costs money. Wherever you are placing these ads is going to want to be paid to allow you to run the ad. You will either pay per view or per click. Occasionally, you can find a site that is similar to what you are selling and just pay them a flat fee to run your ad for a specific time frame. Whatever method you choose is going to cost you some money and it could get expensive. However, there is also potential for a quick return if you find the right product and the right media to draw customers.
I have written another article entitled "Six Secrets to Online Success." In this article I note six tips that you need to understand regarding what it will actually take to survive in the affiliate marketing business. Those tips are a strong work ethic, the willingness to learn new things, focus, a written strategy, the desire to be the best at what you do and commitment. Once you understand those concepts and agree to implement them, you will be ready to move on.
Your first step in this process is to find the products or companies that you want to promote. Again, there are several ways to do this. A large percentage of "brick and mortar" companies, such as Sears or Lowes, just to name two, offer affiliate programs. They are usually very easy to join. If you look on the bottom of their webpages you will find a link that says "affiliate program" or "become an affiliate" or something to that effect. Click that link and follow the directions. Depending on the company, they will offer you advice and tips on marketing their products. They will also provide banners and text links, although these will require a website to place these ads, either yours or someone else's. Once you've signed up with these companies you are off and running.
The other option is to find affiliate networks online. These sites have already negotiated a program with hundreds and sometimes thousands of merchants. So, all you have to do is select which product you want to promote. One of the largest networks available is Clickbank. This network deals primarily in online resources such as, e-books, software and how to tutorials. They cover a wide array of topics from dating to green living to legal help and everything in between. This is most marketers' first stop, because there are no prerequisites to becoming a member. Just register and go. There are probably more private networks than public ones, which is something to work towards because the private sites usually have higher payouts and more widely recognized offers, as well as more personal guidance. If you are looking to promote more physical items, Amazon is probably the next best choice. They already have the public awareness and trust factor built in and pretty much any item you could want to sell. The obvious benefits to these sites are the consolidation of all the different merchants and products and they will take care of all the financial logistics. They will collect the monies and commissions from the merchants or customers and pay you, the publisher, on a set time schedule. They also don't require a website of your own. Their links will take the potential customers to either a landing page or a merchant's website. For other alternatives just enter affiliate networks in your search bar and then get comfortable, because you could be there a while.
The next step in this process is to promote the products, but that is another article. Just know that however you decide you want to market these items, it is going to require some investment. If you don't have the money to pay for advertising and promotions you might want to look into "niche" marketing. This is the long term alternative, but it can be done for a lot less investment. Niche marketing is when you narrow your focus and specialize in one particular market, which again is a whole other article. Be on the lookout for more information coming soon.
Bearworks Online is committed to providing you with helpful information to assist you in making money online. Our goal is to consolidate as much reliable and researched information as we can so you don't have to waste so much time trying to understand the online marketplace. If you are looking to earn an income from home and don't know how to start this is the site you want to see first.
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