Affiliate marketing is a way to make money online that involves selling other people's products. They provide the product, the sales copy, and the marketing support, and you provide them with consumers. In return, you make a commission of the product's price--as much as 75% on some products!
I hear people say that affiliate marketing is the best place for a newbie to start. Why does everybody keep saying that?
Because when you start out as an affiliate, 90% of the work is already done for you!
You don't have to create a product. You don't have to pay thousands of dollars for an experienced sales writer to come up with a sales page. You don't have to provide customer support, work with fulfillment, or anything like that.
Not to mention that things like market research and keyword research have been handled as well. While it can never hurt to do a little keyword research on your own--and thus gain the edge over other affiliates --this is generally provided for you. This is especially true when working with a well-handled affiliate department.
That sounds great! How do I start?
First, you need your own niche website. Decide which niche you want to get into, then put up a site with 5-15 pages of content.
You also want to select a keyword rich domain name. For example, if you're selling pipe tobacco, the best domain name to have is pipetobacco Unfortunately, that's taken. So you are left with pipe-tobacco, pipetobacco, etc.
You don't need an exact match for your keyword or niche--but it is always best. In any case, you definitely want your keyword in the domain name you choose.
Next, find an affiliate network that carries products in your niche. Clickbank, Paydotcom, and Commission Junction (cj) are probably the three biggest affiliate networks going today. Click Bank and Paydot focus on information products, while Commission Junction handles accounts like Apple, Best Buy, and a host of other brand-name consumer product retailers.
The most basic way to monetize your website is to put a product link (with your tracking code, provided by the merchant or network) at the top and bottom of every page of content. It also helps to offer free subscriptions to an email list, where you will keep people informed about your niche and occasionally endorse good products.
This is of course just the basic model for affiliate marketing. There is a ton of detailed information out there, but this is enough to let you get started!
Author Resource:-
I started my first internet business in 1999. Since then, I have generated over 2,000,000 leads and sold over 160,000 customers in 119 countries. Referred to as the "Big Dog" of internet marketing. www.ShawnCasey.com
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