If you are
starting out in the great wide world of INTERNET MARKETING it is a potential minefield that can absorb
your time, suck your resources and produce a lot of stress as you try to sort
the real from the over-hyped, the true from the false
stories, and find the path to
success that suits you. A good way to start that costs little and does not
require a website, technical knowledge and a client list is promoting other
peoples products and sites – AFFILIATE
MARKETING. I think that
understanding affiliate marketing is the key to your long-term success as an
online entrepreneur. As an affiliate, you can learn about building web sites,
generating traffic, or other online promotional
methods and make some money in the process. Then, when you have your affiliate
marketing tools sharpened, you can move on to
creating and marketing your own product.
Like anything else, however,
affiliate marketing is a
two-edged sword. Some “super affiliates” literally make hundreds of thousands
of dollars per year promoting other people’s products. This gives the false
impression that your success is guaranteed if you start promoting products and
advertising. The super affiliates are very few as the vast majority of
affiliates make nothing at all, or only a few hundred dollars a year, in part
because they never take the time to learn how it is done or they use the wrong
methods.
The internet has created
a false impression of
easy ‘truckloads of cash’ that will flow into your account on auto-pilot while
you sun yourself on a beach! Many sites show flashy cars, big houses and
treasure chests that lead you to believe that you can easily enjoy this
lifestyle if you listen to the next secret system and click on the
buy button! They are playing on the emotions and dreams of the have nots by creating the
impression that you can easily join the haves by copying the secret system they
are about to share with you. Many of the testimonials are real but come from
the earliest members or JV partners who already had a huge list and were fellow
‘gurus’! A lot of people seem to have the “field of dreams” mentality when it
comes to making money online. They think you can just slap up a few affiliate
banners and make a fortune, and they get angry and discouraged when they find
it doesn’t work that way.
The other problem is
that few programs
explain what level of expertise they cater to or how long it can take to
implement their system and begin to get sales. Worse some do not outline
clearly how much time or investment it will take to reap the rewards in the
future. By the time the newbie begins to realize and separate the hype from the
real programs that can genuinely help them on their path to success, their head
is ready to explode with all the info, tips, emails and ebooks
they have been exposed to.
In Part 2 of this
article, you’ll be told exactly where to get the right
resources and tools to learn how to make a nice living as an affiliate. This
will save you a lot of time and money if you are or want to become a successful affiliate and make a full
or part time income selling others products.
Affiliate
Marketing Secrets
First, you have to
understand that there
isn’t anything all that “secret” about these affiliate marketing secrets. Once
you hear about them, they make perfect sense. But figuring it out on your own
takes a lot longer than most people have time for, so they think of super
affiliates as possessing some sort of mystical, supernatural power that we mere
mortals can’t possible attain. Guess what? It’s really not that difficult or
mysterious, it just takes some ingenuity, and a little work.
One final thought. Most marketers make the mistake of choosing a
product they like, and then try to market it. If you just want to “monetize”
your hobby, that’s fine, but if you’re in this to make serious money, bad choice! First, you need to find a market. Once you know there is
a horde of hungry buyers, then, and only then, do you decide on products to
market to them. To put that another way, you need to research what sells well,
or find a market that has high demand for products they can’t easily find, and
then market them.
David Fowler
Ebooks that can make a difference to your life!
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