How To Make Affiliate Marketing Work For You

Affiliate marketing, while frequently undervalued in deference to search engine optimization, email marketing, and website syndication, is slowly becoming one of the more popular practices these days among a variety of online players.

Affiliate marketing involves overlapping spheres of influence between four principle entities—the merchant (or retailer), the network (which provides the clients and the payments), the publisher (or the affiliate), and the customer.

A number of digital marketing agencies, bloggers, and e-commerce businesses utilize this method in order to drive more traffic to a blog or site, increase the online value of links, and to grow cost-per-click ratios.

The best way for a small business or freelance entrepreneur to approach affiliate marketing is to think of it as a choice between several online strategies.

There are three major forms of affiliate marketing, which are distinct in their own ways:

1) Unattached affiliate marketing is a basic of pay-per-click campaign in which there is no direct bond between you and the end consumer. You simply provide a link and earn a commission based on how many people click on it. This can work for creating an income stream but not for building a business or brand.

2) Related affiliate marketing involves you having some sort of website or online venture that has a connection with a niche market. You may or may not have anything to do with the product being displayed.

3) Involved affiliate marketing involves you actually using a product and incorporating a promotion of it within your content. This last form is significantly different than pay per click campaigns, as you are leveraging your brand in order to promote someone else’s brand.

Whichever form turns out to be the right fit for your enterprise, affiliate marketing is an excellent option for people to consider when launching a new blog or website.

Not only does it allow you to combine networking with revenue generation in increasingly original and customizable ways, but many people earn sizable passive incomes off the Internet just from incorporating affiliate marketing into their game plans.

Websites with affiliate links range from pay per click, comparison shopping directories and coupon sites to niche review websites, email marketing, adbars, file-sharing sites, and virtual currency sites.

If you’re think of delving into affiliate marketing you should begin to reach out to publishers and merchants who are well established in this field, then you can begin to grow into the niche of your choosing.

Image Credit: Steve-h

Contributor

Nancy Evans writes for tech and marketing websites and is a consultant to multiple digital marketing agencies. More articles.

The Best 10 URL Shortening Services You Cannot Do Without In Affiliate Marketing

Milions of people are currently using short URLs on their website/blogs and social media like Facebook, Google plus and Twitter.

Affiliate marketer use these management tool on daily basis too. You might pick one shortener URL and use it to track your affiliate links.

But what is a URL shortener?

It is an online application that allows anyone to add a full URL for any specific web page, and automatically shortens a long URL link in to a short one. Usually they have 5 or 6 character code.

For example, imagine you want to share my latest article: “Stop Online Piracy Act: What If SOPA Gets Approved? – Video Plus Infographic“ to your friends on facebook, Twitter or other social networks - which you can visit with this long URL…

http://www.the3dtechnologies.com/2012/01/19/stop-online-piracy-act-what-if-sopa-gets-approved-video-plus-infographic/

Professional Affiliate marketers use URL shorteners to make very long affiliate links shorter and prettier or to track clicks on the links, or both.

Perhaps you’re unsure of which URL Shortening Services you should use, or which are the difference. Below I just listed some of my favorite ones that you can use to shorten web addresses for emails, forum posts, blogs or even when sending an address to a phone via SMS and character count is limited.

1. Goo.gl - This URL shortener is a tool provided by Google. Being  part of Google, you do not need to have an account with them to use it.

Anyway, if you want to have the history of clicks and links you should create an account.

2. Ow.ly – Is part of HootSuite.  You can track your Ow.ly links once you’ve joined Hootsuite for free.

3. Clicky.me – Clicky.me is a part of Clicky Web Analytics. So, before to use it you must have an account with them.

4. Bit.ly – Is my favorite and probably the most known short url tool out there(7 million URLs are shortened via the service each day). You can use it without registering. However, if you want to build your URL history(and I reccomend it), you need to logging in.

5. Tiny.url – Is a free shortener that you don’t need to register for. You can’t monitoring your click  but it will let you customize the short version of URL if the “custom alias” hasn’t been taken by someone else.

6. Su.pr - This shortener is connected to StumbleUpon you must create an account with them to use it. Registering an account is free.

7. Share-a-sale shortener – Is a great tool you can use for Shareasale affiliate links. Shareasale is a big network with products for any niche and most of the merchants over there will even have deep linking options (linking to specific product rather than the home or sales page) so you can really put their shortener to great use.

8. is.gd – Is a free service for shortening web addresses and other URLs.

9. cli.gs –  cli.gs is a short URL service from Mister Wong. Use cli.gs to shorten long URLs for easier sharing with friends on Twitter and Facebook, over email or IM.

10. budurl - BudURL is the only service to provide integrated short URL services, QR codes, and mobile landing page management into a single platform.

Image credit: zzpza

Three Quick Tips To Increase Your Lead Quality

When you are promoting an offer on a pay per click basis, know what makes your customers click is what is really important, if not crucial for your conversions.

It’s very important to keep an high level of quality leads. The better traffic and qualified leads you can get, I mean double the number list subscribers, the more likely you will increase  click throughs, then sales.

I just put on three different ways you can start generate quality leads and increase online sales.

1. If you provide your visitors with exactly what they are looking for, then you more likely to increase click through and leads, because your audience will are anxious to click on your banner or links.

2. Another strategy which certainly let you getting high quality click throughs is through the use of video marketing.

When you receive an email from a marketer which you’ve subscribed, you watch his annoying video before being able to go to the next page or sales page.

I know, it’s annoying, but I can attest that it’s works fine ;)

3. Lead quality is where your goal should be, especially when promoting any ad with high end commissions. In internet marketing there will be a business of cheap, I know… but if you’re promoting ad with high commission, it’s important to keep in touch with the advertiser directly. If you are providing quality leads that continue to convert well, they will gladly send a few more dollars your way to increase the volume and reward you for your efforts!

Image Credit: Di anitakhart

3 Quick Lessons In Affiliate Marketing I’ve Learned Over 4 Years

In the latest 4 years I have been able to learn a lot of lessons about affiliate marketing

I thinks the three lessons that I’ll be sharing with you below are some of best out there:

1. Search engines provide target traffic - The major source where to see where the traffic is coming from, is Google. Search engine traffic is currently the best service of traffic for affiliate marketers because people use the search engines when they need a solution to a problem.

2. Coupons Can Help A Lot - This is one of the best affiliate marketing lesson. One day I accidentally promoted a product with a coupon, and I got two sales within one day.

3. Your Best sales might be done after one month or two – Those reviews I did months, or years, ago that nobody found started bringing in traffic from search engines, and I now make more sales in a week than I made in the month I reviewed them.

Of course, all these tips works great when you have:

  • The best competition for that product.
  • The best manufacturer of the produt.
  • The best demand for the product.

 

9 Affiliate Marketing Tips You Absolutely Must Know

Affiliate marketing over the last 4 years was and still is, my first source of income here at the3dtechnologies.com.

What I learned after 4 years was how to turn my passion into profit, in particular how to expand my business by creating sites like cabinrentalsideas.comnatural-supplement-tips.com and some others who are listed on my ‘All about me page‘ as some sure ways to increase my affiliate sales as well.

In general, when it comes to learn how to convert your products into sales is necessary to take in mind these 9 key points:

1. Trust – I often trying to avoid to promote online deals I don’t own. Don’t fake it. Readers love to see you’re using the product you’re promoting. Show them how they can benefit, e.g through pics or better a video.

Another thing that you can do to grow your credibility is to show as you’ve created your site from scratch. E.g. which hosting service you’re using, or theme you’re confortable with.

2. Video – This video helped me generate over $300 in affiliate commission, the first month I promoted Catalyst theme. Frankly, I’ve still not added Youtube in my marketing strategy, but it became a strong platform when it comes to get visibility to your site.

3. Be transparent – My ‘about me page‘ shows that I’m a real person with a story behind it. Of course, I don’t saying you to give away information you are not confortable with. Be honest with your readers, this will help to establish a more direct with them.

4. Banners – Keep your banners to a minimum, unless you have a shopping website like mine coupons.the3dtechnologies.com. An high number of banners tends to irritate visitors which could leave your site, with a consequent rising bounce rate.

5. Create compelling content – Sharing details review about how you use the product or service.

6. Multiple products exposures – Be sure to mention products on several different pages of your website so that your audience gets used to seeing them over and over again.

You need an average of 7 to 10 exposures before someone buy your products. Of course, you have to add to that, credibility, PRE sold effectively, promoted a relevant product, etc.

7. Design – Content is the king but also the look of your website play an important role into your affiliate works. One reason my sites the3dtechnologies.com, cabinrentalsideas.com, ideasforyourhealth.com and other of my sites convert well is because the design and layout is clean and easy to navigate. A part Arthemia theme that I’ve installed on my blog nickdeiana.com, I use two main wordpress themes, Catalyst and Thesis which let me customize layout and design in a snap. And you know what it means to an affiliate marketer. Definitely two of my best purchases. :)

8. Lack of comment - I always throught that positive comment play a big role when it comes to convert affiliate products into sales, anyway even negative comments will be useful because you’ll gain something much more valuable, credibility.

9. Build your community - Last but not least, as I said above trust is crucial when it comes to promote your affiliate products. The more people trust you, the more likely your products convert into sales. So, creating a community around your business is the first step to turn your passion into success and have many followers interested in what you are saying or selling.

Image Credit: JD Hancock

How Lisa Irby Make Money Through Affiliate Marketing

Whenever I come across brillant people which turn their business idea into a reality, I tend to write a review about them.

Today we have another interesting case study which concerns affiliate marketing.

If you don’t know her yet, Lisa Irby is the girl behind 2createwebsite.com. She is one of my favorite female entrepreneur and an affiliate marketer just like me.

That means she learned how to select a profitable topic about her favorite interest, created websites from scratch, and earn commissions by referring her visitors to products and services that relate to the themes of her sites.

I’m following her blogging journey from a while right now, so today I decided to share what I think are the key secrets of her success. But, first let me tell you what are her sites.

Currently Lisa has the following three websites:

  • 2createawebsite.com
  • Flat-stomach-exercises.com
  • Websitebabble.com

1. 2createawebsite.com – Through this website, Lisa give her honest advices on how start a website from scratch, including, hosting, design, marketing tips and how create online stores.

2. Flat-stomach-exercises.com – In this site she gives pratical advices on how do you to flatten your stomach.

3. Websitebabble.com – Is a place where people can talk about all things related to websites. Here you can get all information about how websites works, how to rank on search engines, how to write good content for your website.

All these sites run the site build it! and have Installed Thesis as WordPress themes. Well, as many of you know, I’m a fan of Thesis theme. My site cabinrentalsideas.com run on Thesis.

What Are The Lisa Secrets?

I think these are the most important things a newbie affiliate marketer might to learn by Lisa:

1. Quality not quantity – First at all, I noticed that she built useful relevant content that for her target audience would value. That’s the same thing I try to do and what search engine want to see.

2. Build credibility – To increasing trust to your readers should be followed this simple rule: Use what you promote and prove it! If you want that your readers trust you, then you have to show that you use the product.

3. Know the fundamentals of business – Plan, plan and plan. Learn how to target market effectively.

4. Run a forum – Lisa have an active forum, Websitebabble.com. Anyway it is not easy to start a forum until you have not enough traffic to build the activity. First and foremost, you should create a community because only a small percentage of the people who join the forum will partecipate actively.

5. Niche sites – This is one of most important thing that can really bring your business at the next level. Lisa have set up flat-stomach-exercises.com. She was the first person persuaded me in building my niche sites natural-supplements-tips.com and ideasforyourhealth.com.

I hope this brief post was useful, and give a bit of inspiration to your next job as affiliate marketer.

Are You Ready To Sell For The Holiday!

Christmas is the best time to shop and good moment for affiliate marketers too.

Site like Amazon and eBay are the best source of consumer electronics device, and other stuff, and this gives online marketers the upper-hand for making money. Also, this is the perfect time to be an affiliate member because you get an high amount of traffic as conversion as well, especially if you choose the right products to promote at the right time.

But what products should you promote and how should you go about doing this?

How To Sell Your Holiday Products

First, you sould have a place that let you display these products on the internet. This can be done by having a blog or website, or just joining to social media like Facebook and creating your own page. This third solution is not highly recommended by me due for two important reasons. You do not have

Where to Choose Your Product?

The next step is to do a little research on web and find out what products are profitable to promoting for holiday.
There many sites where find this information but I will suggest you these two ones:

eBay Pulse – I’ve already mentioned about this service on a previous post. eBay created this site to show the most watched items as most popular searches as well. it will help you to understand what items people are looking to buy this holiday season.

Amazon – With Amazon you can choose from thousands and thousands of products to advertise on your blog. From books to diapers and everything in between, you can find it on Amazon. Amazon Associates users have a wide variety of choice in terms of how ads are displayed.

Once choosen what is the right product for your blog, or website I’ll suggest to create a Top 10 product review list.

The reason is quite simple.

  • It’s most eye catching for your blog/site visitors.
  • It’s very poplar for social bookmarking site like Reddit, Digg, Stumbleupon, and othes.

The Power Of Review Post

Review each product by discussing the features, adding price, custom ratings, and other helpful information.

Make sure to add your Amazon or eBay affiliat link too. Amazon You can use either a direct link or product image widget to capture the attention of your reader. Just make sure that the link or image is in a good position so that your reader will notice it and click.

Of course, you could do single product reviews so that people can find that specific product through Google search engine.

Remember to put a call to action button at the end of review. Using a split test software will help you increase your productivity. Even better it will allow you to see which creatives will outperform the other and produce better results.

Share It With The World

Ok, it’s time to make know your post by add it on social networking site like Facebook, Twitter and G+ and social bookmrking sites like Digg, Delicious Stumbleupon and so on. Also, create a product review video and upload it to YouTube. Include your post’s link in the description. Comment on other blogs related to your topic. You can find other holiday gift blogs and comment on the posts, leaving your link within the comment.

Extra place to share:

  • Advertising on Craigslist is a great way to receive traffic and sales. Make sure you create a catchy ad that follows the website’s guidelines.
  • Post in popular forums that allow signature links.
  • Other places you can share your link include : Tumblr, Squidoo, Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Buzzfeed, and Del.icio.us

Some cool products to promote are the following:

  • Lego Board Games
  • Sesame Street Let’s Rock Elmo
  • Bananagrams
  • Nintendo 3DS
  • Stinky The Garbage Truck
  • Air Swimmer R/C Inflatable Floating Shark
  • Xbox 360 Kinect
  • Fisher Price iXL
  • Syma S107 R/C Helicopter
  • Sing-A-Ma-Jigs
  • Dance Star Mickey
  • Angry Birds : Knock On Wood Game
  • My Pillow Pets
  • Loopz Game
  • Stomp Rocket Jr. Glow Kit

Conclusion

In my view it is much easier if you already have a well established website or blog but for beginners it cold be very hard. In these case I’ll suggest to use HubPages, Squidoo, Tumblr, or Posterous.



THE3DTECHNOLOGIES

The3dtechnologies.com is an encouraging blog, dedicated to helping people build a business online, creating killer graphics design to increase product page conversions, as learn to save money, as extreme frugal living as well, so you can earn more and save more. I'm glad to have you here!


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