How to Succeed as an Affiliate on the Net


By: Harvey Segal

When a company has a product or a service that they wish to sell they will often enlist 'affiliates' to do the job of finding customers for them.

You may know an affiliate by another name, for example: agent, reseller, associate, communicator.

Once the affiliate has managed to get the customer to make an order his job ends. The whole process of handling the order, the collection of payment, the shipping of goods, is done by the company (or distributor).

Who benefits?
This is a tremendous arrangement for both sides.

The distributor simply waits for orders to arrive and has no involvement in the marketing phase. The affiliate simply gets a customer, for example, to visit a web site and takes no further part.

Commission is paid to the affiliate on the value of orders made.

It is the power of the Internet with the possibility of cheap or free advertising for a vast audience which makes reselling such an outstanding business opportunity.

And if you have your own website, where you have the luxury of posting your own ads for free, then you have an effortless income-producing system.

Two things which make reselling even more exciting
If the product can earn you residual income, for example a monthly commission all the while that the customer continues to renew it. If you can recruit your own affiliates and collect commission either for each affiliate or for the products that they sell.

What should you look out for?
Here are some rules for checking out affiliate opportunities:

#1 The company

First, there would be no point in generating massive commission on 'paper' only to find that the company are unreliable, don't pay up on time, or eventually fold.

Test out the company first.

Make an inquiry as if you were a potential customer. Study the quality of their reply and of their literature or website.

How quickly do they respond? If their customer service is poor this does not give much hope for the way they will handle their affiliates.

Are they an ethical company, what guarantees do they provide for refunds ?

#2 The product

Is the product an item which is in good demand?

What is the rate of commission?

These two factors will determine your potential earnings.

As a guide commission should range from 25 to 50%.

#3 Assistance with promotion
Does the company provide advertising material for their affiliates?

In particular do they provide a personalised web site?

#4 The cost
What is the cost of becoming an affiliate ?

This can vary from completely free paying an initial one off payment paying a monthly subscription.

You don't have to be deterred by affiliate opportunities where payment is involved. These may offer greater benefits such as advanced promotion techniques and commission which will quickly outweigh the payments.

For example $30 per month may seem a high figure but if you regard it as one dollar a day to have the company's products displayed 24 hours a day to the whole world on your own personalised web site it could be viewed as the bargain of the century.

Can anyone become an affiliate?
Affiliate opportunities are ideal for both experienced online marketeers and for newcomers to the Internet. Here's why:

#1 Experienced online marketeers

If you have an established web site the minimum that you need to do is post an ad on your own site.

And there's no need to stop at one product.

Providing that you don't overload your web site with ads you could have many - and you can monitor how they perform so that you can judge which ones to give prominence to.

#2 Newcomers

One of the first and most important skills you will need to use for any online business is how to place adverts.

Here are some of the things that you start to learn when you submit ads:

The various locations where you can place an ad such as newsgroups, forums, ezines, web sites: and the different rules and methods used for each one such as frequency of posting and size of ads.
How to post information to a mailing list or newsgroup for free but using a signature file to promote your products.
How to code your adverts so that you can identify where the response originates.
How to organise your mail files to handle responses.
How to simplify your own systems so that you have standard replies to common questions.
How to set up autoresponders if necessary to take away the chore of responding manually.
How to deal with the unexpected (for example, even though you may clearly spell out in your ad that a reply should be made to an autoresponder many people will still reply directly to you).
By taking on an affiliate operation you have an ideal opportunity to practise these methods. This will provide the experience for whatever online venture you plan as well as an excellent source of additional income.

Don't miss Harvey's FREE book
Guru Magic: the Internet marketing book with a UNIQUE twist

Become a Successful Affiliate. www.marketingtips.com/sr/t.x/805286/

Author Bio
Harvey started his online marketing business in 1997 after a career in IT, first in programming then management. He produced his first ebook Guru Magic when he persuaded over 35 Internet marketing experts to reveal their top tips. You can find all his books at SuperTips. And there's more great articles, ideas and tips at the SuperTips website www.supertips.com.


More Resources

Self-Replication, The All Important Third Step in Affiliate Marketing
'Self-replication' sounds like science fiction but it's not. It has nothing to do with cloning, in a biological sense.
Do You Make These Mistakes With Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate Marketing is a very lucrative business online, especially where it concerns Affiliate Internet Marketing.Today I bring you some rare and everyday mistakes that are keeping you from making a killing with affiliate marketing.
Affiliate Marketing
Simply put, Affiliate Marketing is one of the most common forms of making money on the internet. Affiliate marketing was set in place by larger corporations and websites who realize that marketing smarter is better than marketing smarter.
Affiliate Programs
Are you having trouble creating new product offerings from scratch? Maybe you're not a natural writer or you're unsure of a topic? Or maybe you'd just like a shortcut to some reliable revenue? Not to worry, help is here. And even if you're not stuck creating your own intellectual property, the concept of promoting other people's products and earning coaching income is an idea whose time is fast on its way.
Why Super Affiliates Succeed
Ever wonder why the super affiliates are raking it in and you're still struggling with affiliate programs?Okay, it is an advantage to have a web site with good traffic and a program related to the theme of the web site. It is also important to have a large list to which you can recommend your program.
Dont Make This Mistake...New Affiliate
Joining more than 2 programs at a time is something you don't want to do. I did this when I started as an Affiliate.
Affiliate Programs... A Not THAT Easy Start To Your Own Online Business
"Where is all the help I'm supposed to get. I have been buying ezine and classified ad builders and signing up for Echecks and Virtual credit cards.
How to Skyrocket Your Affiliate Marketing Revenue in 30 Days or Less
Starting up your internet business as a member of an affiliate program is an exciting thing due to all of the possibilities and potential this industry has. By becoming an affiliate marketer, you can finally gain complete control of your financial destiny.
Affiliate Revenue For Beginners
Affiliate programs can be a very powerful source of income for your website and many meaning the majority of websites on the net uses affiliate programs to generate revenue from there websites and many are making lots of cold hard cash. Here are the most common terms that you will encounter with affiliate programs-Cost Per Click (CPC) or Pay Per Click (PPC)-Cost per thousand (CPM)-Cost Per Action (CPA)-Cost Per Sale (CPS)Cost Per Click (CPC) or Pay Per Click (PPC)The cost per click-through; the fee charged every time a user clicks on a banner ad or HTML link.
5 Ways to Promote Affiliate Programs
After having chosen several programs to join, you probably realize that customers won't knock on your door - you have to come to them. By promoting your affiliate programs successfully, you build your own success!So what should you do to promote your affiliate programs? Here are five methods which have succeeded for millions and can succeed for you, if you choose to follow the same steps as those millions before you!#1 Create your own marketing affiliate program materials.
Why is Affiliate Marketing Popular with Home Based Business Entrepreneurs?
The great strides made in the development of the Internet in the recent past has enabled information to be transmitted thousands of miles away with such ease and clarity that time and space are hardly of any consequence to the Internet Marketer today.Marketing Programs have literally taken over the Internet and riding high, is Affiliate Marketing.
How To Choose The Right Niche To Promote
Easy profit, a worldwide market, manageability of business at home level-all these and a variety of other reasons contributed to the popularity of online businesses. In fact, a lot of businessmen who used to peddle their stuffs in a local area are now getting online.
Attracting Good Affiliates
Good affiliates can be hard to get. There could be any number of reasons for this, but I am going to focus on what I believe is the one major problem that prevents someone from attracting good affiliates.
Mining For Gold With The Best Affiliate Programs And Hitting Pay Dirt
Colin McDougall tinkered around with affiliate programs earning a few dollars, nothing much to write home about, even had his own e-commerce site, known as the man's mall. In theory that site was supposed to offer all sorts of gadgets for guys.
Affiliate Marketing Or Market Your Own Products?
How should you organize your online business?Affiliate marketing seems to make sense, its easy and low cost to start, and you can be up and running within a few days - but the struggle is how to get traffic and make my offer different than all the others?On the other hand, creating your own product is what you may really want to do, if not for being so unsure about what topic to write about and finding the time in your busy life to get started?Let me share two important true facts with you about choosing between affiliate marketing and producing/marketing your own products.Tip 1: 99% of Successful Online Entrepreneurs Do BothTip 2: Most Successful Online Entrepreneurs Lead With Their OwnProduct To Build Affiliate BusinessHere's why.
How To Build An Email List As An Affiliate
You have probably heard "the money is in the list" at least a thousand times. But it is true; the money is in the list.
Affiliate Marketing at a Glance: Helpful Hints
Regarded as one of the choice Internet marketing systems offered to small businesses, affiliate marketing has caught the attention of accomplished entrepreneurs across the globe. With virtually no risk involved in the affiliate marketing game, payment is made only after results are provided.
Convert Your Passions Into Dollars
On Cyberspace (Internet), there is a method from which you can make thousands of dollars per month without needing to have your own product or service. This method is highly flexible, and can be used in different forms to produce income by different people with different knowledge and skills.
Top Five Ways to Earn Extra Money Online at Home for Free
Here's a fact: everybody wants to earn extra money. We all have bills to pay, families to feed, and the list goes on and on.
How To Create Your Own Successful And Profitable Affiliate Program
Most of the truly successful marketers have three competitive advantages :They run successful Affiliate Programs (Part 1)They own large Opt-In Lists and have large traffic (Part 2)They create their own products (Part 3)Step #1 - Three Affiliate Program OpportunitiesOpportunity 1 - Using Own Products and ServicesCombining your own products with a successful Affiliate Program is almost a license to write your own checks.Opportunity 2 - Using Resell and Master Rights ProductsSurprisingly, as you will see in step 4, you can create and run an Affiliate Program even if you don't have your own products and services.

More Affiliate Revenue Information:

Related Articles

Affiliate Marketing Terminology
Affiliate Marketing is a large business piece on the Internet. The (online) retail customer often does not know that he/she made the recent online purchase through an affiliate link.
5 Tips If You Want To Be A Reseller
If you are planning to be a reseller for a product or many products, here are five great tips you can use for your own![1] A good way to source for quality products with great demand is to purchase a yearly (or even lifetime!) access to membership websites dedicated to resale rights. These membership sites offer products such as E-books, software, templates, and audio/video with resale rights.
Top Three Internet Marketing Two-Tier Affiliate Programs
If you run an Internet marketing web site and sell your ownproducts or services, you probably follow up with yourcurrent customers using autoresponders and upsell them withproducts and services from related affiliate programs?Note that if you don't do this, you are leaving money onthe table.Why? Simply, your customers have already spent money onyour web site, and if they enjoy your product or service,they now trust you.
Affiliate Marketing Or Market Your Own Products?
How should you organize your online business? Affiliate marketing seems to make sense, its easy and low costto start, and you can be up and running within a few days - but the struggle is how to get traffic and make my offer different than all the others?
Earn Top Dollar With Your Affiliate Monthly Income Stream
Virtually all online marketers have attempted lots of schemes and programs. Most online marketers have dropped a load of bread attempting to get going.
Reselling - Money On The Side
The other night I had dinner with a friend who mentioned knowing quite a few people needing websites for their local businesses. Despite being a software engineer, my friend is not a web designer nor does he know enough about servers to actually host (store) websites.
Affiliate Marketing: An Online Marketing Strategy
Everybody it seems can make money online. The simplest way perhaps is to make money online through affiliate marketing.
The Secret Shady Practices of Affiliate Marketing
You've probably heard it a hundred times..
High Paying Lateral Keywords
If you run AdSense on your site you know that some words pay more than others, much more in fact. More than likely you have also learned that terms like "structured settlements" and "mesothelioma" can produce incredibly high PPC revenue, if they show up on your site at all.
Get the Big Dogs to Affiliate with You
Have you ever tried to launch an affiliate program? If you have, then you know that one of the challenges you face is to get people to be your affiliate marketers. After all, if you are new on the block, people who have never heard of you may be reluctant to encourage their list or web traffic to come to your website.
Online Affiliate Programs - 6 Must Read Reasons to Join Them
You must have been exposed to the online hype, and the fact is starting an online business is a great way to make an extra income. There are many ways to make money online, one of them, is joining online affiliate programs.
Top 7 Affiliate Marketing Tips for Newbies
When a newbie begins an online business, the temptation can be high to join most any affiliate program they see in the hopes of making extra money. Given the amount of products and services that newbie get presented with, and since newbie have a burning desire to make money fast, it is easy to see how the online newbie can get lured into joining a lot of affiliate programs without knowing if they should join them or not.
Creating an Income Stream with Affiliate Programs
Affiliate programs (also called Referral Programs orPartnership Programs) are essentially commission-based salesschemes. You recommend a site to your users and pick up apercentage of any sales those users generate.
Soliciting Referral
Customer referrals are vital to small and home-based service businesses. When you need to increase sales but can't afford a salesperson and have limited selling time, focus on existing clients and let them do the selling for you.
How To Attract Affiliates
One of the biggest fears new Affiliate managers have is in finding new affiliates. This fear is a stumbling block that stops many site owners from getting started with affiliatemarketing.
Affiliate Marketing - How Ezine Ads Explode your Online Profits
So we're looking at E-zine advertising. Just a quick overview - ezines are basically email newsletters, but most don't redirect to a site, they just leave the full text content in the email.
Five Things to Look For to Join Any Affiliate Program!
Here's a really simple way..
Five Ways to Increase Your Affiliate Sales
Most home business owners are involved with affiliate marketing. As an affiliate marketer, a combination of techniques can be used to promote your affiliate website and/or link.
Affiliate Marketing: Starting Out On The Internet
So you want to start your own business, and you want to start it without mortgaging your house and maxing out your credit cards. You've done the market research and you've concluded that by far the largest market place in the world is right there in front of you within the cyber world of the internet.
Using Google AdWords For Affiliate Selling
While many people may have you believe otherwise, selling online is not an easy thing to do. Coming up with a great domain name, setting up your website, integrating the whole lot with a payment processor, getting inventory, handling shipping, the list goes on.
3 Ways to Squeeze Even More Revenue Out of Your Traffic Equaliser Pages
Ever wondered if, apart from Google Adsense, there were other ways of generating real revenues from Traffic Equaliser pages.There has been some great results using the above two programs, running Google Adsense results on page as a fast way to driverevenues on a huge number of boiler plate pages.
WHAT! Internet Etiquette / Net Etiquette?
Many people know how -- and do conduct themselves in the real world properly. However, many people are unaware that this same conduct needs to be applied online as well.
Starting an Online Business - Affiliate Programs Make it Easy
If you have been longing to start a business online you may be coming across terms you've never heard before. You may also have found the opportunities available are overwhelming.
Successful Free Affiliate Programs
Affiliate programs are the latest money making tools available on the Internet. While there is definitely not a lack of options available,there is a lack of good options available.