By Tina Grove
What is affiliate marketing? In it's simplest form it is commissioned based sales. Most often the term refers to digital information products that can be instantly downloaded after purchase. There are thousands of informational products online with more arriving daily. A digital product could be an: ebook, audio or videso,
The developers of digital products want a cost effective way to sell them. They often choose to market their products through an affiliate program. This is a great business model for the developer because it's very inexpensive. There is no inventory, no shipping costs and headaches and they only pay their 'sales force' once a sale is made.
This is where affiliates come in. Companies like Clickbank, PayDot.com, Commission Junction and others, work as a 'middleman' between the developer of the digital product and the affiliate sales force. All the payments to the affiliate and the developer will come directly from them. There is no cost to sign up to become an affiliate,which is one reason affiliate marketing is so appealing.
Once you sign up you will get your affiliate ID than you can pick which products/programs you want to promote. You than create a link which will give you your own unique URL that will point visitors to the replicated website (which is just a sales page) you get for each product/program you want to promote. Once on this site if the visitor make a purchase you get a commission. Now that you've got your affiliate ID, your products picked out and your URL you're on your way.....right? Well, not so fast.
If you are an experienced marketer than sure, you're ready to go. Just watch the money roll in. Most people, however, are anything but experienced marketers and this is where the problems start.
People will 'run out' and place ads on Google, Yahoo, MSN without knowing what they are doing. And if they're not careful they will lose a lot of money.
So what to do? How can an internet 'newbie' make money with affiliate programs? Is it even possible? Is this a real home business?
Yes, it is possible for a 'novice' to make money online. The reason I put quotes around the word novice is because if you want to be successful online you will need to educate yourself....and then you won't be a 'novice' anymore. Interesting, huh?
So the moral of the story is this: just like with anything in life there are no free rides. It is very possible to make a very good living online, but it takes work and you will need to spend some time learning the skills necessary to make it happen.
Remember the old saying: " A fool and his money are soon parted'. Millions make their living online counting on just that principle. Don't be the 'fool'.
Tina Grove has been working online for over 5 years. Her free newsletter offers valuable information on the different methods and strategies for making a living online. http://www.HomeBaseProfits.com
Source:www.isnare.com |
