When it comes to Affiliate Marketing, we've been there, done that, now serving 111 tips in 9 categories ranging from Affiliate Marketing for Associates to Types of Compensation.
Here are five things that beginning affiliate marketers should keep in mind:
First, you need to pick a product that sells well. A high-converting sales page may be your biggest consideration. Your main job as an affiliate is to get traffic to an offer, or a sales page. Then, that sales page needs to convert well for you to realize any money.
Second is, you need to figure out how to get traffic to that offer. There are many articles and videos about how to get traffic to a site.
Third, you want to make sure you are dealing with a reputable company. Clickbank is ideal for beginning affiliate marketers, because it is stable and has a great track record of paying affiliates on time, every two weeks, for over a decade. There are others that are reputable as well, like Amazon. Just make sure you send your traffic to a reputable company.
Fourth, you need to track your clicks, or traffic. Once you are making a little money, you really need to know which of your traffic tactics are working and which are just a waste of time and/or money.
And fifth and last, you need to be willing to continue working hard, even if you make mistakes. It is going to take a little trial and error, even if you are buying courses, and learning from the best. These professionals have some skills; that is why they are the best. It may take a little patience and perseverance for you to be able to copy their success. So keep pressing on!
It will really be worth it when you become a successful affiliate marketer.
If creating an affiliate program for your company, create a community forum or blog community for you and your affiliates. When associates have an ability to network with one another and share ideas, it can be a great motivator for selling more product. As a company, you can gain insights into what is working and not working so you can improve upon your program. This is also a great way to communicate with your associates in an interactive way to tell them about new products or new promotions that can help them sell more. The more invested your associates feel in your program, the harder they'll work to make your company a success.
If you want to start an affiliate program but have very slim margins, you may want to consider a point loyalty program or other reward program to recruit affiliates. For example, offering coupons for referrals or discounts or free products can create a small affiliate network for your company if you feel you are not ready to share in commission. Some companies offer discounts to those who bring in new clients which helps you not have to share margins but does rewards people who buy a lot of your product and are willing to help you spread the word.
Reciprocal linking only works where there is a common denominator.
If you join link exchanges where others help you by promoting your website on their site and vice versa, this is a great way to bring in extra traffic to your site. Ensure you are doing this with relevant sites. Many people that practice link exchanges wonder why it doesn't bring results but you need to exchange links with complimentary (but non-competitive) websites.
For example, if you are selling jewelry, you wouldn't exchange links with a gaming website but instead you might look for a clothing or cosmetics site to network with. Capturing the right audience is key in helping you get the kind of visitors you want.
While signing up people under referral programs is a great bonus in affiliate marketing and can net great revenue results for your business, if you simply recruit others but don't help them to sell and don't sell the products yourself, you won't get very far. If you sign someone up under you but neither of you sell anything, it won't amount to much.
However, if you sign people up under you and then help them sell the product everyone will benefit. Some programs have multi-tiered refferals so you may even earn commission from your refferal's referrals. This is most effective, obviously if everyone is selling. If you can get the individuals in your downline motivated to sell products and sign up users, everyone benefits. Helping them with tips and pep talks is a great start.
Hiring affiliate managers for your associates is a good idea in order to help keep your associates focused and motivated. This is especially true if you have a busy company with a large number of associates. Having a group or territory leader for products or services helps grow your business. Experienced affiliate managers work directly with your field associates to help them sell more and act as a point of communication to the company which can save your company valuable resources.
Affiliate managers can be hired on a commission basis remotely so that you only pay out based on positive results.
You could even incent your super affiliates by setting them up in team structures and paying them a referral fee for increased sales under their territory.
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