What you need to know about affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest business models and this is why many new entrepreneurs begin with these programs. Theoretically all you need to do is send warm ready to buy visitors to your sponsor’s site and his compelling sales page will close the sale. You are just a salesman for other people’s products.

This all sounds deceivingly simple but there are a few things you should know to make an affiliate business work:

Choose the right programs: Choose the right programs: Be very careful of the programs you join. Check them carefully. They should have good support, and real time reliable tracking. A good commission should be paid monthly with no more than $20 limit for payout. Above all the products should be good and targeted to your particular market.

Pre sell, do not sell: One of the big mistakes affiliates do is try to sell their Sponsor’s product. They send the visitor to their sponsor’s page where they will be confronted by a second sales page. Double selling will deter people from buying. Warm your visitor to the sale by pre selling and let your sponsor’s sales page do the selling

Build your business as well as your sponsor’s: You are sending all these potential customers to your sponsor and building his customer list. In order to build your businesses have a way to capture these potential customers yourself. Offer a free newsletter on your site and build your own subscriber list.

Have your own website and drive targeted traffic to it: Do not rely on your Sponsor’s mirror site. Have a theme website of your own. You will be able to set up your own newsletter there and have multiple related affiliate products. The trick is to drive large amounts of traffic to your website and pre sell them to get the click through to your sponsor’s site.

Use these points to build your affiliate marketing enterprise. You will gradually increase your business until you become a “super affiliate.”

Using articles to make money

Looking through the universe of online affiliate marketing, you’ll notice that most sites fall into two categories. There are sites that simply have a list of links to other sites that sell products. You’ll notice that these sties come up often in web searches on Google or Yahoo, but they don’t seem very useful since all they have is other links and no actual content of their own.

The other kind of affiliate site is the kind that you want. It is a site that has all the same links that the others do, but it also has content. Now, what does “content” mean, anyway? Content is simply an internet term that means articles or information on a web page. Why do affiliate sites that use content work better than those that don’t? It’s simple.

If you click on a site, say, a site about growing roses, which would you rather find? A list of links that you have no idea if they are any good or not or if they even link to a reputable company? Or an informative, well-written article about growing roses that has a link at the bottom for a company that, while you still don’t know if they are trustworthy or not, the person who wrote this content thinks so and they sure sound like they know what they are talking about. Which one do you think does better sales every month? Exactly. The site that uses articles.

This is the number one reason why you should be knowledgeable about the products you wish to sell. It will be a million times easier to write content that sounds like it was written by an expert if you know your way around your product. If a web surfer stumbles upon your site, finds your articles well-written, informative and fun and then sees a link to buy a product related to the article, your chances of making money off of that customer go up 100 times. The big secret to affiliate marketing isn’t a magic formula or miracle catchphrase. It’s well-written content.

There are even companies out there that will write content for you, for a small fee. It may seem like a silly thing to invest in on the surface, but once you see the hard numbers that show how much better affiliate sites do with content then without, you’ll be on board in no time flat.

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What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing has quickly become one of the most popular and the most effective ways to advertise on the Internet. The premise of affiliate marketing is very simple.

A company, let’s say eBay, goes to another web site and asks them to place a banner or link to eBay on their site. Every time a user clicks on that eBay banner and visits the site, the owner of the original site gets a commission. It’s as simple as that.

The history of affiliate marketing goes back to approximately 1994 with the trailblazing music website www.CDNow.com. They were, as far as most people know, the first site to pay other sites for directing Internet traffic to them. Internet giant Amazon.com soon caught on and became the site most associated with affiliate marketing. Today, the practice of affiliate marketing is used by essentially every major web site in the world.

Why affiliate marketing? One of the reasons that affiliate marketing has proven to be so popular is that it is completely based on performance. In most cases, the company doing the advertising doesn’t pay a single penny to the site that is carrying their ad unless there is evidence that Internet traffic has been driven to the advertising site. There are, however, other ways of doing affiliate marketing.

Some advertising sites have paid the site hosting their link based not on the number of times an original IP visits through the link, but on the number of times the banner ad was “seen.” This method presents a whole host of problems since things like hit counts can be forged and there is no way to insure that just because someone visited a web page that had your logo on it that they even saw it or if they did, that they even knew what it was.

Other methods of affiliate marketing include paying only when a link is followed AND some kind of transaction takes place. This can be tough on the site hosting the link because the attention span of the average Internet user isn’t long enough in most cases to follow a link and then either complete a purchase, or fill out a form of some kind. The conventional method simply pays a host a commission for every time an original IP is directed to their site.

In a matter of only a few years, affiliate marketing has become one of the most cost effective ways to drive traffic to a site. Since, in most cases, both the advertiser and the host profit from the set up, there is no reason to believe that affiliate marketing won’t be a dominant advertising method well into the future.

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Affiliate marketing, a business with no hassle

For many people, the lure of working from home is too strong to resists. Being able to set up your own hours, your own schedule and your own your speed is an extremely attractive way of living to most people.

But the thought of setting up your own web-based business can be a huge hassle. You have to have a web design, a product and then you have to sell it, ship it and handle customers. A much easier way to work from home and run a web-based business is called affiliate marketing.

Setting up a site that works as an affiliate marketing site isn’t really that hard. There are many different web-page building programs out there that walk you through every step of the process. Once you have a functional web site, you need to come up with a list of companies that will pay you to link to them. Many major websites like Amazon have an affiliate program that you can join and then get paid for simply linking to their website.

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But if you really want to cash in, you don’t want a webpage with just a list of links on it. This may earn you a buck or two, but when most web surfers stumble upon these kinds of pages after a Google search, they tend to get frustrated and leave. The best route for you to go is to provide interesting web content that relates to the company you’re linking to.

If you can’t write interesting web content yourself, there are many companies that will do it for you for a very reasonable price. Once you’ve got your content, you can weave your links throughout it. People will find your web page on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Ask.com and when they see the well-written content, they will hang around and read what’s on your site. They will, in most cases, click on the links provided and you’ll be counting the cash in no time flat.

While there is no guarantee that affiliate marketing will turn into a cash cow, with enough hard work, the odds are in your favor. When you combine a cool site design with quality content and a good mix of interesting links, you are bound to get a good number of hits that will quickly translate into dollars for you. Give it a try, you might be surprised at how well it works!

33 Basic Smart Shopping Tips

Here are thirty-three basic smart shopping tips that can be used anywhere you shop. Use them to save money, and as a guide to strengthen your purchasing power.

1. Plan your spending. Avoid impulse buys.

2. Advertised items are not necessarily the cheapest.

3. Watch for unadvertised specials.

4. Remember to ask for a "raincheck" if an item is sold out.

5. To avoid crowds, do not shop after work, on paydays, or just before holidays.

6. Buy items before you run out of them. Buy at clearance, or sale price, instead of regular price when you must have the item.

7. Know the sales cycle in your area.

8. Just because an item is on sale, doesn't necessarily mean it is a good deal for your family. If you won't use it, don't buy it.

9. Due to volume discounts, larger stores are generally cheaper than smaller ones.

10. Your emotions affect your shopping. Be careful of the "I deserve it" mentality.

11. Buy at the end of the season.

12. Stock up when prices are low.

13. Try alternative shopping: Shop salvage stores, thrift stores, consignment shops, warehouse clubs, yard sales, and garage sales.

14. Remember that no particular store has the lowest price on all items.

15. Create a "shopping pool". Agree with family and friends to shop sales for each other.

16. Shop alone. Other individuals will only help fill your shopping cart.

17. Check the entire store for specials and alternatives.

18. Get to know your favorite store's employees. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

19. Know your prices, keep a price book.

20. About Prices: Compare, Compare, Compare. This is how your price book helps you.

21. Larger is not always cheaper. Smaller is not always cheaper.

22. Look at unit prices.

23. You pay more for fancy packaging. Beware.

24. Remember the "Rule of Three": If an item has three different ways it can be used, you will not be wasting your money.

25. Never pay full price.

26. Shop defensively.

27. Try store and generic brands.

28. Watch as the clerk rings up your purchases. Check your receipt.

29. Shop for gifts year round.

30. Return purchases that do not meet your expectations.

31. Complain if it is genuinely warranted.

32. Call before you go to confirm item is available.

33. If you must, leave the checkbook and credit cards at home or in the car.

Lowering Your Personal Expenses

Personal expenses are usually classified as discretionary because they are generally quite flexible. And as such, we tend to overlook their importance when it comes to budgeting and saving money. This is the category that people keep the least track of because they really don't want to know how much money they are wasting. Here are some tips for lowering personal expenses in three areas: clothing/appearance, communications/cell phones, and funeral arrangements.

Clothing/Appearance

Buy used clothing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average consumer spends about $1,850 a year on clothing and its upkeep. You can potentially cut that in half by shopping at consignment shops, auctions and thrift stores.

If you must buy new, buy in the off season. This is especially great for kids' clothes because you know they generally go up one size each year. Plan ahead and budget for this. You can also buy clothing at name-brand outlets, factory outlets, or secondary department stores (where department stores send their overstocks).

Buy less cost-related clothing; choose fabrics and designs that are easy both to wear and maintain. Watch out for "Dry Clean Only" and instead choose garments that you can care for at home.

Cut back on makeup and perfumes. Or look for sales and buy generic brands. Most people won't notice the difference.

Donate old clothes to charitable organizations and keep track of their values to use as a charitable donation tax write-off. Go to http://www.itsdeductible2.com for a guide on the value of donated items.

Communications/Cell Phones

Instead of calling, use e-mail. It's free (if you already have an Internet connection) and you will save money on your long distance phone bill. Also, comparison shop long distance plans and find one that works well with your calling style.

Write a letter. It only costs a bit more than a quarter to send and it will help you improve your writing and communication skills.

Keep track of your calling minutes to make sure you don't go over your allotted time. Most long distance and cell phone companies have high charges for extra minutes. If you consistently exceed your plan's minutes, upgrade your plan. The extra monthly cost for the next step up is usually much less than the extra charges for more minutes.

Shop around for cell phone plans. Cell phone companies and plans vary widely, so compare carefully. Now you can even take your cell number with you if you switch providers. Before switching from your current company, call them and tell them you are about to switch and see if they will match or beat their competitor's offer.

Funeral Arrangements

Make your wishes known about your funeral, memorial, or burial arrangements in writing. Don't leave this decision to the ones you leave behind.

Before selecting a funeral home, call several and ask for prices of specific goods and services, or visit them to obtain an itemized price list. You are entitled to this information by law and, by using it to comparison shop, you can save hundreds of dollars.

Many funeral homes offer prepaid plans, but be cautious about prepaying because there may be risks involved. For information about the least costly options, which could save you several thousand dollars, contact a local memorial society, which is usually listed in the Yellow Pages under funeral services.

Keep your discretionary spending in check by modifying your spending habits. Evaluate your apparel and communications spending and see how you can improve. Jot down your wishes concerning your future memorial service and put them with your will and trust. Downsize or even eliminate those extra dollars that just disappear each month and put them to good use, such as paying off debt or investing. Soon you'll be on your way to a healthier financial you.