Hi everyone, I'm starting a thread on Affiliate Marketing because it is one of my sources of income. Join in! What IS Affiliate Marketing? In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is an arrangement between an online merchant and affiliate (you), in which the affiliate earns a commission for generating sales, leads and/or clicks for the merchant's web site. For several years I have enjoyed creating passive income with Affiliate Marketing since I first began sharing products, tools and resources that I found to be of value to me and I earned a commission for referring others. I was actually practicing Affiliate Marketing "accidentally"... just by referring friends and business associates to resources that had been of great benefit to me. I didn't even know it was called Affiliate Marketing at the time! Today, Affiliate Marketing is woven into everything I do - my blogs, my email signatures, message board and forum posting, online communities and my conversations with people on a daily basis - and it has become a significant source of income. Now as I find a great resource - and I know it will also serve others - I become an affiliate for the product and I add it to my business. There is no cost involved. When I originally realized the potential of Affiliate Marketing and decided to learn how to maximize my earnings for something I was already doing, I soon discovered a comprehensive Handbook that taught me how to do Affiliate Marketing the right way - on purpose - from someone who had earned over $400,000 her first year in Affiliate Marketing. That was enough evidence for me and I knew this was the teacher for me! Today she continues to be a mentor to me. Learn more about the Handbook that taught me how to start my Affiliate Marketing business at http://www.SuperAffiliate-Secrets.com Read the amazing true story of how one woman, with no previous business experience, earns $400,000+ per year ... selling other people's stuff online! To learn exactly how she does it, visit: http://www.SuperAffiliate-Secrets.com Among other things, this handbook taught me how to determine my niche market. Fortunately, that was easy for me because I had already collected a number of good prosperity programs based on spiritual principles that had served me well for many years. I decided that would be my niche. So... as I learned in the handbook, I gathered my Affiliate Programs and put them together on one website at http://www.SpiritualEntrepreneurToday.com And that is how my official Affiliate Marketing business was born. Join us here to learn how you can also begin creating passive income with Affiliate Marketing today!

Hi everyone, This is a great article from my mentor that taught me how to do Affiliate Marketing. Enjoy! How To Keep Your Affiliate Marketing Organized I'm fairly anal about keeping my business, and almost all aspects of my life, well-organized. For example, open my closet and you'll see my clothes sorted by garment type and color (according to the spectrum from white to black). Sick, eh? How about a food cupboard sorted into soups, veggies, snacks, sauce mixes, pasta and rice, etc? Oh ya, and the labels ARE turned out. Are you ready to have me committed yet? Wait just a moment, please. There's method in my madness... really and truly. Surely you know people who can't organize their way out of a paper bag. They come home and leave their keys in a different place each time. Then whenever they want to go out, they need to spend 5 minutes searching for their keys... and/or shoes, or jacket, or paperwork... What a huge a waste of life! I use the term 'life' because life is comprised of, and measured by, time. Nothing is more precious than time and making each of your moments count. Spending time on trivial matters like looking for keys when you could be having fun with friends and family, helping others through your business, saving the planet, or even taking a nap - is a waste of time. Likewise, looking for a merchant's affiiliate interface login and password when you want to install one of their links on your site, is a waste of time. Scrap that... it's a waste of time to have to look for the link itself. All the details relating to your affiliate marketing business need to be at right at your fingertips. I stay organized by keeping everything in one big Excel file accessed from my desktop. The file has a number of worksheets, each with its own set of information. All the programs I'm affiliated with are listed on one worksheet, with headings for program name, username/login, password, network association (if any), primary links, my own redirect links, broker (2nd tier) links, link for the affiliate interface, manager's name and contact info, commission rate and other important info. Another sheet logs all monies owed and received, and tallies income by program and category, as well as by month and year. On another worksheet I've listed software information including purchase date, registration numbers and login details. Still another keeps track of information for subscriptions such as forums and membership sites. Everytime I come up with an article idea, it gets entered on the 'Article Ideas' worksheet. There's yet another sheet with a list of article submission sites. I log interview, presentation, and teleconference dates and details in that file. Testimonials and success stories have their own separate sheets. The Net Profits Today newsletter is laid out in advance on another sheet, with suggestions for topics and articles. Last but not least, my project (to-do) list is on another worksheet, filed by domain name and sorted by date due. The 'Big File' is always open. When I join a program, the details get entered right away. While reading my email, I cut and paste testimonials right into the file, and jot ideas for future NPT topics ... as they pop up. My site files are organized by domain name - not generic terms like 'dating site', or 'book site', as I've seen some webmasters do. As soon as I join a program I enter all the details on the relevant sheet, and create a redirect link, which I know I'll use if I promote the product via email. I create email filters for every webmaster I do business with, and messages go straight into their personal folder. One quick filter - no more filing. Setting up - and keeping up with - such a system may seem like a lot of work. It's not. Do it often enough and it becomes second nature. Staying organized sure beats the heck out of wasting five minutes trying to find the email with that merchant's affiliate program login information just so you find your affiliate links. Article by Rosalind Gardner, author of the best-selling SuperAffiliate-Secrets Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online.

It's All in the List If customers must be exposed to a product an average of 7 times before they buy, and you don't have a way to contact a surfer after their first visit to your site, how do you remind them about your product six more times? Do you simply hope they'll remember your name, your company name or your URL? Do you invite them to use a 'Bookmark Now!' link? Have you ever seen a typical file of 'Favorites'? I use the term 'file' very loosely. Filing is rarely involved, and it's unlikely anyone will find your site again amidst his or her 500 other 'favorite' sites. Even if those methods did work to bring your visitors back, how would reading your sales copy six more times convince them to buy? It wouldn't. That's why Internet marketing experts all agree, without an opt-in list or email newsletter, you are losing sales and money. Put simply, having your own ezine is absolutely essential if your online business is to achieve its maximum potential. 'Ezine' is essentially a contraction for the term 'electronic magazine'. They are also known as opt-in lists, email newsletters or simply 'zines. Ezines allow you to contact your subscribers via email without spa*mming, as they've 'opted' to receive your information. In other words, interested prospects have given you permission to send them news and information. Publishing an ezine that captures and holds your subscribers' interest takes some time and effort. You must commit to a schedule, and give your readers attention-grabbing, useful information in an easy-to-read format. Your objective is to earn your readers trust by establishing yourself as a credible source of valuable information. Does that sound like too much work? Are you not convinced that publishing an ezine is worth the effort? Consider this. What is the first thing most people do when they turn on their computers in the morning? They read their email! If your newsletter is in their Inbox, your product gets seen before the competition's site is visited. Browser windows may be closed without book-marking, and names forgotten, but your email is still in your subscribers Inbox! The ezine itself is relatively simple to set up. Do not use software that resides on your computer to build your mailing list. As your list grows in size, you run the risk of having your ISP shut down your connection for excessive bandwidth use or allegations of sp*am. It happened to me and it's a costly mistake that you can and should avoid. Instead, purchase a service from one of the many companies offering mailing lists and autoresponders. As your autoresponder or mailing list service charges remain the same, your customer acquisition costs decrease as your list grows. That makes publishing an ezine the most inexpensive way to build relationships with your website visitors. Your effort and investment will pay off. Sharing your knowledge to help others is both good for the soul and financially rewarding. A newsletter that readers look forward to can grow to thousands and tens of thousands of people. An average conversion rate of one percent on a very large list can be a large reward in exchange for the time it takes you to write your newsletter. Communicating with your customers on a continuing basis builds trust, goodwill and increases their willingness to buy from you. Remember that it is 7 times less expensive to market to an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. Start your own ezine. The effort will be well worth your time. © Copyright Rosalind Gardner, All Rights Reserved. Article by Rosalind Gardner, author of the best-selling "Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online". To learn how you too can succeed in Internet and affiliate marketing, go to: http://www.SuperAffiliate-Secrets.com

Hello friends, What has been your most successful way of promoting your business? Paid advertising? Free advertising? Newsletter advertising Classifieds? Networking? Message boards and forums? Offering a free product?? My most successful way of marketing my affiliate programs has been through offering a free resource that has value and that introduces and re-introduces the product or service I am marketing to my customer automatically. I love it when the owner of the affiliate program makes an e-course or demo or sample of a product available for me to offer my customers. For example, I offer a free e-course to introduce Dr. Robert Anthony's Rapid Manifestation program at .. http://www.ManifestingSecrets.com And it works! This is one of my most popular resources. Notice I also have my own domain redirected to Dr. Anthony's program. That is much better than the longer and more complicated affiliate link, don't you think? So, tell us... what do you find is YOUR most successful method for promoting your business or your affiliate programs? See two more free offers in these examples... Greeting Cards Can change Lives Request your gift account here...
http://www.FreeSampleCard.com Fr.ee E-Course: Create A Life You Love Weekly Affirmations and Monthly Newsletter http://www.SpiritualEntrepreneurToday.com

WOW! Linda, Good stuff......keep up the good work. By the way, I get Rosalind's newsletter. Have for some time. Thanks for your forum. Your friend, Pat M2CGlobal.com / A.C.T. VITALITY DRINK http://www.M2CGlobal.com?id=807629 The most complete and the most powerful Vitality drink ever developed - Only 5 carbs per serving REQUEST YOUR FREE SAMPLE Revolutionary weight loss/detox plan - lose weight without changing your daily eating habits Excellent home based business - JOIN FOR FREE! http://www.M2CGlobal.com?id=807629