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5 Keys to Making Money With Affiliate Programs

The dream business for many online marketers is affiliate promotion.

You don’t have to handle or ship any products. Customer service is handled by someone else. You don’t need a merchant account.

If you promote continuity programs as an affiliate, you can earn money for months or even years to come for promotions you do today.

No wonder so many are excited about affiliate marketing. Today we’re going to cover a few of the keys to making money with affiliate programs.

Affiliate Income Key #1: Control the affiliate links.

Let’s say you do all your promotions and you do “direct links” to your affiliate link. Perhaps you send out articles, participate in free traffic networks, or employ some social media steps.

What happens if that affiliate program changes their links for whatever reason (perhaps they install new software)? Or what if that product stops selling (products do go out date)? You now have links all over the internet that don’t work.

Or what if the product you’re advertising simply doesn’t sell well enough? Again you’re stuck with the work you’ve done.

The easy solution here is you always control the affiliate links. This can be as simply as setting up redirect on your own site.

For example, here is a redirect for Glenn Livingston’s 17 Adwords Cheat Sheets: http://www.mymarketingcoach.com/cheatsheets.html

Or I sometimes get a domain to promote an affiliate link also. For example, here is a domain being used for his service (can you tell I like his services): http://www.TerrySaysPPC.com

Both of those take you through my affiliate links. And if he ever changed links or I found a better program I could easily change either one of them to point to a new site. In addition to the above, you could also use “affiliate link cloaking” software, ad tracking software, etc. all to control your affiliate link.

Affiliate Income Key #2: Build a real affiliate business.

What do I mean by this? I’m talking about the same type of strategies I recommend for other types of internet businesses as well.

Don’t rely on just making money one time from one affiliate market.

Instead build out an authority type of site in a niche. Then use that to recommend a primary affiliate program plus other affiliate products and services which are related in the market.

One of the best ways to build out a site like this is through using WordPress…not just as a blog but as a content management system.

Many affiliates are building out sites in WordPress. Pull the dates off the theme you’re using. This way you can make more of your content evergreen (visitors won’t know how long ago it was written). Focus many of your posts on search engine terms you want to rank for. Run an incoming links campaign to get incoming links and help you rank well on the search engines.

I want to not only earn income long-term from my work, but I want to generate traffic from my work long-term as well. It isn’t about just making a few quick hits. It’s about building up your authority site in the market. Become a traffic source for these affiliate programs you’re promoting.

Affiliate Income Key #3: Build a LIST.

This one shouldn’t come as any surprise. The money is in your relationship with a list.

Use that blog site and your other affiliate promotions to build YOUR LIST. Then use your list to promote great quality products and services with affiliate programs.

The strategy I often talk about of squeeze page and then immediate offer can be used with an affiliate strategy. Create a freebie such as a PDF collection of some of your best posts on a subject (that you created for Key #2 above). Or purchase private label rights to an ebook you can give away.

This is the immediate gift for when someone subscribes to your list. After someone subscribes make them a special offer. This can be for an affiliate product, but add a twist. On this subscribe thank you page (they just subscribed to your list) you’ll offer them another special gift for purchasing from the affiliate program today. It could be another product you own rights to which you give them when they purchase from the affiliate program.

Or it could be an INTERVIEW you do with the affiliate program owner.

That interview method can be used to even create a majority of the content you give away on your site. Interview product developers and then give those interviews away as a method of driving traffic to your affiliate links. You could even create your automatic email follow-ups on your list members to link back to these interviews (which promote the products).

Affiliate Income Key #4: Add Something to the Conversation

If you’re been paying attention to Google Adwords lately, you’ve probably noticed they’ve “slapped” some of the affiliate review pages. Previously they went through and slapped direct affiliate links.

They are getting rid of pages which don’t add value on their own. You need to be thinking about how you add value to the overall conversation.

This means you don’t want to just republish the content created by the affiliate program managers. You want to create something that you “OWN.” This could be the interviews I mentioned above. Or it could be articles you write. Or online videos you create.

Think of yourself as a publisher. Perhaps you’re a radio host doing audio content. Or you’re a magazine publisher with your online magazine (your WordPress site). Your goal is to produce content on the subject that builds an audience. You teach. You entertain. You inspire.

You’re the HOST of your own site and media empire. Create this platform, and then use it to recommend products you know your audience will love.

Affiliate Income Key #5: Have Your Audience’s Best Interests in Mind

Doing all the above forces you to think about your audience’s want and needs. If you recommend poor products, you’ll lose your subscribers. If you only recommend those you can stand behind 100%, you’ll build trust…and through it more long-term sales.

This is NOT a quick hit strategy of taking the money and running. It’s about building up that long-term audience and value.

It’s not about just grabbing a few links to high paying affiliate programs. In fact when you’re following this model you’ll find you want to do a majority of the other strategies we talk about here…survey your audience to find out what they want, write good copy for your affiliate special promotions, and do jvs for building your list and traffic.

You’re building up a REAL asset…a business which could be sold if you choose. This new site and list you’ve developed has automatic traffic from the search engines. It has a growing list. It has income coming in automatically from the affiliate programs you’ve recommended.

This means you could cash out and sell it if you want. It’s likely you’d never want to, but you could. Because you’ve built a real business…based off of affiliate programs.

Written by Terry · Filed Under All 

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Comments

7 Responses to “5 Keys to Making Money With Affiliate Programs”

  1. Greg Nemer on July 27th, 2009 12:19 pm

    What a timely message. I have really been looking into a lot of affiliate marketing methods and even the link cloaking methods that you just discussed.

    Thanks for being on the cutting edge of what we as your readers need. Your 5 keys contain a lot of wisdom.

    The 4th key on “adding something to the conversation” is something I really need to concentrate on, however key number 5 is really hits home.

    Very few people are interested in putting money in someone else’s pocket. They need to know whats in it for them and HOW it BENEFITS them.

    By the way, when you recommend a product, I am always interested in it. Because I trust you and. I know that you have my interest in mind also.

    Thanks again Terry!

  2. Pat Wiklund on July 27th, 2009 1:00 pm

    Thanks, Terry,

    for some great suggestions. I am just about to start a second WP blog and can easily use this for both of them.

    Both are authority sites, I just wasn’t thinking of them in this term.

    By using your 4th tip and adding some of my own voice and content to my affiliate links, I can add to the conversation and create more credibility.

    Just need to be deliberate about what I am doing. Sometimes it takes someone like you to catch my attention.

    Thanks….

    pat

  3. Branko Zecevic on July 27th, 2009 1:11 pm

    If i can summarize this post, I would say :
    “Create content of value that relates to your subscribers;
    build list based on relationship; track your links and keep
    interest of subscribers uppermost and you will earn some money.”
    Thank you Terry!

  4. John Chancellor on July 27th, 2009 7:35 pm

    Your points 4 and 5 are so important .. . and so overlooked by too many people. You must add value to the transaction. If you are just stepping in line for a commission, you are not adding value.

    And keep the best interest of the audience in mind. Putting someone on a poor deal just for a commission is the best way I know of to lose your list.

    Great article.

  5. cashmere lashkari on July 27th, 2009 9:53 pm

    Great tips as usual. I’m still not too comfortable with affiliate marketing. Makes more sense to stick to what I am comfortable doing for the moment. And that is doing freelance copywriting projects.

  6. Joseph Salcido on July 27th, 2009 10:32 pm

    Terry,

    Praise the Lord and God Bless You for all that the Lord has done for you in your life. I came across your website from Christian Living Ministry’s website and I truly believe that the Lord Jesus led me to your site. I’ve been wanting to start a website or a business online of some sort. But, as you well know it’s a jungle out there and many scams trying to figure out who can you trust.

    Well, I believe that I can trust you for you seem to be a man of integrity, I read your faith statements and I was truly blessed by them. Just want to let you know that I’m just a newbie just trying to start a business online, I’ve checked out some of your products and wish I could buy some, but at this point in time I can’t really afford it. Because, at this time I’m thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars in debt.

    So, Terry I was wondering if you could just direct me to more links regarding affiliate marketing and blogging I would be very thankful.

    Praise the Lord, May the Peace of God guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus the Lord,

    God Bless You,
    Joseph

  7. Parth on July 28th, 2009 6:22 pm

    Cool, Thanks for the post! I’ve been focusing heavily on affiliate marketing recently, and my sales have been steadily decreasing after a great peak. You’ve given me some great ideas here!

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