‘Affiliate Success Checklist’ by Charlie Page

Charlie Page’s latest ‘Real World Tactics’ Year 7 Issue 8 article is titled “Affiliate Success Checklist.” [‘Real World Tactics’ Article]

Charlie Page’s latest ‘Real World Tactics’ article:

Affiliate Success Checklist

by Charlie Page

If you are not yet making a full time living online, and want to, then you will like what this article offers – practical advice to help you build a rock solid foundation for success.

It all starts with something you have heard about, but might not have yet mastered … affiliate marketing.

Do you understand affiliate marketing?

Do you know what is required to succeed as an affiliate?

Most people don’t, which is a shame because this method of making money online is very powerful indeed.

The reality is this – making money as an affiliate is the easiest way to get started making money online.

After 10 years of working online I believe that affiliate marketing is the foundation of most true success stories, and can quite easily create a full time income with little or no overhead or technical skills.

And that is just too good a situation to pass up!

So let’s look together at what affiliate marketing is, and then I will share my own “affiliate marketing checklist” and provide a few *free* resources to help you.

Sound good? Then let’s get started.

WHAT IS AFFILIATE MARKETING ANYWAY?

Being an affiliate simply means that you sell someone else’s product and earn a commission when you do so.

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word ‘affiliate’ this way…

Affiliate: [verb] To associate as a member

That’s exactly correct. When you become an affiliate you are associating with the product or service you will be selling.

You are loaning them your reputation.

Don’t forget that.

Every email you send, every contact you make, reflects on you. And the company’s action will reflect on you as well, so choose wisely.

So, being an affiliate is simply a fancy Internet way of saying that you are going to be a commissioned salesperson.

DOES IT REALLY WORK?

Yes, it does. It is true that you can make very good money with affiliate programs, but it is not automatic.

You must still understand the PROCESS of marketing and do the work.

But if you choose great programs, do some of the work (and take advantage of the tools they offer) you can grow a powerful income in a short period of time.

It’s equally true that you can waste tons of time and money on them and your reputation can suffer if you don’t choose carefully.

That is why it is vitally important that you understand as much as you can about any program you join online. If it makes sense to you, it will make sense to others to whom you offer the product or program.

If it does not make sense to you (and especially if you are confused) the by all means *wait* until you fully understand what they are offering.

Over the years I have developed a checklist of 10 things people need to know before taking the plunge into the world of affiliate marketing.

This checklist has proven invaluable to my clients and friends, and I hope it helps you as well.

MY AFFILIATE SUCCESS CHECKLIST

1. MAKE SURE THE PRODUCT BEING OFFERED MATCHES YOU

If your passion is embroidery, you probably won’t do too well with car parts sites. Stick with what you know first and, once you learn how to promote on the Internet, move on to different products.

2. CHECK IT OUT

Don’t just jump in because it’s easy. Ask yourself this question; is the product or service you are affiliating with something you would bring to your best friend? If not, you may want to keep looking.

3. TALK TO CURRENT AFFILIATES

Ask for a list of happy affiliates. Ask them some key questions such as did they get the help and support promised? Are they being paid on time? You get the idea.

4. THINK LONG TERM

If your first arrangement doesn’t pan out, don’t give up. Many people on the net are making excellent incomes with affiliate programs. You can too.

5. GO FOR QUALITY

Make a checklist of everything you want, find two who meet the criteria, and go all out with those two. Remember that it will be your reputation on the line.

6. HOW WELL DO THEY SELL?

You need to ask how well the product or service you will be promoting ‘converts’. Conversion is simply the number of people per 100 who buy something.

For example, at the Directory of Ezines we convert 8 of every 100 visitors to buyers. We know this because we do the hard work of analyzing our traffic and sales, and have for 10 years now.

This is the hard work that affiliates never have to do, which is why being an affiliate is so much fun! You make the money but don’t have to do the copy writing or figure out conversions or any of the back-office stuff.

For most established products you will promote you can expect this number to range from .5% to about 10%. Anything higher or lower and you need to be careful bout them telling you the truth.

Also, be aware that ‘hot’ products convert well while they are hot but conversion drops with time. So be sure to get *current* conversion figures.

7. WHAT IS THE COOKIE DURATION?

Most affiliate programs track using ‘cookies’ that are set on the visitor’s machine. You need to know how long this cookie lasts and if it can be overwritten.

The reason this is important is that it will change how you market.

If a company has a short cookie duration then you want to focus on ads that make the sale now. If they have a long duration you can use other methods (like banners) that are more passive.

You also want to know if the cookie can be overwritten.

If it can, then someone who first learned about product X from you, but clicks another link to buy, will not earn you the commission you deserve.

Neither of these factors are good or bad (Amazon has an incredibly short cookie but people still make fortunes as affiliates for them) but are worth knowing.

8. DO YOU EARN ‘BACKEND’ COMMISSIONS?

This means do you get paid when someone you refer buys a second product? This is vitally important. People often buy two, three or more products from one site. You should earn commissions for every product they buy.

9. DO YOU EARN RENEWAL COMMISSIONS?

If you send someone to a site where they pay a monthly or quarterly fee, do you get paid every time or just once? You should get paid every time.

10. DO THEY SUPPORT YOU?

Most people don’t know, or have the time, to write ads and create banners or graphics. You should expect the program you join to provide these tools as well as some training on how to sell their products.

WHERE TO FIND GOOD AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

My favorite tool for finding great products to sell as an affiliate is Affiliates Alert.

They offer a free version, which does an excellent job. As soon as you’ve earned some affiliate income, you might want to consider the Pro version, as I did.

You can get the free version here …

http://www.directoryofezines.com/affalert.html

Forums are excellent resources to learn what really works. Here are my top three forum choices.

1. Anthony Blake’s Marketing Forum

http://www.ablake.net/forum/

2. The Warriors of Internet Marketing.

http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/

3. Michael Green’s Marketing Forum

http://www.howtocorphelp.com/forum/

Here are THREE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES that will help you succeed as an affiliate fast.

Allan Gardyne of Associate Programs.com. Great advice from a guy who has been there.

http://www.associateprograms.com

Jim Daniels of BizWeb fame. He started an affiliate portal a while ago that seems to be working well. A great site to learn and earn.

http://www.affiliateshowcase.com

Without a doubt, using ClickBank to find products is the smart choice for a serious affiliate. It costs nothing to become an affiliate and they offer over 11,000 products. Many a real-life fortune has been made promoting ClickBank products. http://www.clickbank.com

If you are committed to quality, and only offer your people quality resources, time will become your ally and your affiliate commissions alone can quite literally pay for the lifestyle of your dreams.

The best way to start is to choose three programs that meet your criteria, and let them teach you how to be successful with their program.

After all, when you win, they win.

And that’s a beautiful way to make a living online.

About Charlie Page

Charlie Page helps people succeed online. How can he help you? Find out now at his main site or call his toll free number. http://www.RealWorldTactics.com