We trust you are in the throes of preparing for time to celebrate this precious time of year. We hope those who are traveling to be with loved ones will arrive safely and enjoy this season as much as possible.
There are a number of things we want to share with you about internet marketing when we return from a holiday hiatus. We hope you will be greatly helped by what we have to share!
When 2010 arrives we wish that it will bring each of you and those you love a year filled with peace and joy; abundance and prosperity; and great fun!
We have covered affiliate marketing by going over preparation, goal setting and rewards; as well as your commitment. We have addressed the issues of how people might search for a solution to their problems and we touched on the importance of content.
A website without traffic is like a day without sunshine. The World Wide Web is not like a field of dreams: Just because you built it, does not mean they will come. What will drive traffic to your door is:
1. Quality, consistent content
2. Good search engine optimization
The way to accomplish this is to make sure your site has top notch information on it. In addition to good quality content on your site and your blog, it is necessary to create interesting, compelling articles to the various article submission sites that make up the dot com world. Depending on your niche, these might include the following:
You want to make yourself the marketer of choice. By offering appealing, inviting copy and videos that attract people you will find that people will want to meet you. They will learn to trust you-please make sure their trust is not misplaced-and they will want to do business with you. Please bear in mind that people do business with people they know, like and trust. Written copy in articles and videos are not the only avenue open to you. You could also create e-books; reports; and email campaigns. There is powerful traffic generation in Press Releases, internet radio and radio offline opportunities. You can hold webinars, teleseminars, interviews can be audios, written or video taped.
There is no need to erect false barriers to your success by shying away from any or all of these methods. Do your due diligence; stand in your truth; enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Affiliate marketing covers a multitude of areas. We will continue our exploration of this topic. We hope you’ll keep the coffee pot hot, pour another cup, and stay tuned!
Connie Baum *The FTC wants you to know there are affiliate links in this post. If clicked, this could result in a purchase. In the event this should occur, your humble blogger would be compensated. Use your best judgment when conducting business online or offline.
To date, the topics we have covered concerning affiliate marketing have included preparation, goal setting and rewards, as well as commitment. Since it's the holiday season, we excuse you for not commenting...YET...grin.
When people are looking for solutions to their problems, they are likely to do an internet search. They will log onto Google and type in the subject they want to know about. These folks might be looking for help with their affiliate marketing; they could be in need of work at home ideas. Or they may just want to know the fastest way to earn money online. Think of Rapid Cash Marketing as an example. If one searches for rapid cash, they may find Rapid Cash Marketing.com with the help of Google, Yahoo, or another search engine. This is only one example out of jillions of possibilities.
Searches are not done by people with the mindset of "Oh, let me look for Joe Blow, the new affiliate marketer who might have what I'm looking for;" rather, people just want HELP and they want help YESTERDAY. Your job as the marketer of choice is to optimize your website in order for people to find it with ease. When they come to your site you owe it to them to give them quality content, ease of navigation and the solution to their problems. As an affiliate, you can help them by touting Other Peoples' Stuff, reviewing products and services offered by Other People. You can demonstrate how that Stuff will solve the visitors' problems.
Let's visit the subject of quality content. Providing consistent, quality content for your visitors is the magic key to your success. It is incumbent to present quality content consistently to article submission sites, in your blog posts; at every turn YOU MUST PROVIDE QUALITY CONTENT. It can be written, audio or video content but it must be first rate.
Oh, and did I mention that Content is King?
I realize this is redundant but even little children learn by rote and if it helps you to learn how important content is to your overall success, then by all means, I shall be redundant. Repeatedly.
Cogitate on how your content can be the best on the web. Think about your sentence structure, your grammar and spelling. Think long and hard about what products or services you represent that are designed to solve your visitors' problems. Are you submitting articles? Have you been putting video messages on your blog? Do you send meaningful messages to the people who took the time and trusted you enough to opt in for your information? Do you post to your blog on a routine basis?
Let us know what you think about this topic, even though Christmas is at hand. Just write a comment on this page. Comments are moderated but that should pose no problem for you or for your humble blogger.
Part 4 will appear soon, so please stay tuned.
Connie Baum The FTC wants you to know that there are links in this post. If those links are clicked, resulting in a sale, your humble blogger will be compensated. Please do your due diligence when making purchases online or offline.
Affiliate marketing is about selling other peoples' stuff. If you have been working in that arena, you understand full well that it's a little more complex than that.
In Part One we looked at preparation, goal setting-and rewards-commitment, and consistency. In Part Two we will begin with expectations.
When you sell other peoples' stuff you can expect that there will be no start-up costs. The person with the stuff-the product owner-should provide training for you, as well as ideas and strategies. But when it comes to supporting you in your efforts, kids, you are pretty much on your own.
This is where you can expect your preparation, goals, commitment and consistency to pay off for you. You can get around the lack of support and really diversify by coming up with a workable and profitable solution: Create your OWN product!
This is phenomenal because you KNOW you can depend on YOU!
YOU can provide the best product for the best affiliate program!
YOU can test, test, test (It's all part of the preparation)!
YOU know to do things correctly and YOU will take action to git er done!
YOU understand the importance of preparation!
YOU will benefit from diversifying so as to have models that are monetized!
YOU will reap the rewards by creating the solution you seek!
To accomplish this affiliate success you will need a website. Here are some considerations when it comes to websites:
Having a website for each affiliate product gives you and your products credibility.
Free websites will diminish your professionalism and credibility; in addition, you have fewer options when creating free websites.
Make sure your site looks professional, not cheezy or amateurish. Keep it clean and free from blinky-blinky or garish ad banners.
It will be critical to have Search Engine Optimization in place. Work with a professional to make the most of SEO.
If your website is cluttered and difficult to navigate, your visitors will click out and go to your competitors.
Content is King. If you have a lovely, inviting website but offer poor content you will lose credibility, profitability and hope.
Traffic is critical to the success of your affiliate website. Good, quality content on the site itself in addition to strategically placed articles and consistent, persistent addition of content will propel you to your long term goals and usher success into your life!
As an affiliate marketer you have certain expectations, as do the visitors who come to your affiliate website. Expect to solve other peoples' problems and everyone will be happy. You will become the trusted marketer of choice and your reputation will be stellar. Expect your bank account to be healthier, too!
Upcoming posts here will address more details concerning affiliate marketing and work at home solutions. Connie Baum *The FTC wants you to know that there are links in this post. Should those links be clicked and that would lead to a sale, your humble blogger would be compensated. That's how affiliate marketing works. Do your due diligence when dealing with merchants online or offline, for that matter.
Affiliate Marketing is one aspect of internet marketing. It's all about selling other peoples' stuff and it is a great idea-if it works well.
Is affiliate marketing working well for YOU? If so, you no doubt understand why. And we would be interested to have your comments on this page, if you'd be kind enough to chime in! If success has eluded you, are you interested to learn how to make it profitable and productive? Or, like so many others, will you throw your hands up and surrender?
People will wail, "It didn't work for me. I tried it but I gave up because I couldn't do it!" Giving up is understandable but will not help you achieve profitability and it's not really necessary. Let's examine some of the elements of affiliate marketing and see if we can help you figure out what WILL work.
First and foremost, you must know that it is not the affiliate marketing that works; it is YOU.
If you know anything about real estate you have heard the expression "Location. Location. Location." Location is EVERYTHING in real estate. With internet marketing in general and affiliate marketing in particular the cry is: "Preparation. Preparation. Preparation.
Ben Franklin said "By failing to prepare, you prepare to fail."
People tend to want instant gratification so they think that by doing anything, even out of sequence, they will surely hit their mark. Think, "Ready. Aim. Fire." People who are unprepared are likely to fire first and fail to aim or be ready.
Would-be affiliate marketers would be wise to lay out long term goals with short term goals for every step that needs to be taken. Beyond that, there need to be rewards in place for the completion of both long term and short term goals.
SIDEBAR: Make the rewards fit the goals. For example, if you finish three things on your Task List, you get to do the Happy Dance and meet a friend at the coffee shop. When you earn the dollar amount you have set for yourself, you get to turn cartwheels in the yard and spend a day at the beach. Or you get to buy a new book dealing with your niche. I'm sure you get the idea. END SIDEBAR.
Here is a great idea from one of the Top Gurus in affiliate marketing: He uses a white board to post his goals and his tasks. As each one is accomplished he erases it, does the Chicken Dance, and eats waffles at his local hangout. For the bigger goals, he eats Chinese. That's HIS thing; what is YOURS? Don't get your knickers in a twist when you miss your mark. Reset your goal, tweak your priorities, keep at it and prepare like never before!
Commitment is a huge factor in the success of any endeavor. Internet marketing, affiliate marketing is no different in that way. If you are not committed to your preparation and learning and success, who will do it for you? Commitment cannot be outsourced nor can its importance be underestimated.
When you are committed, consistency will be a given. You cannot expect to post on your blog with your affiliate links and then wait a week or a month to re-post. Your lack of commitment and your lack of enthusiasm will be patently obvious to visitors of your site.
There is a great deal more to affiliate marketing than we can cover in this post so you can expect much more in the days and weeks to come. We leave you with the admonition to keep on keepin' on and stay prepared!
We ask for your comments because your experience and wisdom can help others. As always, we are grateful for comments; you are reminded the comments are moderated.
Connie Baum *The FTC wants me to tell you that if the links in this post are clicked and that results in a sale, I would be compensated. They worry about this much more than is necessary in my case.
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!
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