Affiliate Marketing?

Can Affiliate Marketing be de-mystified?

Every time I open my Inbox there is another message telling me how I can make giga-gajillions of dollars SIMPLY by signing up and sitting back, waiting for those ginormous checks to fill my bank account.

This defies even my own logic. But I think Affiliate Marketing can be a viable, honest way to earn a living online if you go about it properly.

The whole idea behind Affiliate Marketing is to "sell other peoples' stuff." But you can't just go about that willy nilly. You would be well advised to do your due diligence. The products you would market need to be in line with your niches, your own integrity and your own ethical code.

As a practical matter, if you have a niche and a list of people to whom you'd promote, you'd want to be sure those on your list would be likely to be interested in any promotion you'd support. If you have a website that offers waterless cookware, for example, you would not be likely to offer your list the opportunity to buy discounted pajamas or DVDs about hair care. Those don't "match" so it would be unappealing for the people in your circle of influence.

I know a famous marketer who found out the hard way-he lost people from his list-because the item he was promoting had a NAME that did not match the integrity people on his list expected from him. The product was a good one but the name of the product belied that fact. He was in the soup and he learned an expensive but valuable lesson.

Here's the deal: If you go to a movie and you want everyone you know to see this movie, you will recommend it to them without reservation. These are your friends and they like you, they trust you and they want to follow your recommendation so when they are ready to have a movie night, they are likely to see the movie you mentioned to them. It works the same way in internet marketing. If I have bought a program from an internet enterprise and I know, respect and like the people with whom I have had dealings, I am likely to trust them when they come to me with their Next Big Thing.

Conversely, if my trusted, likable peeps pop up with some cockamamie idea about a discounted cruise or some land scheme, I'd scratch my head and think, "HUH?"
But when they roll out the next product in their niche, I am going to be all over it like June bugs on a duck's back.

As a matter of fact, my peeps are coming out with their Next Big Thing. It's to be a wedding, after a fashion, with fanfare, celebration, and all manner of surprises for their faithful. It's all good, kids. You'd better be on the lookout.

Here is my best advice for you: If you want to be an Affiliate Marketer, find an affiliate marketing program who has a product that matches your passion and fits your personality. Create a lot of buzz around that product. Tweet about it, create a blog devoted to that and give your visitors CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT. Give them VALUE. Help the people on your lists in any way you can. They have issues; you can provide solutions!

Nothing happens in a vacuum. You must have desire, the belief to follow through on your desire; above all, you must decide to take action!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU WOULD-BE AFFILIATE MARKETERS! Remember, the harder you work at it, the luckier you will become!

Connie Baum