Affiliate Programs, from A to Z

[isMobham]

For the longest time, I've been hearing people asking about Affiliate Programs. Some don't know what they are .. some don't know how they work .. some tried them and failed.


Only a few actually succeeded at playing the Affiliate Game.


But why so few? Is it because becoming an affiliate is too hard? Is it because it's expensive? Is it due to lack of decent affiliate programs?


Well, it could be any of those reasons. BUT... it also could be due to the fact that those who failed didn't know what they were doing.


They joined a thousand affiliate programs, put banners and links everywhere they could, then sat back and waited for money to fall in their laps. Does that sound familiar?


Well, it should! Because 95% of affiliates do exactly that.


They never bother to learn how to do it the right way. They build a field of dreams, imagining that money comes easy, or believing the hype of cheesy affiliate programs which promise them $100 a day without having to do anything ...


But when they wake up from their dreams, they find reality kicking them in the butt


Which is a shame, really, because being a successful affiliate is not that hard at all. Many people have done it, and they make a great living out of it. I myself am one of those people.



Today, I'm starting this thread to tell you how YOU can become an affiliate champion. In a series of short articles, I'm going to tell you everything you need to know in order to build a successful, profitable, and enjoyable affiliate business.


Being an affiliate is possibly the best introduction into the world of making money online. It's easy, it's doable, it's cheap (possibly free), and it works!


So, if you're interested, please check this topic every now and then. We'll start from the very beginning, and move up the ladder, one step at a time. I promise you there will be loads of useful information here ... information that will help you join the 5% who actually do it right.


By the end of this series, I can assure you that you'll have a successful affiliate business .. one that actually makes money, instead of wastes it.



So please ... stay tuned ... I'll see you soon.




Regards.
Dr. Tamer Aly

[isMobham]

What's An Affiliate Program?

In 1997, Amazon.com launched its affiliate program. By around mid 1998, it had over 30,000 affiliates. Currently, it has over one million affiliates worldwide. It wasn’t the first of its kind, but it was the first to make the concept of affiliate programs prominent and known to the public.




But what are affiliate programs? To answer this question, let’s take Amazon.com as an example ...


Amazon.com sells books and heaps of other goods online. Books offer information on millions of widely-varied subjects. And when you think about it, to each of those subjects, there’s a Website already dedicated.


So Amazon.com thought: “Why not have all those specialized Websites work for us?” ... Of course, the idea of having millions of Websites bringing in buyers would make any CEO drool. But how did Amazon.com manage to do that? Well, that’s the basis for any and all affiliate programs ...


The affiliate provides links from his/her Website to particular books and merchandise on the Amazon.com Website, books and merchandise that are related to the affiliate’s Website theme and content. Amazon.com uses special tracking software to track which Website sends each visitor. If that visitor decides to buy from Amazon.com, the sender affiliate gets a commission.


And that’s basically what an affiliate business is all about ...

• Website X sends a visitor to Company A.
• Visitor buys something from Company A.
• Company A pays Website X.

Easy, right? Indeed it is. But simplicity is not the only virtue of affiliate programs. There are many advantages working for the affiliate business model, much more than meets the eye.


And that’s exactly what we’re going to discuss next ... The benefits of being an affiliate




See you soon,
Dr. Tamer Aly

[Chexx]

Good read, I might like to have this on my website's articles section if you would let me

[isMobham]

Originally Posted by Chexx

Good read, I might like to have this on my website's articles section if you would let me

Perhaps when it's finished we could work something out, Chexx. How about that?

[isMobham]

The Benefits Of Being An Affiliate

Let’s take a quick look at the benefits of starting your own affiliate business. We’ll leave the details of each point till later, as we’ll be mentioning them a lot during this series of articles ...

• Very cheap (or even Free) to start up.
  
• Very cheap (or even Free) to promote.
  
• You work at your own pace, being your own boss.
  
• You don’t have to pay anyone to do the job for you; an affiliate business is very easy to manage -- if you know what you’re doing, which is exactly what these articles will show you.
  
• Worldwide, easy to reach customers.
  
• Easy and inexpensive to test and automate.

And there’s even more benefits ...

• You don’t need to have your own product to sell.
  
• Brand yourself as an expert.
  
• You get collateral publicity -- you can advertise your own products when you have them.
  
• Make money in other ways, e.g. ad placement, e-zine publishing, article posting, etc.

All these benefits, and many others, are very promising, and they give the affiliate business model unquestionable allure. But the most important one, the basis of and the reason for affiliate programs, is that you don’t need to have your own product. We’re going to talk about this specific benefit right now, since it’s going to be the basis for everything we do from now on as affiliates ...



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There are many ways to make money. For example ...

• You can manufacture a product and then sell it
  
• You can market your professional services, e.g. legal advice, medical advice, network administration, etc.
  
• You can work for a company using your education as an accountant, a programmer, a translator, etc.
  
• You can have a job related to your life-long experience, e.g. as a driver, a sales-person, a telemarketer, etc.

But do you see what all the above have in common? You must already posses either a product, a service, or significant experience in a certain field before you can make any serious money.


So what would your answer be if I was to ask you this question:


“If you don’t have a product to sell or a service to offer, would you make money?”


I did ask a lot of my friends that question. And the answer has always been a resounding No!


But let’s take a look at something we’ve all seen before. A super-market.


Super-markets present us with many, many different products. Be it packaged food, toys, cigarettes, baby diapers, perfumes, or anything, there are two things to notice about super-markets in general:

• They do NOT manufacture any of those products.
  
• They mostly sell the exact same things.

So how do super-markets make money even though they don’t really own those products, and what makes one super-market any different, i.e. more successful and profitable, than another?


Well, super-markets actually provide us with a service, but it’s a subtle one. It’s convenience. They save us the trouble of going to a dozen different specialized stores, by grouping most everything we might need in one place.


But that only answers the first part of the question. We still don’t know what makes one super-market better than any other.


Well, the answer to this one is not as subtle, but it can be overlooked just the same. The secret lies in the selection, the presentation, the atmosphere, the friendliness of staff ... the overall look and feel of the place.


So how does any of that relate to YOU, the affiliate? Let’s think about it ...


You don’t have a physical product to sell, and perhaps your college education (if you had one) cannot be offered as a service over the Internet, and you don’t even have experience in anything yet. Even so, you can still offer people a service ... your Website.


And what makes up that service?...

• The design, the colours, the organization, and the overall look and feel of your Website.
  
• The content on your Website.
  
• The focus of your Website.
  
• The top-quality selection of products (of other merchants) you offer on your Website.
  
• The attention and care you provide your visitors, making sure they will only find the best products and enjoy their time on your Website.

All that is your service.


Let’s assume for a minute that you’re opening a Website selling music CDs. You’re an affiliate of CDNow.com and Amazon.com. So what? There are million other Websites doing the exact same thing, some even selling the exact same titles and albums. So the physical products you promote don’t distinguish you in any way.


What does? The way you assemble and present your products, the look and feel of your Website, and the superior support and attention your provide your visitors.


That’s your real product!



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Now that you really know what affiliate businesses are all about, it’s time to put some meat on them bones .


In the following article, we’re going to discuss something we all like. Money ... that got your attention, didn’t it?


That’s good, because the next article will show you the how, the why, and the what about affiliate businesses and money. So until then ...




Best Regards,
Dr. Tamer Aly

[ericdesrosiers]

Thats a nice article...I really like it
when are you posting your next article?

[guyfox]

Waiting for an update here...

[john587]

Alot of info to read there, but yes Amazon were one of the first that started this affiliate program stuff of on the web.