One of the “best kept secrets” in internet marketing is affiliate programs. I make a good portion of my income by promoting other people's products — they also promote their products to their audiences. I make money both ways. When I promote someone else's product I get a commission when they buy — when someone buys my product because someone else referred them I pay that person a commission.
Even if you have everything else in place – it is very difficult to make a lot of money in online marketing unless you work with other people. The affiliate marketing system makes collaboration profitable for everyone. Affiliates make money by promoting and preselling the products and services of others. Being a good affiliate is also a great way to meet those people who are just a bit further along than you are. If you can help them even a bit — they are in a position to help you a lot.
The key to being a great affiliate is learning how to promote other people's offers. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
Reviews
Reviews are one of the most powerful ways to promote affiliate offers. Before many people make a purchase, they look for product reviews to help them make a decision. They use reviews to compare features, prices, and of course to help justify their buying decision.
You can tap into this need by writing quality reviews for the products you represent. A good review will identify the product features and benefits. It will present all the pros and cons of the product in an honest light. Presenting your review in the most unbiased manner possible will help your readers trust you and what you have to say.
When writing your review, don't make it sound or read like a sales page. They can read the company's sales page. The review should be designed to presell the product. And of course, be sure to include a link or two to the product sales page so you can earn a commission.
Articles
Just like reviews, people read online to learn more about a problem they have or a desire they wish to fulfill. Articles, designed to inform and help people solve their problems will be read, passed along and linked to. When you include links in these articles to your affiliate products, you make sales. It is one of the strongest ways to promote affiliate products.
Publish articles on your website, as blog posts, in your newsletter or ezine, on partner websites and blogs and on article marketing sites that allow affiliate links.
Audio and Video
Just like articles, audio and video content is also a great way to promote affiliate products. Unfortunately, it is tough to link to products in audio and video. That being said, there are ways to link in audio and video content and you can work around it by referencing a link to the product on your website or blog.
Reports and Ebooks
At this point you might be noticing a trend – content is a great way to promote affiliate products. Reports and ebooks offer a tremendous amount of value to the reader because they take a larger look at how to solve a problem. They're more in depth than a standard article. For example a book or report on dog housebreaking is going to be a lot more detailed and potentially helpful than an article on the same topic.
Just like in an article, you would include links to relevant affiliate products in the reports and ebooks.
If you're looking for surefire ways to promote your affiliate products, you can't go wrong with content. Any form of content, as long as it offers your readers value and benefit, is a great vehicle for affiliate promotion. Get busy creating your content strategy today!\
Want to learn more about affiliate marketing – I recently recorded a free affiliate marketing class with Shahar and Nash Boyayan (the Buzzboosters). Listen to the recording and learn more about affiliate marketing.
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