Five Mistakes That Affiliates Make in Marketing

More and more affiliates are making the same mistakes in affiliate marketing. The worst part is that they're just doing what they're taught by the "affiliate marketing experts." It is unbelievable that 95% of affiliates make no money.

The problem is the way the 95% are running their affiliate marketing businesses. Avoiding the most common mistakes made by affiliates will easily and quickly increase your chances of making affiliate sales. Below you will learn the top mistakes made and how to avoid them. Hopefully, this will make you a much better top seller.

1. Not Building for Search Engines

Most successful affiliates learn to make the search engines their best friends. They are the best source for long-term, free traffic for your affiliate sites. Your site needs to contain clean coding, provide excellent content, and optimize all your pages.

It might be in your best interest to get in touch with someone who does search engine optimization to give you a helping hand. Some affiliate web sites have so much going on that the visitor gets confused and they hit the back button and never come back. It is important to keep your pages clean and targeted to get them to click over to the products and merchant(s) you are promoting.

2. Banners, banners and more banners

Probably the biggest problem seen in affiliate sites is that they are filled with too many banners. The goal is to lure someone with good content and then urge them to click on the banner to learn more.

If you put in the effort by having original personal endorsements, short descriptions, relevant articles and graphics, you will see your sales increasing. Take the time to personalize your site and modify it to suit your target area. Visitors will appreciate knowing that you are a real person running the site that they are visiting.

3. Promoting the Program instead of the Product

It never fails; affiliates joint the ever popular two-tier affiliate programs and then create a one page site telling other people to join. Unless you are extremely skilled at luring in key people, or know how to get thousands of affiliates to sign up, you are not going to get rich.

It is best to find an affiliate program that is a product or service that you can promote and sell. You will have much better chance of making money by promoting products that are of incredibly good value, that you believe in and can easily sell by telling people about your incredible find.

4. Playing It CHEAP

We know that you really don�t want to spend a lot of money getting your business up and running, but NOONE wants to visit a site that looks like you don't have any money. You want to avoid sites that look like they are on a free hosting site with a free e-mail address. This just send the message to potential subscribers that either you have not made any money or that you really don't know what you are doing.

Domain names and hosting is really cheap these days. Spending about 9 dollars a year for domain name and less than 5 dollars a month for hosting will not break your bank. In the long run, it will make your site look professional and more people will take you seriously.

5. Lack of Solid Foundation

Most affiliates have high hopes of earning high commissions but are promoting questionable products and services. Building something of value and creating a business that you are proud of and creating a solid foundation is the key to earning money. Even if your site is small, make sure that it is useful, strong, and informative not only about what you are selling, but how it will help people.

When you build a site that helps people, it will do wonders for your marketing. Another way to improve your foundation is to allow people to link to your site. The more people see your site out there, the more you will sell.

It does take time to build the perfect affiliate site. However, with a little perseverance and patience, people will see your site, view you as an expert in your field, and ask for interviews. All of this will attach more and more links to your site and you will see your site climbing.

Build a business based on a solid foundation. If you keep it real, give people what they want in a helpful way, you will succeed and continue to grow your business.

Author by Markus Corkern

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How To Use The Power Of Networking And Leverage Like the Big Businesses do

How do you earn your money? Are you:

1. working for someone

2. a professional or self-employed (exchange your expertise for someone’s money) = small business owner

3. a business owner

4. an investor

Most people opt for employment because they see it as a “safe” option. “Job Security” is what they want. However, as many people will tell you; due to downsizing and industries like the recording industry changing from records to CD’s, where a skill is literally obsolete overnight, there is no such thing as “Job Security.” Think for yourself: What would you do if your boss tells you tomorrow that you have no job? How long will you be able to survive?

The second way is to be self-employed, or to be a professional. Some professionals have jobs, like teachers, nurses and doctors, but most have a practice or are self employed. Others are self employed by offering a service. If you ask someone who is self employed why he is self employed, he will often say: “I prefer working for myself and not for a boss.” That is just about the only advantage I can see. Does the self employed have fixed hours to work? No, they often work overtime. Do they have a fixed salary? No, if there is a bad month, they have to take a cut in earnings. They can’t take holidays, weekends or days off.

The third way is to be a business owner – this is someone who leverages his time by having people work for him, and/or own a big network of businesses, such as McDonalds.

The fourth way is to be an Investor – someone who uses money as leverage.

You can possibly see from the descriptions above that the last two: Business Owner and/or Investor probably have the most money. Why do they have more money? There are two words above that give you a clue: Network and Leverage.

What is a network?

My Thesaurus describes it as: A system, complex, set-up, set of connections, and set of contacts. Examples of Business Networks or Systems: McDonalds, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Wal-Mart,

What is leverage?

My Thesaurus says: influence, power, force, control, pull, weight. Simply put, leverage is to get other people to do work for you so you can get more done. The owner of McDonalds has 1000’s of people doing work for him in stead of him doing it all himself.

Can you see the power of leverage and networking? How can you use the power of networking? You can start your own business. However, starting your own business is quite difficult and very costly, and most people don’t have the money to get started. You will have to come up with a new idea, or an idea that gives you a competitive advantage over an existing business. After putting lots of your own money into research, brand names, copyrighting and start-up costs, you will have to find loans somewhere with your business plan that your accountant wrote for you. Most people who want to start their own business take out a loan on the equity in their property, or take out a second mortgage on their house, to get started. Big business may start as a small business. But take care that you don’t think your small business falls in this category. If you bought your small business, and you are running it, and it needs you to survive, then you just bought yourself a job. But true leverage is when you can walk away from your business and it can carry on without you.

However, most people don’t have the resources to get their own business up and running. Besides, there is another problem for most people: Consider this scene: You have worked for a company for 15 years. You have been promoted a couple of times. Now there is an opening to become manager of your division. You and another guy both want that position. You have both worked hard for it, but only one of you can get it. Perhaps one of you wants the promotion so bad, he is willing to bribe someone for it - Is this fair? Most people can never dream of obtaining the top jobs.

Now we have to wonder: Is there a way that you can use the power of Networking and Leverage as well? Is there a fair structure where you get paid and promoted directly in proportion with your efforts? The good news is that there is. It is called “Network Marketing.” In Network Marketing, not only do you get paid directly in proportion to your efforts, but you have the power of leverage and networking working for you as well. You have exactly the same opportunity as anyone else to get promoted to the top positions. Now this is fair.

But isn’t Network Marketing an illegal Pyramid Scheme? I hear you ask.

Though Network Marketing and pyramid schemes do share some similarities, there’s a very important difference that makes the latter illegal. In pyramid schemes, income is generated solely on the process of recruiting others into the pyramid. Sometimes a product of service of questionable value is involved (that is never retailed to the general public by the way), but generally what you’re buying is the right to recruit others into the scheme. This is illegal. Also, in pyramid schemes, those who get in first and who are at the top win, while everyone else loses. In a legitimate Network Marketing company, on the other hand, distributors are paid only on product movement, not on recruiting, both at wholesale and retail. There’s also compensation based on training and managing of your marketing team. And unlike illegal pyramids, in Network Marketing, no matter where you’re positioned or when you join, you can advance to the very highest income levels and even make more money than those above you in the network.

In all business and government structures, the pyramid is the foundation. It contains the hierarchy of, and indeed shapes the role of, all who participate in the organization. Whether it is the president of the United States and his vice president, Congress, and all the way down to the local government employees, or Microsoft, where one guy sits on the top, followed by his vice presidents, all the way down to the mail clerks, the pyramid structure is ubiquitous. The first thing we should agree on is that there is no inherent problem with the structure of a pyramid.

In government and in business there are several features of the pyramid that are found consistently:

1. The further away from the pinnacle, the less power an individual has, and the less money he or she makes.

2. There is usually one person on the top and that position is typically unattainable to others in the organization. If someone lower down in the structure does assume that top position, it is still reserved for one person at a time.

3. Normally those at the top like to stay at the top. Those toward the top may have incentives to move up higher in their organization, but there is typically no incentive for those higher up to help advance those who are lower down to surpass them. The order of the hierarchy is somewhat sacred.

4. At each level in the organization job titles go along with salaries. Normally a person cannot assume more money or more power without the “permission” of someone above granting those advancements. Normally, people have little control over advancing. One cannot typically “self-advance.”

Going back to pyramid schemes versus legitimate network marketing, the contrasts and similarities need to be examined. One of the bad images of pyramid schemes stems from the fact that if there is no viable product, or just money is being moved around, the people at the bottom really do get a raw deal. If only money is being passed around, by the time an individual rises to the top, the money may simply have run out. This is bogus, illegal and frowned upon by the Direct Sellers Association, and the Federal Trade Commission. (Both the DSA and the FTC oversee and ordain legitimate network marketing companies.) Contrast this with MLM compensation plans in which income is only paid out to those who qualify with enough volume during that pay period.

In a pyramid scheme, the payout runs out because no such limits are set.

In a good Network Marketing company the product is so good it can stand on its own. So this is the way the money is made: From the product, not from recruiting. These are the features of a good Network Marketing Company:

1. Each distributor can surpass the level of anybody who came into the organization before him or her, if the new distributor’s performance is greater than the one already in the business.

2. Each new distributor is encouraged to become a CEO, or the top of his pyramid, by the encouragement, leadership, and training of those in his support team. Those above the new distributor in the organization are motivated to elevate the level of everyone who is newer in the business.

3. There is no glass ceiling, no job title with a fixed and limited salary attached to it. The system does represent financial freedom because the model for business growth and the ability to generate income are inherently limitless. The rewards, incentives, acknowledgements, etc. at every level above the new distributor, all the way to corporate, are authentic, on-going, effective, and inspiring.

4. There are no barriers such as race, education, gender, previous experience, etc. Anyone who does the work gets to the top. (Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and of The Business School for People Who like Helping People has been a strong advocate of network marketing. He tells a story of having been the top salesman at Xerox; he was not promoted because he lacked a college degree.)

5. There is no single top position. There is unlimited room for these so-called top positions.

6. People can “self-advance.” We give ourselves a raise based on performance, not on politics, nepotism, returning favours, or anything else.

7. No one’s earnings are limited to his or her own efforts. Through the process of leveraging ourselves, the bulk of our commissions come from other people like you and me, who want a better life. It is a business of teaching other people to teach other people, to teach other people, etc. It is an ethical, high-spirited, method of distribution, product consumption, and compensation.

Network marketing represents what we all crave: financial freedom, and time freedom. The opportunities for leadership and self-development are as great as the chance to make a lot of money. Whether or not you decide that this is for you, it is hard to beat this model for building an asset that will pay you over and over. Network marketing makes sense; it is the only viable model for creating financial freedom for the average person. And it is fair.

If you are ready to earn what you’re worth click here for a look at a couple of excellent programs and a way to promote them: http://contractor816.payitforward4profits.com

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Earning Thousands By Affiliate Selling

By: Diane Hughes

Affiliate selling online can make you the ultimate virtual sales representative. You can literally sell any product on the market today to consumers all around the world. With aggressive techniques, you can earn thousands in commissions without leaving the comforts of your own home.

An affiliate seller is like a traffic director of merchandising. He/she signals the oncoming consumer traffic to the companies that supply the products in which they are searching. Consequently, when a sale is made from your directed or redirected traffic, you get a commission of the sale. Thousands of Internet businesses utilize this every day—seven days a week and 365 days of the year. But is it as easy as it sounds? Absolutely!

The majority of major online companies offer affiliate marketing and commission programs and each and every one of them will, no doubt, welcome you in assisting in getting their products to the public. Many have either established their own affiliate program or use affiliate companies such as Commission Junction and LinkShare. Check out the online companies that want you to work for them.

Amazon.com – Amazon is practically the most popular online marketplace in the world. Known as the go to place to find books, Amazon sells everything from beauty products and apparel to electronics and power tools. Amazon supplies a comprehensive section for its affiliates. The site is http://associates.amazon.com. Once you sign up, Amazon supplies you with a tool (on their website) in which any affiliate (Amazon refers to them as associates) can create attractive links to the specific product you wish to advertise. Furthermore, Amazon will supply affiliates detailed information on the items sold through the efforts of the associate.

Walmart.com and Target.com – Both of these companies are powerhouses in retail sales all across the United States. They have managed to build corporate presences due to their versatile ability to supply customers with the opportunity of one stop shopping. They are attempting to establish the identical, powerful, ‘virtual’ presence on the Internet as well. Both companies offer affiliate programs as well. Unlike Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target offer their commission program through the LinkShare Network with commissions up to 7% of total sales referred. You can sign up by going to the homepage of each store (www.walmart.com and www.target.com) and clicking on the “Affiliate Program” link at the bottom of the page.

Commission Junction – Commission Junction is the service many of the large corporations utilizes to manage their affiliate programs. Commission Junction’s companies include, but aren’t limited to, Dell.com, HSN.com (Home Shopping Network), Expedia.com, Staples.com, BestBuy.com, Travelocity.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Marriott.com, Fossil.com, Ebay.com, Tommy Hilfiger, The Home Depot and Yahoo! What this means is that there is absolutely no product you cannot represent. If you want to be a travel agent, try Expedia, Marriott and Travelocity. If you like electronics, there is Dell and Best Buy and many others. The only limitation to your ability to sell is you!

Affiliate sales are tracked by a code that is embedded in each link you build from the corporate affiliate program website. This code verifies exactly what link the potential client was referred. If the link on your page redirected a consumer to buy from the corporate website, you are credited for the sale and commissions are figured.

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How To Start On Your Road To Riches With Google AdWords Today!

How to start on your road to riches with Google AdWords today! Follow these simple steps and be inspired by this article that shows you how to make money online today.

First, find a product you want to promote, something you feel passionate about and that you know people will want it. Start with simple products such as software or ebook, a good place to start is to go to ClickBank.com and do a bit of research on the products you are looking for.

Second, perform a simple keyword research to identify potential target market, you can go to inventory.overture.com to find out what are the more popular keywords people are searching for.

Third, go and register an account at google.com/adwords and follow the simple instruction to put an AdWords advertisement with popular keywords to drive targeted visitors to your landing page or merchant website.

Fourth, it is important to have a landing page or opt in page to build your email list. It is vital to get an autoresponder as soon as possible to build your list.

Fifth, you will get paid whenever a visitor you refer makes a purchase or completes a required "call-to-action".

Before you go through these five steps, you must visualize success and see yourself making money online. You also need to be willing to invest in yourself, to learn as much as possible. You must be teachable and believe that you can do it. You also must identify a team you can work with or find a mentor who is willing to guide you. And most important of all you must enjoy what you are doing and that is why I ask you to find a product you are passionate about or believe wholeheartedly it will help people who need a solution to their problem. And, of course, you must take action and have enough discipline to commit to daily action to work on your computer and start making money online!

I've attended a world-famous personal development program called Money & YOU and one of the popular teachings is "The highest form of leverage is...EDUCATION" How much have you invested in educating yourself on personal development and business? Jay Abraham, the world renowned marketing genius, and my marketing guru, has constantly taught his students that marketing can give you great leverage and returns of thousands of percent!

It is obvious that if you want to be rich, you must do what the rich people are doing! Successful people are willing to share how they achieve their wealth and there are no secrets. There are lots of books written on creating wealth and lots of information is freely available from the Internet. This year I invested over $10,000 to learn more about internet marketing, you must be willing to invest before you can create wealth.

There are no short cuts, you must invest time, money and effort if you are serious about making money online! I happily invested $3,995 to learn from Jay Abraham about marketing at his 3-day billion dollar marketing weekend. And there were over 500 people from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore attending this special marketing seminar. And many of the participants were millionaires, CEOs, and top executives. This clearly shows that successful people are constantly investing in themselves.

Here's a great marketing tip for you, it is not how much you put into your business, it is how much your return on investment that you should focus on! If every $100 worth of advertisement gives you a $200 profit can you afford to keep on advertising it again and again? Of course, you will want to do it again and again because you have created a positive cashflow of $100 each time you place an advertisement!

There are literally thousands of people worldwide making decent part-time income through AdWords on the Internet, and it is a good start to generate your seed money for creating wealth! Do you believe you can make money from a 25 cent advertisment? Yes, you can if you have the knowledge on how to do it! Again, do not expect to achieve riches in a very short time, it does take time and for a few special ones it may take months and for most people it probably take years! It all depends on your burning desire and your commitment to creating wealth so that you can enjoy a better lifestyle!

For more information on how you can start on your road to riches with Google AdWords, go to:

http://www.AdwordsMarketingTips.com

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