A long time ago we talked about affiliate marketing and how to grow your sales business if you’re focusing on affiliate marketing. But what if you have a product of your own you want to sell? Have you ever considered creating your own affilliate program?

Creating an affiliate program isn’t difficult. You need to follow 5 main steps in order to get it up and running. They are as follows:

1. First you need to decide what niche your product falls into. You can’t sell a zillion products to a zillion people. Design your product to fit into one, popular niche.
2. Find websites and people who are into your niche to partner with. The right partners will already have a high level of traffic and a great mailing list – perfect for promoting your offer to a trusting group.
3. Create a series of great promotional products for your product. Create banner advertisements and promotional materials to give your marketers free of charge so that they can more easily promote your product.
4. Never stop looking for new partners, even if the ones you have are doing a great job. Always look to recruit new partners so that if you lose one you don’t experience a huge drop in business.
5. Treat your partners well. The more you work with them the more they’ll appreciate you and your product. Give them marketing tips, pay them on time (and accurately) and consider a bonus plan for your top sellers.

It’s not difficult to build an affililiate program but it does take quiet a bit of time. With a little bit of patience and persistence you’ll soon see your hard work pay off!

Good luck,

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker – Sales Expert

Now that you’ve chosen the affiliate campaign you want to work with and have set up your websites you’ll need to start marketing the site and attracting visitors. There are three things every successful affiliate marketer does that ensures he’ll always be on the ball, even if he adds a different product or makes a change to his campaign at a future point in time.

Write these down. Save this page. Refer to it often. Here they are:

Focus on Targeted Traffic

Traffic to your website is good. Targeted traffic is even better. Actually, I take that back. Traffic to your website really isn’t good unless it’s targeted (ie. the people visiting area interested in the type of product or service you have to offer). Don’t waste your money buying traffic or implementing advertising campaigns that are going to focus on the general population. Instead focus on article marketing, pay per click, and similar campaigns that will attract attention from targeted buyers.

Build a List

How do you track the individuals who visit your website? How do you encourage them to return? The best thing you can do is to place a subscription box on your website so that you can build a list of names and email addresses. Now, people aren’t going to subscribe just because you ask them to – you’ll have to offer them something in return, such as a newsletter, a discount, or something else they perceive to have value. You’ll then use this list to send a weekly or monthly email newsletter with valuable information your readers can use – and a few links or references that might drive them back to your site to see what’s new, too!

Content is King

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again. Content really is king when it comes to attracting and keeping visitors on your website. Make sure your website is full of articles that are packed with details and educational information. Your content will prove to your visitors that you know what you’re talking about, which will give them a sense of trust that will encourage them to purchase from you instead of the next guy who tries to sell them the same product.

Make sure you include not only informational articles, but how-to articles, product reviews, and anything that relates to your niche. Avoid focusing solely on your product – your prospects want to know you have a strong grasp on your industry as a whole. If you aren’t an expert, use your writing to make yourself into one.

Keep these three tips in mind at all times as you work on your affiliate marketing campaign. You’ll certainly find yourself running a more successful campaign when you have a list, targeted traffic, and excellent content.

Are there any other “must have” tips you want to share? Sound off in the comments!

Good luck marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat – Marketing Consultant

Super Affiliate Marketing: Where to find a Mentor

Now that you’ve decided upon an affiliate program and launched your campaign, you should be well on your way to success.

Unfortunately, as is the case with most new entrepreneurs, you will likely hit a few bumps in the road along the way. Your parents taught you how to walk and talk, and your grade school teachers taught you to read and write, but who is going to teach you how to make your new Internet business as profitable as possible?

It’s time to find an affiliate marketing mentor. You need to find an expert in the field of affiliate marketing and learn as much as possible from him. It’s going to take time before you see your business grow, and it may take a few reaches for the wallet, but in due time you will see the results you are looking for.

Start by searching online for popular affiliate marketers. There are quite a few popular gurus out on web, including Ken Evoy, Zac Johnson, and Rosalind Gardner. You’ll first find a number of e-books and websites packed with information.

Read these cover to cover and, if you found one, monitor the progress of the websites and tactics used by these super affiliates. Watching super affiliates work their magic is a simple and effective way of learning as much about the industry as humanly possible. Studying their already published materials is also free, minus the cost of an e-book or two.

You may not feel as though you’re getting anywhere with the written materials you’ve gathered; or you may feel as though you’ve simply hit a plateau. If that is the case it might be time to find yourself a real live one-on-one mentor to guide you further into the depths of affiliate marketing. This is not as easy as it sounds. Why? A truly successful affiliate marketer is going to charge you an arm and a leg for personal mentoring, and if you had enough money to pay for personal guidance you probably wouldn’t need a mentor to begin with.

So here are a few things you can try:

1. Attempt to form a mentoring group. Start an online forum where affiliate marketers can gather to brainstorm and share ideas. Sometimes peer support is just as valuable as that of a pro.

2. Look for membership websites where a group of professional affiliate marketers have come together to provide informational materials and coaching. You may not get the one-on-one attention you were looking for, but you’ll get more in-depth information than you’ll find in free e-books and you’ll be exposed to a plethora of different ideas and opinions.

3. Buy a software program that packages technical expertise with excellent customer service. An example of such a program is Site Build It, where you’ll pay for not only a professional website but more website and forum information than you ever thought you’d see in one place!

Be creative and think out of the box. You are a lucky person if you can find a successful affiliate that has the time or energy to devote to training you alone. If not, there are plenty of other options for anyone willing to take the time to find them!

They can then push your products and with their network become a super affiliate of yours that will make you thousands!

Happy Super Affiliate Marketing

Sean

Sean McPheat – Marketing Consultant

Top 5 Affiliate Program Marketing Tips

Congratulations on making the decision to become involved in affiliate marketing!

The most difficult part of the home based business process if finding out what type of work you want to do, and affiliate marketing has proven itself to be a viable option for thousands of people across the globe.

You may feel overwhelmed with information in the beginning, but there are a few main things you should focus on as you’re preparing to launch your first campaign. Here are the 5 tips that helped me the most as I launched my first affiliate marketing project.

Choose a product or subject you are familiar with. While a product may be popular and successful, the less familiar you are with the subject matter the less likely you are to make money within that niche. You’ll end up spending more time on research than you’ll spend marketing. Stick with what you know and the rest will come easily.

Build a strong content site. One of the most popular phrases online is “content is king,” and it’s the truth. Building a website full of articles about the product you are trying to promote will make you appear as though you are a knowledgeable authority. People will trust you more and, as a result, will be more likely to make a purchase from you.

Avoid overusing banners. Banners may seem like a great advertising tool, but they’re not. Banners scream “advertisement” and most people try to avoid advertisements at all costs. If you must advertise, you’re better off with a small text ad or blurb on another website or blog. Besides, most banners look ugly and unprofessional – you don’t want to attach that sort of stigma to your business.

Explore different affiliate networks. Just because someone you know is experiencing success with a certain affiliate network or merchant program does not mean you will. As a matter of fact, in most cases your success has nothing to do with the reputation of the affiliate network, but has everything to do with the amount of effort you put forth. Explore a handful of different networks and incorporate products from each into your campaigns. Ignore those who complain that they’re not getting paid enough – they’re probably not working very hard.

Conduct thorough research and educate yourself. Don’t just choose a niche or product because it sounds interesting. Take some time to do a little bit of keyword research and determine what is popular and what is not. Look at other affiliate sites and determine what is making them successful. Try to determine if there is a niche that is yet untapped that you can take advantage of.

Remember, affiliate marketing is not easy, but it can be incredibly lucrative if you’re willing to put some time and effort into your campaign right from the start. Feel free to leave comments with questions or to share your most recent affiliate marketing experiences. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Affiliate Marketing

Sean Mc