Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs are very popular on the internet.

If you do not have your own product to sell and you want to have a shot at earning some money on the internet, then affiliate marketing is the way to go.

More people are discovering the power of affiliate marketing to supplement or even replace their existing income.  But there are even more people who would like to have a slice of this exciting world but are unsure exactly what an affiliate program is or what it consists of.

When discussing an affiliate program, it helps to compare it to a traditional networking company where a network of salespeople and distributors are recruited to sell their products to all corners of the globe.

As an example, instead of a company selling directly to their customers it sells products through a series of distributors and salespeople.  In turn, the members of this distribution and sales network enjoy a very good living by promoting the products made by others.

In essence, the affiliate programs found on the internet are distribution and sales efforts taken to the online world.  The affiliate web site takes the place of the distributor and sales network, and the individual is paid by the seller of the product when a sale is made.  Of course there are affiliate programs where physical products have to be shipped but there are also many other affiliate programs where only software or informational products have to be downloaded.

It is easy to understand why this arrangement is so popular, from the point of view of both the merchant and the owner of the web site.  The merchant benefits from increased sales and at the same time, does not have to pay for additional advertising and he can expand his network without the need for additional and sometimes expensive advertising.  The affiliate on the other hand may not have a product of his own to make money from and selling someone else's product for a share of the selling price gives him the opportunity to start his own business.

Of course, effort is required on the part of the affiliate to promote his website and the product he is trying to sell. There are many ways that an affiliate program can be promoted.  An example would be if the affiliate already has a website and a link added directly to the merchant site.
It costs nothing to set up and is very easy to do with a little cut and paste.

All good affiliate programs will have a back office with tools to use and it is always advisable to protect your affiliate links and therefore your commissions, by disguising your links so that they are not chopped off or used by anyone else.

Commissions paid by merchants vary. You can expect anything up to 70% or even more with some affiliate programs, but these will mainly be software downloads.  If you go to Clickbank you will find thousands of such programs to promote. With these kinds of commissions, it is easy to see why the promotion of software type programs is such a great way to make money online.  At the other end of the scale though some affiliate programs pay a pittance, as low as 1.5% in some cases and you will have to ask yourself if these will be worth the effort.



Affiliate programs are very popular on the internet.  If you do not have your own product to sell and you want to have a shot at earning some money on the internet, then affiliate marketing is the way to go. Give a little time, effort and patience and you will be rewarded.
So if you're not already familiar with the concept of affiliate marketing,
why not check it out?

Email Marketing

Email Marketing is an affordable internet marketing technique! 

Electronic mail, or commonly known as email, is one of the popular methods of modern communications. Through the email services, you will be able to compose, send, store, and receive messages over recognized electronic communication system. Moreover, it also allows you to attach computer-related files (computer files such as images and audio entries as well as word documents and computer-generated spreadsheet) to your email messages, making it an effective tool in exchange of information on the Internet. The use of email is not just ideal for personal purposes but for business purposes as well. 

Speaking of business purposes, do you know that email is one of the popular promotional tools used on Internet marketing? According to the study conducted by the Winterberry Group, a consulting firm that works on marketing services, direct marketing, and marketing technology of online-based companies, email promotions yields an average of $15.50 return of investment for every dollar spent. It is equivalent to a 17 percent return of investment than the conventional mail campaigns and 73 percent more than telemarketing campaigns. 

In other words, the study shows that email promotion is not just a popular promotional tool but also a cost-effective strategy on Internet marketing businesses. Through sending out at least a single email newsletter to interested individuals, you will be able to build your subscriber base that will be your primary source of web traffic and revenues. With every dollar that you will spend on sending out email newsletters, you will save substantial amounts of money from acquiring prospects and clients. 

Sending relevant email communications to various individuals who requested for such information is the most effective way of establishing a relationship with him and later turns him into your clients and your clients into long-term product evangelizers. 

To achieve your goal of earning substantial amounts of money on your Internet marketing business, you decide to adopt the email promotion method and start sending out several newsletters to your present clients and prospects. However, there are important rules that you need to follow in email promotion that will increase your chances of achieving all your marketing objectives, whether to increase repeated orders, convert attracted web traffic into long-term clients, or obtain high quality of branding awareness. 

So what are the rules? 

First, send email correspondence to individuals who have requested it. For instance, you are into an affiliate program wherein you are tasked to endorse a merchant’s website pertaining to travel and adventure planning. When someone subscribed to your email newsletter, do not move them over to your affiliate’s vacation list and instead send them email containing articles on various ways of how they can enjoy traveling in this particular place. It would be better that you send him monthly email newsletters with regularly-updated information on other topics, but do not mix your newsletter bases just because you want to increase your mailing volume. Remember that sending out-of-topic email newsletters will just be the ground of losing your present and potential clients later on. 

The second rule that you need to follow when you prefer email promotion for your Internet marketing business is to be consistent with the frequency of email newsletters sent. Depending on the kind of Internet marketing business you are into as well as your subscriber’s level of interest, the appropriate volume for you could be weekly or monthly. Once you have found the appropriate email sending frequency to your subscribers, stick with it. You will be able to attract more potential clients since they know when they can expect to receive a fresh email newsletter from you. 

Aside from the aforementioned rules in email promotion, there are various considerations as well so that you will be able to get more potential clients for your Internet marketing business. These are as follows:

1.  If you have your mailing list, you must have an autoresponder service. This will send email newsletters to your mailing list on a regular basis without any human intervention.

2.  Aside from the auto responder service, you must also include opt-in forms on your site for individuals who wish to add their names to your mailing list. The auto responder company will provide an HTML code that would be pasted into your site. 

3.  Use the auto responder service’s tracking system to identify which of your email newsletters are opened by your subscribers and lead to additional web traffic to your site. 

By following the rules and considerations in email promotions, you will be able to achieve your marketing goals and succeed in your Internet marketing business.