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Why Be An Affiliate?WHAT IS AN AFFILIATE? Why be an affiliate? No products to sell directly No orders to process No customers to support Free to join You don't have to develop excellent products -- it has already been done for you. You simply judge and pick the best available ones, from the best available merchants! You don't have to spend large amounts to manufacture and store inventory. No need to take and process a single order, or worry about getting paid (you don't even need a merchant account!) -- you simply send people to your affiliated merchants, then get paid when they buy. You don't have to handle or ship a product -- your merchants do that. You'll never have to answer customer e-mail (inquiries and support are 24/7 issues that can easily eat up 50% of your day) They cost nothing to join (beware of the few that do) Your affiliate business can be started part-time, on a shoestring. Sounds great... and the "affiliate model" has mushroomed since Amazon.com first brought it into public prominence in 1997. Millions of affiliates send billions of visitors to tens of thousands of companies in return for a payment. Major research houses like Forrester Research project the affiliate model to grow exponentially over the next few years. So... if the affiliate model is so attractive, and so widely adopted, and growing so rapidly... Why Do Most Affiliates Make Less Than $500 Per Month?Why do the majority of affiliates never even make a single check? Because... they are either doing it wrong, or not doing it at all. Yes, it's true that a small number of affiliates ("super-affiliates") are making some very large incomes ($150,000+ per year). And a larger minority, roughly the top 2-3%, do earn lower-but-still-substantial amounts. But the truth remains... the vast majority of affiliates fail to earn.So What's The Problem? Affiliates fail due to one or more of the following four problems. All four are avoidable/beatable, with the appropriate strategies and tools. Let's review. Problem #1 -- Failure to PrepareBy failing to prepare,you are preparing to fail.Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Most people fail at anything because most people would rather go FIRE-READY-AIM. They jump the gun and FIRE, rather than invest some time to get READY and to AIM. Yes, it feels "unproductive" to prepare and set up a system... But it's how the successful succeed. Part of your preparation should include going beyond the affiliate model. There are many ways to earn income without ever dealing with a customer. Use them ALL... Click here for information on infopreneuring. The solution? Upfront thinking and planning... Develop best site concept/theme Brainstorm most profitable topics Select best related affiliate programs. Problem #2 -- Dependency on MerchantsAsk not what your merchantcan do for you...To paraphrase John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Not only is it easy to choose the wrong programs, it's easy to fail with the right ones. Even great companies with terrific products often don't have the time to train their affiliates... No startup manual. No creative new ideas in a weekly newsletter... "Here are our banners. Please put them up on your site." No tools to help you do your job. No wonder people fail! Another way to free yourself from this dependancy? Go beyond the affiliate model. There are many ways to earn income without ever dealing with a customer. Use them ALL... Click here for information on infopreneuring. The solution? Successful affiliates select the best companies. They ignore those banners -- they know how go out and do it right, on their own! And then, they eliminate the dependency totally... they diversify into other, complementary monetization models. Problem #3 -- No Site or Poor SiteThe best place to succeed iswhere you are, with what you have. Charles M. Schwab People who do not know HTML (HyperText Markup Language, the code of the Web) are largely shut out. After all, most folks can't afford to hire Web site developers and graphic designers. What about those who do know how to code a Web site? Well, almost everyone makes more than one of the following mistakes... design an amateurish look and feel fail to build a list of topics that will be profitable (i.e., that are in-demand, without too much competition) create poor content that does not hold a visitor's attention and respect. Build poor site structure and organization produce low value gateway or doorway pages host at a free Web hosting service (#1 credibility destroyer) fail to master the Search Engines. All of these kill affiliates. They never even figure out why! The solution? Take what you know, what you love, and turn it into a Theme-Based Content Site. Attract highly targeted, interested "PREcustomers," provide solid value through content, then refer them to your affiliated merchants. Problem #4 -- Little or No TrafficBuild it and they will come.NOT.To paraphrase Field of Dreams (1989) Now for a really big challenge... building traffic. In the offline retail world, the old saying goes that "location, location, location" are the three most important factors for success. If you put your offline store on the right street corner, you're 90% of the way home. Why? Passer-by traffic. But... When was the last time you saw someone casually stroll past a Web site? Never, right? Why? Because people choose to go to Web sites. They click on links or type in URLs. They make the decision. They have the power. And most affiliates never figure out how to work with that power to attract tens of thousands of interested, motivated visitors every day. The solution? If you know how, you can put yourself into their click path. The "Top 3%" affiliates all... make the content of their Web pages "attractive" to Search Engines. Check it out
Also get your two free courses sponsored by SBI (site build it) 1. Netwriting-learn how to write and sell successfully on the internet. 2. Champion Affiliate Course-learn how to operate successfully your own affiliate program.
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