Affiliate Marketer
Becoming an Affiliate Marketer
You can imagine how happy I was the day I realized any average person can become an affiliate marketer. It doesn't take college degrees or 20 years of hard knocks to make it. Chiefly, what it takes to make it is a positive attitude, belief in yourself, and a willingness to learn new things. Not just at the beginning of your affiliate career but through it's whole life cycle.
People who make it in affiliate marketing are self made entrepreneurs. They are people who dont see failure as an end state, they see it as a lesson on the road to the right strategy or right result. Most of all they never get up from a knock-down so they can walk away. They keep at their goal until its achieved.
If this is sounding like a pep talk, its not. Its actually a bald statement of facts. It is an easy thing to set up a website, join a retailer's affiliate program, and advertise a product. But if, like many other affiliate marketers, you want to go beyond a hobbyist's interest, it will take learning and dedication to your objectives to make it a huge success.
The Upside to Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing has some of the best benefits of any career:
1. You can work in your underwear.
—You laugh! (I did too) But until you try it day in day out, you finally realize how good it is when you actually have to dress for a meeting!
2. No inventory required.
—The retailer pays all the storage fees and all the mailing fees (to say nothing of producing the product).
3. Start-up cost is low
—While this is true, your expenses must scale to your ambition. It is true that a sale can be made from just pennies invested, it takes money to make more money. If you want to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars in product, you will need to get used to the idea of spending thousands of dollars before the large sales are made.
4. Income potential is nothing short of Gigantic!
—Yes, 10,000 dollars a month is chump change. Yes, there are successful affiliate marketers pulling in hundreds of thousands a month. You must have heard all that, its all over the Net. But what really matters here is that you can make a 100 dollars a month or you can shoot toward millions. This industry is only growing and there is room to work for as much as you want to make. No one can guarantee you will be successful. But I will guarantee you there is no limit to what you can achieve.
5. You can work on the beach!
—Ok, Ok! I know you have been hearing that from here to the end of the net and it probably doesnt get any more cliche. BUT! Last time I looked the only thing you need to do your work is a laptop and a cellphone. So, if the expression ever applied it applies to affiliate marketing!
Challenges of Affiliate Marketing
As in the up, everything has a down…or does it? I prefer to think of everything that slows you down or blocks your way as a learning challenge. When you master it, you gain knowledge and a foundation to meet and conquer the next challenge.
1. Treat your endeavor as a business.
—One of the most overlooked aspects of affiliate marketing is that it is no less a business than any "brick and mortar" concern. The fact that we can work in our PJs or consummate a deal while on the beach can sometimes disguise the truth of the seriousness of our actions. Treat your business like the real business that it is!
2. Need for learning.
—This industry is composed of some of the most obscure concepts, contractions, acronyms, philosophies, and practices. The further you move into the affiliate marketers world the more you will be inundated by its unique character. The learning is endless. Whether its CTR (Click Through Rate) or clicks per million, there will always be something new to learn to make your success that much better.
3. Researching products and chosen niche.
—Acceptable profit levels depend upon knowing your market. There must be a demand for your product in order for you to sell. You will need to do constant research on the viability of your products, new markets, and how well they sell.
4. The Competition
—There are in fact thousands of affiliate marketers hocking their products just like you want to do. Your success is dependent on your creativity in advertising, your tenacity in finding new ways to achieve your goal, and your willingness to keep at it where others fall by the roadside. This is perhaps the challenge that defines us in the end.
The Journey Begins
So, you have made the decision to become an affiliate marketer! I have never enjoyed a ride as much as I am enjoying this one. Here are a few things to do as you step out on your own journey (keep in mind this is an abbreviated list) :
1. Research your niche.
—Make sure your website is laser focused on the product you end up advertising. To find possible retailers you can establish an account at one or more of the Affiliate Marketer Network companies such as: Linkshare.com and Commission Junction.com. I would also recommend you seek out Clickbank.com.
2. Set-up a website or a blog to host your business.
—This is the most likely way to start. There are plenty of ways to put one up. You can use Wordpress or other blogging software such as Google's "Blogger". You can set up a site using Microsoft Frontpage or, if you are programing savvy, then you can use Dreamweaver. You can also join an affiliate training company like Wealthy Affiliate. They provide web hosting and a web building application for a small monthly fee.
3. Market your site!
—Whether you use Google Adwords, Linking on other sites, writing net articles or a combination there of, you need to increase the traffic to your site in order to have a growing client base. This is where you will have most of your money invested. Go slow and learn the best way for your needs.
Continue to Affiliate Start-up Options
