How to begin as an affiliate – Step by step guide excerpt
How to Begin as an Affiliate
A step-by-step guide on how to break into affiliate marketing.
The following is an excerpt from the fast track guide on how to begin as an affiliate. The guide has been written aimed at people who know almost nothing about the industry or how to get started. This guide walks newbie affiliates through the very basics just to get them started in generating revenue. The guide is filled with resources and tools and information using blogging methods by way of example for those who may not know how to get a website together. I have opted to charge a nominal fee of $8.73 for the complete guide which can be downloaded here
http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/affiliate-marketing—how-to-begin-as-an-affiliate—a-step-by-step-guide-on-how-to-break-into-affiliate-marketing/8218631
I never understood and still don’t understand why so many people never looked at this industry to supplement their income. Affiliate marketing is ideal for people on low incomes, the disabled, parents who want to stay at home and look after their children or simply to supplement their income. Affiliate marketing facilitates the opportunity to work from home and enjoy what you will be doing.
I know that it will always be easy when you know how, but even I had to start somewhere and I am still learning after all these years. This article is intended for anyone coming into the industry that has little or no understanding about affiliate marketing. This is specifically aimed at anyone wanting to become an affiliate/publisher.
What is affiliate marketing? Some call this performance based marketing, some call it referral marketing, some call it revenue sharing, some call this loyalty marketing and I have heard it being called partner programs, associate programs, all these terms are correct. Affiliate marketing is predominantly on-line advertising whereby the affiliate is paid a small commission for referring their own website traffic to an online store. Affiliates get rewarded based on an action performed by his/her referred visitor, the affiliate remuneration (referred visitor action) can be based on cost per click, pay per sale, CPA, CPA (2) can also mean pay per lead (example, insurance quotes).
“A system of advertising in which site A agrees to feature buttons from site B, and site A gets a commission on any sales, clicks or leads generated for site B. Affiliate Marketing is on line advertising where the advertiser (Merchant) pays for advertising purely on results. All affiliate campaigns are based on a revenue share or hybrid commission/leads deal.”
Source: Jessica Luthi, E-Consultancy.com (Affiliate Marketing–A Buyers Guide April 2004)
Do people really make money from Affiliate Marketing?
“High-level findings from USA Affiliate Census… At the hobbyist end of the spectrum, nearly a quarter of affiliates (23%) generate less than $50 per month in sales for their merchants, and a further 7% generate between $50 and $100. At the other end of the scale, 17% of affiliates generate more than $50,000 a month in revenue for their merchants”
Source: http://econsultancy.com/reports/us-affiliate-census
Reported in the United Kingdom Affiliate Census, “the UK affiliate market was worth £3.82B in 2008, a 22% increase from £3.13B in 2007. An estimated £227M was paid last year in commissions and fees to affiliates and networks.”
Source: http://econsultancy.com/reports/uk-affiliate-census
Please keep these figures in perspective; whilst there is big money to be made in this industry, the figures should not mislead you into thinking that you can give up your day job in a week. The report is to show you how much money some affiliates earn. I can tell you the majority of affiliates work very hard to achieve a sustainable income.
One problem with this industry that I have found is that it can be vague when it comes to information on how to do affiliate marketing from an affiliate’s perspective. The problem of ambiguity seems to stem from the fact it is an individually defined kind of sector, meaning it’s based upon the affiliate being seen and operating as an individual. Each affiliate will have their own level of understanding about the technology, marketing, how the internet works to name but a few. However, there are some basic rules to follow. Tip: walk before you can run, start off small, and get it all working before reaching for the moon.
When do you start making money?
Realistically, by month three you could be looking at double figures and depending on the subject/topic you chose, you may even reach three figures, (this is also subject to many variables) I can tell you if you have reached double figures by month three, you have something viable to build upon, don’t give up. What this will show you is that you are on your way and what you are doing is working, just some further fine-tuning may be required. There is no magic wand, there is no such thing as a sure thing, and it all takes time and effort. If I was coming into the industry as a newbie today, here is how I would do it and I wouldn’t need to have technical skills or even a website. This is how to become an affiliate using simple blogging
To buy the guide
http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/affiliate-marketing—how-to-begin-as-an-affiliate—a-step-by-step-guide-on-how-to-break-into-affiliate-marketing/8218631
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