Beginners Affiliate Tips

Sometimes it's tough to figure out just where to start.

But never fear -- here's a collection of tips to help you get up to speed. This is just a starting point... the world of online sales and marketing is always growing and evolving. Every day thousands of people like you make money fron the techniques we outline below. The more you learn, the more successful you'll be.

So print out these pages and get ready to learn the basics of online marketing.

Tip 1 - Beyond Banners

Don't just stick a banner image on your site to drive traffic. Try placing a personal recommendation above, below or somewhere near your banner recommending your visitors click to read more. Just utilizing this simple technique can greatly increase your sales.

Additionally, simple text links often out-perform banners and pop-ups. Never neglect text links! Just make sure your affilite link is intact in every link you create.

Tip 2 - Learn The SEO Basics

There are hundreds of companies and thousands of webpages dedicated to search engine optimization (SEO), but there are only two key points: The importance of keywords and in-bound links.

Keywords and key phrases should inform each and every webpage you design and all the copy on that page. Judicious use of keywords in your site helps you get higher placement in search engines and free traffic. Read the basics of keywords here. A piece of software like WebPosition can help you tweak your pages for a specific keyword or keyphrase.

In-bound links help your site place higher in the search engines and can bring in loads of free traffic. Learn about link exchange here.

Here's the best part - these two keys of SEO are absolutely free! You only need a little knowledge to get started.

Tip 3 - Submit to the Search Engines

Submit to search engines on a regular schedule. A piece of software like WebPosition can automate this process for you. But even without software, you should submit each page in your entire site by hand, two or three pages at a time, to all major search engines.

And when you're done, submit your site to directories. There are hundreds of free directories that provide valuable links and free traffic to your site.

Tip 4 - Consider PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Marketing

Some of the paid services will allow you to bid on keywords for as little as a penny. The beauty of it all is that you only pay for an actual click-through, an actual visitor to your site.

Here is a link to our list of the top pay per click resources. If you can master this list, you could be in for a very lucrative year!

Tip 5 - Direct Mail & Direct Email

Don't forget that old work horse called direct mail and it's new partner email (but do not, we repeat NOT, spam! Learn the difference between legitimate commercial email and spam here. Any using any form of spam will be booted from the program)

Flyers, postcards, direct mail letters, emails, newsletters... anything you can think of, it all ads up to more traffic and more sales. There are plenty of ezines where you can place inexpensive (sometimes free) ads in... here is a large list of directories to help you find targeted resources to market to.

Tip 6 - Avoid The Crowd

Try not to have too many ads and banners on one page. This is a mistake many affiliates make when just starting out. Visitors get turned off by pages that are too busy. The less confusing the better...

Instead of trying to promote 5 affiliate programs on the same page, create unique individual webpages for each one. When your visitor has less choices to make you can drive your point home and increase your sales.

Here's a good example. Notice how the page only has one prominent banner. Additionally, text links could be featured in the copy on the page, or on the left-hand site.

Tip 7 - Mass Market with Multiple Pages and Multiple Websites

Start your own website around one of the products. Create a directory of resources or a collection of useful articles. All the pages could then be used for your own personal advertising and banners. The better the quality of content you include the more traffic you can generate. Many affiliates purchase domains just to set up mini portals and small website jut to promote their affiliate links. Be creative here... you may be the next top affiliate!

Tip 8 - Newsletter Marketing

When you provide information your readers want, they'll open your newsletter and read every issue. Have a hobby? Gardening, button-collecting, playing chess or restoring cars? Start writing a newsletter and collect a list of dedicated readers! Newsletter templates make newsletter generation fast and easy, or do it yourself from scratch.

Once your subscriber base grows to a healthy level you can start running your own classified ads. You will be surprised at the amount of interest including sales that can be generated by running your own newsletter. You can find information on newsletters in the ezine section.

Tip 9 - Start a Blog

Blogging is the hottest craze to sweep the web since the invention of the modem. A blog is a sort of online journal. Use your blog for personal expression, for analysis of a topic you're interested in, for just about anything. Keep in mind that, to have a successful blog, you have to provide your readers with information they need or want.

Frequent blogging also generates new content for your website, which the search engines love.

Blogging software can be easily had, for free. Check out Blogger, Bloglet or Blogsome for free and easy blogging tools.

Tip 10 - Watch Out For Scams

If someone emails or calls you and guarantees to send you ten thousand visitors for $50, or promises that they can make a few simple site changes to increase your conversion by 600%, always ask for references. Always. That's the easiest way to separate the scammers from the honest people selling a service.

If a salesman can't answer your questions, walk away from the deal. If you have a bad feeling, walk away. Far more people spend money unnecessarily and get little or nothing than pass up the Deal of the Century -- despite what the salesman tells them. Never be afraid to ask for references, or to walk away.

Tip 11 - The Never Ending Learning Experience

Subscribe to marketing newsletters to help your learning curve. And, because the online marketing family is friendly and helpful, sign up for online forums and read, ask questions, make suggestions. There's a lot to learn, but the basic tips we've already given you will get you started.

Helpful Resources:

Web Site Marketing Primers

Spider Food online marketing -- all the basics you need to know
Internet marketing articles
Web Master World (articles and forum)
Web Pro World (great forums here)
Site Pro News (another great newsletter with lots of helpful tips)

Link Exchange:
Link exchange is the second most important technique that gets your site good ranking in the search engines and loads of free traffic from your link partners.

LinkPartners.com is an excellent place to start finding link partners.
Learn about starting a link exchange program here.
Automate the link exchange process - save time and energy with Link Manager or Zeus Link Exchange software.

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