If you're considering affiliate marketing as an income source for your home business, it's common to be a little skeptical and have questions.
Can I really make decent money for my home business using affiliate marketing?
Is affiliate marketing right for me?
Yes, and yes…if you take the time to learn a little bit about it and understand the big picture, including its potentials and drawbacks as it relates to your home business.
The main advantage to affiliate marketing is that there's no capital required and no financial risk involved. You're simply promoting and selling someone else's product in order to earn an affiliate commission. However, you need to apply the correct marketing strategies to make it work and be profitable for your home business.
Remember, while there are affiliate marketers who make millions, they're using sophisticated systems because that's ALL they do. They're super-affiliates.
You, as a one-person home business, need to understand how affiliate marketing can fit into your business model and overall goals. If you're like me and subscribe to the 'multiple income streams' theory, then affiliate marketing can be just one of the spokes on your wheel…and it can be very profitable when done correctly!
So let's look at some important aspects of affiliate marketing.
It's not "all about you" it's about them!
It can be challenging for new comers to choose what product(s) to market. Our temptation is to find stuff we like. Though it's important that you have some interest in an affiliate product, don't use that as your sole basis for selecting a it.
Just because you like a product doesn't mean someone else will like it, much less be willing to pay money for it.
You need to conduct market research to analyze what your target market wants and needs, and find products that actually provide value for them.
So remember: if you want to make money, it's not about you, it's about THEM and what THEY want!
Evaluate the affiliate programs carefully
Not every affiliate program in the market is the same. It's important to evaluate the details of each program carefully. Be smart and read their terms and conditions thoroughly, and find out what your responsibilities are as an affiliate marketer. Know the specifics of the commission plan being offered.
Avoid promoting only those products that bring you high commissions but come with low quality. Select products that make sense to your particular target market. You want them to be repeat customers that trust and respect you, so it's important to protect your reputation by being a responsible marketer.
Implement!
Once you've determined your ideal target market and selected an affiliate product that you feel good about promoting, get busy using the same attraction marketing skills that I teach here at Home Business Soup!
Advertise your product and begin driving traffic to a special landing (product) page. Then, continually monitor your results and make adjustments as necessary.
A good niche affiliate marketing program should be supportive and provide helpful marketing materials such as detailed product descriptions, selling tips, sales techniques, etc.
To learn more in detail about becoming an affiliate marketer I recommend CLICKBANK a secure online retail outlet for more than 50,000 digital products and 100,000 active affiliate marketers.
If you have your own digital product, you could also arrange to have it sold through CLICKBANK. This increases your potential for additional affiliate income because it allows your product to be seen by many other people as other affiliates begin to market your product.
Do you have experience with affiliate marketing? Share your comments and questions below.
Eryn McCormick is an online marketing entrepreneur, coach and award-winning blogger. She's a woman on a mission to "inform, inspire and ignite" people to take action to recapture their own earning power by leveraging their skills, talents and abilities to start an online business from their home computer or on the go with a mobile device.
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Good overview, Eryn. Are you familiar with JVZoo? I like their affiliate program much better than Clickbank for a number of reasons. 1.) They allow you to approve or disapprove affiliate requests so you don’t get a bunch of ‘dead wood’ or ‘spammers’ 2.) They don’t charge you to list your products 3.) When you buy thru JVZoo, you are offered the option to subscribe to ‘new releases’ by that vendor…great tool for both consumer and vendor.
Interesting stuff Rachel, I didn’t even know that about JV Zoo, and I am a subscriber. I’ll check it out!
Eryn, that is a great breakdown of affiliate marketing! Thanks for sharing it. I think looking for the highest percentage for the highest quality product is the best for your time and effort.
Great information about affiliate marketing! I like how you said not to promote just anything. Take the time to research the product. Make sure it’s a good fit for YOUR audience. Definitely a good additional stream of income.
Carol Lamoreaux recently posted..Building A Business Is Like A Marathon
Great post Eryn!
I haven’t done very well at affiliate marketing, to be quite honest.
I tend to do better at creating and selling my own products and services.
However, you have some really good points here.
Especially that one “it’s not about me”
That is essential in any kind of marketing, isn’t it.
Good stuff
-Martin
Martin recently posted..Is Mobile Marketing Really Lucrative?
Great post Eryn. I absolutely agree that affiliate marketing is a great mix to add to your multiple streams of income. I love how you mention that doing research to find the right ones is important and that at the end of the day it is not about you it is about your ideal client and what would work best for them. Great advice here. Thanks
Jared Hager recently posted..What Do I Do All Day As A Stay At Home Dad?