How Successful Affiliate Marketers Advertise

Affiliate marketing is at its core a very simple concept. You, the affiliate market a product or service for a company (the merchant). Affiliates sign up with the company and begin their effort to bring clients to the merchant.

Advertising is of course the way to make people aware of the product or service. Advertising needs to appeal to the target market strongly. If your advertising is not compelling enough, it won’t attract customers for the merchant. If you can create advertising which grabs peoples’ attention, then you will get sales; which means commissions for you.

You have to advertise smart if you want to make ads which will be powerful enough to get results.

One example of smart advertising is to use other people to bring in more traffic to the site.

The way to make an affiliate marketing program cost effective is simple. It’s a matter of basic math and economics. Let’s suppose that the affiliate makes fifty cents for every visitor they can convince to fill out a form. In one day, they may get ten visitors to do this, for a total of five dollars.

Now, the affiliate can be making a lot more than this if they decide to use the manpower of others. The more visitors that the affiliate can get to make a purchase, fill out forms or best of all, recruit into the program themselves, the more money he or she will make.

To make an appreciable income through affiliate marketing, there are three things which all affiliates should do: the affiliate must find a site which is profitable, link to a company who are generous about sharing their leads and finally, the affiliate needs to find a company which is growing and get involved in their affiliate marketing program while actively recruiting other affiliates for their program.

41 Comments

  • Femi

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    I am glad the topic of affiliate marketing has picked up lately. Those who have remained true to the game know just how powerful and profitable it can be, and avoid jumping to learn every other new mthod out there.

    It has become quite competitive over the last few years but if you continue to study how the successful affiliate marketers advertise you too can succeed! Well written Reed.

    – Femi
    http://femiakinkuowo.com

  • Christine Imamshah

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Like with anything else if people do not know what you are offering then how can they buy it. Applies just as much to affiliate’s marketing merchant’s product as it does to the merchant’s themselves.

    Makes sense that affiliates must acvertise, whether with free methods or with paid methods to gain the exposure their promotions need to produce the income they’re looking for.

    The concept of affiliate marketing is extremely simple but the actuality of it isn’t always that way. Work is required for sure.

    Thanks Reed,
    Chris
    http://www.make-money-rapidly.com

  • tmobil8

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Greetings Reed, Thomas Richmond here, was just checking out somethings on twitter, thanks for the responses, for you advertising affiliates out there, a few pointers, one is if you use traffic exchanges to get a higher conversion rates on your websites you have to use splash pages, no one will click onto your sites if you dont, they dont have time to read a long marketing pitch, and another way is if you use mass mailers or safelists,be sure to use a gmail account or an account with a lot of megabyts with free storage. One last thing is when your an affiliate the best way to keep your earnings is to make your links short or tiny if the links are only #id’s, not numbered ones so no one will steel your commissions. I know i know but you’ll never know the good people from the bad when working online. Till next time Reed! Enjoy your day my friend 🙂

  • Wayne Bell

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Good post Reed and some great advise for all affiliates, However there is one more necessary step I would like to have seen in your post and is to truly believe in the product and program you are promoting. Consumers and fellow affiliates will pick up on your honesty and sincerity, or lack there of, quicker then bees to honey. Keep it real and there no limits to your potential and level of success.

    Regards – Wayne

  • Ari Lestariono

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    I couldn’t agree more than you do Reed when it comes to advertize, the problem with newbies is they are doing too many things during their early stage of learning as the result they can not focus, in order to succeed one must do one method of their mentor how to advertize and gain massive traffic in short time, why I am saying this, simple it’s because you have to succeed in short time, if you succeed but takes years to get it then why should you be learning from top guru in this business.I hope I am making senses in this comments.Thanks

  • Jeff Hunter

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Hi, Affiliate Marketing as been said before very simple concept, not so easy in execution do you use blogs to get the message out do you use articles starting to be the rage now is video squeeze pages, but whatever you use one of the best keys is constant action Reed thanks for the outlet. Jeff

    http://my-big-secret.com/jah/AffiliatePowerV-rfb

  • Gary

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Affiliate marketing to me is constantly getting you product or service out in from of the people that are you prospects.

    Newbies blast out a bunch of emails and post to FFA sites and think thats it I will be rich in a few days.

    If they do his every day for a month and track there email then they will have a better understanding of what is working.

    I am a safe list junkie but it works for me:)

    Gary Keating

    http://tinyurl.com/6ljmbo

  • Peter Dykes.

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Hi Reed,

    As usual your advice is top drawer,a really
    interesting and informative article Thanks !

    Peter Dykes.s last blog post..Unique Content Article: Skin Care: Chemical based or Organic Products?

  • Nando

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Hi Reed,

    Your post really highlights the overall simplicity of affiliate marketing.

    The one difficulty many affiliates have in realizing their income goals despite how simple it is, is the amount of effort and consistency is needed to make it work.

    However it’s definitely doable.

    Thanks for a great article,
    Nando

  • David

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    I think that to be successful in affiliate marketing you need your own list + you need to be connected to other affiliate marketers to help market your product. As a matter of fact this would also work for network marketers and just about anyone marketing on the interent.

  • normz2

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Another interesting post. There all kinds of products out there to promote. I think that it is a good idea to group similar products together to make it easier to promote. If a customer is not interested in one product, he might find another useful.

  • Sk

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    good ibfo….keep it up.o you have any videos?
    Let me know please.Thanks

    SK

    Wishing all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

    From SK Marketing Group

  • Geoff Dodd

    Reply Reply December 2, 2008

    Reed, Advertising on The Internet takes many, many forms. I prefer the text ads on top of Adlandpro high traffic pages. Also their traffic exchange because it runs automatically. As an affiliate there, I also earn advtg. credits on auto.
    But if everything online is a numbers game then you have to get leverage. That means Google. Also means viral marketing with others involved. Building a huge Authority presence with CONTENT – pages and articles, all interlinked is what I am focusing on.

    Geoff Dodd
    Australia

  • Jane

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    One of the biggest problems most affiliate marketers make, and one I initially made myself…is that they spread themselves too thin in an attempt to promote too many products at one time.

    It’s the old K.I.S.S. theory…keep it simple s..t..u know what. Find a product that works for you…promote it, build traffic, etc. etc. and once you’ve got it going, move on to the next product.

    FOCUS AND FOCUS. Then, rinse and repeat! We all get sidetracked by all the exciting promotions, etc. and lose focus on the one product that got us excited in the first place.

    Hone in on one affiliate market at a time…and build it build it build it!

    There are way too many confused and unfocused affiliates out there wondering why they can’t make a buck. I have a list full of them! When they try to tell me what they’re doing it’s easy to see that they’re spreading themselves all over everything and not focusing on one affiliate product at a time.

    Happy Holidays to All,
    Jane
    Your Niche Templates

  • Bob Burns

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    The key is to build a buyers list and bring aboard other affiliates with buyer lists. The more the merry! It also helps that what they are marketing is in high demand! Doing Webinars and Tele-Conferences are good tools to market your product. I recently did a blog about Webinars and Tele-Conference calls at:
    http://activerain.com/blogsview/798980/Teleseminars-and-Webinars-Do-them-Successfully

    Bob Burns

  • Trijuti

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    I’d like to add choosing of the right product is of topmost importance. In any niche, the affiliate is bombarded with tons of affiliate programs and products to choose from and most of them are duds! Should the affiliate is not careful in eyeing out the profitable ones, he will loss potential $$!

    Cheers! Happy Hols!

    Trijutis last blog post..Real Or Fake Trijuti Rudrakshas?

  • Pat Gunning

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Successful affiliates learn to market the product or service and the opportunity. That is the road to higher income. Build your own team of marketers – duplicate yourself, and grow exponentially!

  • Advertisong is very important. You need to get traffic to your site, squeeze page or direct affiliate sales page in order to get sales. Reed you mention:
    “link to a company who are generous about sharing their leads and finally, the affiliate needs to find a company which is growing and get involved in their affiliate marketing program while actively recruiting other affiliates for their program.”
    Do you have any preferences for free advertising

  • Profit Lance

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Hi Reed,

    Affiliate marketing should be treated as any other stream of income. It’s all about traffic, you could have the best product in the market but if nobody knows about it then you won’t get any sales.
    Good product plus great trafic equals sales

  • lasbenols

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    One thing at a time like the man said you need to focus on one thing at a time.

    Doug
    http:// http://www.makeyourownelectricity.biz

  • kristi qualley

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    I am a newbie and right now I am focusing on telling Reed how GREAT his articles are. Thanks. KristiQ.

  • Ari

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    I sincerely found this article too generic without much useful information. I’d expect an expert marketer like you to give us something more than just a simple repetition of a few obvious truths. I’d expect you to write about real, proven and effective techniques you’ve used to build your online business and not this kind of post that reminds me of some PLR articles I’ve read in the past:pure fluff.

    Am I expecting too much?

    Aris last blog post..Traffic Drill

  • bet

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    I don’t like recruiting others to sell the products like the big gurus do. Otherwise, good advice.

  • Richard

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    One extra key element: encourage every visitor to your affiliate program landing page to join your opt-in list.

    Not every visitor will buy, but you then have further opportunities to follow up and promote other related products.

  • Lena Khalid

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Hi Reed – Good info.

    Regards,
    Lena Khalid
    http://marketing-online-affiliateway.blogspot.com/

  • Anna Kindler

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Hey Reed, I am with KristiQ and want to thank you as a newbie also for all the easy Read. One of these days I will have the knowledge to jump right in and give my opinion. Thanks Anna

  • Laurence Parr

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Yes , more good info, and at a time when probably many more people are looking to make some money on the net.
    Of note is that sometimes , you have to find and use a different way or a different place to
    advertise that new ‘product’, ‘service’ , or
    program to find the people interested in that
    area.
    Keep up the good work..

  • Frankie Teo

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Hi Reed,

    You have made it to a successful level. Great ideas & thanks for sharing. Believe most would start out as an Affiliate & grow from there.

    Work & Actions are require to see results.

    Cheers..

    Regards,
    Frankie Teo
    http://www.frankieteo.com

    Frankie Teos last blog post..Here’s A Way You Can Learn To Make Money On-Line

  • Paul Livingston

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    IMO, product selection is also very important. Yes, you need to choose a reliable company. But you also need to check what they are selling to see how much of a demand vs. how much competition there is.

    And, unless you already have a list to promote to, the product should have a decent sales page. Sending traffic to a page that won’t sell will get you nowhere.

    Paul Livingstons last blog post..21 Simple Ways to Make More with any size list!

  • PV Reymond

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Hi Reed,

    Good point. As an affiliate your main task is to promote the affiliate product and drive targeted traffic to it.

    It is what will help you to make money. Of course, you have to promote a good affiliate product.

    Thanks,
    ^PV Reymond

    http://www.startup-internetbusiness.com

    PV Reymonds last blog post..Internet Marketing For Newbies… The First Step

  • David Abrahams

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Reed, Great information…With the insurgence of Web 2.0 properties, marketers can use the power of these sites to bring in tons of free targeted traffic to their site. Getting traffic from social sites is kinda like pre-selling…They are sold before they get there. The power in the social sites, is not just the traffic you receive from them, but the relationships that are formed before they get to your site. That one aspect will drive your conversions through the roof. Go Web 2.0…David

  • Slavica

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    I am still not sure how it all works.Have been online a couple years,doing lots of affiliate programs,some of them were successful,i got visitors attracted my personal designed web site,put ads,but no one sale i made.
    That is key point i am interested in-Why?
    No problem with getting traffic,believe, many of you were good in advertising,but most important is :Sale!How to get customer to purchase or why he didn’t make a purchase?

    Slavicas last blog post..Long Live Witches

  • Asher

    Reply Reply December 3, 2008

    Hi Reed,

    Again, good tips. Advertising is definitely one of the best ways to make money for affiliate marketers – using money to make money.

    But care must be taken to know how to do it though… need to learn how to do it or hire someone who knows how to do it.

    Otherwise, it’s extremely dangerous playing with money! =D

    Asher

    Ashers last blog post..How to Maximise Exposure Using Your Articles

  • Jay

    Reply Reply December 5, 2008

    As an affiliate marketer, I just found out what I was missing (see my latest blog post) and the fact that, although this methodology was there all the time, no one was really talking about it…until now.
    Jay

    Jays last blog post..Make Money & Sense?

  • admin

    Reply Reply December 6, 2008

    @Femi thanks

    @Chris you’re welcome

    @Thomas good tips

    @Wayne great point

    @Ari makes sense to me

    @Jeff you’re welcome if I were to only use one method it would be joint ventures

    @Gary wow there still are FFA sites? lol they kind of worked back in ’99 but were still not very good

    @Peter you’re welcome

    @Nando thanks I agreed they need to try some of the stuff and see what works for them

    @David that’s what made the difference for me

    @normz2 perhaps once you are making sales that can work. But I would just use a list

    @SK yes http://www.youtube.com/reedfloren

    @Geoff working well for you?

    @Jane great tips

    @Bob agreed that makes a big difference

    @Trijuti you need to do your research

    @Pat agreed

    @Luca my favorite type of advertising is joint ventures and having others promote you

    @Profit agreed

    @Doug agreed

    @Kristi you’re welcome

    @Ari sorry you didn’t like it but I’m sure there are articles on this site that will help you

    @bet why don’t you like that?

    @Richard great tip

    @Lena thanks

    @Anna you’re welcome

    @Laurence thanks

    @Frankie you’re welcome

    @Paul agreed

    @PV agreed

    @David web 2.0 is definitely here to stay of course it will be improved though

    @Slavica are you building a list?

    @Asher it can be dangerous that’s why you only spend what you can afford to lose

    @Jay glad you figured it out.

  • Ellis Cupstid

    Reply Reply December 8, 2008

    Hi Reed,
    Great Title. You know what people are looking for and how to attract them. I was a little disapointed with the lack of specific info. I think you are capible of much better writing. Did you pay someone to write this for you?
    In this economy Price Point is a big consideration. People want to make more money but are affraid to spend much because of the fear of loosing what little they have. That is why I have choosen to give thousands of dollars worth of products and training for only twenty dollars. People love it and come back for more great values.
    Thanks for the article and thanks for all the people who responded with good advise.

    Ellis Cupstid, http://www.Easy20.com

  • skin care aromatherapy

    Reply Reply December 14, 2008

    I always learn something new when visiting thank you very much!

  • admin

    Reply Reply December 14, 2008

    @Ellis my guess is lower price point items will do very well for some time…

    @skin you’re welcome

  • Noreen MacKinnon

    Reply Reply December 24, 2008

    Hi Reed:

    Thanks for your Post.

    Affiliate Marketing is challenging to me. (You need something challenging in your Life..right!) I like promoting, especially when I see good results from my hard work. It’s quite a learning experience. To be successful as an affiliate, you must have good work ethics. Consistency is the key.
    Using Traffic Exchanges is a must and very helpful in getting exposure for the product you are promoting, plus Safelists.

    Thanks again and I wish you and your Family a Very Merry Christmas.

    Noreen

    http://www.buzzybot.com/891

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