10 Ways to Be Successful with Affiliate Sales – by Terri Seymour

Affiliate marketing is one of the fastest and most affordable ways to get started making money online.  In essence, what you are doing is selling other companies’ products for a commission.   You can make money without developing your own product or building your own sales site.  All you do is promote the product and send the customers to the company’s site to make the purchase.

Of course, I don’t want to make this sound too easy.  It does take work, commitment, persistence and time like any other business.  By following the ten tips below, your affiliate sales should increase and thereby increasing your monthly income.

1.  Personal Recommendation – You always want to try the product before you start promoting it so you can give it a personal recommendation.  A personal recommendation can be very powerful in persuading people the product is “real”.  This is especially true if you are already established online and have a good clean reputation.  If you are not well-known a personal recommendation will still carry a lot of weight.

2.  Quality Products – Be sure to only represent quality products that you would actually use yourself.  People might ask you if you do or would use the product yourself.  This is another reason for trying the product before you sell it or at least do extensive research on the product.

3.  Know the Product – This is another reason you need to do extensive research on the product.  People will ask you questions about the product and you need to know what you are selling.

4.  Know Your Target Market – What type of people come to your site/blog?  What are your readers’ needs and wants?  If you have a health and fitness blog, you probably won’t want to promote a dessert cookbook or movies because these things will not benefit your readers.  Be sure to match the products to your target market.

5.  Reliable Company – Be sure to also check out the company before you sign up with them.  Research any reviews, complaints, awards, etc. this company might have.  Contact other affiliates and ask how the company manages their affiliate program and payouts.

6. Product Updates – Keep abreast of all product updates so you can keep your readers and visitors updated as well.  Check out the company’s product info frequently. Always know the latest about the product you are representing!

7. Sales Material – Most companies will provide professionally written sales materials for their affiliates to use.  They will have ezine ads, solo ads, email signatures, graphics, etc.  Take advantage of these sales materials instead of trying to create your own.

8.  Be Selective – Find just a few quality products to promote rather than signing up for every affiliate program you can find.  Choose a few good products that complement your site and each other.  This will enable you to focus more on the products and promote them more effectively.

9.  Spread the Word – Don’t make the mistake of just slapping one of the company’s ads on your site and think the sales will start rolling in.  Promote them on your social networking sites.  Add a blurb in your email signature.  Post them on forums, groups, etc.  Add them to your article resource box.  Mention them to your mailing list on a regular basis.  You need to promote them heavily and consistently to make a good amount of sales.  Keep abreast of new and innovative marketing strategies.

10.  Test and Track – As with any online business you should test and track your marketing and sales strategies.  Find out what is working and what is not.  Concentrate more on what is bringing in sales to raise your income.

Affiliate marketing can be an effective way to make money online by itself and it can also be a supplement to your main business.  Unfortunately, many people will sign up with an affiliate program, paste an ad on their site and think that is all they have to do.  When I first started online, I too signed up for any program I could find and just threw up a bunch of ads on my site.  This is a common mistake that can be overcome.
Affiliate marketing will not work for you unless you make it work.  It is a business like any other and needs to be given the same attention and commitment!

About the Author: Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business.  Terri Seymour can help you make money online.  Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at:  ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

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Shop Avon online and have your order shipped directly to you.

How to Make Your First Sale and Beyond – by Michael Breniser

For many reading this article, it is entirely possible that you’ve never made your first sale. You most likely have done almost everything suggested out there on the wonderful world-wide web, and still have yet to convert a single individual. So what is it that makes the biggest difference? What golden nuggets have you missed? Why oh why can’t you reach some level of success? The answer lies in the information below.

Your First Sale Should Mean More Than Money

Whether you want to believe it or not, you just cannot avoid this major game changer forever if you want to make your first sale. Various methods exist online to promote, because of course you need traffic, but you are way off the mark if you neglect to do this one critical factor. This must-have feature is the ability to create a list of your own. Come on, don’t sigh or shake your head. If you are doing either, and have not even attempted to create a list of your own, therein lays your problem!

Without a list of your own, and a carefully built reputation for advocating only the best programs and offers to your handcrafted list, you are destined to remain stuck in an endless cycle of failure. That isn’t to say that your promotions using ezines, articles, social media, banners, and more isn’t worth doing, all methods are, but in the end you must stop handing over your leads and conversions to the other guy.

You must create a way, create a wave, of capturing leads for yourself. After all, it is you doing the promoting, you spending your time, you spending your money, right? Shouldn’t the ultimate payoff result in both sales and a list of your own? (I hope I hear you yelling, “Heck yes!”)

Whether you’ve already made a sale or two (or more) or have never made a single penny, it’s odds on that you are trying to take the short route. You pick whatever, you throw some money at it, yet you never stop and consider that each time you do manage to get a sign up or a sale you have just given away your entire farm. If you did not create a way to add your visitor or sale to your own list, you are flat out crazy. What’s yours is yours, and handing over the life blood of online success to someone else is, sorry, downright stupid.

Your First Sale Is A Thrilling Experience

Okay, the above points out the obvious, but are you still reading? Let’s hope so because your ability to concentrate, educate yourself, and put into practice what you read and learn means everything! Ask yourself, does this sound like you:

“I have been an Internet marketer for about 6 months, and purchased product after product in search of that so-called golden nugget. I have not earned 1 penny off any of my sites or other products that I have bought. I have even tried giving away free items as people have suggested. Nothing works.”

That’s okay. You have just made one whopping, absolutely huge, mistake for the past 6 months, but you can fix that in a flash. With the right method inserted into your marketing, list building, you are going to be wonderfully pleased to find that you will finally be able to provide proof for yourself and those around you that all your hours online have not been in vain. That is, if you follow this advice.

Wouldn’t it be so much better to be able to say:

“Today was like manna from heaven! Just a mere week ago, I stopped thinking I can’t, and started believing I can! I followed this advice about building a list of my own, and best of all I woke up this morning and made my first commission… ever!”

You see the problem isn’t that you aren’t doing all the right things, your problem lies in one simple factor. You are giving away your best resource each and every time you avoid the simple task of setting up a list of your own.

I know from experience that 99 percent of the people reading this article are still going to walk away and never follow through (even though a resource will be given below that will make the whole list building concept a breeze, with other people literally building your list for you). And, my friend, that’s what separates you from the rest of those online who are successfully waking up (perhaps every day) to commission checks.

====================================

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Breniser builds his list to generate sales, and so can you, through a free, fully hosted, simple process. Your first sale is just around the corner. Watch this 2 minute video and see for yourself just how simple list building and getting your first sale really is!

A Ghost of a Chance – By V. Shantelle James

In this majestic thriller lovely architectural engineer Tonya Mills discovers that one of her building designs has been compromised by the use of sub-standard materials.  In order to protect the public, Tonya takes action!  She takes the construction conglomerate she is working for to court.

If the building goes up with these inferior materials, it’s structural integrity will be compromised and it could become a death trap.  In spite of having proof on her side, she looses her court battle, and in the process, looses her reputation and her career.

Desperate to put her life back on track, she comes up with a plan to re-boot her career and restore her damaged reputation.  Tonya throws herself into a new project reconstructing a fire-damaged resort in the mountains of  Wyoming.

Little does she know the the resort she’s chosen was set ablaze during a party by the owner of the very corporation that ruined her career, and that the head of this firm is part of a deadly drug cartel!

But one man does know the history of the mansion; detective Mike Green who was one of the few survivors of the fire.  Now deeply scarred and suspicious, he keeps the property… and Tonya… under surveillance. Mike must know if she is in league with the cartel, for he believes the evidence to clear his name is still hidden somewhere in the resort.

If he can find it, he can put this deadly cartel out of business!  As Mike tries to make inroads into this closed case, a stalker plays Tonya and Mike against each other, undermining the support and trust they seem to have found in each other.  Will they be strong enough to conquer this festering evil?

You can purchase the paperback or Kindle addition of this book from Amazon here –http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IIAVZI
 

What Free Online Courses Can Teach You – By Debra Moore

Unfortunately, and all too often, people miss great opportunities (like free online
courses) due to their belief that if you don’t pay through the nose, the training
cannot be that good. Perhaps their disbelief is valid when it comes to more recent
material put up online. However, revisiting the old often yields greater fruits. For
any marketer who has been around long enough, you know that often the wise person
turns and returns to the classic-style. That’s where choosing the best free online
courses has the advantage.

Free Online Courses Master’s Style

There is a reason some make it online and other don’t. In the rush to “stay ahead of
the curve” many miss opportunities. You, too, may believe that something or
someone’s material is “old hat” and not worth investigating.

You would be dead wrong.

The idea of using the internet to allow you to leave your day or night job behind,
and stay at home still pulling in income did not start with your imagination. The
true “masters” had a jump start on people like you and me years ago. Some masters
have been around for five years and longer. These are the people you need to follow;
these individuals have the real knowledge you need. And, lucky for the rest of us,
these masters made a habit of putting together plenty of free online courses, packed
full of what we need to learn.

Your chance to grab up these “never go out of fashion,” free online courses when
they are offered is a chance you should not miss. Who better to give you advice,
training, material, and more, than an individual who started long before the idea of
staying home entered your head? The saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” most
definitely applies in your situation.

The Now Versus The Then Free Online Courses

Back in the days of yore, the individuals who mastered the concept of making money
from home freely shared their real knowledge with any and all who would take the
time to listen. Remember, the whole money-making idea was a brand new concept. These
masters were excited to not only show the world the possibilities, but wanted
desperately to help others. And they did by giving away free online courses.

Nowadays, free online courses are mere come-on’s designed not to train you, but to
hook you into the next product. It wasn’t until recently that the idea of up selling
and down selling was introduced. Today’s “master” spends more time driving their
potential student away through all these shenanigans than making any attempt to
really teach you what you need so badly to know. They have forgotten, or never
really put down, their roots. Recent years reveal an entirely different idea of who
thinks of him or herself as a “master.”

The worst part for you is that even if someone does manage to put together a
semi-decent system of training, they lack a real “free online courses” offer,
choosing instead to give you just a trial period. Of course, they also tell you how
easy it is to get your money back if you’re not happy. The sad thing is, most like
you won’t be happy.

Old-School Free Online Courses

Today’s wannabe at-home entrepreneur isn’t even aware of a simple fact; nothing has
changed that much online in the past 10 years. Those free online courses of
yester-year are as valid, and even more informative, than most presented as “brand
new” material today. In fact, most of today’s free online courses are merely a
change in packing and name. After all, it’s what you’re taught, right?

Mastering the internet is tough enough; producing income by having to dole out tons
of it yourself, first, is ridiculous. It is your choice; pay for the information or
get it free.

Free online courses by the true stayed-the-course masters teach you how to:

o Sell and/or price your products
o Use offline resources for online gains
o Create irresistible offers no one can refuse
o Make your marketing easier and more effective
o Stop wasting your money, and
o Much more.

Stop, think, and consider. Would you really learn how to sky dive from a novice or
would you search out a top-notch sky diving instructor? The answer is the same for
learning how to achieve your goals online.

This nonsense that you have to pay first to learn is beyond silly, especially in
these economic times. Search for, download, and apply the material available from
the non-flashy masters. Their free online courses are worth millions.

====================================

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debra Moore is a high school teacher pursuing her dream of making money from home.
She’s mastering her goals by using only the best of the best free online courses. Debra is happy
to share this material with you, too, just like the old days. Visit Marketing With Purpose and grab your
free online courses today.

How To Conquer That Infamous Opt In – by Joseph Cotroneo

Everywhere you turn, anywhere you look, every single internet marketer will either tell you, show you, and have the infamous opt in form. So what’s a person like you, without a website, as an affiliate marketer only, going to do? The solution is easy, you let someone else build that opt in list for you; let someone else do your recruiting for paid signups for you.

What’s Up With That Opt In Anyway?

Common sense alone tells us that when we get a visitor to our web site, we give that visitor the opportunity to leave his or her information. We do this in several ways including:

o Offering something for nothing
o Providing access or a “peek inside”
o Optimize the landing page so they just have to know what’s coming next.

The problem is that while all of the above typically gets the opt in you need, the only person benefiting from that opt in is usually the owner of the company. However, that does not preclude the absolute must that must happen. You, as an affiliate marketer in particular, really need that visitor to want to leave their information. In fact, getting the opt in is your lifeline, life’s blood, to being successful online.

The Downside to the Opt In Upside

Recuiting paid sign ups is not as easy as most marketers would like you to believe. Do it wrong, and you’re undeniably spinning your wheels and wasting money. Paying for leads is nothing short of letting some company do your spamming for you. Repeat after me, “There is no such thing as a targeted lead.”

The exception to that statement is, of course, having your visitor land on your page and deliberately signing up. Then, and only then, do you have the lead or sale you need. The only way for that to happen is to strategically align yourself with the right upline; someone who is willing and able to help you get the traffic you need.

There’s no mystery to the saying, “Two heads are better than one.” In fact, the more team work that takes place online the better. This isn’t to say you should just sit back and let things happen for you. Instead you use the team-playing system in combination with your own efforts as you promote and go for that opt in. After all, the more online promotion the better, and the right individual as your upline does not charge for that assistance.

Opt In Heaven

With teamwork, the infamous need for an opt in is more manageable. No longer are you the lone affiliate marketer trying to do everything for yourself. With the proper person positioned above you, willing and able to go that extra mile to help you succeed, you’ll find the internet is not such a strange, scary, and frustrating place.

And, once that first opt in arrives, you are positioned to let your sign ups know they have joined the right team. A team that works hard to get all team members that opt in they, too, must have – that’s how that compensation plan really works.

===================================

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joseph Cotroneo is a professional paid signups recruiter specializing in helping those in his downline. Discover which program Joseph recommends (for less than $10) and rest assured, under the right individual, the help you need with your opt in strategy is in place and ready to go to work for you.

10 Ways To Intensify Your Article Marketing – by Terri Seymour

10 Ways to Intensify Your Article
Marketing
©Terri Seymour

Article marketing is a method of online and
offline marketing in which you write informative articles and make them
available for reprint and distribution to various webmasters and print
publications.  If your article is well-written and contains helpful information
it has the potential to give you an enormous amount of exposure for your
business.  These articles can also help build your reputation as an authority in
your field which can help bring you more customers.

Many people have
doubts when it comes to writing and distributing articles but with a little time
and effort it can be done.  Below are ten tips for establishing your article
marketing campaign.

1. Keep It Simple – Craft articles that are simple
and straightforward.  Be sure it contains relevant and helpful information for
your readers.  There is no need for big, fancy words.  Write as if you were
simply telling a friend all about the article subject.  Let your personality
shine through in your words and watch your article come alive!

2.
Research Thoroughly – One mistake some people make is to publish information
that is outdated or inaccurate.  Be sure to research all your facts and be sure
everything is up to date and accurate.

3. Keywords – Using relevant
keywords in your writing is important for search engine placement so people can
find your articles more often.  But do not make the mistake of overloading your
articles with keywords and phrases to the point that your article will not be
well-written or make any sense.  Be sure to read your finished article and watch
for keyword overload.

4.  Attention Grabbing Titles – Your article title
could be the deciding factor to whether or not your article gets read.  I know
when I am sifting through articles the title is what helps me decide which
article to read.    Use power words in your title to grab and hold a person’s
interest.

For example:

Which article would interest you
more?

“10 Ways to Increase Your Income”
“10 Guaranteed Ways to Make
Money Now”

Both sound interesting but I would probably go after the
second title.  It has that something extra that gets my attention.  Using power
words like “Guaranteed” and “Now” will spark emotion in the reader and draw them
in.

5. Always Proofread – Even though you are writing an article
containing basic information, you want it to look and sound professional.  Be
sure to use proper grammar and make sure all words are spelled correctly.
Unfortunately I have seen some articles that looked as if a 5 year old had
written it.  Please be sure to check it over at least once.  I like to proofread
twice as I have missed a thing or two over the years.

6. Effective
Resource Box – Always write your resource box in third person format.  You want
your name to get etched into the reader’s memory.  Tell a little about yourself
and then list a compelling reason for people to visit your site/business.

Example:

Jane Doe has 15 years experience as a business coach and has
worked extensively with major corporations.  Visit Jane’s site for free
information on how to improve your business and her award-winning book on how to
triple your company’s sales.  Add your link here.

7. Quality Not
Quantity – Some people will say to submit your article to as many places as
possible, but I disagree.  I would submit each article to a dozen or more of the
higher ranked, quality ezine directories.  You can see a list of the top ten at
my site.  It would be impossible, time-wise to submit to all the article
directories so making a list of the top 10 or 20 or so would be the best thing
to do.   I personally submit my articles to a list of 30 with the top one being
EzineArticles.

8. Social Bookmarking – Social bookmarking is a way for
people to share your articles with friends and/or business associates.  This can
greatly increase the power of your article.  One of the best sites for social
bookmarking beginners is Blinklist.

Some others
are:
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon

9. Follow Guidelines – All
article directories will have guidelines for you to follow.  Be sure and abide
by each site’s guidelines or your article will be rejected.  Most directories
will require a 500 word minimum with links only being allowed in your resource
box.  Do not put your site info or link in the article body.  Most sites will
not allow links of any kind in the article body.

10. Article Spinning:
Good or Bad? – Article spinning is taking an article, and using software to
change parts of it in an attempt to make it another unique article.  In doing
so, one article can become 5 or 10 (so-called) unique articles.  To me, this is
the lazy way of writing articles and in my opinion does not do much for your
reputation.   Some people say it works for them but it is something I would
neither do nor recommend.  Writing a true unique quality article can be done in
an hour or two and will be much more beneficial than wringing out one article to
try to get several.

I have been writing articles for about 12 years or so
and still try to learn more on how to improve my article marketing.  The above
ten tips will go a long way in improving your article marketing success.  Much
luck to you in your campaign efforts.

About the Author:
Terri Seymour
has over twelve years of online experience and has helped many people start
their own business.  Visit her site for free articles, resources, information,
resell ebooks and more.  Sign up for the RSS Feed for a free business ebook with
MRR. http://www.SeymourProducts.com

How To Overcome Network Marketing’s Biggest Pitfall- By Patrick Ogunnaike

What is the hardest thing that any business owner faces when starting and building a business? If you said finding customers then you’re right.

This is especially true if you’re starting a homebased business since most would-be home business entrepreneurs do not have any sales and marketing training.

This makes it very difficult for the average person to succeed and makes it even harder for our friends, neighbors and family members as they inevitably become the targets of our selling efforts.
Well what if you could start your home business with paying customers right from Day 1 without having to sell a single product?

Well a company from Scottsdale Arizona has been offering just such an opportunity for over 12 years now. Their name is Trivita.

Trivita has a very unique take on the old concept of the home based business opportunity. They’ve actually flipped the whole model on its head.

You see, unlike conventional direct sales businesses, Trivita specializes on getting customers and selling their products and as a result they don’t rely on their business affiliates to do that job.

In fact they’ve been selling their line of high quality products nutritional products via nationwide TV and Radio infomercials for 12 years and have generated a customer base of over 3Million happy customers.
The twist is that they allow their business affiliates to purchase these customers and add them to their downline teams so they can earn residual income from the products these customers purchase.

So you can literally start your business from Day 1 with a database of customers and generating you an income.
Why? That’s usually the next question. Why would the company share their customers with their affiliates, isn’t it the affiliates job to create sales?

Well, while Trivita allows and encourages affiliates to refer customers just like any direct sales company their Media Customer Acquisition program is a win/win for the company and affiliates alike. This is for 2 reasons.

1) You see, by purchasing these customers the affiliates are in effect helping the company grow their advertising by helping the company to recoup its advertising dollars quickly. They can then turn around and buy more advertising and get more customers.

2) Affiliates help the company by following up with these customers to build a strong relationship with them. This is something that the company could not do simply by using traditional marketing methods alone. This creates happy longterm customers which in turn makes more money for everyone.

As a result all affiliates are able to build a strong work from home business while the company builds a strong healthy base of loyal product customers. It truly creates a level playing field for everyone who wants to build a successful business working from home.

This is especially true if:
-You’ve tried numerous opportunities and find yourself in the NFL club (No Friends Left)
-You don’t want to have to chase prospects all over town to sell your products
-You’re not an internet marketing expert
If you want to learn more about Trivita and this unique opportunity that I like to call “The Profit With Media Formula” and how you can get it working for you for free then go to    http://www.ProfitWithMediaFormula.com/tmezine.php  and learn how I’ve been able to earn a check every single month for the last 9 years.

To your success,
Patrick Ogunnaike
http://www.ProfitWithMediaFormula.com/tmezine.php

Shop my AVON store!

Marketing To Customers and Clients Using Greeting Cards and Post Cards- By Cecilia Frederick

One great way to keep in touch with customers and clients is through post cards and greeting cards. Keep a list of their birthdays and any other special occasions. Send them a card or post card for birthdays, holidays, or just because. This helps keep your name in front of them and also makes them feel special.

This greeting card system can work for any type of business owner or customer. If you’re a Business Owner, Direct Seller, Realtor, Lawyer, Dentist, Doctor, etc. or really anyone who wants to send cards out to people for less than what they cost in the stores, than you owe it to yourself to check out this greeting card system. This will save you money, time, and keep you organized.

Let me show you how you can make the process of sending cards simpler and less expensive. You will be able to send cards for .46 cents each, plus the cost of a stamp, for only $9.80 a month subscription. If you choose the wholesale package you will be able to send post cards for .31 cents each and cards for .62 cents each.

You will be able to use your own handwriting fonts, and also use what we call Picture Plus, which is a tool that allows you to add your own pictures to your greeting cards! Imagine being able to custom make greeting cards for the family, friends, customers and clients in your life. Plus you can add a gift to be sent out with your card also. You can do all this from your computer at home. The greeting card company, prints the cards, stuffs it in the envelope, stamps it and mails it! This system is available right now in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It will be available globally in the future.

There are 3 ways to use the greeting card system, including a free pay –as –you- go feature. You only pay for the price of postage and the card. They are outlined on my website here:

http://www.design-greeting-cards.com

Send a card to someone, for free, on me, and see how easy and wonderful this system is. Sign up for one of the plans and begin marketing to your clients, customers, or use the system to send cards to your friends and family. This truly is a remarkable system that can be used by everyone. I want this system to work for you as it has for me with my family, friends, and customers. If you have any questions at all, please get in touch with me through the information on the website.

Cecilia Frederick

http://www.design-greeting-cards.com

Ceci@Wahmteam.com