5 Ways to Start And Promote Your Affiliate Program

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5 Ways to Start And Promote Your Affiliate Program

5 Ways to Start And Promote Your Affiliate Program

"What's the Buzz About?"

"I made $5,000 in one week"

"I quit my job and spend more time with my kids"

It sounds too good to be true, but if you're serious about working from home and you don't have a lot of money to start than keep reading?

"What IS an Affiliate?"

Basically, an Affiliate is an individual that is willing to market and promote another company in exchange for a commission.

An affiliate is NOT an employee of the company. There are no guarantees of earnings in most cases, and there are various methods of determining payments.

In most cases, the company presents the affiliate with a link to its site that has a special code. When this link is promoted and customers click on that link, the company can trace any sales or leads back to the affiliate. Commissions can be made either way depending on the nature of the business. Good affiliate programs will offer a period of time in which, if the customer does not purchase the first time, but comes back within that period (even through another link) the original affiliate gets the credit.

"How Do I Choose a Program?"

Typing "affiliate program" or "affiliate program directory" into a search engine will give you millions of suggestions. Some directories can give you advice or recommendations. If you are new to affiliate programs, it may be wise to stick with the free applications. Don't worry, many, if not most, are free to join.

Select a program you are interested in yourself. If feasible, try the product or service personally. It always makes for a better sale if you can give personal testimony to the offer. Try testing its popularity by checking the 'keywords' at Overture, http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. By typing the words you think a person interested in your product or service would use when searching, you can see how many people have actually searched for it.

"How Do I Promote It?"

Easily!

1) List your company (being sure to use your affiliate link) in free classifieds. Again, these are easily found in the search engines. Try for 20 and keep adding on.

2) Determine who your market is?business people? Mothers? Car enthusiasts? Or those interested in health and fitness? Look for forums (public chat areas) or sites that cater to these individuals. Forums are great for connecting with people and building rapport, but be very cautious. Read some of the posts before making one of your own. In many cases there are strict rules about advertising, and you should respect that. View it as a social gathering and keep it light. This is where a personal recommendation would go over much better.

3) Write an article about the topic. A brief article 500-1000 words is perfect. Avoid advertising too blatantly. Some ezine (Electionic Magazine) submission directories will not allow articles that are too obvious. Creating a 'How To' or '10 Ways to?' would be a good way to start. You can then either incorporate your affiliate link in the article, or more likely, at the end when you create your author's credits. Submit your article to ezine directories (try for at least 50). For more information on writing ezines go to http://affiliate-start.com/ezine1.htm.

4) Join a traffic exchange program like TrafficSwarm. You can join for free and create a classified style add with a link to your site. By clicking other people's links you will collect points. Your points will mean your ad is being shown to others in the program who will view it. To see how it works go to http://www.trafficswarm.com/go.cgi?287887.

5) Search for newsletters catering to your market (see #2). Search for "business newsletter" etc. Subscribe to several and if you feel they are appropriate, contact them offering either your article for their use, or to check out the process for advertising in their newsletter. This method can reach thousands of people that have enough interest to subscribe and read a newsletter about that topic.

"A Word To the Wise"

Be very careful to avoid 'spamming'. This means advertising to individuals through their email when they have not given permission. This includes email 'blasting' and safelists. This can potentially include newsletters too, so verify their methods of getting subscribers before advertising.

"Enjoy Your Success"

If you follow these five steps, you should be certain to draw a handsome commission from your chosen program. We wish you success!

Cyprian and Shannon Emmanuel run several online business and share valuable tips and recommendations on starting a home business at http://www.Affiliate-Start.com.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

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AP - GAZA CITY, Gaza Israel ignored mounting international calls for a cease-fire Monday and said it won't stop its crippling 10-day assault until "peace and tranquility" are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of Palestinian rocket fire.

Obama's intel picks short on direct experience (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's decision to fill the nation's top intelligence jobs with two men short on direct experience in intelligence gathering surprised the spy community and signaled the Democrat's intention for a clean break from Bush administration policies.

Obama says his plan with tax cuts to get quick OK (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama plunged into rare pre-inaugural crisis talks with congressional leaders Monday, declaring the national economy was "bad and getting worse" and embracing tax cuts now expected to reach $300 billion. He predicted lawmakers would approve a mammoth revitalization package within two weeks of his taking office.

Burris says he's senator but Dems won't seat him (AP)

AP - Senate Democrats struggled to avert a showdown steeped in race and corruption Monday as a defiant Roland Burris declared, "I'm a United States senator" and flew to the capital to claim President-elect Barack Obama's old seat in Congress.

Prosecutor wants Madoff jailed without bail (AP)

AP - A prosecutor on Monday asked that Bernard Madoff be jailed pending trial, saying the disgraced financier violated an agreement with the court by mailing watches, jewelry, cufflinks and mittens worth more than $1 million to relatives and friends.

Records reveal anguish of anthrax suspect's wife (AP)

AP - Anthrax mailing suspect Bruce Ivins tormented his wife with rudeness and behaved erratically in the weeks before the Army scientist took his own life by overdosing on Tylenol, according to documents released Monday.

Milky Way the galaxy not snack-sized anymore (AP)

AP - Take that, Andromeda! For decades, astronomers thought when it came to the major galaxies in Earth's cosmic neighborhood, our Milky Way was a weak sister to the larger Andromeda. Not anymore. The Milky Way is considerably larger, bulkier and spinning faster than astronomers once thought, Andromeda's equal.

Death certificate: Travolta son killed by seizure (AP)

AP - Jett Travolta's body shows no sign of head trauma and his death certificate says he was killed by a seizure, an undertaker said Monday, after doctors performed an autopsy on the 16-year-old son of the U.S actor.

Boy, 4, shoots babysitter for stepping on his foot (AP)

AP - Police say an angry 4-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter. Nathan Beavers, 18, was hospitalized Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured.

AP Source: Bradley, Cubs agree to $30M, 3-yr deal (AP)

AP - The Chicago Cubs and free agent Milton Bradley reached a preliminary agreement Monday on a $30 million, three-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The deal is subject to a physical scheduled for Thursday, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized.

Israel keeps up ground attack despite truce calls (Reuters)

Reuters - Israel pressed on with its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip for a fourth day on Tuesday despite new international calls for a ceasefire in a conflict in which more than 540 Palestinians have been killed.

Prosecutors seek to jail Madoff (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. prosecutors asked a judge to jail accused swindler Bernard Madoff on Monday, saying he sent jewelry and other items worth more than $1 million to family and friends in violation of his bail.

Obama picks former Clinton aide Panetta for CIA (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to lead the CIA, which has been widely criticized for harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, Democratic officials said on Monday.

Toyota shuts plants as crisis bites (Reuters)

Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp, reeling from its worst U.S. sales decline in more than a quarter of a century, will shut all its factories in Japan for 11 days as the global economic slump hits demand and company profits.

Obama seeks swift passage of fiscal package (Reuters)

Reuters - With the economic outlook darkening, U.S. President-elect Democrat Barack Obama went to Congress two weeks before taking office to try to entice Republican support for a massive stimulus package with talk of big tax cuts.

Apple's Jobs reassures investors about his health (Reuters)

Reuters - Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs sought to soothe investor concerns about his health on Monday, saying his weight loss was caused by a hormone imbalance that is relatively simple to treat.

Democrat wins Minnesota Senate seat in recount (Reuters)

Reuters - Democrat Al Franken beat Republican incumbent Norm Coleman to win the U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota, officials conducting a final recount said on Monday, though the loser promised to challenge the result.

California gay marriage battle turns to court role (Reuters)

Reuters - The legal battle over gay marriage in California turned on Monday to whether the state's top court could strike down a change in the state constitution that was approved by voters.

Fighting rages in Gaza as Israel spurns truce calls (AFP)

AFP - The heaviest fighting of Israel's war on Hamas raged in Gaza City early on Tuesday as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rebuffed appeals to stop the death toll from mounting further.

In distraction for Obama, chaos stalks new Senate (AFP)

AFP - The new US Senate is set to convene in a swirl of allegations of corruption, voter fraud and dynastic nepotism that threatens to dog the early days of Barack Obama's presidency.

5 Ways to Start And Promote Your Affiliate Program

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