|
Training for Book Authors
|
|
|
Other Resources for Book Authors & Publishers
|
|
|
Please Support Our Advertisers
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 Keys to Choosing the Best Affiliate Programs for Your Business
Copyright (c) 2009-2021 Judy Murdoch
A couple weeks ago, one of my clients sent me an email with this question:
"I've been checking out a couple programs that say I can make lots of money by including affiliate links on my website. I could really use the extra cash right now. What do you think?"
The client asking this question is a coach who is creating his own information products.
He knows there will be a lag between the time he launches his program and when he starts getting substantive income. He'd like to find an alternative revenue source to tide him over.
A Typical Affiliate Program
Amazon.com was one of the first online merchants to use an affiliate program. I've been an Amazon.com affiliate for many years.
Here's how I use Amazon.com's affiliate program.
I work with small business owners and help them with marketing issues. Naturally, I will suggest books that I've read and think are useful for small business owners who are looking for marketing help.
I recommend these books on my website and it's very easy to include a link so someone interested in buying one of those books can go directly to Amazon.com to learn more...maybe buy the book.
As an Amazon.com affiliate, I get a special link so that if that person actually buys the book, I get a small commission.
This in a nutshell is how affiliate programs work.
Sharing the Love
In the best sense, affiliate programs can be a win for everyone:
- you get a little extra money for making a recommendation that you would have made regardless (I was recommending these books long before I became an Amazon affiliate).
- Amazon.com gets more traffic (and building traffic is always desirable) and more sales (again, always desirable)
- The person making the purchase gets a valuable resource they otherwise wouldn't have known about
Affiliate Mania!
Over the years, gobs of companies have been jumping into the affiliate game. It's easy to understand the attraction of offering an affiliate program.
And something else started happening: everyone and their dog started offering affiliate programs. Along with the mad proliferation of affiliate programs, websites with no other purpose than being a collection of affiliate links began popping up.
The idea behind these sites is people go to your website and see lots and lots of links to click on. If they click on a link and buy something, Voila! you get some money.
Affiliates of Easy Virtue?
Some folks think having website that is, essentially, pages of links is a really super idea.
Myself, I think it's an example of a good idea taken to ridiculous extremes.
From a practical perspective, affiliate link farms depend on getting massive amounts of traffic. Unless you want to work your butt off getting traffic to your website (and you WILL have to work very hard because you have lots of competition) you will never generate the level of traffic you need to earn decent money.
What bugs me more than anything is the lack of added value. Putting up a web page with a bunch of links chosen based on the commission you'll get isn't bringing any value into the world.
You're not sharing your own knowledge and experience to help others. You're simply directing visitors to other businesses.
Finally, affiliate mania makes for bizarre bedfellows hence the term "affiliates of easy virtue."
There are literally hundreds of thousands of affiliates out there. How many are selling products that you can really feel good about reselling to other people? Are these affiliate programs about making a difference or mostly about lining the sellers pockets?
4 Keys to Selecting Win-Win Affiliates for Your Business
I'm a business owner and I like making money when it's because I helped my clients solve a problem or do something better. There's a sweetness when you make money because you add value. I can't imagine selling stuff and not caring whether or not it helps my customer.
Here are 4 keys I recommend when you consider which affiliates to participate in:
- Good Fit With Your Business
I help small business owners create inexpensive, results-based marketing programs. My clients typically need help doing things like building websites, creating blogs, attracting subscribers to read articles and offers, and selling products and services online.
Naturally I recommend website hosts, email list management services, shopping carts, and merchant account services. The vendors I use for these services offer affiliate programs and it makes perfect sense that I participate in those programs.
I am NOT an affiliate for weigh*t loss potions, stain removers, or real estate training programs because these have nothing to do with how I help my own customers.
- Shared Values
When a product or service rubs you the wrong way, chances are good that the values held by seller are in conflict with your values.
For example, I see my business as way not only to make money but to make a positive difference in the world. For this reason I don't participate in affiliates that, in my opinion, aren't adding anything substantive to the world.
- You Use The Products And Services Yourself
The only affiliates I participate in are ones whose products and services I actually use. I feel uncomfortable making money recommending something that I, myself wouldn't use.
- Decent Commission
All things being equal, I would choose the affiliate program offering a more generous affiliate commision.
The key qualifier here being "all things being equal."
Bottom Line
Affiliate programs are hot, hot, hot these days for good reasons.
But affiliate programs are NOT about money for nothing.
Affiliate programs are meant to enhance and supplement your core products and services...not to replace substantive products and services or to detract from them.
As long as you can be in integrity with the affiliate programs you support, they are a great source of extra revenue as well as a way to offer more value to your customers.
When this is the case, it's a very sweet way to share the love.
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
|
VOTE ON THIS ARTICLE
Needs Work >>
0 -
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5
<< Excellent Article
Tell our authors what you think about their article.
|
Top-Level Category: Business Online Articles
10 Most Recent Articles Written by Judy Murdoch
Blog Posts Versus Email - Which is Better for Marketing?
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-11-04 |
Word Count: 932 |
Page Views: 4025
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
Up until fairly recently, when you wanted to keep in touch
with customers and prospects, you used email to send
periodic messages to people who opted-in to receive your
mailings. People are suggesting that with the rise of
blogging, that the death knell of email is upon us. This
article will consider the demise of opt-in email as the best
way to communicate with your customers.
Is This Such A Thing As An Info Product in a Day?
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-11-02 |
Word Count: 1028 |
Page Views: 4391
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
There are lots of books and programs promising you that you
can "create a product in a day." You can create a product
that you can sell to customers in the time it takes to, say,
get your car washed, go to the post office, get through your
email, and fix dinner. How totally cool would that be?
Why Ker-chunk Needs to Proceed Ker-ching
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-08-03 |
Word Count: 1010 |
Page Views: 3585
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
This morning I was working with a client who was feeling
some frustration around defining the niche for their
business: "Why is picking a niche so hard?" my client
wanted to know.
Guerrilla Marketing: About Love Not War
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-07-29 |
Word Count: 1061 |
Page Views: 4475
| Votes: 7 |
Rating: 1.14
"Guerrilla Marketing" is a term coined by Jay Conrad
Levinson in his 1984 book: Guerrilla Marketing: Secrets for
Making Big Profits for Your Small Business. The term is a
spin on "Guerrilla Warfare," war tactics used by small,
often indigenous armies fighting larger, better equipped
invaders.
Dealing with Uncertainty in Marketing
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-07-27 |
Word Count: 929 |
Page Views: 3793
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.20
So often a business owner will say to me that they "hate"
marketing. If you are a small business owner who "hates"
marketing or even feels a sense of uneasiness when you
contemplate marketing for your business, this article is
dedicated to you.
What Marketing Do You REALLY Need Right Now?
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-04-22 |
Word Count: 1224 |
Page Views: 3756
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
Many small business owners I talk to always seem to be
playing catch up when it comes to their marketing. Last week
when I told a small business owner that she was doing a good
job with her marketing, she replied "Oh, but I have so much
to do!" in an apologetic tone. Listening to her I felt sad.
I mean who the heck laid down these requirements that a
small business has to have so much in place so fast?
Keys to Attracting Win-Win Strategic Alliances
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-04-20 |
Word Count: 908 |
Page Views: 3965
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.20
The most potent marketing strategy for any small business
owner is not a great website, or lots of Facebook friends,
or a killer networking plan. The marketing strategy that
will get you faster and farther than anything else put
together is developing strategic alliances with other
businesses so you can promote each others products and
services.
How to Persuade Without Really Trying
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-01-19 |
Word Count: 1170 |
Page Views: 3569
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.67
Recently, the owner of a consulting practice contacted me.
In the email, she said that she needed an easier, more
predictable way to find ideal prospects. She had already
tried a lot of different things but nothing worked. So we
set up a meeting so I could learn more about her situation
and whether I could help. In this article, I will share with
you what "I" learned...
How Numbers Matter in Marketing
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-01-14 |
Word Count: 1388 |
Page Views: 2710
| Votes: 4 |
Rating: 1.50
I typically write a lot more about the "human side of
marketing," because I think topics like trust, sincerity,
and emotions get overlooked in most marketing advice
discussions. And no matter how clever your copy and fail
safe your system, neglect trust building and you will have
to work twice as hard at your marketing for half the
results. But that doesn't mean you can ignore the numbers
side of marketing. In this article I talk about why numbers
are important and how to make them work in your marketing.
Why Marketing for Services Stinks (and How to Make Sure Yours Doesn't)
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2010-01-12 |
Word Count: 1386 |
Page Views: 2921
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
One of the greatest challenges of doing business in a
"knowledge economy" is selling what is intangible. If you
are a coach, a consultant, an alternative health
practitioner, or any other business owner who is selling a
service, you know how difficult it is to come up with an
effective message that gets across why someone should hire
you...
All of Author's Articles on this site: Judy Murdoch Articles
Most Recent "Business Online" Articles
Four Tips For Creating An Effective Authors' Resource Box
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-27 |
Word Count: 1669 |
Page Views: 6408
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 2.27
In article marketing, there are many factors that will
affect your articles' ability to promote your website in
the most effective manner. In this article, we will briefly
discuss a couple those factors, before we dive into how to
create an effective Authors' Resource Box, also known as
the About The Author Information.
Website Traffic Generation: Winning the Love of the Traffic Fairy
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-24 |
Word Count: 1149 |
Page Views: 7155
| Votes: 8 |
Rating: 1.38
Some people still believe that all they have to do is build
a website and customers will magically appear on their
site... Once they have built their websites, they wait
anxiously for the "Traffic Fairy" to come and sprinkle its
magic dust on their website too, so that they can make lots
of money like other success website owners.
What Kind Of Backlinks Are Best At Helping Your Website In Google?
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-21 |
Word Count: 439 |
Page Views: 8378
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 3.00
I was in the Warrior Forum, and someone asked what kinds of
Backlinks are worth pursuing. This is my answer to that
query.
Understanding the Mechanics of Effective Article Marketing and Article Syndication
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-08-01 |
Word Count: 1399 |
Page Views: 5074
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.00
Visit several marketing blogs or marketing forums, and you
will find dozens of people proclaiming the death of article
marketing as an effective marketing tool. Before we start
agreeing with them, consider this...
Top 10 Reasons Why Online Marketers Fail With Article Marketing
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-31 |
Word Count: 1025 |
Page Views: 6181
| Votes: 8 |
Rating: 2.00
If you've been marketing products online for any length of
time, you've likely heard people talk about the power and
promise of article marketing for the promotion of your
online business. Unfortunately, many online marketers have
tried to utilize article marketing to benefit their online
business and failed. In this article, I document the top ten
reasons why people fail to find success with article
marketing... And how to fix your article marketing
campaigns...
Article Marketing Tip: Stop Trying To Sell From Within Your Articles
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-30 |
Word Count: 1229 |
Page Views: 4390
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
The basic premise of article marketing is to present people
information that will be important to them, then at the end
of the article, present information "about the author" and
offer to the reader a means to see how the author can help
the reader further. When done well, article marketing
continues to be one of the most effective methods of
promotion that one could employ online.
The Six Degrees of Internet Marketing
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-30 |
Word Count: 991 |
Page Views: 6832
| Votes: 9 |
Rating: 2.11
The theory behind the Six Degrees of Separation is that all
people on earth can be connected together in as little as
six steps. Now, I know what you might be thinking at this
juncture... That sounds fun and interesting, but what does
that have to do with Internet Marketing? That is a great
question that I am going to answer for you in this
article...
How To Win More Eyeballs for Your Offers and Websites
Written by: Bruce Lansing |
Distributed: 2013-07-29 |
Word Count: 1373 |
Page Views: 4449
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.20
Most people using search engines on the Internet are looking
for answers to questions and solutions to problems. If you
can give people what the answers they want, you will be able
to position your business as one worth hiring today or
tomorrow.
How To Increase Your Rates and Earnings As a Freelance Writer
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-29 |
Word Count: 1191 |
Page Views: 4444
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
Freelance writers fill a very important role in today's
business marketplace. They create the on-demand, customized
content that business owners everywhere need to push their
businesses forward. In this article, the author explains
what freelance writers should do to ensure that employers
will pay them well for their services.
Promoting Your Business With Content:: Defining Your Writing Strategy
Written by: Bruce Lansing |
Distributed: 2013-07-25 |
Word Count: 677 |
Page Views: 4172
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.40
Many people suggest that you should write articles on the
basis of the benefits that people will get from reading your
articles. I'd like to suggest that there is a better
reason, and that is to write your articles on the basis of
what problem people will be able to solve, as a result of
reading your articles.
Most Viewed "Business Online" Articles
Attracting Readers to your Book
Written by: Alastair Hall |
Distributed: 2006-05-18 |
Word Count: 708 |
Page Views: 45941
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 1.82
One of the common and obvious ways to market a self-published
book is having your own website. The harder part is how to
attract your target audience and then convert the sale.
How To Make Visitors Bookmark Your Site
Written by: Cheryl Miller |
Distributed: 2006-10-10 |
Word Count: 536 |
Page Views: 38231
| Votes: 15 |
Rating: 2.07
When visitors bookmark your site it is a sign that you have built
a great website and are pleasing them. Visitors think highly
enough of your site to want to return and possibly tell others
about it. You are not only increasing traffic from your existing
clientele you are encouraging new traffic by means of viral
marketing.
Treat Online 'Guests' With Respect
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-07-27 |
Word Count: 472 |
Page Views: 29687
| Votes: 27 |
Rating: 3.52
Does your website show your customers lack of respect? Review the
following checklist to find out.
How I Got 70,000 Useless Visitors To My Site In One Day! (One Internet Marketer's Analysis of Social Bookmark Traffic)
Written by: Titus Hoskins |
Distributed: 2007-11-06 |
Word Count: 1545 |
Page Views: 27430
| Votes: 10 |
Rating: 1.70
Is social bookmark traffic useless? Is it even worth cultivating
for your site? Can it be used from an online marketing
perspective? Read to discover one Internet Marketer's analysis
of social bookmark/media traffic...
Successful Article Marketers Help Readers Solve Problems
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2013-07-24 |
Word Count: 816 |
Page Views: 24540
| Votes: 28 |
Rating: 2.86
Every week, I have the opportunity to speak with people about the
benefits and challenges of using article marketing to promote an
online business. Article marketing is about getting your sales
message in front of potential customers and to get links to your
website. Many interpret this to mean that an article should
directly promote a website within the article, but that approach
is wrong and will reduce one's success using this methodology.
Tips For Building Your First Website
Written by: Benny Tsabba |
Distributed: 2007-05-30 |
Word Count: 1511 |
Page Views: 18825
| Votes: 12 |
Rating: 1.92
New people are coming online everyday. And many of those people
desire to turn their spare time into spare cash. So begins their
journey.
The Importance Of Effective Follow-up
Written by: Kate Smalley |
Distributed: 2007-01-15 |
Word Count: 493 |
Page Views: 13679
| Votes: 22 |
Rating: 2.55
Marketing experts say that following up with clients is crucial
to successful selling because most prospects do not buy the first
time, according to Aweber, a leading autoresponder company.
People must encounter a marketing message multiple times before
making a purchasing decision.
Today's Google Bots and What They Do
Written by: Kim Roach |
Distributed: 2006-08-02 |
Word Count: 1061 |
Page Views: 13397
| Votes: 10 |
Rating: 2.70
Google currently indexes over 8 billion web pages. However,
before these pages were placed in the index, they were each
crawled by a special spider known as the GoogleBot. Unfortunately, many web masters do not know about the internal workings of this virtual robot. This article will attempt to
reveal some of the most important Google spiders, their function,
and how they affect you as a web master. We'll start with the
well-known GoogleBot.
Ten Tips For User Friendly Online Registration Forms
Written by: Jim Romanik |
Distributed: 2009-02-24 |
Word Count: 775 |
Page Views: 10723
| Votes: 15 |
Rating: 0.93
Have you ever registered or attempted to register for an event
and spent half an hour trying to figure out what you needed to
do? Or have you used an online registration form that lost your
data or was so complicated that it seemed like more work than
faxing the form?
Successful Forum JVs and How To Get Them
Written by: Diana Barnum |
Distributed: 2006-06-15 |
Word Count: 648 |
Page Views: 10711
| Votes: 13 |
Rating: 1.92
The forming of common alliances, also referred to as a joint
venture (JV), happens nearly every day in the business world.
One of the most popular means of linking people up online of so
that they can work together on their projects is via forums,
where people of all levels of business and expertise post in
common threads.
Highest Ranked "Business Online" Articles
How To Use Your Race To Get Rich
Written by: Herbert Harris |
Distributed: 2009-07-07 |
Word Count: 1407 |
Page Views: 5120
| Votes: 42 |
Rating: 3.88
Amid recent news reports that there continues to be an ongoing
and substantial gap between the net worth of Whites and other
racial groups, it is easy to be distracted and overwhelmed by the
raw data. However, I am immediately reminded of a quote offered
by an economic expert from the past... "There are lies, damned
lies, and statistics!"
Is Your Business 'Out Of Site'? Employ The Ultimate Marketing Tool
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-01-09 |
Word Count: 445 |
Page Views: 4809
| Votes: 21 |
Rating: 3.76
With the rapid expansion of the digital economy, the web site is
conceivably the most powerful marketing and sales tool you can employ.
Find out what a web site can do for you.
How to Keep Your Article Content Fresh and Interesting
Written by: Craig Ritsema |
Distributed: 2006-08-29 |
Word Count: 699 |
Page Views: 4808
| Votes: 19 |
Rating: 3.74
Webmasters everywhere are constantly on the lookout for fresh and
interesting content for their website. Along with these content
qualities is the requirement that it be unique. Everyone wants
their website to stand out above the others in the search engine
results. So what is the trick for you to keep a steady supply of
this quality content coming your way?
Why I'm A 'B-Level Marketer!'
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2007-07-16 |
Word Count: 917 |
Page Views: 5707
| Votes: 26 |
Rating: 3.58
At a recent Internet marketing seminar, I was sitting around the
hotel lobby with approximately 20 other seminar attendees and
speakers. The seminar's host was in attendance, and the
conversation covered a range of internet marketing topics with
extreme frankness. Our proximity to the hotel bar certainly
contributed to our 'conviviality.'
Treat Online 'Guests' With Respect
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-07-27 |
Word Count: 472 |
Page Views: 29687
| Votes: 27 |
Rating: 3.52
Does your website show your customers lack of respect? Review the
following checklist to find out.
Increasing Productivity In Your Online Business
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2006-06-14 |
Word Count: 1407 |
Page Views: 6339
| Votes: 34 |
Rating: 3.50
Running an online "empire" of approximately 1600 websites and
blogs, selling a variety of products, services and ideas, I
have to be much more productive than the average person in a
"regular job."
15 fixes for a failing website
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-02-07 |
Word Count: 593 |
Page Views: 2787
| Votes: 25 |
Rating: 3.48
Employ these 15 tactics to improve your search engine rankings,
engage visitors and convert more sales.
The Most Important Ingredient for Info Product Success (is You)
Written by: Judy Murdoch |
Distributed: 2008-04-15 |
Word Count: 981 |
Page Views: 5131
| Votes: 15 |
Rating: 3.47
Last week I was attending a conference and mentioned to someone I
help small business owners create information products. The other
person was very friendly until I said "information products."
Then the temperature in the room dropped about 10-degrees
Is Your Web Content Self-Centered?
Written by: Rick Sloboda |
Distributed: 2007-07-30 |
Word Count: 354 |
Page Views: 3270
| Votes: 27 |
Rating: 3.44
Too many businesses turn people off with self-absorbed websites.
The following guidelines will help you avoid this common pitfall.
3 Amazing but little known Secrets to make your Website Blast to the top of Search Engines!
Written by: Jim Corkern |
Distributed: 2006-10-25 |
Word Count: 646 |
Page Views: 2977
| Votes: 16 |
Rating: 3.38
I know you hear all of the squabble about links being the number
1 factor in getting your website top search engine positions. I
have had many clients come to me and say, I have hundreds more
links than the top 10 sites for the keywords I am targeting, and
all of my links are from related sites, Why is my site not in the
top 10?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Article Reprint Rights
|
This work is
licensed under a
Creative Commons
License
You are not required to show the creative commons license notice when you reprint this work.
|
|
Article Statistics
|
Word Count: 1007
Total Views: 3009
Article Rating: 1.67 of 5
Votes Cast: 3
More Articles By Author:
Articles On This Website
Last Distribution Date:
2009-08-27 11:00:00
Internal ID: #6958
|
|
|
Home