What Every Affiliate Marketer Needs to Know Part 2

In the first part of this series we talked about getting started with Affiliate marketing. In every start up business we need to consider both effectiveness and expense. Let’s begin where we left off.

Article writing is a great way, although not the quickest way, to get your name associated with the ‘niche’ that you have chosen. If you spend 15 minutes reading articles about your ‘niche’ and 15 minutes per day writing an article about your subject, in 6 days you can submit 6 articles. That will soon add up to 24 articles per month and 288 articles in one year. You can increase this as you get more comfortable and knowledgeable about your ‘niche.’

You’ve created a nice blog and populated it with articles about your ‘niche.’ Good start! Blogs are great because of the freedom that you have to write your opinion. Be aware though that the objective is to get people reading what you write. Give information, information, information. Do not fill your blog with ‘ad copy’ for posts. Build trust first by giving useful information. The more that you give, the more your posts and articles will be accepted and even anticipated.

We mentioned the Search Engine spiders in Part one of this series. These are the clever little software programs that rush out onto the ‘net’ and look for ‘content.’ Content is the information that you post on your blog and in your articles. This is spider food.

Now another little secret. You started a blog on WordPress.org. It looks good and you’ve posted several articles. You’re off and running. Why not go to another Blog Community (Blogger, etc) and start another blog and simply spend a few minutes each day posting the articles (maybe with a little modification) that you have posted on your first blog and submitted to the Article Databases. Remember that our objective is not to simply sell a product but to sell your name as a trusted source of information. You are moving closer to the 3% winners circle.

After you have a little blogging time under your bely, now is the time to go out and search for Blog Directories where you can submit your blog(s) for listing in their directory. This also gives added exposure to your blog.

While we are on the subject of blogging, let’s look at another aspect of blogging that will also get us noticed. Commenting. As you search through the blog directories and Search Engines to find information to fuel you article writing and blog posting, leave positive comments on the blogs that you encounter in the same or similar ‘niches.’ Most blog owners want you to comment. It adds substance to their blog. Again, most blog owners do not mind your leaving an URL to your blog as long as it is NOT an overt attempt to ’spam’ their blog with ad copy. They like for you to actually read their posts and make relevant comments. This also gives you an opportunity to have a one-way link back to your blog (another tasty tidbit for the SE spiders.)

After doing this, you should consider starting an enewsletter and letting people sign up for your newsletter on your blog. As your traffic increases, your readership increases. Visitors (potential customers) begin anticipating the ‘information’ that you give them. I would suggest that you use a verified opt in service for distributing your enewsletter. Get permission to send them your information.

eNewsletters are great and you can even sell advertising space after you have built a good list. We’ll begin discussing eNewsletters in another
article. The important things to remember here are:

1.) research
2.) write
3.) post
4.) comment on other blogs.

You are on your way to building a good, substantial business. These are foundational steps. Every good business must be built on a sturdy foundation.

What Every Affiliate Marketer Needs to Know Part 1

Every affiliate marketer needs to look for and use the most effective and the least expensive methods to generate traffic to his or her affiliate website. The concept of affiliate marketing is really profound when you take a close look. Someone offers a product or products for sale. The most cost effective advertising for a merchant is to seek affiliates to offer his or her products on their website. The affiliates earn money when a prospective customer visits his affiliate website and makes a purchase.

This is truly a unique opportunity for the average individual to create a successful business, selling other merchants’ products. There is no stock to maintain, no overhead (except for the cost of a website.) An smart affiliate can make a good living simply advertising the products of merchants who offer an affiliate program. Genius!

There is one major catch to this whole thing. An affiliate has to be able to generate traffic (a steady flow of interested customers) to his affiliate offerings. Unfortunately, statistics say that 97% of affiliate marketers earn little to no money. The reason is a simple one, when you take a close

objective look at what the majority of affiliate programs offer their affiliates as far as training goes. Most affiliate programs offer several overused email or ezine ads or give advice that is old and not affective in today’s Internet. This is why you see the same ads repeated thousands of times in emails, ezines and newsletters.

What is that secret ingredient that is missing? What is it that results in 97% failure? The better question is to look at the 3% who are racking in the dough. What does this 3% of affiliate marketers have that the other 97% are missing. You can sum it up in one little word – ‘TRUST.’ The successful Internet Marketer has worked diligently to build a list of people who trust their opinion. “How do they do that?” you ask. Well, I am so glad you asked.

There are quite a number of ways to do this, if you want to make serious money selling products. The very first thing that you need to do is change your mind. The biggest problem is that there are so many scam programs on the Internet that appeal to the lazy ‘sluggard’ who wants to join a program (because the ad copy is so appealing) and sit on his couch at home, do absolutely nothing and earn thousands of dollars every day. No matter what they promise, no matter how easy they make it sound, if you are not willing to put forth the effort to become a successful Internet Affiliate Marketer, you’ll soon join the ranks of the 97% of failures. The secret is to forget about just selling a product. There are thousands of others who are trying to sell the same product or service.

To become truly successful is going to take time and effort and a willingness to listen to wise counsel (those who have been there and done that.) There are ways to ‘build’ yourself a good business (the operative word is ‘build’) and ‘create’ a sustaining income.

The successful Internet Affiliate Marketer builds trust in his opinion. This takes time but the rewards speak for themselves. No matter what ‘they’ say, the product doesn’t sell itself. If this were true then the thousands of people selling the same product would all be rolling in money. Think of it
this way. If a total stranger tells you that the product he is offering you is the very best and you need to buy it from him within the next few minutes, would you believe him? If a trusted ‘expert’ that you have been following because they give you loads of information and have built a relationship with you offers you a product he indorses and tells you that you really need to get it, would you?

How do you build trust? Well, you need to purchase a really expensive website, pay a ton of money to have it hosted and spend a gazillion dollars advertising. NOT! The best advice I can give is:

1.) to pick a ‘niche’ (some area of interest that you really like),
2.) learn what you can, research it
3.) read as many articles about it that you can find
4.) begin to write about it, write articles (go to article directories and learn their article writing guidelines)
5.) Submit your articles to as many directories as possible.
6.) Sign up with one of the ‘blog’ communities (Blogger, Bogspot, WordPress, etc) and post the same articles that you submit to the directories in your own blog.
7.) Write, write , read, write, post, post, post, etc.
8.) Join Social Networks (facebook, twitter, etc.)

So far none of the above has cost you a penny (only your time). I’ll let you in on a little secret about blog. The Search Engines love ‘em. They are indexed quickly and revisited every time you post. When you make a post, the blog software sends a ‘ping’ (notice) to the SE spiders that diner is on the table.

This is just an introduction. There is a lot more coming in this series of articles. If you are serious about becoming successful and earning a good income, get started today.

Where to now? The Christian Perspective

We are entering times of uncertainty. We have witnessed the dawn of a new era in Politics and Social Structure for our Nation. What should we do and what should we expect? We must, as Christians, realize that in every endeavor, marriage, parenting, finances, friendships and even politics, we must continue to pray.

Some are upset and worried about the outcome of the recent Presidential election. Some are elated by the outcome and the challenges that it offers. No matter what your personal view of the election, there is something that we must all do. Pray for our leaders, unceasingly.
Whether we agree with his political views or not, we have been set upon a course and we must actively seek God’s guidance. We must pray that not only will God lead our new President but that our new President will seek to follow God’s leading.

Above all, we must not let ourselves be swallowed up with political rhetoric. We must not simply sit idly by and accept what comes without doing what God has instructed us. Let’s take a look at Jeremiah 17:5-8 to reposition ourselves, our mindset.

Thus says the LORD,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6″For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
7″Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
8″For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.

No matter who is President or Governor or Senator, we must NOT put our trust solely in what they tell us. Each of them is a man or woman who has his or her own agenda. Each of them has a particular ideology and has the ‘charismatic’ ability to lead others to agree with them.

Unfortunately, the majority of our fellow citizens have no true moral compass. Most are duped by human secularism and disdain the mention of God. They put their trust in man and depend on the ‘flesh’ for their strength. As stated by the prophet Jeremiah, they are cursed.

There is no need for us, as Christian believers, to follow blindly. We need to put our trust where it will work. We need to keep our focus on Christ and fervently pray for our leaders. We cannot just ignore what they do; we must take a biblical, proactive role. We must keep our focus on the only source of strength and abundance, Christ. Pray for our leaders. No matter who they are, they need Christ.

Turning Hate Into Love - Making Friends out of Enemies

Let's suppose that you were at a large meeting, 50 to 100 people. What do you think the response would be if you asked for everyone who enjoyed criticism to raise his or her hand? From my own experience I would say that no one would respond to that question with a raised hand. You would probably hear a whole lot of mumbling and grumbling. What if you were to ask those in the meeting who hated criticism to raise his or her hand? There would probably be a loud whoosh sound from the raising of hands. Criticism, as we perceive it, is nothing more than an attack on our ideas and abilities. Most people think of criticism as the act of passing severe judgment. They see it as nothing more than censure or faultfinding. If you were to think back to your childhood, could you remember an instance where someone criticized you? I would venture to say that almost everyone can remember getting a severe rebuke or criticism that has left an indelible mark on them. I surely can remember several instances that happened years ago that had a strong negative impact on me.

I would do everything that I could to avoid criticism. This often limited my interaction with people, especially with those who I knew would be quick to point out things that I did not want to hear. Often when criticism was unavoidable, I simply counterattacked and defended my position. I was a master at rationalizing everything that I did or said. I could make excuses or, as often as possible, shift the blame to others.

After beginning my study of Solomon's Proverbs, I began to understand that my position on criticism was faulty and needed some consideration. When I meditated on Proverbs 15:32 (The Amplified Bible) "He who refuses and ignores instruction and correction despises himself, but he who heeds reproof gets understanding," I began to form a different opinion about criticism. I could see that 'instruction', 'correction' and 'reproof' all pointed to the same thing - criticism. The American Heritage Dictionary comments that Critique has been used as a verb meaning "to review or discuss critically" since the 18th century, but lately this usage has gained much wider currency, in part because the verb criticize, once neutral between praise and censure, is now mainly used in a negative sense.

I can definitely see that Solomon used the word 'instruct' and 'instruction' in the true essence of their meaning. In the Hebrew language 'to instruct' and 'to discipline' are interchangeable. Though it grated against my ego, I had to accept the fact that even negative 'criticism' could hold some positive information that I could use. I began to understand that my reaction to criticism was more damaging than the criticism itself.

As I progressed in my study of Solomon's wisdom, I discovered Proverb 27:5, which literally revolutionized my concept of criticism. Proverbs 27:5 (NLT) "An open rebuke is better than hidden love!" When I began to wrap my mind around those words, I began a new episode in my ongoing journey to a successful life.

Do you remember when you first fell in love? Do you remember the sweetness of hearing the object of your affections whisper in your ear? Do you remember neatly folding the first note that you got from your first love and placing it in a safe place? I placed that note in my Bible and cherished it as though it were a priceless work of literary genius. Do you remember the first time that he or she leaned over and gave you your first kiss? These are all good memories of a first and secret love. I found it hard to believe that the wisest man who ever lived could say that an open rebuke could be better than those warm fuzzy feelings that I got from my first love encounter.

The more I considered Solomon's Proverb, the clearer it became. I began to listen, without retaliation, to the criticism of others. This was not an easy thing to do considering the size and depth to which my ego had grown. I really had to force myself to listen and bite my tongue. As I listened to (not just heard) the criticisms of others, I began to see things about myself that were rather hard to face. I knew that, if this was not going to be an exercise in futility, I would have to not only listen but embrace the comments of others. I realized that they were telling me how I appeared to others. I saw the flaws in my ideas and opinions, which caused me to appreciate the criticism.

When I realized that by excluding my egotistical reactions, this criticism was actually helpful. When I trained myself to listen and not simply to retaliate from anger, I began to benefit from the view that others had of me. When I stopped allowing my feelings to be damaged every time that someone pointed out something that needed to be changed, instead of defended, I saw the change in my perception of myself. I liked it. This was giving me a different perspective and an enhanced view of 'me.'

I began to consider all the time that I had spent trying to avoid criticism. What a lot of time I had wasted. We must all understand that Solomon’s concept of ‘criticism’ was different from the modern day concept. In the Hebrew of Solomon’s day, the word for reproof or criticism meant ‘disciplinary instruction.’ Today we have tried to soften the general concept of ‘criticism’ by referring to it as ‘constructive criticism.’

Solomon stated in Proverbs 1:29-33 a severe warning to those who refuse to listen to reproof or criticism. Proverbs 1:29-33(NKJV)”Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” What this boils down to is that those who refuse counsel and criticism will have their own way, but without a doubt their way will be their downfall. Read more at Pastor Bobby's Official Blog