Selling Affiliate Products in Your Own Web Store - Some Useful Hints

There are many advantages of having your own web address for selling affiliate programs or products. For beginners selling from your own web store obviously poses some problems and expenses. Firstly, you have the expense of a web address. To start with though a dot info address can cost you as little as 99 cents. So that is no real obstacle. Then you will need hosting. While this is an expense, the cost can be minimal. There are some relatively cheap answers.

Personally I like Vodahost, as you can have multiple stores for the one monthly fee. Vodahost is cheapest if you pay for three years advance hosting. This may not suit everyone, but still the cost is quite reasonable, particularly when you consider how much some affiliate programs want you to pay to join them and use the sites they prepare for you! How about the skills needed to build or operate a web site? Again this is minimal. If you can start and operate an email account, you can have your own store. Vodahost has a free program called Blue Voda, which is simple and easy to use. They have a series of videos which explain all the functions of the programs for you. Also they have a forum which you can also use to get help.

As far as I am concerned, if you are really serious about making any money, even a modest income to supplement your main income, from the web you should develop these basic skills. I am amazed how many 'make money schemes' on the web recommend you use PayPerClick as a way of getting visitors to your splash page and ultimately a down-line, when in reality you need a reasonable level of skill to figure out how some of these PPC sites even work! I remember with sadness, dismay and anger some years ago when a fellow member of a forum I'm on contacted me and a few other members personally. He was a newly retired Australian man and had been talked into buying 6 web stores.

He had been convinced to part with thousands of dollars to a company who set these stores up as drop ship stores. As part of their "service" they had set up PCC schemes on each store for him for several keywords per store. He had been left in a situation where large bills were going on to his credit cards each month for these PCC payments and he did not have the knowledge needed to even turn these PCC campaigns off. Don't under any circumstances agree to any sort of regular payment until you know how to stop the payments. This especially applies to some schemes where you pay, say 1 dollar to try it for a month, but you have to give your credit card details and unless you cancel, your credit card then gets charged a monthly fee. I'm not suggesting that all these type of schemes are scam, as some are operated by very well-known individuals and do have the potential to generate income, but just make sure you know the details. If you are a little unsure, use something like PayPal where you can get help to cancel a bill if need be.

Another decision you will need to make is how you visitors are going to join and/or pay for your products. Will you need to have a cart attached to your store? If you are using your address simply to advertise another program you may send interested persons on to your affiliate link and/or splash page through that site and do away with the need for a separate cart. If you are advertising multiple goods or programs, you may even set up a page for each program on your site. Some people post just one page to advertise their multi-level marketing business, or businesses. I think you need to have a few other pages on the site. An 'About Me' page is a good idea as it helps visitors to realize they are dealing with a real individual. You can also use a page for a blog if you wish. You can put a link back to your Twitter or Facebook page. A resource or links page can also help your site seem more real and help with search engine ratings, if this is important to you.

If you follow my suggestion and are only paying one monthly fee to host multiple sites, how many sites should you have for your affiliate programs? It will depend on what you are promoting. Be careful of how many multi-level marketing programs you put on the same site. The obvious question can be, if each of your programs is so good, and is capable of generating income for your visitors and you are so pleased with it, why have you joined so many? Also be careful with link to Twitter or Facebook that promote multiple similar programs for the same reason. Obviously some affiliate programs can complement each other. Eg. You may be promoting a weight loss product, but you could also promote products that people under you can use to promote their weight loss business via the web such as a company that hosts web sites, and maybe a company that provides auto-responders and other useful aids to marketing. My opinions is, if all you ever want to promote is the latest 'get rich scheme' which is reality is all some multi-level marketing affiliates are; have a different site for each one, if you think you are going to stay with that company long enough to get benefit from it.

Many people are affiliates for other online stores. You may be an affiliate of a store that sells for example children's education toys and get a commission directly from the store owner or some middle company like Click bank. How many products would it be wise to put in one store? It would depend on how different or complimentary they were. If you know what you are selling and put a lot of thought into it you may offer a complete range of one line of goods. For example you could set up a jewelry store where you are an affiliate of a store that sold Silver Jewelry, you may have another link through to a Novelty Store, perhaps a link through to a Diamond Site, another link to Children's Jewelry and perhaps another to Men's Jewelry.

If you give your visitors good information, you could be quite successful generating a regular income from a store front like that. Just think of the Blog articles you could write! Also it would be easier to get higher visitor numbers to such a store, that operating a separate store for each category.sunglasses affiliate program  At the other extreme you could be an affiliate for totally different things like say, gifts, clothing, sunglasses, bags etc. In this case you would need to have a very well written Home page and an easy to navigate site. It would be a good idea to devote a separate page for each of your products or consider how many stores to operate.

Promoting and advertising multiple stores can take a lot of work, particularly as getting good visitor number to one store may not spill over to your other sites. One of the biggest challenges with operate your own web site is getting traffic to your store. No matter how good the store, no traffic always equals no sales. Therefore some consider it easier to operate their own store with a site like eBay or its latest competitor, BigValueDepot.

Post Source: ezinearticles

Learn How to Get Started With Affiliate Marketing Programs - Legitimate Home Based Jobs Are Real

If you want to learn how to get started with affiliate marketing programs, you have found the right article.

Affiliate marketing is a great way for average people to start an "at home" business with little or no cash up front. Unlike many internet based programs, affiliate marketing is a legitimate work opportunity, not some scam that tries to fool people into letting go of their money. There are of course some affiliate marketing products that are garbage, but they are easy to spot and easy to avoid.

Almost every major retailer and manufacturer offers an affiliate program, which is a testament to the validity of the opportunity, and proof, that it is a perfectly legitimate enterprise.

For you to learn how to get started with affiliate marketing programs, you should first do a little research. Did you known that you can open a search engine and type "product type + affiliate" (without the quotes), i.e., purses + affiliate, or designer sunglasses + affiliate, to see a listing of available programs for that product type? You can also search for programs with particular retailers (Wal-mart + affiliate, Sears + affiliate) if you are interested in promoting a wide variety of products through a particular company.

Some affiliates sell mostly digital products (Clickbank, etc.); others sell mainly physical products, while others sell both. I personally promote a wide range of both digital and physical products across several different affiliate programs. Digital products usually have a lower cost and pay a higher commission (up to 75%); whereas physical products vary greatly in price, depending upon the nature of the product; and pay much lower commissions - after all, the product has to be manufactured, warehoused and shipped - so the cost of selling those products is much higher.

Once you have identified some programs that you might want to promote, do a web search on "affiliate marketing forums" and spend a little time reading posts from other affiliates. Oftentimes you can get some valuable insight into which programs are great as opposed to good, by reading about the experiences of other marketers. sunglasses affiliate program You can also get a good idea of what types of promotional methods other people are using - and which methods are working the best.

Once you have done that, it is time to sign up with a program and get started. Most affiliate programs are free to join and will accept new affiliates immediately, but some do require an approval process.

Now, you are ready to start promoting your products. I do suggest that you stick to the free article directories and free classified advertising sites until you gain a little experience and start making a few sales; then you might want to start using some of the paid advertising methods.

It will not cost you anything to learn how to get started with affiliate marketing, and getting started only has to cost you the time that you invest in it.

This is a great way to start making some extra cash in your spare time, or even to develop a full time occupation.

If you have questions about choosing a program, or questions about how to promote products, or wish to see some of the programs that are available... or you just want to learn more, follow the link below.

Post Source: ezinearticles 

How To Choose A Qualified Affiliate Program and Joyfully Earn Monthly Residual Income

Dear Friend,

When searching for the right affiliate program there are several things you must take into consideration.

Here are 5 things to keep in mind when choosing a qualified program as an affiliate partner.

* The products or services you want to promote.

* Determining the niche market you are going after.

* Mapping out the marketing strategies you plan to implement.

* The success ratio of the affiliate program you are signing up with.

* Knowing the kind of network you intend to build to circulate your affiliate products or services.

If you conduct a Google search, you will discover thousands of affiliate programs tied to thousands of different companies. An affiliate program must have a good conversion ratio and a provable track record in order to do cross promotions or team up with Joint Venture partners.

You also must have an arsenal of articles based on the topics affiliated with your market. You must educate people on what you're promoting so they have an understanding as to what it is you have and why it's important for them to acknowledge what you are promoting and how it will ultimately benefit them.

Your affiliate network is what will determine how successful you become with your affiliate products. Based on the company you choose to affiliate yourself with and the percentage they offer to you, makes a big difference on how much growth you can expect.

In addition, the development of having a list and having people within your market opt-in or double opt-in to your mailing list. You list is your goldmine and the diamonds hidden in your backyard underneath the big oak tree. You can have all the affiliates in the world, but if you don't train your affiliate partners and guide them down the right road of achievement, your program will collapse before it even begins.

There are major network organizations like Click Bank, Commission Junction, AvantLink to name a few, that contain huge marketplaces for you to tap into. You can partner with publishers, establish Joint Ventures, build-up massive lists, exchange links, and improvise SEO and Article Marketing methods to increase your affiliate revenue.

Quite a few people do very well as an affiliate of Amazon.com and other marketplaces that has a large selection of products to choose from. One industry that is growing at a rapid pace and offers affiliate programs is the apparel industry.

You can find shopping malls that offer thousands of products like Amazon and start earning a monthly residual income. One of the most popular lines of product to recommend to your family, friends, and colleagues is jewelry, watches, handbags, toys for kids, dress shoes, ties, wallets, sunglasses, eyeglasses, prescription glasses and a whole lot more.

The greatest part of finding the right qualified affiliate program is the joy behind it. Once you collect your first paycheck, you can't help but smile and share the joy of success with other people around you. And if you stick to it and not give up, you can create a snowball effect of affiliate revenue. You have to want it and you must go after it. sunglasses affiliate program

You can do a lot of research online pertaining to affiliate programs and affiliate network that have various forms of related information to help you with your chosen affiliate program. make it your objective to become a super affiliate, not just an average affiliate who does nothing. Aim for the clouds so you can grab the stars.

Post Source: ezinearticles

Using Affiliate Programs to Extend Your Reach or Create Residual Income

Affiliate companies are very powerful if used correctly. DO NOT TAKE THIS SECTION LIGHTLY because this is incredible stuff and those who take part in these affiliate programs can do so for FREE. These programs are known as Pay For Performance programs and it does not cost one cent to join. Affiliate programs enable a particular company to have their banners (links) placed on thousands of other websites around the world, all pointing back to their site.

These colorful and interactive banners serve to extend the reach of the affiliate participant company by increasing the number of avenues people have in finding out about their site. Search engines are not always enough. By taking part in affiliate programs, a customer goes into a particular website, let's say, Joe's Sports and while there he spots a banner pointing to a store, RareMitts.com, that sells a certain type of hard to find baseball mitt. Now, if he had not been in Joe's Sports he would not have known about Raremitts.com. So these affiliate programs help the affiliate company participant to extend his reach and by doing so he will drive increased business to his website. The reward to the web site owner who placed the banner of that company on his/her site will be that they will receive a commission from any purchase.

In examining Affiliate Programs, we will look at it from two angles. 1) The website owner (Publishers) who takes advantage of affiliate programs in order to enhance his/her site and 2) the business owner (known as the advertiser) who is also a website owner who hooks up with an affiliate broker such as Commission Junction and LinkShare, which are the two most popular affiliate programs going. For the service of having the affiliate broker list them and their banners, they pay a percentage fee to the affiliate broker who then keeps detailed statistics and lets the participant (the advertiser) know the amount of sales made through each individual affiliate and takes care of the commission check.

The affiliate advertiser can log onto Commission Junction or Linkshare, (the affiliate broker) at any time with his/her password and through the use of a login and a control panel see just how many individual Publishers are using their banners, how many have "signed up" for their particular affiliate program and the sales attributed to each individual Publisher, as well as all of his related statistics as to amount of clicks and hits.

On the other hand, Website owners, also known as Publishers, go to the affiliate brokers for a few different reasons. Let's examine them.

1. They place banners that they get from the affiliate broker on their website that fall under the same, similar or related category of items that they may sell as well as related products that serve not only to compliment their own websites but help to make it a one-stop shop. Placing banners on their sites also lets them develop a flow of residual income. Let's simplify this. Let's say I have a company called Coolsun®. I have trademarks under this name for clothing, sunglasses and lotions. Besides selling those three lines of items I might want to involve other related items such as travel, dining, hotels, rent-a-cars, swimwear and cosmetics, as well as sports. I want to add anything that I feel compliments my site and gives people more of a reason to take care of all of their outdoor needs and warm weather related needs on my Coolsun.com site. The business owner mentioned who for example, has a store called Let Them Eat Cake may want to sell, as a compliment to his website (through the use of affiliates), links for cookware, knives, tableware, aprons, foods from around the world, cookbooks, diet books, spices, and on and on.

These banners are placed on your site by you in an arrangement that you come up with that you feel will attract people to them. I happen to make a page devoted to affiliate banners on my sites which I will show you in a minute. People come to my site, 1) they click on one of my affiliate banners; 2) they then get taken directly over to the website that the banner is linked to such as Old Navy® or Macy's®, etc. They make a purchase and the affiliate broker such as Commission Junction keeps track of the commission that I just made from that purchase. You make a commission because the customer originally came through your site and while in your site then clicked on the banner for Old Navy® and then was taken to the Old Navy website, where they bought a pair of jeans. Commissions range from 3% all the way to 15% and 20%.

Each individual advertiser sets their own commission structure with the affiliate broker. It is important to note that when first signing up with the affiliate broker you then go to the category of your choice and look for store(s) that you would like to have represented on your website by use of the banners that the advertisers have displayed on the affiliate broker site. You click on a box to apply for permission. I can tell you that most of the time the advertiser(s) allow you to place their banner(s) on your site. Sometimes, due to the criteria that they establish concerning their affiliates they might reject you because they might not like the content of your website or they feel that your image is not what they want their banner on. If you are rejected then simply choose one of the other 500 stores available to you under the affiliate broker.

It is important to point out that banners are either static (even though interactive) or dynamic. This means the following: the banners that you place on your site that are not dynamic will expire every now and then and they have to be replaced by a new banner from the same company. Dynamic banners on the other hand, are banners that update themselves because within their code they have a link to the company which updates the banner automatically without you having to worry about that. (You place banners on your site by copying HTML code from the affiliate broker site and placing it in the appropriate place on your page in the source code of a particular web page). After the HTML is inserted at a particular place on the web page within the source code. you will then see the nicely colored and animated banner that you have just placed into your source code when you go back to the normal view. It is very easy and the process of picking the particular banner of that company that you feel is the best one to place on your site is a lot of fun!

Just so I don't forget, as a member of the affiliate broker website (as a member of CJ or Linkshare), you get your own password, and you are able to keep track of all of the sunglasses affiliate program that you signed up for as well as getting statistics as to how many sales your banners have made and the commission you are owed. You usually have to earn at least $25.00 before they let you either pull the money directly to your bank account or cut you a check.

Keep in mind that the way in which you display your banners is up to you. It's your site so do your thing. Remember: Residual income is produced for the website owner (publisher) and exponential additional exposure for the Advertiser whose banners are available on the affiliate broker for you to choose. Go to Commission Junction and Linkshare today and sign up! But before you do so, think about what will compliment your site. What related items that you add to your site will enhance it and make it more attractive to the consumer. Why leave your site when you have everything that they may need? If I can take care of all business here and I have variation and choice then this is great. Think like that and go to it. It's fun and it's FREE!

Summation of Affiliate Companies

1. Affiliate programs are divided amongst the Publishers (those who post banners on their sites to make commission) and Advertisers (those who give Affiliate Brokers permission to make available the banners that the publishers use.

2. Both Publishers and Advertisers have the ability to log in to the affiliate broker to keep track of their sales.

3. By logging into the affiliate broker, Publishers are able to see how much money they have made from the variety of links and banners they have posted on their site. Advertisers are able to see how many publishers are using their banners and how much money each individual Publisher has made.

4. ClickBank.com is another affiliate broker that concentrates on downloadable information. So, if you are selling a book or audio or movie of some sort you may wish to hook up with ClickBank. They are known as a Digital Products Retailer.

5. If you go to any major store of your choosing and go to the bottom of their website you will see "Affiliate Program" listed at the bottom. Upon clicking on it they will let you know who they use to handle their affiliate program. So, if you have the desire to have that particular store available on your site in the form of a banner you sign up with their affiliate broker whomever they may be and then place the banners of that store on your site.

6. Stores like Amazon.com have their own affiliate program and it is tremendous with many categories and tons of banners.

7. Most Publishers use affiliates to enhance their site. They choose stores that are in the same line of business or related business they are in. In this way, people can take care of all of their related business in one place. On the other hand, Advertisers know that by allowing Publishers the ability to place banners leading back to their sites exponentially enhances their reach to the public. The affiliate brokers provide the service all over the world so someone in Italy can be making money off of a store based in California etc. If the goods that the Advertiser is offering is sought after then people all over the world will be placing those banners on their sites trying to get a piece of a good thing.

8. Affiliate programs are a great way to raise money for a school or organization. I go to the ABC School of New York and place popular store banners that people like to shop in such as Macy's, Barnes and Nobel, Sharper Image etc.. If those associated with that school know that by going through the schools banner to get to the desired store will enable the school, or church, or other organization to raise money then they will gladly do it.

 Post Source: ezinearticles