In Mourning for the Google Cash System

Do you remember when you could pick an affiliate program, hustle up a few hundred keywords toss it all into your Adwords account & wait for the commissions. No me neither! I was busy doing something else during those glory days.

If it ever was that easy it certainly isn't any more, there's a lot of competition & intense bidding for keywords. There are big corporations bidding on anything that moves & paying tens of thousands of dollars every month for number one listings.

Just in case you weren't getting the message. Google changed the rules. Now Google will only list one ad for each domain name in any given set of results. If you've ever searched for something obscure and found three or four ads telling you it can be found on eBay you will understand why they did this. The result of this change is that you almost certainly now need your own website to succeed.

But never fear, there are still opportunities for the little guy to earn big.

You just need a plan to maximise revenue from everything that you do and from every visitor that passes through your online real estate.

Here are my top five tips steps for maximising income from affiliate programs.

#1 Sell to a niche. I know you've heard that message a thousand times before. There are hundreds of guides to niche marketing online and you might be forgiven for thinking it's just the latest big hype. But the fact is if you choose a small market you can focus your product more precisely on your target market. If you get this right more of your visitors will think that your recommendation was written just for them and for their situation. The result? More of your visitors will buy.

#2 Always collect contact details from your visitors, if they don't buy today many will buy tomorrow or the day after. If you have a responsive mailing list, you have an asset that can earn you money on demand. All lists start small and small lists can earn big money.

#3 Once you have their mailing details keep in touch, don't let these people forget who you are. Certainly don't only send them mail when you have something to sell. Send them freebies and news as well. Build a relationship, tell them about your life, be their trusted friend.

-- Side Bar-

I read a post on a forum a while back about a guy who had been promoting an affiliate program for about a year. Then the program decided they didn't want affiliates any more. This guy calculated that he had sent over 10,000 paying customers to the merchant over the course of the year. Now he had lost a whole revenue stream and had no way to earn from his past efforts.

If only he had kept in touch with these people by collecting names and mail addresses and keeping in contact, he would probably have made more sales along the way but better still he could now contact them and tell them about another great product.

-- End Sidebar--

#4 Upsell your list. If they didn't buy initially then keep reminding them of the benefits of the product. If they still don't buy after later mails sell them something else. If they were buyers of the initial offering then upsell them on something bigger and more expensive.

#5 Don't stop. Never stop sending mail to your list and don't leave it so long between mails that they forget who you are. Keep sending useful information every week, build a rapport with them. Do this right and they will come to trust you like a friend and when their friend recommends something they will buy it.If they don't want to hear from you any more they will use the unsubscribe link. Don't assume they are all sold out. A good list is good for as long as you maintain it. Which can be until the day you retire.

Build your business right and you will be building an asset that will keep you for the rest of your life.

One great benefit to taking the long term view instead of immediate profits is that you will be in a better position to compete in the PPC marketplace. If the goal of your campaign is to build a list as opposed to making a profit then you can bid higher and run a break even campaign.

Would you like a free subscription to a monthly magazine dedicated to affiliate marketing? Visit http://www.ireviewguru.com/freeresources.html.

Darren Power is your host at http://www.IReviewGuru.com where you will find news of the latest Internet Marketing products along with reviews, articles and free resources.

In The News:


Share Results Launches Affiliate Programs for Tellfon and ...
Emediawire (press release), WA - 1 hour ago
Tellfon is offering a tiered commission structure, as well as prizes for its top-performing affiliates. ElectionKeychains is offering a revenue share that ...

Hurley: YouTube Looking for Affiliate Revenue Streams
NewTeeVee, CA - Jun 26, 2008
... dinner in Palo Alto, but he went onto lay out an argument that there’s also a growing opportunity to make money from direct response affiliate deals. ...

PR Web (press release)

Google Affiliate Network
CNET News, CA - Jul 1, 2008
MacFarlane, who will receive a percentage of the ad revenue, told the newspaper that the two-minute episodes would be "animated versions of the one-frame ...
AOL’s Platform-A Offers Guaranteed CPM for Bebo and Facebook ... Business Wire (press release)
all 28 news articles

Profits drop at Corel
Canoe.ca, Canada - Jul 3, 2008
In March, Corel’s largest shareholder, an affiliate of San Francisco-based Vector Capital, offered to take the company private again for US$11 cash. ...

W.Va. casino operators focus on business amid pressure
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - 5 hours ago
Jacobs runs a Cleveland-based affiliate, Diversified Opportunities Group, which invests in gaming companies, according to Hoover's Inc., which tracks ...

ValueClick: Has the Hunted Become the Hunter?
Seeking Alpha, NY - Jul 3, 2008
Think Partnership (hereinafter THK) is in many respects similar to ValueClick, albeit a smaller version as it is most widely known for the affiliate ...

HipCricket Hires Vice President of Sales and Client Development
Eastside Business Journal, Washington - Jul 1, 2008
At CW affiliate KSTW Television, McCormick served as general sales manager and delivered an eight percent increase in station revenue, more than double the ...

YouTube's New Groove
Motley Fool - Jun 27, 2008
Is affiliate marketing the missing ingredient? It seems Google's going to give it a shot, according to YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley's recent comments at a ...

The Associated Press

Rush Limbaugh to get $38M a year for next 8 years
The Associated Press - Jul 3, 2008
"This is exactly where I want to be, doing what I was born to do, with an amazing audience and phenomenal support from affiliate stations and sponsors," ...

OFFICE RENTS PEAKING AS SUPPLY BECOMES IMMINENT
24-7PressRelease.com (press release) - 2 hours ago
With over 29000 employees, the Company serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices worldwide (excluding affiliate ...
affiliate revenue - Google News

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