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From the desk of Jamie Davidson Date:11/10/05 Affiliate Marketing. What it is and why you should be involved. When someone says the word "affiliate" several things come to mind. For ME, personally, when someone says the word affiliate, I begin to think of slogging through wind and rain, knocking on doors, late nights at an office, trying to convince some faceless person on the telephone that they need this package that this photography studio, home improvement products corporation or local newspaper is the right thing for them to purchase. But for the affiliate marketer in the online world none of that is the case. They dont slog through wind, sleet, snow and rain to come to the door of some person doing their dayumdest to be the best host they can for their holiday guests, bang on it to get the cold shoulder and try and give them a hard sell on their windows. For me, in the offline world of sales, this was the case. Wether I was trying to set the appointment, or if I was the one doing the sale it was the same regardless. Sometimes, you could get one heck of a warm reception, because you were there at JUST the right time, in the right place, with the right smile and the right attitude. Sometimes, it was like dealing with the beaches of Normandy in WWII. Now, you might be asking, "Why is he rambling on like this?" To that, I really don't have much of an answer. I suppose it is to add some perspective and maybe give you some social proof that I am not some idiot off the street. To ME, personally, affiliate marketing, being an "affiliate" in the online realm of marketing is so utterly and completely different that I have had to literally "RE-learn" everything that I knew about how to make a sale. In this realm, it isn't about the "offer, then the listen, then the rebuttal/overcome." In this realm, it is all about addressing, right out, in one smooth offer, all of the issues and the misgivings that your customer has, about doing business with you. Right up front. You don't have to backend them with your initial offer. You front end them and then, after addressing all of the issues, you call them to action, back ending them with a follow up offer after the initial sale, which is what your goal is in the first place, but you have to massage them into a purchasing state of mind first. In some cases, theymay already be there. But most times, they are not. If they are, that is why you allow them a moment here and there in your ad copy to go ahead and take that action, if they wish. But you dont do it so that they are going to feel "pushed". My goal with this particular article is to define for those that are new, what exactly is this affiliate marketing, and why it's one of the best business models on the planet. I want to lay to rest some mis-conceptions, and maybe also, introduce a new light to how many will look at this business in the future. What I want to bring to light, right now, is what it is when people think of an "affiliate". For some reason, that word has been tainted, much like the idea of a tele-marketer, or door to door salesman. To me, an affiliate is "affiliated", "associated" and in some cases "partnered" with the companies that they are "promoting". The title of affiliate is more for the program, than it is for the person. In my mind, an affiliate is actually someone that through actions, promotes a business, an opportunity or a product. It really doesn't matter what this product is, because no matter what, they are going to be able to promote it. And that, My friends is the key word here. ***************************************************************** "P R O M O T E" ***************************************************************** That word alone brings to mind something much different. It brings to mind, a man in a sharp suit, using the gift of gab to bring the band he represents an image with certain clients, that uses his managing skills and organisational mind to work with all the different elements to make a party or other event happen smoothly, to manage the different facilities of adverstisement to bring a dream into reality. Affiliate Marketing is the business of promotion and those that practice the art of affiliate marketing are therefore Promoters. No matter WHAT they promote, they will promote it and promote it and provide an invaluable service to those whom they represent. So in short, when you see the words "affiliate program", remember, that what you are seeing is the opportunity for someone to promote a product. To represent, in the best light possible, a given company, product, service or group. Affiliate marketing is a unique business model in that it is entirely commission based, is not governed by the rule of "9 to 5", doesnt need a nagging short tempered under the deadline fat and balding "dictator" of a boss looking over your shoulder every five seconds to see that you are on track, or to screw you up. Affiliate marketing is also NOT a get-rich-quick scheme. Now, that is not to say, that with the proper amount of effort that you can't get rich, it is just to say that you must put in your effort, to get it to perform the way that you wish it to and to put those greenbacks in your pocket. Affiliate marketing is not tele-marketing. You dont need to spam anyone (heaven forbid) to get them to buy your product, or call them at who knows WHAT hour of the morning when they are just waking up, taking a shower or getting ready to take the kiddies to the ballgame. In fact, in most cases...*aherm*... I should say in ALL cases, you can automate the entire process, to get the results that you need, invariably. This is what makes it great. You submit a couple articles, about your products, or something related, you leave your websites addy in the resource box (where you place something about yourself, your service or your website) and bam, you start getting a slow but steady stream of targeted traffic. More on that subject later. What affiliate marketing IS, is promotions. Promotions of someone elses products, for your own profit. What affiliate marketing IS, is a Business. A very REAL, VERY lucrative, BUSINESS. What affiliate marketing IS, is a method for working from home, doing away with the excess stress and drama that comes from being under the thumb of "The Man". What affiliate marketing IS, is simplicity. So much so, that most fail for lack of understanding. And a plan. But don't allow that to scare you. What affiliate marketing IS, is duplicable. IF you find the right teacher(s). When someone finds their mentor(s) in this business and the right things are taught, that persons financial success can shoot through the roof. Most of what this entails is putting forth the effort to either write articles, pay for them, or whatever, to get your name out there, to stuff your affiliate links in someones face so that they will take a look at your offer.:-)(Not in a rude way, of course) The result of that is that you are working to promote a business that isnt your own, to grow your own business...funny how that lil circle of give and take works, isn't it??;-} Now, once someone sees your sales page, this is when you pitch to them what it is that is so great about it. Why they need it. What it will do for them and their lives, to improve either or... And... How they can get this product. Alot of times, in this online world, if you are selling something to someone, the best thing to do is get them into your newsletter, then show them, little by little more and more of what you have for them. Offer them a gift, just for signing up for example and bam, you have them hooked. IF they sign up. Dont feel bad if they dont. Many people on the net will surf through something and find things on accident. So dont worry if your conversions arent all that high. It is a well known statistic that a consumer will have to experience the individual that is trying to sell themselves at least 7 times before they will make a purchase of any or all of their products and or services. It is also well known that when you do get sales, they will only be the creme de la creme of 0.1%. This is why traffic is essential. Now, you might be saying "DAMN! 0.1%!! How do I compete in this market with those odds!" Well, don't worry about that, the point to all of that was that the "job" as it were, is affiliate marketing, but what the person behind it truly is, is a "promoter" which seems to be a word that most people understand MUCH easier than "Affiliate". And on the point of such a low conversion rate, remember, there are so many fish in the sea of marketing that if you wanted to take the steps to get the traffic, you could have thousands on thousands of pre-qualified, targeted visitors, unique at that, flooding your site and that would make you thousands of dollars, even on a 0.1% ratio. Some programs, such as Ewen Chias Secret Affiliate Weapon have that accounted for with a conversion ratio of an previously unheard of 40%! Now THAT is some affiliate power! Ewen Chia is one of the Greats. A true Super Affiliate. For more on Ewens system, you need only sign up to my newsletter to get more information on that and other ways that you too, can become a profit pulling cash-flow generating affiliate. You can do that here. Now, none of this is to guarantee anything about how much you WILL make, but it is to point out that with the right drive, a bit of effort and a willingness to exhibit some ambition, one CAN make quite a large truckload of cash. AND do it on Auto-Pilot. No kidding. Now, hopefully I have shed some positive light on what it is that I do for a living and maybe I will see you on the battlefield someday. And yes, it seems to be a battlefield. The truly successful just have superior FirePower. That is what I was aiming for with this article. To give YOU, the new recruit, some heavy hitting weaponry on the field of battle. To lift the veil and reveal to you that there are no "secrets". Just hidden weapons cache's. I have one available for you too, here. So just remember that when you think affiliate, people tend to think of something that is rather unidentifiable and when you think promoter, it seems likely that EVERYONE knows what you mean. Though the job is far from glamorous, at least it's recognizable. On that note, now that you have some understanding of what affiliate marketing is, and what it isn't, I hope that it has given my fellow newbies out there something to think about. Hopefully, you all can see why this business is so profitable to be a part of, and why you might very well want to be a part of the ultimate home business model. In fact, should you decide that it's something that you want to do, I am here to help, in fact, it is what I set up My first site for. To help people, with as little to no up-front costs as possible, to start in being a promoter of great products, both electronic and physical. See you soon, heres to YOUR Success. Believe it, Achieve it. ______________________________________________________________________ Jamie Davidson, President/C.E.O. Tigers-Den Marketing Group is an avid online marketer with offline sales experience and extensive experience as a carpenter, building other peoples dreams. He is now seeking to do the same online for as many people as possible, while pursuing his own dream of sponsoring his own drift and race teams in the sport compact import scene. Affiliate Weaponry |
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