Affiliate marketing comprises half of my online income, and that is because I have spent considerable time and effort in developing this part of my business. Choosing the people and products you will want to promote as an affiliate must be given ample time and thought. There is just too much going on, in terms of digital and physical products and promotions, to just start recommending everything that comes along. From the very beginning I decided that I would only promote what I had purchased and benefitted from myself. I know that single factor has been responsible for much of the success I have had as an affiliate marketer. This is completely up to you, but it just seems that we have much more credibility when we can tell others how we have benefitted from something we are asking them to purchase.
Think about the products, services, and people you have spent money with since coming online. These are the ones to start recommending first. Then, think about the niche you will be serving. You want to make sure the products and services you are an affiliate for are a good match for the people you will be in contact with. Many of the things you can recommend, such as your autoresponder service and the teleseminar recording service, will cross over into many different niches; others will not.
When I know I am going to recommend someone to my list, I begin to let them know more about that person over time. I will mention their name on a teleseminar, write something about them in one of my email messages, or include something about them in one of my short reports. If they have something free to give away to my subscribers, that makes it even easier to introduce them. All of this is for the purpose of making it easier to promote something they have to offer later on. By then, my people feel like this is someone they can trust, and will take the offer more seriously.
When establishing a new site and a new blog … when is the right time to start promoting affiliate products? Do you promote only your product for a period of time first?
In learning more from you about affiliate marketing, I have become inspired to get more involved myself – I started by wanting to help my clients understand what it was about and get them motivated to do what they needed to do – I had already signed up for your affiliate program and had been sending my clients to check you out – even as I had been checking you out and then became sold on you.
I look forward to learning and growing thru your programs :o) Thank you!