Roadmap to Affiliate Marketing Prosperity

Sure, Affiliate Marketing is a gold mine of cash.  Everybody wants to quit their day job and jump on this gravy train with visions of piling as much as cash as possible. Of course you have to get you readers to act in order to ring in the cash, be it a purchase or signing up to join a newsletter. But hang on a second. There are few ground rules that you need to follow. they are what I call "The Road Map to Affiliate Marketing Prosperity. If you so much as deviate from one of these steps, you are doomed to failure. Here We go!

This is where you get to play the role of mind reader. You must know what your readers need and anticipate those needs. The affiliate products  you promote must act as a solution to your readers problems  Let's say you do an affiliate site on dog food. the last thing you want to do is  insert affiliate links  on iPhone just because they give a high payout.. The affiliate links must be related to the content on your blog/site. Your readers must  come to your site with dog food in mind, not iPhones.

Gain Your Readers Trust
Readers are not as net ignorant as you might think.. They can recognize an affiliate link when they see it. Woe betide you if you pitch an  affiliate product to them that you don't believe in. If they so much as sniff that you are trying to make a quick buck off them, they will take off running at the speed of light and never come back. You need to understand that your readers are the lifeblood of your affiliate business.. They drive repeat traffic to your site, spread the word about your blog/site,  give you linkbacks and recommend your site as THE place for valuable content. When you give them the content that they seek, the bond between you and your readers grows stronger.

Be of Help
Don't view your affiliate links as mere cash cows. See them as a complement to your content.  The content must be of use, be of help, and provide valuable information to your reader. For instance how about writing a thorough review of the product you are promoting? give an honest opinion of the merits and demerits of your product. I'm sure they will come around to buying from you so long as you point your affiliate link in the right direction. You must understand that you must warm up to your readers with your content before they can even conceive the notion of purchasing your products.  Merely throwing up a Motley Crue of links about your favorite products and expecting them to click on them wont work. They will click the 'Next' button so fast it will make your head spin.

Be Honest

Be honest with your as to whose product you are promoting. It's absolutely crucial if you want to build a strong reader base. Failure to be straight with your readers could result in them bypassing your affiliate link and going straight to the merchant, thus cost you a huge commission. I'm sure you don't want that.

Choose Wisely

Try as many affiliate ad options as possible. Think about products  that will properly serve the needs of your readers. Also  try placing your ads in different places on your blog as you try to attract the attention of your readers. You can do this through inserting different graphics and text and then decide which is most effective for you. Continually rotate the ads until you arrive at the appropriate strategy.

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

The most dangerous thing to try in Affiliate Marketing is putting all your hopes in one nest egg. This business can be very unpredictable in that affiliate programs could come and go at anytime. So, to spare you the humiliation of pulling your hair, try different affiliate programs. If one doesn't work for you, move on to the next one and the next one until you find affiliate programs that you are really comfortable with. The affiliate programs don't necessarily have to be run by huge affiliate networks. They could be small but high paying as well.

Your Content Must Last Forever

Your old content must  provide value even though it does not have front page prominence. If you're using blog platforms as such as blogger  select most popular article option. This option has the potential to create a constant flow of cash for you.

Don't Be in a Rush

When I got into Affiliate Marketing, some years ago, I thought I could be rich over night. Boy was I wrong! Becoming rich takes time. I'm sure if Bill Gates will echo the same sentiment. The good news is some programs offer residual income. Refer one customer and you get paid for the entire lifetime of that customer even if he does not come back to your site. So long as your old links still exist in your previous posts, they should make you money for the rest of your life. Make no mistake, affiliate marketing is not a 'get rich scheme' but it does provide possibilities for passive prosperity. If you're looking for  residual income directory I suggest residualincomefinder.com


Stay Fresh!
Keep abreast of the latest technological changes in your affiliate programs. New tools such as ad units, and new advertisers advertising new products are constantly being added to the food chain. Failure to keep up with these changes could leave you biting the dust. Like any other business you have to add value to your affiliate business. You cant afford to get complacent and lazy about your business.

Content Content Content
Content should be the engine of your affiliate business. Without content, your affiliate blog/site will be a ghost town. Content is the only reason why your  audience come in droves to  check your blog/site. Once you provide content that suits their needs, your monetizing strategies will work out. But like I said earlier,  your readers can sense when they are being shortchanged. So if you compromise on content just to please your merchant partners, your readers will take off running. And once that happen, you will end up leaving a lot of cash on the table.

So Affiliate Marketing is a gold mine alright. But you need to follow the roadmap to Affiliate Marketing Roadmap if you want to stay in the gold mine.  Just follow the rules and stay on course and you will be laughing all the way to the bank.

If you want to learn from the best, Download Rosalind Gardner's   Super Affiliate Handbook.