Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 5

Some additional notes on affiliate marketing to keep in mind:

(1) Make sure that you are promoting a product from a reputable seller. If the seller is not reputable, two problems arise. First, your reputation suffers, and second, you may not get paid. If the seller does not correctly track sales from your hoplink, you will lose money! We are not in this business to lose money. Therefore, start smart by finding a reputable seller.

(2) When you do affiliate marketing, you may have to give the seller some personal information for tax purposes. This personal information may include your phone number and social security number. If you do not feel comfortable giving out this information, you will need to find a seller that does not track your income for tax purposes. If this occurs, remember to claim any income you make on your tax return. The last thing you need is to get audited by the IRS!

(3) As I stated in my previous post, Clickbank is a good website for finding affiliate marketing opportunities. Alternatively, you can decide to promote a specific product from one seller. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. If you promote multiple products, you can reach a more diverse group of possible customers; however, it will be harder to track sales. If you promote only one product, you may not be able to meet the interests of all you potential customers; however, sales will be easier to track. Whatever you decide, make sure that you consider your time commitments and selling strengths.

Keep these notes in mind when deciding on a seller’s product!

Multiple Streams of Income: The Internet Part 4

A couple of other quick notes about article writing; as I stated in my previous post, search the terms “free article directory” in your favorite search engine to find various article submission websites. Some of the more popular websites are Ezine Articles, Go Articles, and Idea Marketers. Make sure that you submit your articles to these websites!

Make sure you write quality articles! If you write junk, you will not get traffic to your website. One of the primary purposes of writing articles is to drive traffic. Do not frustrate this purpose by submitting three sentence jumbles and expect results. Many good programs exist to help with article writing and submission. Article writing is very tedious, but with the right help from programs like Article Submitter, Article-a-Day, and 30 Minute Articles you can construct quality, traffic driven, and profit producing articles with ease.

Now that you have an understanding of article writing and submission, affiliate marketing will be our next topic. Affiliate marketing is basically selling other people’s products for them. For every sell you make, you get a commission in the form of a percentage of the purchase price. For a better understanding of affiliate marketing, use this link.

Many affiliate marketing websites and programs exist; however, the most popular is probably Clickbank. Clickbank can be used to promote your own product, should you have one, and/or can be used to promote other people’s products in order to earn a commission. If you search the terms “affiliate marketing opportunities” in your favorite search engine, you should be able to find a product or company that you feel comfortable promoting.

The best part about affiliate marketing is that all the work is done for you. The pitch pages and payment options are already set up by the product creator. All you have to do is drive traffic to the pitch page using your special link. You can utilize your website and/or blog to help drive traffic. Also, your special link or “hoplink” is how your sales are tracked and how you get paid. It is of the utmost importance that you remember to use your hoplink in the links you create. Without your hoplink, YOU WILL NOT GET PAID!

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money. Many programs exist that will help you start and can make you a “Super Affiliate.” Some of these programs are The Super Affiliate Handbook, The Butterfly Marketing Manuscript, and Secret Affiliate Weapon! Many people are affiliate marketers for a living. Everybody has their own strengths. If your strength is marketing, you will want to pursue this opportunity as soon as possible.