Copyright 2005 Michael Gates

Where can an average person start a home business without investing any money? The wonderful world of affiliate marketing.

For those looking to enter the world of affiliate marketing, there are some key concepts that can help you succeed. These 10 tips will help you maximize potential profit in the affiliate marketing
industry.

1. Focus on a specific area of interest. It can be tempting to sign up for a variety of programs on different topics, or areas of interest, to appeal to a large audience. You need to understand, there are already hundreds of thousands of online shopping malls, which is essentially what you'll have. It will be almost impossible for you to compete with well established sites offering a variety of products. You need to focus on a particular topic, or niche.

2. Find the best affiliate programs for your niche. This seems to be a "no brainer", but there are some things you need consider when choosing the most profitable affiliate program. Does the merchant offer products that people will buy? Is the commission you will be paid high enough to pay for some advertising and still be profitable? Usually, products that are difficult to sell, or are higher priced, offer a higher commission. And products that are easy to sell, and have a lower price, offer lower percentage cuts. Try to find the best commission rate for products that are priced at mid range, and products that will be easy to sell.

3. Build a content-filled web site focused on your niche. The primary focus of your web site is to sell the affiliate products you have chosen. But, if your site does not attract visitors, sales conversion will be virtually impossible. Create a site that focuses on the area of interest you have chosen, and populate it with rich, informative content that people would love to read. Good content will establish you as an expert in the niche. Plus, search engines love content which will give you a better position in the search engine listings.

4. Market your web site. You have to let the online community know about your site. Just because you now have a web site, doesn't mean people will come. Submit online press releases related to your niche, submit your site to search engines. Exchange links with well-visited sites related to your niche, promote your site in online communities, and start a blog (web log). You have to spread the word that your site exists, and that it contains information that will fill the need of your target audience.

5. Market your affiliate products. After you have a consistent number of visitors, it's time to promote the affiliate products you're selling. This is usually done with a sales page that is part of your web site. A sales page is basically an article listing the benefits of your product, and what it will do for your niche audience. Benefits can be "it can improve the quality of your life", or "learn the secrets the experts don't want you to know". These sales page benefits may seem exaggerated, but they work.

6. Build an email list. How many web sites have you visited? Have you visited a site, found something of interest, gotten interrupted, left the site and never returned? Of course you have. Don't let this happen to your visitors. Ask your visitors for a first name and an email address when they visit your site. Offer them something in return for that information. If they have some interest in your offering, but leave the site for whatever reason, you can email them later, reminding them to come back to your site.

7. Don't hide behind a web site. I am amazed at how many web sites I see with no name or contact information. Most people prefer to do business with someone with a real name, someone they can contact, someone they can get to know. Provide your real name, and an email address on your website so potential customers can contact you with questions, and know there is a real person behind that website.

8. Build a network. Become friends with other affiliate marketers. Share information about the best deals, the most effective strategies, and perhaps, even some lists of potential buyers. Remember, the world is all about a network of contacts, and you never know when one of your contacts will help you out.

9. Do not limit yourself to one affiliate program. Join as many as you can without losing the focus of what you want to sell. Greater variety is good, as long as your products are niche related. The more niche products you offer, the greater the chances that one will be bought.

10. Be patient and don't quit. Don't expect great results overnight. It takes time to build traffic to your site, to build your email list, and to build relationships. If you quit, you certainly won't be successful. But if you're patient and stick with it, affiliate marketing can be very profitable and rewarding.
Mike Gates is a 16 year corporate America castoff, showing people how to make a living online. Learn a sure-fire way of retiring by working affiliate programs, and grab over 3 hours of exclusive audio from a super affiliate. http://www.affiliatepayday.com