Ezine Archive
Build An e-Business On A Shoestring
Free Tips, Tricks and Tools
Issue #4
March 3, 2000
In this Issue:
How Long Should You Promote An Affiliate Program...?
Free Internet Marketing Plan
FEATURE ARTICLE: 10 Traffic Builders - After the Search Engines
How To Increase Your Site's Conversion Rate
Classified Ads
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This issue focuses on affiliate programs. What is the future of
them?
How long do you promote one before saying, "It ain't workin".
And top ten methods of promotion.
The last article is very important to all who have a web site
that is selling a product or service. You might be getting tons
of hits/visitors but are you getting orders? No, well make
sure you read this very important article. It contains the
secrets that the pros' have been using to make lots of money.
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Don't know how to promote your infoproduct?
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Article: How long should you promote an affiliate program before you
make the decision that it just isn't going to work for you?
Let's face it, no matter how well a particular product may
do on other websites, it just might not be right for yours.
Statistics show that only a small percentage of affiliates
for any given program actually make any money. What happens
if you are one of those that falls into the category not
making money? Is it time to take down the site and let the
domain name registration expire?
No way! But it just might be the right time to make some
changes to your strategy. Analyze your website and the
programs that you have signed up for. Determine which of those
REALLY appeal to your target audience. I said REALLY because
I want you to look at the programs from the viewpoint of your
visitors, not from the viewpoint of which ones are supposed to
make you the most money.
There's a lot of advice out there on which programs to pick for
your website, highest commissions, monthly payout, online
reporting, etc, etc, etc. The fact is that you don't always
have that choice to make. You need to concentrate on the
products that your visitors will be the most interested in.
What programs compliment your website's content and theme are
much more important than signing up for every program
promising to make you rich with only one sale.
I'm a great example of the above information. One of my
websites caters to a highly targeted audience. I have tried
many affiliate programs and advertising solutions on that
site over the past two years. You know which program
consistently beats all others? Amazon.com!
I get paid quarterly not monthly (make that a month or two
after the quarter has ended), I only get credited for that
visit, not repeat visits, and up until about a month ago had
to wait until Monday of each week for my emailed statistics.
Believe it or not boys and girls, Amazon.com doesn't fit
into the 'model affiliate program' mold that we read so much
about. Now, I'm not trying to be hypocritical here, I too feel
that you should do your best to find quality affiliate
programs that offer all of the above benefits and then some.
I'm just trying to tell you that if you find a program that
really appeals to your target audience, you CAN make some
money with it. Don't pass up products that your visitors would
really be interested in just because they don't pay you
enough. Because if your visitors really do purchase from a
particular program and you can show consistent sales you will
be able to appeal to the merchant and ask them to increase
their payout to you.
This happens a lot in this industry, especially if it is a good
fit for both sides. Worse case you might be able to get away
with telling them that if they don't cooperate with you,
you're going to change to another program. Chances are they
don't want to lose your business, and they will work something
out for you.
So now we've done the easy part and dumped the programs that we
know aren't appropriate for our site. What about the ones that
are fairly targeted to our content and that our visitors might
be interested in? How do we know when the amount that we are
going to earn doesn't justify the time and effort to promote a
particular program?
I once read that you should give at least 3000 impressions to
any given program before making the decision to keep it or drop
it. I don't quite agree with this statement. According to this,
I post a banner on my site, and if it hasn't made me any money
by 3000 impressions, dump it.
We all know (at least I hope we do!) that there is much more to
being successful with affiliate programs than just adding
banners to your rotation.
So how do we set a benchmark? This has to be determined by you.
It is based on your website, your visitors, the program, and the
amount of effort you have put into promoting the program.
Have you blended the product offerings in with your content?
Have you given personal recommendations for any of the products?
Have you displayed the links and/or graphics prominently so that
the majority of your traffic has a chance to see them? Have you
mentioned new product offerings to your newsletter subscribers?
If you can answer yes to the majority of the above questions,
then you can make a determination as to how long to try the
affiliate program. If you've done these things and your visitors
have passed right by the offerings for a decent time frame and
nothing has happened...its time to move on!
Find another program and give it the same due diligence. If you
do this with each and everyone of your targeted programs, you
WILL find a program that will perform for you!
This process should be familiar to you...many, many internet
marketers preach this concept...simply known as...TESTING!! Your
online career is a series of continual tests. Try one product,
if it doesn't work for you, get rid of it and try another one.
After you have done this testing, then and only then, can you
say "When" to an affiliate program.
Article by Chuck McCullough of AffiliateMatch at
http://www.affiliatematch.com where he provides tips, articles and
useful information on how to become successful with affiliate programs.
You can subscribe to his Free Newsletter by sending a blank email to
mailto:newsletter@affiliatematch.com
------------------------------------------------
Imagine what it's like to have a flock of new prospective
customers pile up at your website.....
.... Wanting to buy your product or service!
.... Needing to subscribe to your weekly e-zine!
.... BEGGING for more of your excellent talent!
How To Beat The Response Of ANY E-Zine Advert, TENFOLD!
As many talented Internet marketers know, getting your own
articles published in e-zines and electronic newsletters is
the BEST way to generate more publicity than ever before.
The response rates turn e-zine ads into chicken feed!
I started off writing articles as a hobby. I would spend my
spare time tapping away at the computer, and then publishing
my work in my newsletter. Then something extraordinary
happened.....
I started to submit my articles to get published in other
newsletters. After all, people had told me that they liked
my articles, and I might get some free publicity for getting
them published in others. And I started to see some great
results and it is free! Thats what this newsletter is about,
right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10 Traffic Builders - After the Search Engines
================================================
by Kate Schultz
Is your site getting lost in cyberspace? With the increasing
number of Web sites added every day, it is a tall order to
get traffic to your site. Try a few of these tried and true
methods.
1. GET AN EASY TO REMEMBER DOMAIN NAME
Before you reserve that really cool domain name, practice
saying the name and your proposed email addresses out loud
as though you were telling it to someone over the phone. Is
it easy to say? Is it easy to remember? Will you have to
spell it each time you say the name?
2. PUBLISH AN EZINE
Capture the email addresses of your visitors by offering a
free e-zine. A FREE Internet newsletter or e-zine lets you
keep in touch with your customers and prospects on a regular
basis. Educate your customers with how-to articles in your
newsletters. Offer valuable and relevant information to your
readers.
3. WRITE ARTICLES
With over 400,000 E-zines being published, you can be sure
that some of those publishers sometimes find themselves in
a pinch for content for their E-zine. Write articles and
submit them for publication in other newsletters. Each time
an article is published, you will gain credibility,
visibility, and will establish yourself as an expert in your
field.
=================================================
Looking for a marketing plan to go by? I am offering a 5 page plan
as a special freebie for my subscribers. This plan is what many people
have used to make lots of money from their online business. Gives you
the step by step outline to successfully selling online.
To get it simply send an email to: mailto:plan@mhg-consulting.com
This is not an autoresponder and will be personally sent by me :-)
==================================================
4. SWAP LINKS
Develop reciprocal links to similar sites. Build a network
of contacts, clients, vendors and related, noncompetitive
businesses. Create your own award. Announce your award and
the guidelines needed to win. Get links to all of the sites
winning your award. Encourage others to link to you through
special link-to-us-to-win contests.
5. SIGNATURE FILE
A signature file is a block of text that can appended to the
end of each email message sent by your email software. It is
the Internet version of the business card. Join mailing
lists and participate in discussion groups pertinent to your
services or products. Always include a relevant signature
file.
6. GIVE ADVICE
Offer an advice column at your site. Free advice is one of
the most popular freebies on the Internet and it provides
you with the opportunity to show your competence in your
field of expertise. As a supplement to your advice column,
create an email training class to enhance your reputation as
an expert. Set up your email class on follow-up
autoresponders. Enhance your relationship with potential
customers through the continued contact established during
class lessons.
7. PROVIDE A FREE SERVICE
One of the best ways to keep your visitors coming back is to
offer a free service. When deciding upon a free service,
consider one that only requires you to install a program and
that keeps working for you.
8. OFFER AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Partner with other sites by offering a revenue sharing
relationship for sales or leads from your partners.
Affiliate programs are a win-win situation. You can quickly and easily
develop a sales force on the Internet, and your
affiliates have instant products or services to sell on
their Websites, thereby adding another revenue stream to
their businesses.
9. DEVELOP LOYALTY PROGRAMS
Develop customer loyalty by creating an online club for
buyers, a referral network or some other type of loyalty
program. Offer your loyalty customers a free gift or
discount coupon in exchange for completing an enrollment
form. You get to know who your customers are and can fine
tune your marketing efforts.
10. WEAR AN ADVERTISEMENT
Put your Website info on a T-shirt or hat and then wear your
advertisements - everywhere. Have your kids wear them to
school. Put your email and web address on bumper stickers or
ID plates on your car. Don't be surprised when people come
up to talk to you at the grocery store.
Kate Schultz is the Publisher of E-ZineZ: the E-Zine about
E-Zines. Visit E-ZineZ at http://www.e-zinez.com for how-to
help for your email newsletter. To subscribe send an email
to mailto:e-zinez@oaknetpub.com with SUBSCRIBE in the BODY.
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