MIBW
Archives
December
21, 2001
Please
note that these are archives so many links to ads and
old pages may not work.
Of
course any contests or special sales you may read about
are obsolete so please don't email me about any
promotions, thank you.
Any
reference to my old domain My IBiz Helper.com will
redirect to Ezine Ad Helper.com, this includes any
email sent to myibizhelper.com
So
please do not send any mail to myibizhelper, it will be
treated as spam.
If you need to contact me, use the
contact
form here
MY IBIZ WEEKLY!
Starting a Business on the Internet isn't impossible if you have the right help...
December 21, 2001 Vol.2, Issue 4
Proud Member of the Ezine Publishers Association
Join Free http://www.ezinepublishers.org
We are listed in http://ezinesearch.com
Is your ezine listed?
THIS WEEKS' ISSUE:
==> Top Sponsor
==> Note from the Publisher
==> Feature Article: About your Affiliate Income By Jim Daniels
==> Middle Sponsor
==> Weekly Webmaster Tip: Sites to Help Keep You and The Kids
Sane
==> Guest Article: 11 Tips for Joining Affiliate Programs By
David McKenzie
==> Free Ads/ My Wizard Ads/ 2Bucks an Ad Section
==> Contact Information/Subscription Info
Note from the Publisher
Welcome everyone to another issue of My IBiz Weekly. Well
everyone it's that time of year again. Winter Break. Oh no the
kids are going to have a ball while we figure out how to keep
them occupied. My daughters are 5 and 6 so I know what you are
going through. In between figuring out more ways to send mommy to the "crazyhouse", and thinking " what can I break that I didn't break over the summer?", it's just another day for me. But for all of us who work at home, it was a lot easier when the children were in school, but if you have no idea how to keep them occupied, I have some sites that you can visit ( in the webmasterhelp section) that the kids' will love.
But first thing you should do is to take the kids to the library and let them read to their hearts' content. Nothing is better than good old fashioned reading, something that a lot of kids have forgotten these days.
Todays' issue is part two on how to promote with affiliate
programs. There is an article by Jim Daniels to help you start
making good money from affiliate programs, as well as an article giving you tips on joining affiliate programs. In the new year, I will go more in depth towards promotion, ebooks, and ezine publishing. There are many aspects to cover in this netpreneur world. Each issue I learn more and more just as you do and everyday there is something new to learn.
Next weeks' issue will be a little different. It's actually my
end of the year feel good issue. Just some inspirational articles and humor to get us into the new year. So sit back with your coffee, tea, or whatever and enjoy!!
I hope everyone has a safe and prosperous holiday.
Guest Article: About Your Affiliate Income...
By Jim Daniels
A few years ago when affiliate programs began to make their way
onto the Net, I was already "living" online. So naturally, I was one of the very first marketers to take a look at this "new" online marketing idea.
And frankly, after a close look inside the numbers, what I saw
was not overly exciting. But thanks to a little patience and a
few strategies I developed, I've been able to generate affiliate income that most experts predicted impossible.
If you're looking to do the same, read on...
The first program I reviewed, (which shall remain nameless) paid an average of ten percent commissions on each sale my site
generated. The products (mostly books) averaged around $15 so my share would be about a buck and a half per sale. I figured if I could get one sale out of every 35 visitors I sent to the site, that would be a decent conversion rate (better than average, actually). After doing a little math, I concluded that I would earn about $45 for every 1000 visitors I sent to the site.
But getting 1000 visitors to any given affiliate site meant I'd
have to get about 10,000 visitors to my own site. If I could do
that every week, I'd be doing OK for a small business site with a marketing budget close to zero. But I was already learning that it takes time and money to get 10,000 visitors a week. And lets see... for all my traffic generating efforts I would pull in a cool $180 a month? It didn't take a genius to figure out that it might not be worth the effort. I passed.
But I did not pass on the affiliate game altogether...
I knew there was potential for excellent long-term income in the right affiliate programs so I bided my time and grew my website traffic and my ezine subscriber numbers. Meanwhile, I kept a close eye on the affiliate horizon.
At the end of 1997 I joined my first serious affiliate program. A year and a half later I would join my second.
And to make a long story short, those two affiliate programs I
joined are now responsible for over $80,000 in annual income (and still growing) at my site. Who says you can't make a decent income with affiliate programs?
While I've sampled a few other programs along the way, I continue to promote only those two programs on a regular basis. As far as affiliate program marketing goes, you won't find too many marketers who are this picky. But picky works. Had I joined that very first affiliate program I looked at, I would have been lucky to make $5,000 last year in affiliate income. Not bad, but a far cry from 80K.
So what programs are pulling in 80k a year for me?
I'm not going to tell you! At least not in this tip. (If you just have to know, I'll share a link at the end of this piece.) You see, I did not write this tip to round up more second-tier affiliates. I wrote it to show you the true potential in affiliate program marketing and to explain exactly how you can grow affiliate income like I have.
So let's get to that next, right after today's sponsor...
-------------- SPONSOR MESSAGE --------------
ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE?
Starting and growing a business online is now a bigger challenge than ever. Are YOU up to it? Why go it alone? Click to our private site where Jim Daniels and a whole TEAM of
super-successful web marketers will guide YOU to success...
Guaranteed to produce results in 90 days, or thousands of dollars in expert advice is yours free...
http://www.make-a-living-online.com/?d08054
------------- END SPONSOR MESSAGE -------------
So what are the secrets to generating measurable affiliate
income? Here they are in a nice five-step program...
1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT AFFILIATE PROGRAMS!
As my example above shows, this important step can mean a
difference of 75K a year, easily. The right programs for YOU are
...
a) programs that tie in with your site well (Ex: don't promote a dating service if your site focuses on business)
b) programs that you can get behind 100% and recommend personally to your website visitors, subscribers and all else who come in contact with your business
c) programs that pay serious commissions of 25% or more on
sales -- and if you can earn residual or recurring income that's even better (Ex: services like web hosting require customers to pay monthly, so you as an affiliate can earn monthly too!)
2. PROMOTE YOUR BEST PROGRAMS WITH PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS AT
YOUR WEBSITE AND IN YOUR EMAILS.
While most affiliate programs offer marketing assistance to their affiliates, your best bet is to form your own marketing plan and promotion material. This sets your affiliate site apart from thousands of others.
And don't forget, in order to truly make personal
recommendations, you'll need to be a customer as well. I see far too many affiliates making personal recommendations without even making the investment in the product or service they are promoting. Not only will you lose credibility when you do this, you'll be limiting your marketing potential by not knowing the product like you should.
3. DON'T GO AFFILIATE CRAZY AND PROMOTE TOO MANY PROGRAMS.
A handful is fine, but a dozen or more cheapens the experience
for your users. If you absolutely must promote lots of products
and services, personally recommend only a small number of them.
Take your very best one or two affiliate programs and stick to
recommending them as your staple. A premium service with a
slightly higher than normal price tag and generous commission is
ideal for this strategy. But be sure it is worth the price!
4. DON'T EXPECT TO GROW SERIOUS AFFILIATE INCOME WITHOUT HAVING A WEBSITE OF YOUR OWN.
Too many newbies make this mistake. They think they can avoid ALL online business start-up time and expenses by joining an
affiliate program and using the free site they get as their main site. It's a mistake. The best affiliates in every program have their own website where they bring all their traffic first. From a "home base" like this you are free to make personal recommendations, promote a variety of programs and earn income other ways such as advertising or selling your own products and services. Growing your own site is a major key to growing serious long-term affiliate income.
5. GET HELP!
Don't go it alone. Ask successful affiliates how they've grown
their incomes - most are happy to share the details on how much
they are making and exactly how. And with that in mind, here's
that link to the programs promoted right here at bizweb2000.com - have a peek, but remember -- don't even consider them unless they tie in with the theme of your own website!
To your affiliate marketing success...
Jim Daniels
www.bizweb2000.com
-----
Tips by Jim Daniels, owner of bizweb2000.com.
Did you like this lesson? Then you'll love Jim's catalog of books and software, guaranteed to increase your online income.
* Article by Jim Daniels of JDD Publishing. Jim's site has helped 1000's of regular folks profit online. Visit
http://bizweb2000.com
for FREE "how-to" cybermarketing
assistance, software, manuals, web services and more. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to Jim's Free, weekly BizWeb E-Gazette:
mailto:freegazette@bizweb2000.com
--------------------------
Do you use ANY type of form on your Web site? If so, you could be losing money!
If you use a form to process orders or use a third party payment option such as PayPal that instantly gives access to your product or information, you're at risk of losing valuable income.
That's because ANYONE can use the 'View Source' feature in their browser and find out exactly what URL they will be redirected to if they filled out your form. And that means . . .
. . . ANYONE can obtain your product or information for FREE!
But not any more if you use Redirect Protect!
http://www.RedirectProtect.com/s.cgi?index-146
Webmaster Help How Not To Go Crazy While The Kids Are Home
These websites have games, coloring pages, tips, homework help
and more for all ages. Check them out and keep the kids occupied
while you are trying to make money!
http://Yahooligans.com
http://nick.com
http://cartoonnetwork.com
http://www.123kidzarea.com/
http://www.freekidscrafts.com/
http://childfun.com
Parents stay sane with these "feel good" sites. You are not
alone..
http://momscape.com
http://mainstreetmom.com
http://thefamilycorner.com
http://parentpreneurclub.com
Remember relax, relax, relax. You won't accomplish anything when you are stressed out. Remember they're only kids. Contrary to popular belief they are not here just to give us gray hairs! They are only young once. Make the memories last...
Guest Article II: 11 Tips for Joining Affiliate Programs
By David McKenzie
Here are some things that I look for before joining an
affiliate program. They are items I feel are imperative to
being in a successful affiliate program.
1. The affiliate program has a great payment structure. For me,
a high commission that is also a high percentage of the
purchase price is essential. Nothing under 25% commission.
2. Make sure the affiliate program you are joining has a good
looking site. You do not want to be sending visitors to a site
that you do not like yourself.
3. Make sure they offer a comprehensive affiliate statistics
page that lists the number of click throughs, number of sales
and amount earned. This should be broken down per month.
4. Also make sure that the affiliate statistics are updated
automatically and immediately. You do not want to find out
today about a sale you made a week ago.
5. Ensure they give a wide variety of text links, banners and
graphics to put on your web page. Although I prefer text links,
certain types of banners and graphics still work well.
6. Know how often you are going to be paid. If you are tossing
up between 2 programs and one pays monthly and the other pays
quarterly, the one that pays monthly is better. You do not want
to wait months before getting paid for your hard work!
7. See if the affiliate program gives examples of how the top
affiliates are doing. This can be a great pointer to whether it
is good or not. If some affiliates are earning many thousands
per month, it is a good affiliate program.
8. Along these lines, also see if they give examples of what
marketing methods these successful affiliates are using to get
the best results.
9. An affiliate program that offers a special monthly
newsletter just for the affiliates is great. Here you can get
extra tips and techniques that are working well.
10. See if they offer email notification when you make a sale
or get an affiliate signed up under you (if it is a 2-tier
program). It is good to see 'You have made another sale' in
your inbox.
11. Ensure top level support is given. If they cannot answer
your query straight away make sure they can respond within 48
hours.
There is tremendous demand for affiliate programs and
choosing the right one is no easy task. Make sure you do plenty
of research before joining one.
Resource Box
David McKenzie of http://www.brisney.com
produces a free twice
monthly newsletter for affiliates. Sign up by sending an email
to mailto:brisney@brisney.com?subject=subscribe
and receive
the free Special Report "7 Secrets to Making Money With
Affiliate Programs."
Menu
Of Services
