Is Affiliate Marketing Any Good? Discover the 5 Steps to Success
Is Affiliate Marketing any good is a question I get quite a lot from my subscribers. I always tell them that it can be awesome or terrible. A lot depends on the Affiliate Marketer, some are very lucky to make a lot of money almost right away and for some, like myself when I started out. It took me a long time, it was an uphill struggle for such a long time and then I figured out that there is a system, a step by step process you need to follow, and you cannot skip a step. The process that I am referring to is not difficult, not rocket science, and there is no magic involved.
Step 1 - Researching a Niche
Many internet marketing new starters ask if affiliate marketing is any good and they will never find out if they don't approach things the correct way. So, start with research and by going to Google and search for "trends". The first result you will find is for Google Trends, and this is a great start. The idea here is to find a hot top, you should by now be presented with a list of Today's Hot Trends - under the top 10 searched terms for today you will notice another link for More Hot Trends » and now you should be looking at the top 100 searches in Google. - pick a few out of that list, something that catches you eye, and make a note of them.
Step 2 - Take each of those terms from above and then (one at a time) enter them into Google's Fr*ee external keyword tool. You can find that by going to your google search box again and entering "external keyword tool." You should see a link there to Google's keyword tool. Enter each of the terms above and check out the search quantities.
Step 3 - Finding and Refining Your Keywords
The next step is always a challenge for most people, and again when people wonder is affiliate marketing is any good they sometimes fail to to carry out this exercise accurately, and to do so effectively you will need another program. I use a specific niche finder tool because of it's incredible power and accuracy. Once you have identified the niche that looks good, then you are all ready to go looking for affiliate program(s) and product(s) that you can market and make some money. Always check to see if there is some marketing materials you can leverage that's provided by the merchant.
Step 4 - Selecting a Product to Promote
Once you have identified a niche that looks good, then you are all ready to go looking for affiliate program(s) and product(s) that you can market and make some money. Always check to see if there is some marketing materials you can leverage that's provided by the merchant.
Step 5 - Laser Targeted Traffic
Now you have your keywords, a product and some supporting marketing materials you are ready to start driving traffic to the affiliate site(s). This is done by creating a portal to attract traffic, and then you will tunnel that traffic of hungry people through to the merchants sale page, via your affiliate link (URL). There are many ways that you can achieve this. By writing and submitting articles to article directories, correctly optimized for your keyword terms, setting up a Lens at Squidoo.com and by writing short articles for ezines.
Continue to learn, continue to research and once you have started to make money you will be well on your way to long term success.
Then.... rinse and repeat with other niches and products.
Summary:
Research, this is the most critical part of affiliate marketing. Without research affiliate marketing will not work! I have tried several keyword research tools over the years, and for the most part they were useful but not totally accurate. Follow the steps and take your time at it. Next time your friends or family ask you is affiliate marketing any good, you'll answer with confidence.
John P Franks is a web traffic expert and generates over 500k visitors a year to just one of his websites. Discover how you can instantly generate a flood of unlimited FREE targeted traffic for your Reputable Affiliate Programs Visit his website now and get your free VIP copy of his Free eBook and beginners internet marketing course: http://www.johnpfranksblog.com
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