Ever since the release of the 4-Hour Workweek (authored by Tim Ferris), people started to explore the affiliate marketing as a means to earn passive income by promoting other people’s products.
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Make money while you sleep.
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The idea behind it is that you promote other people’s products, often through an affiliate network, earning a commission if people actually end up buying thanks to your marketing.
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The best definition of what affiliate marketing is can be found on Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income:
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. You find a product you like, promote it to others and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make.
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From solo entrepreneurs to startups to massive Fortune 500 companies, anyone could be the merchant behind an affiliate marketing program. They don’t even have to be actively involved. They just have to have a product to sell.
A large percentage of people starting an affiliate marketing business choose to market and sell information products, loosely defined as information packed in a specific format (e.g. text, audio, video, etc.) and meant to be sold and delivered to end customers. The best example of information being sold today is the highly lucrative “How To” category that can be found everywhere, literally in any niche in existence.
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Of particular interest to infopreneurs on the internet are digital information products, information products that are sold in digital format of some sort. As opposed to hardcover or softcover books, CDs, manuals or reports, an infopreneur can deliver these items as PDF files, audio files, streaming video and other emerging media. This substantially reduces delivery and transportation costs for businesses and gives customers immediate access to highly coveted information.
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In the case of promoting consumer products, like tools, books, toys and household items, the biggest affiliate network, by far, is Amazon. Their Amazon Associates affiliate program lets you promote any item that is sold on their platform.
You may have read or heard of Direct Selling, Multi level Marketing (MLM), Network Marketing, Pyramid Schemes.
Knowing the difference and the operational mode will help to clarify how to be an affiliate of other people products and services, and an effective super duper affiliate.
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Direct Selling, MLM, Network Marketing, Pyramid Schemes Defined
Direct selling is the marketing and selling of products directly to consumers away from a fixed retail location. Modern direct selling includes sales made through the party plan, one-on-one demonstrations, and other personal contact arrangements as well as internet sales.
Direct selling is distinct from direct marketing because it is about individual sales agents reaching and dealing directly with clients. Direct marketing is about business organizations seeking a relationship with their customers without going through an agent/consultant or retail outlet. Direct selling often, but not always, uses multi-level marketing (salesperson is paid for selling and for sales made by people he recruits or sponsors) rather than single-level marketing(salesperson is paid only for the sales he makes himself).
Extract from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_selling
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Network Marketing
The simplest explanation of network marketing is that it is a method of
marketing that utilizes independent representatives to reach potential
customers that a company otherwise would not reach with traditional online or
offline marketing methods.
Extract from http://www.network-marketing-works.com/whatisit.htm
World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA)
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A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment, services or ideals, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme or training them to take part, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public. Pyramid schemes are a form of fraud.
These types of schemes have existed for more than a century, some with variations to hide their true nature, and many people believe that multilevel marketing is also a pyramid scheme.
How to Identify a Pyramid Scheme from a Legitimate MLM?
Ask two questions
1. Do you risk financial loss by joining the company?
(If yes, be careful. Most direct sales firms do not require or encourage any substantial investments.)
2. Is the money you will earn primarily coming from the sale of the product or service to the ultimate consumer of that product or service?
(If no, stay away. It is most likely a fraud.)
One Additional question –
Will you buy the products?
(If not, why not?)
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Quick Check List
Legitimate Multi Level Marketing (MLM)
1. Compensation Coming from Selling a Product
2. Do Sell Products
3. Products With Reasonable Market Price
4. Low Membership Fee or Free
5. Free to Buy Any Quantity Products
6. Legitimate Return Policy
The Opposites are normally the case with Pyramid Scheme.
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Anyone who has a PC/Tablet/Smartphone and access to the internet could tap into billions of potential customers when the merchant’s products are advertised online.
The level of your success relies on your effort and the need of your customers. The greater the demand for your merchants’ products, the more, the potential financial rewards you will receive.
You promote their products online and get commission when the customers (referred by you) buy them. It is a 24/7 business. Never stops even you are not working on it or at sleep. It is a good source of passive income if you do it right.
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An affiliate is someone who promotes and sell other people products. In our context, these transactions are solely done in the internet.
There are thousands and thousands of companies and individuals operating online businesses.
They do the creation of products, building websites, setting up the infrastructures, etc.
They operate free programs
where you can become their affiliate and get a commission every time you refer
someone to buy from them.
Note:- Beware if you need to pay someone high fees to
join their affiliate services.
The common operation mode is
as listed below
Step 1 Pick a niche
Step 2 Find a hot niche offer
Step 3 Sign up for an affiliate program
Step 4 Get the link
Step 5 Create redirect at your website
Step 6 Send targeted traffic to the seller website
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A super duper affiliate do all the same steps but more effectively and productively in converting referred customers into buyers
There are plenty of websites on affiliate marketing, networking marketing and associated subject topics. It is very difficult to sieve up the good and useful ones from these mass of websites. You need to be have a strategy on how to do it.
Most people “discovered” Affiliate Marketing by chance, out of necessity to get more cash. They wanted to know from the more successful Affiliates how they could build a second income stream for himself or herself with the available spare time.
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Common Checklist items For Marketing Product Online:
1 Traffic: Able to get mass human traffic to your website through blogging, on-line advertising through Google, Facebook, etc, Search Engine Optimization and using of popular keywords in website and articles. The skill level varies from a simple act of paying for advertisement space to becoming a Search Engine Marketing Expert or Pay-Per Click professional.
2) Conversion: Convert prospects into buyers of your affiliate products by convincing them through video or written report in marketing and sales pitch.
3) Product: You must have something to sell to them. A product they want and at a price they are willing to pay.
The whole selling process look straightforward but do people buy product in this way? They do not open their wallets to buy things in the first instance and especially to people whom they do not know well.
Besides, they are maybe tens or hundreds who sell same affiliate products.
Why should they buy from you?
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Most people buy things from people whom they have a relationship, especially to people they value, respect and trust.
You need to be different in some way, a personal brand, to stand out from the crowd.
You need to build a brand, a go-to person whom they can approach, to resolve the problems they have had, to be a successful affiliate marketer.
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