Find Your Niche & Follow It

Find Your Niche & Follow It

by: Rob Taylor

Mark Twain once said: ขFind out where the people are going and get there firstข.

With the advent of the internet you can certainly find out what folks are wanting. Being the first at the front of the line to bill them might not be quite so easy.

But there are ways to find out if thereกs an existing hungry crowd for your product idea, and more importantly a crowd with pockets bulging with cash to give you.

In this article Iกm going to share some tips that will save you much heartache from chasing after the wrong market.

Firstly I believe that it is very important that what you sell interests you, otherwise you sign up for a life of struggle and worse… Boredom!

Motivating yourself to sell something you have no interest or belief in is souldestroying at the best of times, so don’t do it.

Just because *rubber cat suits* is your thing doesn’t mean the rest of the planet digs them at all. I mean thatกs a pretty small niche with less than 560 searches performed a month. Yes I did actually go and check out the stats for it.

One of things Iกve found in this marketingmalarkey is that I am able to explore interests that I simply don’t have the time or inclination to actively get involved in.

Take archery, I can twang a bow as well as the next man, and have done for the past couple of years. But the idea of traipsing off to all those shows every weekend, predominantly talking a load of rubbish just doesn’t do it for me.

BUT sell this bunch of Robin Hood wannabees an infoprod, and Iกm game. Seriously though, I love archery, itกs one of the few sports the British government hasn’t actually tried to ban… yet!

And that brings me to my point… What do you have an interest in that also has a large number of people willing to do what I call *the wallet flip*. You need to be looking for markets where the folk won’t even blink at spending $100 a year on the products you will be selling.

OK time to take some action:

=> Draw up an initial list of 10 of your interests.

=> Scan your bookshelves to see what reference books youกve bought in the past, and on what subjects or hobbies.

=> Pay attention when folk you meet start talking about their hobbies, their passions.

=> Pop down to your local magazine store and see what interests are being catered to.

=> Can’t be bothered to pad down to your local store, then click over to Magazines.com and do some searches.

Link: http://www.megastep.com/dt/t.php?id=166

=> Buy a stack of these magazines and go through the classified ads with a highlighter. Call up the ones youกve circled and ask for their information packs. Make a note of which ones youกve called and see how soon the information arrives. How are they selling? Good, bad, OK? Could you improve on the quality of what they are offering? Over five to six issues how many of the adverts are repeated? Make a note and watch that market like a hawk. If they weren’t making money the ads wouldn’t be running.

=> Hop over to eBay to research all the different subcategories. Which ones are active? Which ones are commanding high prices?

Link: http://www.megastep.com/dt/t.php?id=167

=> Are there any discussion forums related to your potential market? Buzz over to Forum Find and do a search.

Link: http://www.megastep.com/dt/t.php?id=168

This is just the beginning. Start paying attention to what people are interested in. This can simply be as easy as listening to folk banter when they’re in the checkout line.

Scan the news, open your eyes and mind to opportunities. Youกll be amazed at how your brain kicks into ขselective perceptionข. Don’t know what that is? Ever bought a car and then suddenly you notice the whole planet is driving the exact same model. Itกs like everyone decided to buy the car YOU just bought. Well thatกs ขselective perceptionข at work. Same thing happens when you actively go hunting down niche markets… actually it can work great for an awful lot of other things… building keyword lists is another example, and another story.

Copyright 2004 Rob Taylor

About The Author

Rob Taylor has been marketing online since 1996. Heกs sold anything from books, debit cards, security products to art prints. Take advantage of his battle tested marketing strategies that could quietly make you five figure cash profits every single month. Free newsletter at http://www.megastep.com.

This article was posted on October 19, 2004

by Rob Taylor

Why Traffic Touts and List Pushers Are Bad For You

Why Traffic Touts and List Pushers Are Bad For Your Business

by: Charles Kangethe

In this Article we look at the second competitive advantage of successful Internet Marketers Warm Traffic and True Oกpt In Lists.

Good, Bad and Ugly Traffic

Marketing depends heavily on the type of Traffic you attract.

* Untargeted Traffic

Similar to Traffic passing high street shops in vehicles.

This Traffic is of very little use.

* Targeted Traffic

Similar to people window shopping on the high street.

There is a chance that if the products appeal, they will walk in to get a better look. Competition from other shops, for this type of Traffic is very high.

* Warm Traffic

Similar to browsers who walk into the high street shops to ‘touch and Feelก the merchandise.

Your best prospects and chances of sales come from this group.

=> Sidebar What Traffic Touts don’t want you to know

They can and will sell you untargeted and targeted Traffic.

Very few can deliver warm Traffic!

Sidebar What Traffic Touts don’t want you to know

Page Impressions with no filter deliver untargeted Traffic!

Page Impressions with filters result in untargeted to targeted Traffic. You have to buy big Traffic volumes to convert a small percentage into warm Traffic.

Sidebar What List Pushers don’t want you to know

You have no easily checked evidence of :

How long ago the names were obtained

Where the names were culled from

Which competitors have the same names

Whether or not the purchased list has a genuine interest in your offers

Sidebar

The two strategies above will create Warm Traffic in volume and help you build responsive True OกptIn lists. The Paid route will deliver results faster. The Free route will deliver Volume. http://www.anysurf.com Use this engine to practice

=> http://www.payperclicktools.com Information on PPC

=> http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com PPC directory

Simply Easier Marketing 1 First Competitive Advantage

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/ownarticles.html HTML

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/articles/affiliates.txt Text

How To Build An OกptIn List F’ree ecourse

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/optin/theoptinstrategy

Intellectual and emotional triggers for True OกptIn Lists

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/21mm

An unusual Cost Per Action Solution

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/articles/radio.txt

Syndicate yourself with F’ree Press Releases and articles

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/articles/pr.txt

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/articles/how2write.txt

Build Search Engine and People Friendly Content Pages

=> http://www.trafficequalizer.com

=> http://www.rankingpower.com

Other relevant articles:

All Website Traffic Is Not Created Equal By Angela Wu (c) 2004

http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html

Ten Tips to the Top of the Search Engines By (c) 2004

Jill Whalen http://www.highrankings.com

(c) 2004 Charles Kangethe

About The Author

Charles Kangethe of http://www.simplyeasier.com is a leading new wave Netpreneur and a published author from Suffolk. The กSimply Easierก brand name is your guarantee of high value, quality Marketing Products, Services and Resources.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 02, 2004

by Charles Kangethe

An Extensive Examination of the PHP:DataGrid Compo

An Extensive Examination of the PHP:DataGrid Component: Part 1

by: Dennis Pallett

An Extensive Examination of the PHP:DataGrid Component: Part 1

Introduction

One of the most common tasks in PHP is retrieving data from a database table, and creating a HTML table to output that data. Itกs done in almost every project, and itกs usually a really boring task, because the code is always nearly the same, but not just same enough to be able to copy it.

It often looks some like this (in pseudocode):

Create database connection

Get data from a table

Output table header (<table)

Loop through each records

… output trกs and tdกs …

Output table footer (</table>)

Itกs a sad fact, but weกve already written code like the above hundreds of times. And for every project and script, you have to do it again, again and again.

But why not use a solution that can do it for us? Thatกs exactly what PHP:DataGrid is.

What is PHP:DataGrid?

PHP:DataGrid (http://phpscripts.pallettgroup.com/phpdatagrid/?ref=phpit) is the answer to the above problem. Itกs basically a PHP component, thatกs very similar to the ASP.NET DataGrid control. PHP:DataGrid will take care of all the boring tasks leaving you the easy and interesting parts. Very little PHP code is actually necessary for PHP:DataGrid, and you can change its looks and layout using simple HTML tags.

The only downside of PHP:DataGrid is that itกs not free. You have to purchase it from TPG PHP Scripts (http://phpscripts.pallettgroup.com/?ref=phpscripts), but itกs $24.99 for a Developer license, which grants you permission to use it in all your personal projects, and I certainly believe that the advantages far outweigh the cost. Even only the time saved by PHP:DataGrid is already worth the cost for me. (editorกs note: use coupon code phpit for a 10% discount!).

Letกs have an actual look at PHP:DataGrid. If you don’t want to purchase the component yourself, then you can always have a look at the demoกs only.

The Basics

To create a new datagrid, we must use the php:datagrid tag. This tells the PHP:DataGrid component that a datagrid must be shown. The only thing that we must set is the name of the datagrid. This is a required attribute, and cannot be left out. A simple datagrid looks like this:

<php:datagrid name="test"></php:datagrid>

Thatกs the only thing necessary to display a datagrid. But we’re forgetting one thing we haven’t binded any data to the datagrid yet. If you forget to do this, nothing will be displayed, except for an error.

Binding Data

Binding data to a datagrid is really easy, and requires only one line of real PHP code. The PHP:DataGrid component automatically creates a variables called $_DATAGRID (not a superglobal (http://www.php.net/variables.predefined), unfortunately). To bind data, you have to call the bind() method on the $_DATAGRID variable, like so:

$_DATAGRID>bind(‘testก, $data);

Thatกs all! The test datagrid will now be shown, with the data contained in the $data variable. The $data variable must be an array that was retrieved using mysql_fetch_array() and a loop (see the datagrid example below if you’re unsure about this) or similar format. In any case, it should look like this:

Array

(

[0] => Array

(

[id] => 1

[title] => Item 1

[category] => 4

)

[1] => Array

(

[id] => 2

[title] => Item 2

[category] => 7

)

[2] => Array

(

[id] => 3

[title] => Item 3

[category] => 3

)

)

The above is a valid $data array. It won’t accept any other format, and an error will be shown if you do bind a different format.

An Example

The below code is a working example of a simple datagrid. It retrieves the 10 latest tutorials from the PHPit.net database, and shows it in a datagrid.

<?php

// Include PHP:DataGrid

include (ก/path/to/phpdatagrid.phpก);

// Connect to database

$link = mysql_connect (กlocalhostก, กsaก, ก[dbpass]ก);

// Select database

mysql_select_db(กphpitก, $link);

// Do query and Get data

$result = mysql_query ("SELECT title, description, author, datetimestamp, filename FROM tutorial ORDER BY datetimestamp DESC LIMIT 0, 10");

$data = array();

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {

array_push ($data, $row);

}

// Bind data (THIS IS IMPORTANT)

$_DATAGRID>bind (‘testก, $data);

?>

<html>

<head>

<title>PHP:DataGrid Demo 1</title>

</head>

<body>

<h1>PHP:DataGrid Demo 1</h1>

<p>Demonstrating a simple PHP:DataGrid, and nothing more.</p>

<php:datagrid name="test"></php:datagrid>

<br />

<a href="http://www.phpit.net/article/datagrid1/"><strong>&laquo; Return to the article</strong></a>

</body>

</html>[ View live demo (http://www.phpit.net/demo/datagrid%20examination/datagrid1.php) ]

As you can see little code is used for the datagrid. Most of the code is actually spent on connecting to the MySQL database, and getting the data. If you use any kind of database class, this will be significantly easier.

If you have a look at the datagrid, you will notice that it looks ugly, and pretty bad. Thatกs because we haven’t added any styling at all. But that will have to wait until Part 2 of our DataGrid series.

Summary

In this part of our DataGrid series, weกve looked at the basics of the PHP:DataGrid component: what it is, and how to put it on our website. But it doesn’t look pretty yet, and in the next parts weกll be looking at creating a pretty datagrid, and talk about more of its functions (e.g. templates, inline editing, sorting and more!).

Click here to view the PHP:DataGrid Product Page (http://phpscripts.pallettgroup.com/phpdatagrid/?ref=phpit)

Don’t forget use coupon code phpit for a 10% discount!

About The Author

Dennis Pallett is a young web developer, currently still studying. He owns several websites, including PHPit (http://www.phpit.net) and WebDevArticles (http://www.webdevarticles.com). If you would like to reach him, you can contact him at [email protected]

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 15

by Dennis Pallett

Cookies: How To Learn From Your Visitors and Impro

Cookies: How To Learn From Your Visitors and Improve Your Website

by: Steve Nash

Time for a quick question and answer session.
Question: How can you improve your visitorsก experiences of your website, AND at the same time learn how to improve your website (or learn how to increase sales)?
Answer: Use cookies
Cookies? Yes. Let me explain…
=> COOKIES EXPLAINED
A กcookieก is simply a small piece of text information which a web server stores temporarily with your web visitorกs browser. (Note: cookies are *not* programs.) This means your visitorกs browser remembers some specific information which the web server can later retrieve.
So cookies simply allow your site to store information on your visitorกs computer for later use.
A basic example of a cookie in action can be found here http://www.jsworkshop.com/js3e/list241.html
Another example is the กonline shopping mallก that uses cookies to add items to a userกs กshopping cartก as they browse.
==Aside==
Here are two examples of how my own sites use cookies (I use them to make sure a popup window loads at a set frequency):
Popup ONCE ONLY http://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml
Popup ONCE PER DAY http://www.anyonecansellonline.com/tips.shtml
For those interested, the cookie code is stored here http://anyonecansellonline.com/makemoneyfiles/cookie1.js
==Aside==
=> WHY YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD USE COOKIES
Basically, cookies allow you to improve a site visitorกs experience of your website. Iกve listed a few examples to show how you can achieve this:

Cookies can store visitor preferences. This means you can present customised information to your visitor, as per their own requirements. (This is how portal sites like MSN work.)
Cookies can prefill form fields for your visitor.
Cookies can automatically login visitors to your site
Cookies can provide visitor statistics and therefore help you understand your visitorsก needs. Cookies can provide site metrics like number of unique visitors, average number of pageviews, percentage of repeat visitors et cetera. And cookiegenerated statistics are much more accurate than using log files.

(Do remember though, that people sometimes share computers; some browsers are set to reject cookies; and cookies can be erased.)
So not only are cookies an efficient way of keeping track of information, they also help personalise your site visitorsก experiences of your website.
And thatกs the point with cookies how can *you* help your site visitor?
No, it doesn’t mean you can now invade your visitorกs privacy! The use of cookies is often abused by site owners, but this ultimately leads to cookieblocking software being installed and used; so do set your cookies cautiously, and include a privacy statement on your site explaining your use of cookies! (See below.)
=> USE THIS COOKIE RESOURCE
CookieCentral is an excellent resource dedicated to all things Cookie. The siteกs described as providing กinformation of persistent cookies, HTTP cookies, cookies with JavaScript, magic cookies, [and] maintaining state with cookies and more.ก
But don’t worry if that sounds too technical for you, CookieCentral really is a great place to learn about the pros and cons of using cookies.
From the concept of cookies through concerns about privacy to JavaScript and CGI demo code youกll find it all at CookieCentral.

http://www.cookiecentral.com/content.phtml?area=2&id=1

=> OR VISIT THESE SITES TO LEARN ABOUT COOKIES
If you want to know more about how cookies work, then visit these sites:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/cookie1.htm
http://www.newbalancecatalog.com/General/cookies.htm
http://www.allaboutcookies.org/cookies/index.html

=> OR JUST DO IT YOURSELF!
As ever, the web is filled with free programs and scripts that allow you to use cookies. Whether you want to use JavaScript, CGI/Perl, PHP or ASP you can find free resources that help you implement cookies on your site.
JavaScript cookies http://webdeveloper.earthweb.com/webjs/cookies/
CGI/Perl cookies http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/Cookies/ (all 1 word)
PHP User Personalization System with Cookies http://www.devshed.com/Server_Side/PHP/Cookies/
ASP and cookies http://www.w3schools.com/asp/asp_cookies.asp
=> PRIVACY WARNING!
More and more web users are becoming sensitive to their online privacy. Rightly so. And this includes cookies, and how your site uses them. So do make sure that you understand the issues involved, and set your privacy statement accordingly.
This article explains more…
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/p3pcookiesie6/1
=> READ MORE…
You can find out a great deal more about using cookies on your site from the following excellent resources. Just do a search for กcookiesก and off you go!

http://www.workz.com
http://www.iboost.com
http://www.sitepoint.com

Cookies can improve your visitorsก experiences of your web site, through personalisation. Using cookies, your site may well run more efficiently too, and could provide you with accurate site statistics helping you deliver just what your visitors are looking for.
Just use cookies carefully, so that your visitors benefit!
(And continue to learn from the invaluable resources above, and below 😉 !)
Copyright 2004 Steve Nash

About The Author

STEVE NASH is the author of the ebook: ก3 SuperTips To Build, Promote And Profit More From Your Website.ก Download your free copy now! http://www.wisebuys.info/bonus.shtml
WANT MORE TIPS? Signup to his free monthly Buildtips course here! http://www.wisebuys.info/newsletter.shtml#tips

This article was posted on April 30, 2004

by Steve Nash

How To Find Ideas For Creating Your Own Profitable

How To Find Ideas For Creating Your Own Profitable Products

by: Charles Kangethe

(c) 2004 Charles Kangethe

In this Article we look at the third competitive advantage of successful Internet Marketers Creating Products.

The main problem with creating products is not in the build process, but rather in the กIdeas Process.ก

Product Ideas Come From NEEDS

* New Knowledge

Research at centres of learning gives rise to new theories that provide a wealth of ideas, for new products.

* Emulation

Modification and copying of existing products and services is the most common source of new ideas for products.

* Ego

Most inventors of products have big egoกs that are only satisfied by the กcreative process,ก from invention to production.

* Difficulty

Hardship in terms of effort required to do any work or activity is a rich source of new ideas for products.

* Scarcity

Shortages of necessities and luxuries very often give rise to new ways and products to overcome the shortages.

Product Development

Products can be developed in one of two ways :

* Product Centric Approach

This is where the idea and the product are the drivers of the process.

Prototypes and initial production runs are completed before research to find out whether or not the product has a chance of commercial success.

* Market Centric Approach

In this approach the Market is the driver.

It focuses on identifying clear market needs and then finding very specific products to satisfy those needs.

With this approach you know your product will succeed before you commit money to the production process.

The Research

The two main purposes of research are :

* Technical Viability

In this step you analyse the process and cost of manufacture.

The aim is to find an answer to the question Can the product be made in commercial quantities for reasonable cost ?

* Commercial Viability

This step determines the likelihood of commercial success when the product hits the shelves. You determine how much competitor products sell for and the expected return on investment.

A Practical Exercise In Creating Your Own Product

Step #1 Developing NEEDS

Decide on which NEEDS you want to create a product for. For this exercise we will use Difficulty.

Step #2a Idea Development Using a Market Centric Approach :

Using a directory of Internet Newsgroups join a few groups and lurk. Understand the groupกs purpose and etiquette, and when you feel comfortable post a simple question. For instance :

=>

Hi Forum

I am doing some research and would like to know what is the single biggest difficulty you have with x ?

Name

Hi Forum

I have an idea to resolve difficulty x. Would this be of interest to you ? If so what specific features you like to see in the solution to x ?

Name

http://tile.net/news/

=> http://groups.google.com/

Market Research Techniques and Resources www.sbaonline.sba.gov/starting_business/marketing/basics.html

Set up an affiliate program Simply Easier Marketing Part 1

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/afiliates.htm

Traffic and Op’tIn Lists Simply Easier Marketing Part 2

=> http://www.simplyeasier.com/traffic.htm

For an ebook on creating specific Info products and a report on Market Research Before Building Your Products send a blank mail to

=> [email protected]

(c) 2004 Charles Kangethe

About The Author

Charles Kangethe of http://www.simplyeasier.com is a leading new wave Netpreneur and a published author from Suffolk. The กSimply Easierก brand name is your guarantee of high value, quality Marketing Products, Services and Resources.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 02, 2004

by Charles Kangethe

Affiliate Programs… A Not THAT Easy Start To You

Affiliate Programs… A Not THAT Easy Start To Your Own Online Business

by: Elena Fawkner

"Where is all the help Iกm supposed to get. I have been buying ezine and classified ad builders and signing up for Echecks and Virtual credit cards. In the meantime I have no business and no ads set up. When does all this happen? Letกs go here. I spent all day on this. Iกm running out of time."

I kid you not, this is the sum total of an actual email that hit my inbox this week. Not only did I not know this person from Adam, this was the first and only email I had ever received from her and to this day, I have no idea what sheกs talking about. Presumably, she signed up for one of the affiliate programs I promote from my site and was asking, in her own inimitable style, for my help. Although I am always ready and willing to help anyone I can, this is most definitely NOT the way to go about asking for it. Needless to say, I let her know what I thought of her approach in NO uncertain terms.

The attitude displayed in this personกs email to me (and she is by no means an isolated example) exemplifies why so many people fail to make a success of their online businesses. Leaving aside the utter rudeness of the approach, notice the impatience, the expectation to be up and running in a day, the HURRY, the apparent belief that real world principles such as courtesy and good manners don’t apply online (they do). Think this person is going to last the distance? What kinds of tactics do you think she is capable of resorting to in pursuit of the almighty dollar?

So, letกs take a realistic look at affiliate programs, what they can and can’t do for your business and how to maximize your chances of creating a successful, longterm business with them.

WHAT IS AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM?

An affiliate program (also known as a reseller, associate, referral or partnership program) is essentially a revenuesharing arrangement whereby you, the affiliate, receive payment from the owner of a product or service that you promote on their behalf.

Affiliate programs are an excellent way for the new internet entrepreneur to start an online business.

TYPES OF AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

There are various types of affiliate programs.

The most simple involves you, the affiliate, placing a banner ad, graphic or text link at your site which is linked to the site of the business you are promoting. This link is coded with your unique affiliate ID so that the site visitor is recorded at the target site as having originated from your site, thereby allowing you to be credited with the sale.

Payment is generally a fixed percentage of the sale value (commission) or "pay per click", where the affiliate is paid a certain amount for every time a site visitor clicks on the link at the affiliateกs site, whether or not a sale is made.

The more sophisticated affiliate programs are multitier and allow the affiliate to earn commissions not only on the traffic they directly refer to the target site but also a proportion of sales generated by their subaffiliates.

BENEFITS OF AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

The greatest benefit of affiliate programs is that when you are just starting out in your own online business you don’t have to worry about creating your own product or service. You just promote someone elseกs and get a share of the revenue pie for your efforts.

You also don’t have to concern yourself with warehousing, transport or logistics headaches. All of this is handled by the business whose products/services you are promoting. All you need concentrate on is driving traffic to that businessกs website. This means that a high proportion of your revenue is profit.

The owner of the product/service is also responsible for collecting payment, customer service and the myriad other details that come up on a day to day basis in running the business.

DISADVANTAGES OF AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

The main and obvious disadvantage of affiliate programs is that it is the owner of the product/service who earns the lionกs share of the profit on the sale.

You’re working on commission. You will NEVER earn by way of affiliate program commissions as much as you can earn by way of profits from producing and selling your own product/service.

As a result, affiliate programs represent a high opportunity cost when you consider what you could earn if you instead channeled the time and energy you spend on promoting affiliate programs into creating and promoting your own product/service.

For this reason, it does not make sound business sense to rely solely on affiliate program income for the longer term growth of your business.

Instead, think of them as a way of dipping your toe in the water when you’re first getting started, and a nice little sideline once youกve created your own product/service. Do NOT build your business around affiliate programs with the intention this will always be the backbone of your business. Youกll be stunting your own growth if you do.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT AFFILIATE PROGRAMS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

So, keeping in mind what affiliate programs can and can’t do for your business, letกs turn to what you should look for when choosing an affiliate program or programs to promote in your business.

=> Synergistic Products/Services

First off, and this is a cardinal rule, only promote those programs which will allow you to create synergies with your site. This means selecting programs that naturally complement the subject matter of your site and that will therefore be of interest and relevance to your site visitors. This will ensure your prospects (ie your site visitors) are prequalified which will result in a relatively higher conversion ratio (the ratio of visitors to purchases) than would be the case if your traffic is untargeted (which will be the case if you promote unrelated products and services from your site.)

=> Quality In All Things

Keeping the need for synergy uppermost in mind, look for quality programs first and foremost. The last thing you want to waste your time, money and reputation on is a shoddy product or service. There are just too many quality programs out there to settle for anything less.

=< Stability of Company

Look for a company thatกs been around for a while and thatกs reputable and stable (both financially and in its management). Any reputable company will have full contact details readily available so do your research.

=> References

Look for testimonials and references from other affiliates. If the company you’re interested is not forthcoming when it comes to putting you in touch with other affiliates, move on.

=> Affiliate Agreement

Look for a professional, considered and detailed affiliate agreement (contract). This shows that the company is serious about its business.

Watch out for exclusivity clauses and other restraints. Some affiliate agreements will require that you not promote competing businessesก products and services. This is not to say you should avoid such agreements. As a general rule, it is your interests not to promote competing programs anyway. Just be aware of what the agreement says on the subject to avoid getting yourself into hot water.

Look also for an agreement that treats spammers harshly. This protects not only the company but other affiliates as well. The last thing you or any other reputable affiliate needs is to have your reputation and the reputation of the product/service you are promoting besmirched by these sorts of tactics.

=> High Commissions

Promoting someone elseกs affiliate program necessarily requires that you divert traffic away from your site and towards someone elseกs. Make sure you’re properly compensated with a high commission structure. And be sure to set up your link so that when the visitor clicks on it, a new browser window is opened for the target site. This at least keeps your site in front of the visitor so they can go back to your site once theyกve finished at the site your link has taken them to.

=> Lifetime Commissions

Look for affiliate programs that will credit you with not only THIS sale but all other sales the customer may make in the future. Many programs are set up so that the customer is identified as "yours" so that when the customer returns to the target site in three months time, the sale is recorded as having been generated by you.

=> Residual Commissions

Include programs that offer residual commissions in your portfolio. Good examples are webhosting services, autoresponder services and the like where customers sign up for a continuous service that requires periodic, regular payments. You receive periodic, regular commissions as a result.

=> Tracking of Commissions

Look for programs that allow you realtime access to your stats so you can keep easy track of your commissions.

=> Reliability of Payment

When checking with affiliate references, find out what the businessกs record is on paying out commissions. If they’re slow or there appears to be a pattern of problems, keep looking.

=> Frequency of Payment

Make a note of payment schedules too. Some programs pay weekly, some monthly, some quarterly. Some only pay once you accumulate commissions of a certain amount. None of these arrangements are necessarily good or bad in and of themselves. Just be sure you know what to expect.

=> Programs that Require Payment Up Front

Two words: MOVE ON!

=> Affiliate Support

Finally, take a look at what support the business offers its affiliates to make sales. Do they provide resources such as sample ads, banners, logos and the like? Do they provide useful advice about maximizing your sales? A good affiliate program provides affiliates with a LOT of support in these areas.

MAKING MONEY FROM AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

OK, now you know what to look for in an affiliate program. Hereกs how to maximize your sales of those products and services and, therefore, your commissions:

=> Get Your Own Website

No ifs, no buts. DON’t rely on the youbeaut selfreplicated job the company provides all its affiliates. Link to that site from your main site.

=> Get Your Own Domain Name

This presents a much more professional image. Many people won’t give the time of day to a business that thinks so little of its prospects that the owner won’t shell out 70 bucks for a domain name. So mean business and look like it.

=> Get Traffic To Your Site (Duh!)

As a rough guide, you will need at least 500 targeted unique visitors a day to your site to make reasonable money from affiliate programs.

=> You Must Have A Site That Will Attract Repeat Visitors

If your website is nothing more than a splash page consisting of little else other than banners for umpteen different affiliate programs, forget it. Your site must be worthy of your visitorกs time and interest before you can even begin to think about converting that visitor into a paying customer. So create a real site with real content that will keep them coming back for more.

=> Personal Testimonials

A personal testimonial will result in more sales than a mere link or advertisement. So take the time and trouble to write a personal endorsement of the product or service you are promoting. And, of course, it goes without saying that in order to write a personal endorsement, you must know that of which you speak. NEVER promote a program you haven’t first purchased yourself. If you don’t think enough of your program to invest in it, how do you expect to persuade others to?

=> Promote With Your Sig File

Include a link to your site in the signature of every email you send.

=> Promote In Your Own Ezine

Finally, if you’re not already publishing your own ezine or newsletter to stay in touch with your site visitors, start. Itกs a great way to promote not only your site but also the affiliate programs you promote from your site.

MAKING SERIOUS MONEY FROM AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

The only way of making SERIOUS money from affiliate programs is by creating your own product or service and recruiting affiliates to sell for YOU.

The affiliate program phenomenon is one of the Internetกs true success stories. It provides a toehold for the wouldbe internet entrepreneur to begin a real, live business of his or her very own. But the real beauty of affiliate programs lies not in what they can do for you, as an affiliate, but what they can do for you, as a recruiter of affiliates for your own program. By all means jump on the bandwagon and start promoting other peopleกs products to get your start. But don’t wait too long to start developing your own product line. There is a readymade salesforce numbering in the millions ready and waiting to sell it for you.

About The Author

Elena Fawkner is editor of the awardwinning A HomeBased Business Online … practical home business ideas, resources and strategies for the workfromhome entrepreneur.

http://www.fawkner.com/subscribe.html

This article was posted on January 20, 2002

by Elena Fawkner