Is There an Affiliate กFree Lunchก Program?

Is There an Affiliate กFree Lunchก Program?

by: Glenn Beach

กEverything worthwhile has a cost… Whenever you think you are getting something for nothing, look again—someone, somewhere, somehow is paying for it. Behind every free lunch there is a hidden cost to be accounted for.ก Edwin G. Dolan

If you, or any of your business prospects, believe that time is money, then yes, the ‘there Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunchก principle DOES apply to your internet business. What you can’t invest in money, you will have to invest in time. You will have to be able to put the axe to the grind for more hours per day or week, and you will have to wait for more weeks and months before your ship comes in. Those are the facts.

If you are able to think outside the box (and few internet entrepreneurs CAN’t!) then the principle can be stretched a little. Are you balking at spending a few pennies a day to boost your sales? Do some research comparing what your marketing program offers and what the same services cost on the open market. Compare what information your program offers and what you can learn elsewhere. For example:

find some online business forums and search these topics: free advertising, phone followup techniques, sample followup letters, sample phone scripts.

investigate your and other affiliate marketing programs for all the above plus services and tools such as: prospect notification, contact manager, online forum, billing and revenue collection, gateway website, company resource center, free sales and marketing tools, affiliate training courses, successful team support, commission or compensation schedule. In other words, look at EVERYTHING that the program will give you for free.

research what you would have to pay for any or all of the above tools, hints, and services.

How does your affiliate program measure up? What do you get for free and therefore, what do you save? How much can you afford to invest based on these savings?

If you absolutely HAVE NO MONEY to invest, thatกs one thing. If you have a kneejerk reaction to investing in something that กsays itกs freeก, think again. What other business in the WORLD besides one on the internet can you begin for NOTHING? How many pennies a day can you AFFORD to invest in your business, maybe not now but as soon as possible?

If you have nothing, you can start and run a business. You will have to pay for it, however, with time. Free ads need to be worked every day. Free ads drop out of sight as new ads follow. You need to study your product till you know it inside and out, so all prospective affiliates can be led, encouraged, taught how they too can succeed. Since the name of the game is visibility amongst the billions of offers on the internet, you can’t afford to waste a single hardwon prospect.

Without any money to invest in advertising, this will be a long slow process. You will have to determine how YOU can best achieve sales and attract affiliates, because each personกs skills, style and dislikes are different.

You need to be internet savvy because all the information you require to succeed is out there, you just have to know how to find it. Study, seek your own answers, and know where and how to ask questions. You will win the game with patience and persistence.

About The Author

Glenn Beach is a proud member of Work at Home Team.

He is a selfemployed subcontractor and home entrepreneur at:

http://www.workathomebusinessopportunitycanada.com

email: [email protected]

This article was posted on March 06, 2004

by Glenn Beach

Building Your Online Portfolio

Building Your Online Portfolio

by: Rachel Gawith

So you want to start earning online and have invested some of your hard earned cash in a couple of online programs but have you really thought about what you are investing in.

You wouldn’t simply roll off the street into a real estate agency and purchase a house to rent out without looking at the area first and seeing if there was a good rental market and similarly you wouldn’t invest all your money into shares in just one company before looking into it first.

As any financial advisor and in fact anyone with a little common sense will tell you you should spread the risk. You do not invest all your money into high risk new venture companies or put it all into property. Similarly, if you want to make a good return you don’t just leave it sitting in the bank.

Earning a living online or a little extra cash is no different. You must consider all the options carefully first and then only invest what you can afford to lose and SPREAD THE RISK.

You should look to put your money in a number of different online companies and investments. No I don’t mean join every opportunity going and spread yourself across so many different opportunities that you don’t know whether you are coming or going, but you should have a balanced portfolio of opportunities.

First you consider how much time you have to put into a new online venture. If you don’t have much spare time look to invest in passive programs that require no recruitment or downline building. And yes there are some of these that work and are stable and will be around for the long haul but you must be careful. Even if you are planning to promote another network marketing MLM or affiliate program you should have some form of passive program in your portfolio to build up funds.

Again when investing in passive programs spread the risk. For example I have invested money into 4 passive programs, 2 fairly low risk ones, one I would class as low to medium and a higher risk opportunity for quicker returns. Number one rule NEVER INVEST more than you can afford to lose, number two SET YOUR GOALS. If you want to earn an additional $500 a month, then invest enough to do this but ensure you withdraw the rest and do not be tempted to invest more for a bigger return. All these programs carry some risk and you should always aim to at least make your capital investment back and then just invest the profits.

As an example in my portfolio I have a weekly subscription to J3V (http://www.j3v.biz/index2.php?rgawith) and YMMSS (email me at [email protected] for details) in order to build up a good residual income in a couple of years time. These are both stable companies that have proven themselves and have a good track record. I therefore consider these low risk (and this is only my opinion) and I am using these to build up a residual income without the need to recruit. I have then invested in FundBiZGrowth (http://www.fundbizgrowth.com/SOSRGawith.html) which doubles your money every 6 weeks I consider this a slightly higher risk program but one in which their could be good returns. Finally I have invested in DollarMonster (http://easychairclub.com/dm/moreinfo.cgi?u=rgawith) this purely a double your money quickly program and I consider it a fairly high risk as it requires a constant flow of new people to pay out. I am using this program simply to make some quick cash to plough back into the other programs.

So whilst these passive programs are building you residual income you need your main affiliate or network marketing program which you will concentrate on promoting and which will give you a an immediate source of income. Now I actually own and run my own program at http://www.earnmoneyhere.com but I am also an affiliate of RecipeSwap (http://www.recipeswap.com/members/rgawith/) which I think is a goof stable and fun program to promote and make a good second income. However, it does not matter what your main affiliate or MLM program is so long as you concentrate on promoting it and building your affiliate team or downline.

Then as with any business you need to ensure you have the right tools and resources for the job. If you worked in an office, you require office equipment, if you have a shop you need display racks etc.. working online is no different…you need the right tools and resources. I use Isoregister ( http://www.isoregister.com/9810354341/rgawith ) as it gives me all the tools I need in one place such as autoresponders, ebooks, articles, advertising etc etc…but so long as you have a good resource suite you are all set to market online and start building your portfolio.

But remember the number one rule, is all online opportunities incur a certain amount of risk, but you can minimise your losses and maximise your profits by spreading the risk sensibly across a number of stable and profitable online ventures.

About The Author

Rachel Gawith (c) 2004

Rachel runs her own online program at http://www.earnmoneyhere.com and also a free weekly newsletter at http://www.freedailycash.com. Details of all the opportunities she has in her portfolio are listed at

http://www.computerincome.ne

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 01, 2004

by Rachel Gawith

Realistic Expectations When Starting a Home Based

Realistic Expectations When Starting a Home Based Business

by: Rebecca Gilbert

Working out of your home with an internet business can be the most rewarding experience, both personally and financially, that a person can undertake. The internet has made more millionaires than any other vessel in history, and you don’t have to any education or experience to obtain the riches that the internet has to offer. We all want to make more money, spend time with our family, and these are only a few of the fringe benefits that owning an internet business can provide. However, individuals that have made their fortune on the internet have certain characteristics about them that have allowed them to be successful. These riches were not obtained overnight, and they were not obtained without realistic expectations.
Lets look at some of the things that would prohibit you from being successful online…
Are you currently unemployed?
I see so many people sign up for internet programs these days that are not currently employed and expect that an internet business will provide for their families right off the bat.
Businesses on the internet are not 95 jobs that pay by the hour, they are กbusinessesก, and most pay by commission. As with most businesses, there are things that have to be set in place before you are going to start attracting customers. This does not happen overnight, this is something that you will put in place over time. When this is done over time, your commissions will grow and grow to the point that an internet business will replace your current income or career.
Are you unwilling to invest your money?
Many programs on the internet offer free signups, free products, and free websites to help an individual get started in a internet home business. This is fantastic, because in order to make money on the internet, you have to have a product to sell, and your going to need a website to enable your customers with a place to go to purchase your products. However, visitors won’t know that your website exist unless you advertise it. Many high traffic sites on the internet will allow you to advertise your products on their site for a fee.
Getting your website listing on the search engines is free and will supply you with a never ending traffic stream. But many search engines are unwilling to list free affiliate websites. The way that we overcome this is to build our own sites and link them to our affiliate websites. Building your own website will cost you around $25. So as you can see, if you cannot initially invest at least $25 $50 a month on your internet business, your probably not going to succeed.
Are you unwilling to invest your time?
I spend about 2 hours a day online through the week working on my business. I am advertising and submitting my website to various search engines, directories, and other high traffic sites. I am critiquing my website, sending emails to my affiliates in training, making deals with other webmasters, etc.
I also do an enormous amount of reading. I have found that entrepreneurs who have made a fortune on the internet are only too happy to share their knowledge on how they got there. Some days I put in more time and some dayกs I don’t work at all. But, I know that every hour I spend on setting my business up is just one step closer to reaching my financial goals. If you are unwilling to invest your time…your probably not going to succeed.
Are you unwilling to give up your skepticism?
Many times I have an affiliate sign up for my program, and the first thing I hear is how they have been burned by another internet business. While Iกm sure there are millions of internet scams out there, I see a common characteristic that all these people seem to have…they don’t DO ANYTHING!
When people sign up for my program, the first thing that I do is suggest that they complete a short online training on how our program works and the compensation plan. I have a statistics page that will tell me when the affiliates in my down line complete the training, I can see when they have made a sale or signed up an affiliate of their own. All these people that claim to be scammed in the past never even get past the online training. Then oddly enough, they will have enough gall to email me the next month and ask where their paycheck is?
Do people actually believe that they will earn a paycheck just because they signed up? Is this why so many believe that they have been scammed in the past? Are they so naïve that they think a company will pay them when they have made no sales? If any of these things sound remotely familiar…your probably not going to succeed.
In closing, operating an internet business is not a getrich quick program, nor can you be successful if you are unwilling to invest some time and money. You must have some realistic expectations and stay focused on the goal at hand. If you are capable of doing these things, you can expect many handsome rewards in the future for your time and effort.
Best wishes for your future success and prosperity!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Gilbert

http://www.101homebusiness.org

About The Author

Rebecca Gilbert is the owner of a successful internet business located at: http://www.101homebusiness.org.
For more tips and articles written by Rebecca, please visit: http://www.101homebusiness.org/home_based_business_articles.html

This article was posted on June 09, 2004

by Rebecca Gilbert

Because Your Lucky Number Is?

Because Your Lucky Number Is?

by: John Taylor

I am a strong believer in the Pareto Principle, otherwise known as the 80/20 rule, or the rule of the vital few and the trivial many.

In any human activity, just a small group of factors is responsible for the lionกs share of success.

For example, just 20% of affiliates earn 80% of the commissions.

20% of authors sell 80% of all books.

Only 20% of the people who read this article will benefit from taking action.

20% of your daily activities generate 80% of your success and income; and so on.

Have you figured out what your lucky number is yet?

Yes itกs the magic 20 percent, you don’t need to master scores of techniques and learn hundreds of secrets. Just a few the right few will bring you outrageous online success.

Thatกs why itกs important that you take time to identify the best places to invest your time an energy. Choose the affiliate programmes that generate the best return. Identify the ezines and web sites that create profitable returns on your advertising efforts.

Invest your time in developing the skills, knowledge and experience required to become one of the successful 20% of all affiliates

Learn and apply the right skills and techniques and you will become a giant of your industry. You will grow richer than you ever would otherwise. And you will be happy, because achievement is the key to happiness.

In short, you will succeed by mastering the vital few, while others squander their time on the trivial many.

Where can you learn those vital few skills?

Here are my top three recommendations…

Firstly, James Martellกs 8step process, which currently sells for $167, provides every piece to the puzzle of affiliate marketing and guarantees that anyone who follows in his footsteps will succeed! http://goclick.com/to/martell

And then in the less expensive ($47) The Super Affiliate Handbook Rosalind Gardner really goes into the details on how you can build you own profitable Internet business. http://goclick.com/to/gardner

And finally, thereกs an interesting alternative to just reading ebooks. There is a brand new programme that just gives you baby step instructions. You will enjoy UNLIMITED step by step training for any and AS MANY affiliate programs as you want. And, at the time of writing, you can get started for only $29.97 http://goclick.com/to/class

Whichever one you choose, please DO ensure that you are one of the 20% who takes action. Because, if you invest your time in developing the right skills, you too could become a member of the 20% club and earn your share of the 80% in commissions!

Copyright 2005 John Taylor

About The Author

John is a prolific writer and is the author of several books including ‘testing & Trackingก (http://www.Testandtrack.com). John enjoys significant earnings as a top affiliate across a broad section of niche markets

This article was posted on January 25

by John Taylor

Guerilla Marketing Lesson 2: Why Do People Call M

Guerilla Marketing Lesson 2: Why Do People Call Me?

by: Barrett Niehus

Before we begin, I want you to think about how many times you actually sought out an advertisement. How did you know where to look for it? Why did you choose that one? Whether you know it or not, the number of times you were exposed to the message has a huge impact on you. Also, the message and how it made you feel had a large influence on your response.
On the other side of the table, how do you know how well people are responding to your advertisement? If you are spending your hard earned cash advertising, you should be able to tell exactly what type of response you are getting and be able to track the performance of your ads.
The above are two separate but related topics that need to be evaluated when developing an advertising campaign. And as with all marketing programs, it begins with demographics and your expected return on investment.
Step One: Know your audience. Once again, what is your target audience? For a real estate investor, what type of property and owner situation are you looking for? What are your customer’s hot buttons? Back to the initial question in this article, if you responded to a print ad, you responded to the one that stuck you emotionally and fills a need.
Step Two: Speak to your customer’s needs. Think about this, if you are facing a foreclosure and need to sell your home yesterday, to which ad would you personally respond:
ขI buy ugly houses. Fast Closing, Call our 24 hour recording (800) 6686688ข
Or
ขNeed To Sell Your Home For Cash? Let me help you. If I can’t buy your house I will find someone who will. Foreclosure? Not a problem. Call me right now (949) 8581877ข
If I were in dire straights, I would choose a real person over a 24 hour recording and a local number over an 800 number. Also, I would be more likely to respond to the advertisement that is offering an action (to help) instead of just stating what they do. Finally, I would probably be more likely to respond to the ad that has a call to action ขCall me right nowข simply because it told me to do so.
What is the moral of this story? Make sure your ads speak to your prospect’s emotions. Always have a call to action in the ad, and always be available to receive the call. If a prospect takes the steps to call you, they are in the mood to deal right then. If you don’t answer the phone, they may or may not leave a message before moving on to the next advertisement.
Step Three: Periodicity: One of the first questions that I asked in this article was how would you know where to look for an ad? The answer is periodicity. If an ad has been run continuously, prospects will know where to look for it when they need it. Rarely will a prospect take action when they are first exposed to your message. However, if it is in front of them on a weekly basis and they need your services, they will immediately know where to look for your info. Run your ads continually. If your placement is correct, you should be making a return on investment from your advertising so keep your message out there.
As a personal example of the necessity of continual advertising, I found a local pizza place through our local Pennysaver. They run the same ad every week. After a couple of months of scanning the periodical for investment opportunities, I ended up ordering pizza from this place. Their food turned out to be great however, I did not write down the number. Their advertising worked, they recruited a customer.
However, the next week I was in the same scenario and was craving their pizza. I flipped opened the Pennysaver looking for their ad so that I could get the number and order dinner. That week they had discontinued placement and their as was not running. Instead of going to the hassle of calling information or opening a the phone book, that night I ended up grabbing a bag of chips and proceeding with my routine of looking for deals in the Pennysaver. They lost a sale simply because they discontinued ad placement and I, like most people, didn’t have the motivation to go searching for their information.
To summarize the message, repeat your advertising enough to make your customers know where to find you. They will call when they are ready.
Step 4: Tracking Response: If you are spending money advertising your services, you should be able to know the exact response per ad you are getting. With that in mind, find a way to track the calls to your specific advertisements. For me I use different telephone numbers for different ads. Also, know the circulation of your advertisement so that you can gauge how well the masses respond to your message. Finally, know what return on investment you are getting for each month’s worth of advertising. More to the point, know how much money in the form of deals or purchases is coming in as a result of your advertising.
In summary, make sure your print advertisements and classified ads speak to your prospects’ emotions. Include a call to action in your ad, and always include a way to track your response. Finally, remember that you must run your advertisements often to grow the response that you need.
+++++++++++++

About The Author

Barrett Niehus is a principal in IP Ware Real Estate Investment Software http://www.realtysoftware.org and a part time real estate investor. Mr. Niehus has served as a marketing consultant for a number of product launches and has written extensively on the topics of marketing, sales and business development.
Copyright: Please use and reprint this article freely

This article was posted on May 14, 2004

by Barrett Niehus