A Comprehensive Outlook on Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the best online sources for generating income. Affiliate marketing is a revenue sharing venture between a website owner and a product merchant. A merchant, after thorough research on the website he wishes to place product advertisement, agrees to enter into a revenue sharing deal with the website owner.

How This Works?

First, the website in which the merchant wishes to place the product advertisements should have a lot of exposure. New sites are not generally considered as they do not have a large amount of traffic. Established and reputable sites are preferred.

Therefore, the merchant places his product advertisement on the affiliate website and waits for sales brought upon through the affiliate website. For each sale incurred, the merchant pays the affiliate a percentage as commission for each product sold.

Advantages of Affiliate Marketing for Website Owner

Clearly, affiliates enjoy greater income potential online only if he has the capability to maximize the opportunity. Some of the advantages that affiliate marketers enjoy are:

• Home Based – Affiliates do not have to work full or part time in offices. Affiliate marketing is a fully home based business opportunity. Once the website gains popularity and a traffic base, the marketers can scout for products and services to highlight on their site. The important task is to negotiate with the merchant regarding the commission percentage and duration of affiliation.

• No Limit – For affiliates, there are no limits for becoming the affiliate partners for merchants. If affiliates want to increase earning potential, then they should partner with numerous merchants and see the money rolling in!

• No Further Payment – As an affiliate, your task is to monitor traffic, sales completed and earn commissions. Since there is no heavy online work, the affiliate does not have to sub – let the task to anybody else. The profit earned is for the affiliate solely.

• Flexibility – Working time of affiliates are not bound by hours every way. Work when you feel like, on your time, at your pace. Which other Internet earning opportunity provides the same flexibility benefit?

Beginning a Home Based Affiliate Business

With the advantages that home based affiliate businesses provide – time, flexibility and increased earning potential – beginning a home based business requires brainstorming sessions, identification and potential of the product or service in the market, and finally adept planning and execution. To create a business identity, understand and implement the following processes:

• Research Product and Market – Business needs an idea. Suppose you already have the idea, then research about the product and its demand in the market. If a similar product already exists in the market, then identify how your product is different – highlight the product USP, its usefulness to buyers. Without thorough market research, a business will invariably fail.

• Create Business Identity – After the research work is complete, think about naming and registering the business. Business name should be impressive and give a glimpse of the actual business. Create a business logo and register it according to the country business laws and regulations of the place of residence.

• Investment – Depending upon the nature and type of business, create the investment plan. Obviously, home based affiliate businesses cannot function without investment, only the amount differs. If you have product selling business, then investment would mean the amount spent in buying product from the company in discounted rates or traveling costs incurred in direct selling or costs incurred in shipping goods. Best way is to create a rough chart of possible expenditures every month and stick to the budget.

• Online Presence – In a modern technological world, surviving without an online presence is difficult. Even government and private enterprises like banks and multinational corporations have their own website. So, for a home based business, create its online presence by opening a website that contains details about the company and its products. Then, submit the website to search engines and market it through social networking sites (they are free!). Once your business gains speed, hire an Internet marketer for the same.

• Profit – In the initial months, don’t expect huge profits from a home based affiliate business. Even if the profits can cover immediate work expenses, know that the business is on the right track! Ultimately, it’s your hard work and commitment that will keep the profits rolling!

Once your affiliate business begins to return revenues, you can start with multi-level affiliate marketing. Multi – Level Affiliate Marketing or MLM opportunity is a home based venture wherein marketers are needed to recruit new distributors of products, especially, and the distributors recruited further hire other distributors.

In short, MLM is like chain formation or pyramidal formation. The marketers earn on the basis of the commissions depending upon each recruit. Currently, MLM opportunities are available to more than 100 countries globally. However, this too comes with a set of advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

• As a home business opportunity, the person has complete time flexibility. The person can choose their own work times and the work duration is generally lesser than working in a regular 8 hours job!

• The earning potential is limitless. With MLM, the person can venture into reselling marketing concepts. Thus, by involvement in several home business opportunities, the person creates multiple sources of income easily.

• There are no extra expenses in terms of transportation costs or attending business meeting causes. Being a home business opportunity, all dealings are accomplished online.

• The person has complete freedom in choosing the people, team or company to work with. You are not answerable to anybody or seek permission for making business related decisions.

Disadvantages:

• The foremost disadvantage is the discontinuation of newer distributors’ registration. When the market product becomes hugely popular, there comes a point of stagnation where no new members are willing to sign up and thus leading to income restriction. Yes, one can have accounts with numerous MLM opportunities, but everything collapses on reaching the stagnation level.

• The United States government has banned several MLM fraudulent sites and has issued a fresh appeal to not indulge in MLM marketing opportunities with minors. This means that the government essentially requires strict implementation of fraudulent MLM activities or pyramidal structures.

• It is difficult to identify scam MLM sites. Their sites are full of ‘so called’ money making software and applications. They either charge for membership or we are given a free membership, and the money earned never reaches us. Before selecting any MLM company, consult your detailed affiliate marketing guide.

Calculate your risks before providing admittance. Lastly, you need proven affiliate marketing networks to expand and market your business. The basic element for maintaining an affiliate online presence is to be involved in tough affiliate marketing network strategies. These strategies are tools and applications to build a website’s online profile and in that way, help to attract large number of traffic.

Through Internet marketing, website owners try to rise up search engine ranking pages. It is a proven fact that Internet searchers or visitors do not tend to visit beyond 2-3 pages of search engine results. Only successful and prolonged Internet marketing strategy has the power to help your website stand unique in the first 3-4 pages of search results.

Here are some of the basic and proven affiliate marketing networks or platforms:

1. Blogging – Some consider blogging as a mode of passing leisure time. However, blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger are free blogging sites that help in marketing by hosting content about the target website. The content may consist of product descriptions, service reviews, or general articles related to the target website niche topic, and all posts should contain the target websites landing page link.

2. Social Marketing – Popularize the blog and website through social marketing applications like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Blog Catalog, Squidoo and lots more. With every content page, add links for social book marking or make way for visitors to share the content links in their profile for their friends to see.

3. Games & Contests – Once a considerable amount of traffic begins to visit, add games contests or a voting contest wherein the visitor has to rate the question or topic with their preferred answer. Make sure that the topics are eye-catching and relevant to current world scenario.

4. Press Releases – A press release is a document to formally announce changes, modifications, and additions of product and services to one’s existing product brand. Most high profile companies write and publish their press releases to intimidate the readers. Simply, these are kinds of updates to keep the reader abreast with current developments. Either way, publish the press release online or hire other electronic media (more costly option).

Online marketing cannot be done in isolation. Create an affiliate marketing networks platform to gain maximum advantage.

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