I still remember thinking that promoting Affiliate
Programs was a waste of time. Until I started making a small fortune.
At the end of 2004, I started some time exploring
the concept of promoting affiliate programs through pay-per-click
search engines. I knew of some Internet Marketing gurus who were
claiming you could make thousands of dollars every month. But I was
skeptical. I remember thinking, “I know what these guys are about. They
just want to sell more books.”
But I decided that at least it was worth a look.
The concept is quite simple. Choose a product – and one that has an
affiliate program, of course. Set up an advertising campaign at a PPC
search engine like Google and choose how much you want to pay per
click. Write a three line advertisement and add your affiliate link.
Whenever anyone clicks through your ad and buys the product, you earn a
commission.
So I looked. And thought about it. And looked some
more. I was still very uncertain about the whole concept, but I finally
decided to test for myself whether it could really work. And since I
knew I’d be spending quite a bit of money on advertising clicks, I felt
it was well worth investing in a book so I could learn from more
experienced marketers how to maximize the profitability of my
campaigns.
As my business grew over several weeks I purchased
and read several ebooks. By far the best I read was Chris Carpenter’s
Google Cash ( http://tinyurl.com/6gdaq
). His approach is genuine, down-to-earth, and he explains very clearly
how to build your own affiliate marketing business. And importantly, he
makes a fortune doing what he explains in the book.
I started by testing 20-30 campaigns on various
products. Most of them were unsuccessful, but I expected that from what
I had been reading. I would test a product, and if it didn’t work, I
would drop it quickly. The key with this business is identifying the
affiliate products and campaigns that are successful. Once you find one
that works, the money starts rolling in.
By February of 2005 I had identified several
campaigns that were turning a profit. With one of these I was spending
$0.08 per click to promote an affiliate product that pays me $18
commission on each sale. Approximately 1 visitor in 100 buys the
product, so I make around $10 profit for every 100 visitors that I
send.
What a formula! For every 1,000 visitors, that’s
$180 in commissions. That might not seem like all that much, but
remember once you have a successful campaign it keeps going all day,
every day. If you send just 1,000 visitors to a program like this every
day, then by the end of the month you will have earned $5,400 in
commissions, of which $3,000 is profit.
Does it seem too simple? Well, if it was so easy
everyone from your Aunt Mabel to the mailman would be doing it. In
fact, while the concept is simple, getting your campaigns to run
profitably does take some work. Since I can't possibly teach you all
you need to know in one article, I'll give you a few tips here and
recommend Google Cash for a detailed explanation:
- Choose Your Product Wisely. The program should
pay a commission of $15 or more, otherwise it won’t be worth paying for
your clicks. And if the commission is very high, be careful. Some
products like web hosting and satellite dish installations may pay
commissions of $100, but you face intense competition from other
affiliates, so the price you need to pay to get ad exposure and clicks
will probably also be very high. Sometimes it is better to identify a
niche product with less competition from other affiliates.
- Track Your Campaigns Carefully. If you’re
paying around 7 or 8 cents per click for a program that pays close to
$20 commission, you need to make at least one sale for every 250
visitors. If you send 300 to 400 visitors with no sale, consider
dropping it.
- Days Of The Week Do Matter. When testing
campaigns keep in mind the day of the week and even the time of day.
Some products sell better on Mondays through Fridays, during business
hours. Others, like entertainment products, sell better in the evenings
and on weekends.
Getting back to my own experience, after
identifying several campaigns that ‘worked’, I spent some time
fine-tuning them using techniques I read about in Google Cash. By the
end of February I had earned $27,817 in commissions for the month, all
on products I had never even heard of at the end of 2004. My profit was
a neat $10,795.
It’s incredible really. I made this money without
a web site. From home. Working an average of just an hour or two a day.
I’m finally making the amount of money online that
I dreamed about.
How about you? Would you also like to build an
affiliate marketing business? Could you use some additional income? I
encourage you to proceed, but be smart about it. There are risks
involved and you should be aware of them. You should read Chris
Carpenter’s book. That way you’ll be on a fast track to more profitable
campaigns. And his book will save you hundreds of dollars, easily, as
you avoid some common mistakes and pitfalls.
Good Marketing!
About The Author
John McLaren has worked for many years selling IT
consulting services. Now he works from home, just a few hours each day,
building his highly successful affiliate marketing business. For more
professional advice, he recommends the book, Google Cash, available at:
http://tinyurl.com/6gdaq.
