What is a Super Affiliate? Can you say Walmart?
A lot of people don't know if they want to get into affiliate
marketing and sales. They're not quite sure how it works and
they don't understand the concept. The concept is simple if you
look at it like this. A Motts or Five and Dime store is like an
affiliate and WalMart is like a "super" affiliate. WalMart does
not make their own products to sell. They sell other people's
products and they don't just sell a few. They sell thousands of
other people's products and they make billions of dollars doing
it. They are nothing but a super affiliate if you want to get
down to the nitty gritty.
A "convenience" store is like an affiliate and a "grocery" store
is like a super affiliate. The more items you sell the bigger
affiliate you become until you become a super affiliate. You do
not have to make your own products. You can sell other people's
products and the more products you have for sale the more money
you make until you become a super affiliate.
How do you find affiliate programs?
1. Some big name affiliate programs are:
Commission Junction
ClickBank
Linkshare
Many more,,,
2. Do a search on affiliate programs
3. Check out forums on affiliate programs
4. Check out interactive mail list groups for affiliate programs
How do you get started?
Some affiliate programs have ready made web sites for you.
Others will just provide you with affiliate links that you paste
into your web site or blog. The affiliate links have a tracking
code that shows the affiliate where the sale came from and you
earn a commission.
If you don't have a web site you can still become an affiliate.
You can setup a free blog in a variety of different places and
post your affiliate links in your blog. You can even use email
as long as you don't spam anyone. You can also use free email
services like Yahoogroups or Googlegroups to build an email list
for sharing tips etc, then providing your affiliate links for
income.
Most affiliate programs require a signup form to be filled out
and they will also require your SS number or tax id. At the end
of the year they will send you a 1099 for reporting your income.
How do you get paid?
This varies from company to company. Someone like Commission
Junction handles collecting from the various advertisers and
then mailing you a check within 30 days of the previous month's
sales. They do this at no cost to you. They bill the advertiser
for this service. Other companies like ClickBank will do the
same except Clickbank pays every two weeks. There are a few
companies that take a little longer to pay, with some being 45
days after the previous month's sales and some even up to 60
days like XY7.com
If you sign up with an individual for affiliate sales the risk
is a little higher as you are expecting that "person" or
business to pay you as they advertise. Some people are not
reliable and some don't pay at all. You are usually better off
to go with a well known company at first, then be sure to check
out the affiliate forums to find out who doesn't pay.
Now that you understand what a super affiliate is, you can start
your journey to becoming one. It will take a little time, but if
you do research and follow up on the company offering the
commissions and get a green light then get signed up and start
selling. If Walmart only had 3 isles of merchandise they
wouldn't be as large as they are today. The more you have to
sell, the more money you are going to make.
A Little About Advertising
Just like WalMart, you are going to need to advertise. WalMart
doesn't depend on the product makers to do all the advertising.
If they did, their sales might plummet. It's important for "you"
to advertise that you have these products for sale. Where can
you do that?
1. Google Adwords
2. Yahoo Publisher Network (YPN)
3. Searchfeed
4. Newsletters
5. Text ads on other sites
6. Blogs
7. Newsletter ads in other people's newsletters
8. Banners
9. Classifieds
Be sure to set up an advertising budget and then check your
sales so you can get an accurate ROI, (return on investment).
It's not hard at all to become an affiliate and once you do
that, becoming a super affiliate is even easier. It just
requires more time, more products and some more advertising.