Just two things are needed to earn significant income as an online affiliate. The first is traffic, visitors to your website, ideally visitors with something defining in common (mothers, Catholics, stay at home dads, etc.). The second is at least one product or service in which they are likely to have a strong interest.
The first question you have to address is demographics, especially if you have a website that does not attract an easy to define visitors base. But, even if your visitors can be pretty well defined, there are important demographic questions to be asked and answered. Are your visitors men or women? How old are most of them? Do they have significant disposable income? Do they often make purchases online? What are their interests? What are their needs? Their buying habits?
It is imperative to know why people come to your website. What, exactly, do they think is in it for them? Is it entertainment, sports news, information or practical advice they can use in their day-to-day lives, or something else?
By finding out as much as you can about your visitors, you'll be able to more quickly and accurately learn what kinds of products and services they will find most compelling. Generating lots of traffic to your site is, as we've said, very important. But, for your website to be more than a hobby, you must provide your visitors with appropriate services and/or products. Luckily, and this is great news, you don't have to pick the right products/services the first, second, or even the third time. Just keep learning, keep thinking, and (most of all) keep trying until you're right.
When evaluating affiliate programs, you might also want to consider some that pay you for sales leads rather than actual sales. In some instances, programs will pay you up to $50 or more when a visitor to your site requests information about a product or service. Generating mortgage leads, for instance, pays very well, and you never have to even try to make a sale.
Because all sorts of companies want to build their mailing lists, you can even earn a commission when someone signs up for a coupon, a free restaurant meal, a few trial issues of a magazine, or countless other freebies.
High commission programs deserve your consideration, of course, but sometimes a lower commission program will generate more revenue for you, especially if you are compensated for signing up other webmasters. In some instances, you can be paid 5-10% of the income they generate for the affiliate company.
Be cautious and selective when choosing an affiliate program. Choose those which:
1. provide you with accurate tracking information. You need to know about what is working well for you, and what is not.
2. provide you with tested, successful advertising copy and/or banners.
3. offer you advice, assistance, and payment in a timely manner.
4. meet your website visitors' needs with a high quality product or service at a fair and competitive price.
If you offer your visitors a free newsletter, a "how to" guide, or anything else of value, they will willingly provide you with their email addresses...email addresses you can use to contact them after adding information to your website; email addresses you can use to send them product offerings, and email addresses you can use to maintain contact with them for years. But, you email them only when you have an update, new product, or information they are likely to find worthwhile. Otherwise, they ask to be removed from your mailing list or stop opening your emails. Remember, if cultivated properly, one website visitor may buy many products from you over the course of a few years.
Finally, follow the great advice I once got from an extremely successful businessperson. Track and analyze everything that moves.
About the Author:
Daniel Z. Kane is a college dean who has created websites on college scholarships, financial aid, online schools, online colleges, and online degrees.
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