Affiliate marketing has taken the Internet by storm and is quite a viable business opportunity. You’ve probably heard a great deal about this venture but what exactly is it? In short, affiliate marketing is an online advertising practice. It involves an affiliate (you) who promotes the products or services of a seller through various means on a website. When visitors to your website link to and purchase a product from the seller, you are paid a commission.

Explaining Affiliate Marketing

In essence the affiliate marketer is a referral service. The affiliate marketer may have ads, links or provide written reviews of a certain product in order to promote the seller. Amazon.com launched an affiliate program over ten years ago and became the prototype for programs thereafter. The most active portion of affiliate marketing is retail and there is a growing trend toward the travel and finance markets. Large electronic entities and credit card companies are very dominant in the affiliate marketing program, as well as cell phone service providers.

To locate an affiliate program, there are directories available online that list companies who practice this. The most productive way to find out about a company’s affiliate program is to visit their website directly. Generally, the website will have a link referencing their affiliate program or may term it as a referral program. The seller will provide an affiliate website or you can create your own. Generally, creating your own website allows more flexibility.

If you have a business website that sells a product or service related but not in direct competition to a potential partner, this provides an excellent platform for affiliate marketing. Your site visitors would be directly interested in a product related to your site and would be more apt to follow a link, thus creating a potential return for you from the seller. You can increase your marketing efforts by writing an e-book, publishing reviews of the products or by blogging and article marketing. You can incorporate links to the seller’s site through all of these avenues.

Information Sources: Follow the Leaders

The greatest benefit of affiliate marketing is that it requires no experience and very little out of pocket expense to get started. There is a wealth of information on the Internet about affiliate marketing. Be selective and be smart. Where there are plenty of legitimate sources, there are an equal number of sources that are less than reputable and are just out to scam. Stick with what you know and what interests you.

For information and helpful advice, turn to the pages of the e-book by James Martell, “Affiliate Marketers Handbook”. It offers simple strategies that have earned the author top placement in search engines and thousands of dollars a month. Another proven success story is that of Rosalind Gardner, highly successful affiliate marketer and author of “The Super Affiliate Handbook”. Gardner uses her own affiliate sites as examples for instructing others how to be successful with strategies that have earned her over $500,000 per year.

Helpful Resources

You don’t have to be an expert at coding or sales to become successful in affiliate marketing with your own website. There are resources available that take the guesswork and most of the legwork out of it and assist you in creating more traffic to your site. Site Built It! helps you build and market a website for greater financial gain. It is a complete package that builds, hosts and markets websites. By following the given instructions, you can have a website up and running in little time that will garner you results.

Affiliate marketing is rapidly becoming one of the greatest home-based business ideas. It enables individuals to start a business with little or no initial investment. This online business venture can be grown into a network of sites that will earn the home-based business owner a healthy return. If you are willing to take the steps that are practiced by successful affiliate marketers and are dedicated to your business, you can succeed.

Ask names and leave yours (carrying a handful of business cards or opening-day flyers doesn’t hurt).  Let your commercial neighbors know who you are, what your business offers, and when you open.

Your commercial neighbors will provide some of your first referrals.  They are the people who will give directions when somebody wanders in saying “I hear there’s a new dry-cleaner somewhere on this block.” They will clue you in on the realities of the area: Remind your customers double-parking’s now a $100 ticket—it went up last month. Check with the Clerk, Suzanne, at the Mayor’s Office about how many chairs and tables you can have outside. Schools let out early on Wednesdays, so expect kids by the dozen that day. Leo’s always putting down other store owners—don’t pay any attention and don’t take it personally.

Meeting your commercial neighbors is especially important if you don’t live in the community where you work. Other business owners know how the community really behaves and what your customers are likely to want—even what they’re likely to complain about.

You’ll learn things about the community that you won’t learn any other way. So take a couple of walks, buy a little something here and there, and get to know people who understand the hard work it takes to set your new business on its feet. You’ll be glad you did.

Viral marketing occurs when a consumer locates something of interest in which they pass on to their friends or contacts. When the process repeats over and over again, the piece of information or media is said to have ‘gone viral.’ So, how can you leverage viral videos within your business?

How To Make your Content Viral

First, you need to focus on developing a video piece that would have mass appeal. What is interesting about your business, products or service? Do you have a unique story to tell? Do you have something controversial that you could share with the public? Developing your concept is the first step. It is important to keep in mind that you will not know which of your videos will become viral. So, it is crucial to continue to develop and post videos over time to gain the desired effect for your business.

Where Do you Post your Viral Videos?
Begin with your website. Post your video in a section that gains traffic, such as your article or blog directory. Next, post your video with keyword tags on the major video sites such as YouTube. To promote your posted video link, make announcements or entries into blogs, forums, and social networks that you currently belong to. You can also send out an html rich email blast to your entire database of clients and leads. The more marketing methods that you leverage, the more opportunities you have for your video to be seen.

Even if you do not currently have video creation skills, there are a variety of resources available online that will enable you to create successful videos with little to no new equipment. Take advantage of this viral opportunity and see what results your business can gain.

Volunteer! Start with your local paper and see who’s looking. Join the volunteer fire department or ambulance service. Get an off-hours shift. Offer to coach a sports team—sponsoring one may have to wait because of the cost, but coaching’s volunteer. Ask to be put on the municipal resident newletter list and check in with the public library. Offer to tutor through the community center. All those hours and running a business, too—are we nuts or what? Not quite—all those other volunteers you’re working with are potential friends and customers.

Teach! Offer a dental-care program to elementary schools. Do a holiday fashion show for the women’s club. Do an affordable fashion show for the senior center. Or a cooking demonstration. Do a low-fee antique appraisal session to support the historical society.
Contact your local adult-education facility and offer a class—anything from plant-care to self-defense or upholstery. You’ll earn a small fee and see more people.

Put up some family pictures or hobby pictures for customers to see. The new baby? Pink balloons and “It’s a Girl” in the window, baby pictures inside. Love to sail? Let your customers see your boat, and, of course, tell you all about theirs. You don’t have to live in a goldfish bowl, just offer something you can talk about.

Put an attraction out front—check with your municipality about sidewalk rules, but use your front space to attract potential customers. A savvy locksmith watched the foot-traffic at the ice-cream store, and put out a bench, which the creamery had not! The planter in front of the hardware store always has something new growing—they pop in new pots of blooms every couple of weeks.

WAHM-Articles.com is helping these women by offering them an online community where they can find timely marketing tools for free.  The site teaches these entrepreneurial women how to increase visibility for their businesses by using the very lucrative marketing tool of online article writing and publishing.

Founded by work-at-home mom Denise Willms, who specializes in writing web content for moms, WAHM-Articles.com allows these women to share their experiences with other writers and publishers.  This avenue of marketing works well for those who do not have the time or finances to contribute to a full-blown marketing plan for their business.

Willms promotes her business almost entirely through publishing online content.  Even during the recession, she is seeing her earnings increase.  The benefits of this smart marketing strategy are evidenced by Willms’ success.

Article marketing is a tool where a business can address an issue or topic related to the business and create an article to inform readers.  The business illustrates with the article how they can help the reader.  The author includes a link to their website, inviting the reader to visit for more information.  The business then publishes the article on a free online article directory.

WAHM-Articles.com has been recognized as a valuable asset to the community of work-at-home mom’s.  The website also holds contests, provides relevant and timely marketing reports and offers reviews of articles by peers and professionals.  In addition, the website offers writing jobs and information on starting a writing business from home, as well as advertising discounts.

Membership to WAHM-Articles.com is free for the work-at-home mom who wishes to learn more about helping her business succeed.

With online press release sites booming, business owners can leverage the power of a traditional print press release online.

Selecting Press Release Topics 

In similar fashion of traditional press releases, online releases should contain newsworthy information about your business. Here are some of the most common reasons for a business to utilize a press release:

• Launch of a new product or service
• Celebration of an anniversary
• Announcement of an upcoming or recent company event
• Promotion of a new employee
• Receipt of an industry award
• Launch of a new website
• Announcement of a specific promotion or sale

These events are just a few examples of common press release topics. You can be creative as well when selecting press release topics for your business. Remember, the overall goal of a press release is to announce information in an attempt to gain additional brand recognition, additional traffic to your website or an increase in company sales.

Press Release Content

Press releases should begin with a captivating title, designed to grab the attention of either media professionals or an online consumer. Next, you should include the date of the release and the city your business is located within. The opening line of a release should restate the announcement or piece of newsworthy information. The body of the release should contain content elaborating on the announcement, the company overall and in many cases, will include quotations from key employees or executives. The release should conclude with a call to action and company contact information.

Online releases offer an added functionality; keywords. Just as any other content you leverage online, keyword selection and inclusion within the content can assist you in increasing the number of views your release gains. Be sure to include any and all relevant keywords for your business within your press release’s content.

Because virtually everyone has an email account, it is one of the most universal areas in which to send marketing materials through.

Your business can implement this technique easily and on virtually any budget.

Creating a List

An email marketing campaign is only effective when you have a substantial leads list in which to market to. So, before you send out emails, ensure that your leads list is up to date and organized. If you don’t already utilize an email software system, consider using a program such as AWeber. This email software service will not only organize your current email database, but it will enable you to capture additional leads through a variety of add on functions to your current company website. And, when you are ready to send out emails to your leads, you can do so with the touch of a button.

Creating your Emails

Emails can be utilized for a variety of marketing functions. Some of the most commonly used email strategies include:

• Delivery of a digital piece of information such as a report, ebook or course
• Promotion of discounts or special pricing for products and services
• Introductory offers
• Announcement of new products and services to your current selection
• Announcement of a free offer with the intention to capture additional leads

Your emails should begin with a strong, eye catching title. The content should be clear, concise and easy to follow. When possible, it is recommended that you utilize html format, graphics and color. And every email needs to contain a strong call to action. What do you want the reader to do? What action do you hope they take? By following these steps, you can create a simple, affordable and impactful email campaign for your business.

There are some key factors to keep in mind when choosing which works best for you, whether it is website designer, content management system such as open source WordPress, Site Build It or using an HTML editor.

All of this sounds a bit confusing and intimidating when you know little to nothing about websites. You know how to access a website and you know how to navigate one.

You’ve certainly learned how to purchase from a website. But when it comes to building your own and then marketing that website, you are a bit bewildered with the related terminology and options available.

Before They Surf, You Have To Paddle Out To The Wave….Your Choices For Website Creation

When you want a custom website that has a professional appearance and contains the elements necessary to promote your business, hiring a website designer can give you this. In addition, a full-service website design firm can provide the expertise to effectively market your site. They can incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) tools within your site content so that your website places well in search engines. Website designers also provide support should any problems arise with the site.

When the letters HTML make you want to run and hide but you want the freedom to create and edit your own website, a content management (CM) website is a good alternative. A CM works with templates to allow you the easy organization of your content. There are many CM software packages available where you can edit your site directly on the web.

It seems that unless you are a computer science major, working with an HTML editor to create a website is difficult and extremely time-consuming. Some text editors provide templates and shortcuts that allow you to insert more commonly used HTML into your content. One such editor is WYSIWYG (literally, What You See Is What You Get). It provides editing that shows how the page will appear and does not require any HTML skill. The problem with WYSIWYG is that it is not compatible with all Web browsers.

Freedom, Creativity, All In One = Site Build It

If you want full creative control over your website along with the necessary tools to publish your website and the support of marketing benefits, Site Build It may be the perfect compromise. This service provides your domain name registration, site hosting and site building. In addition, it offers traffic building and marketing tools and reports.

Creating a website is an important step in building your company’s image. It is a vital connection to the world. When choosing how to create your site, the options available depend on the time, effort and finances that you want to put into its production. Your knowledge of computer language will also lend itself to your decision. You can choose to have a specially trained web design firm create your website or you can create it yourself with limited or full-service support.

This is also referred to as a squeeze page or a lead capture page. Being an internet marketer means you market your business product or service online and to do so effectively you must have an opt in page.

Opt in functions capture the email address and full name of a lead. In some cases, companies choose to request additional consumer information. But when launching an initial opt-in marketing campaign, a name and an email address are sufficient. With this information, you can add leads to your email campaigns, creating a constant opportunity for you to convert these leads into paying customers.

How do you Capture their Information?

People will generally not offer their information for free or without benefit. So, the proven strategy of ‘give to get’ is typically implemented when attempting to capture a lead’s name and email address. Here are some things that you could choose to offer leads in return for providing their contact information on your site:

• A free webinar or educational course
• A free ebook
• A free report
• A free section or chapter of a book you have just published
• A free newsletter
• A free monthly ezine

Be creative when selecting items to offer your leads. And, offer multiple choices to consumers. When you appeal to the widest audience, you increase your chances of capturing lead information.

An opt-in function could be an entire landing page, dedicated exclusively to the purpose of capturing lead information. Or, you could include opt-in boxes throughout various pages of your website. Many companies implement both strategies to increase the number of times a consumer sees the opt-in option as well as to broaden the offer appeal to consumers. The value of a company is often found within their leads list size. So begin to build yours today by implementing opt-in functions or pages on your company’s website.

There are always two ways  (at least) to look at everything.  Using social media marketing tools certainly fit into this category and so here are some helpful tips on how to use Twitter  the right way as a part of your marketing strategy if you are so inclined as well as a great video with comments from Seth Godin.

I first saw the video below included in a comment on Jim Edwards site and it is just too  good not to  include it here again.  A constant reminder is that business, good business, is built on relationships, not the latest craze so use it wisely.

With any new tool, there is a learning curve to master in order to generate success.

Here are the primary methods utilized by business owners on Twitter to increase traffic and revenue:

1. Generation of New Contacts- It is simple and easy to add contacts on the Twitter platform. And the more contacts you have, the more opportunities you have to generate business. You can add contacts organically by searching for individuals, adding those who follow you and by uploading your current email contacts. You can also quickly add contacts to your Twitter account by using friend adder software programs.

2. Ask Questions- One of the best ways to build credibility on Twitter is to ask questions for your Twitterverse to answer. For example, you may ask, “Does anyone know of a great virtual assistant company? Or, what project management tools do you recommend?” Allow your contacts to answer, and use this initiation as an opportunity to continue a conversation.

3. Search- You can use the Twitter search function to search the database for given keywords. For example, if you are searching for a virtual assistant, you can type that phrase into the search engine and read any notations or responses that contained that keyword phrase. Searching by keywords is a great way to locate valuable resources as well as solid industry contacts.

4. Promote Your Business- Send notes to your Twitter contacts when you have a promotion, product discount or when you are launching new products and services. Twitter is a great way to build your business’s brand.

5. Post Links- If you manage a blog or regularly post articles to your business’s website, be sure to post the links within your Twitter log. Your friends will appreciate valuable information provided to them.