The Affiliate Masters Course. Affiliate Business Ebook Marketing.

And perhaps the most worrisome factor of all...

- "The dark side" of affiliate programs. Is the program really just a way to legally bribe folks to recommend overpriced, UNDERdelivering products in order to collect excessive commissions?

There is a commission that is "just right" for each product. If the commission is too low, it is not interesting enough for affiliates. If it is too high, it's a consumer rip-off. (Excessive commissions also push the price of the product up to levels that cannot survive for long in the competitive Net marketplace.)

Your job as an affiliate is an important one. You deliver high-value content that gains the confidence and trust of your visitor/reader. You include recommendations and referrals to your new friends as part of your service and content. Recommending anything less than sterling products is simply sophisticated, subtle fraud.

If you find products that fit your theme but that don't deliver quality, sell the distributor advertising on your site. This way, you don't compromise your ethics or your reputation because the customer recognizes advertising for what it is... a promotion. Nothing wrong with that at all, because her "guard is up."

Bottom line...

Don't allow yourself to be bribed into recommending such products -- in the long run, your reputation will be ruined. And so will your business.

On the other hand, when your visitors are rewarded repeatedly by your rich recommendations, they will increasingly like you and respect your judgment and they'll keep coming back for more!

Red flags are warning signs...

"Pay-per-click" method of payment. In this method, you get paid whenever a visitor clicks on your link. No purchase or lead-generation necessary.

Unfortunately, it's wide open for abuse -- very sophisticated folks create incentives to get thousands of people to click on their links. But the visitors could care less about the products being promoted. The scam is virtually unstoppable.

And merchants end up paying for nothing.

Sooner or later, merchants seem to throw in the towel against the onslaught. So be wary -- this kind of affiliate program tends to dissolve or mutate into a different model.

Multi-tier commission. This is online Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), which is perfectly legal. Do your due diligence to make sure, of course, that a multi-tier program is not an illegal pyramid scheme. If the "game" is to earn income by signing up others, you are most likely dealing with a pyramid. Many people confuse honest, legal MLM with dishonest, scammy pyramid schemes.

With MLM (also known as Network Marketing), it becomes as important to build a strong downline as it does to sell product. Also, MLM companies are subject to numerous regulations (to prevent them from becoming pyramids, basically). Not all online companies are complying (or even know about this!).

Watch for a big shakeout with many of these companies going belly-up. If multitier interests you, I would recommend that you check out established offline MLMs that are now online. Investigate all others extremely carefully before you decide to invest a lot of time in these.

http://affiliates·sitesell·com/

Poor or little info about affiliate program available. What kind of priority could it have?

Dead links on merchant site.

No clear anti-spamming policy visible on site.

Site that promotes "get-rich-quick" gimmicks.

Financially unstable. You can lose a lot of momentum if a company goes under, especially if you are banking on lifetime customer/2-tier promises.

4.2.2. How To Use Alexa.com To Get the Goods On Merchants

If you haven't used this strategy yet, now is a good time to use it. Alexa serves as a wonderful final check in two ways...

1) Its stats indicate how successful a program is.

2) The related links suggest good competing merchants.

Check out SiteSell's stats as a trial run...

Search It! > Popularity (STEP 1) > Alexa Ranking (STEP 2) > sitesell.com (STEP 3)

4.2.3. Prune Possible Partners By PageRank Score

Google uses the quality (and to some extent, the quantity) of in-pointing links to measure the importance of a page. The higher the score, the more highly Google regards the page. A score of 5 or higher indicates a certain degree of success.

Once again, Search It! pulls in that information conveniently for you.

Search It! > Popularity (STEP 1) > Google PageRank (STEP 2) > domain name that you are researching (STEP 3)

Great investigation! You've grown and pruned a list of affiliate programs for your Site Concept. This may well be your main monetization model. Following the principle of using more than one basket for your eggs, you have spread your programs among several merchants.

Now diversify further still. Take full advantage of what the Web has to offer by investigating other potential income streams...

Home

eBook	The Affiliate Masters Course ( affiliate business ebook marketing )


Table of Contents Affiliate Business Ebook... Useful Links Data Entry Work at Home Legal Jobs UK Management Jobs Government Jobs United States Jobs Job Search In Accounting Data Entry Job Search Customer Service Job Search Sales Jobs Search Jobs For Directors SEO Jobs UK Railway Jobs In India Music Business Jobs Project Management Jobs Jobs in VA Jobs Agencies Massage Therapy Jobs Jobs in Sports Best jobs in 2010	The dark side This article is a part of the eBook. Please use the link at bottom to read the rest of the eBook... And perhaps the most worrisome factor of all... - "The dark side" of affiliate programs. Is the program really just a way to legally bribe folks to recommend overpriced, UNDERdelivering products in order to collect excessive commissions? There is a commission that is "just right" for each product. If the commission is too low, it is not interesting enough for affiliates. If it is too high, it's a consumer rip-off. (Excessive commissions also push the price of the product up to levels that cannot survive for long in the competitive Net marketplace.) Your job as an affiliate is an important one. You deliver high-value content that gains the confidence and trust of your visitor/reader. You include recommendations and referrals to your new friends as part of your service and content. Recommending anything less than sterling products is simply sophisticated, subtle fraud. If you find products that fit your theme but that don't deliver quality, sell the distributor advertising on your site. This way, you don't compromise your ethics or your reputation because the customer recognizes advertising for what it is... a promotion. Nothing wrong with that at all, because her "guard is up." Bottom line... Don't allow yourself to be bribed into recommending such products -- in the long run, your reputation will be ruined. And so will your business. On the other hand, when your visitors are rewarded repeatedly by your rich recommendations, they will increasingly like you and respect your judgment and they'll keep coming back for more! Red flags are warning signs... "Pay-per-click" method of payment. In this method, you get paid whenever a visitor clicks on your link. No purchase or lead-generation necessary. Unfortunately, it's wide open for abuse -- very sophisticated folks create incentives to get thousands of people to click on their links. But the visitors could care less about the products being promoted. The scam is virtually unstoppable. And merchants end up paying for nothing. Sooner or later, merchants seem to throw in the towel against the onslaught. So be wary -- this kind of affiliate program tends to dissolve or mutate into a different model. Multi-tier commission. This is online Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), which is perfectly legal. Do your due diligence to make sure, of course, that a multi-tier program is not an illegal pyramid scheme. If the "game" is to earn income by signing up others, you are most likely dealing with a pyramid. Many people confuse honest, legal MLM with dishonest, scammy pyramid schemes. With MLM (also known as Network Marketing), it becomes as important to build a strong downline as it does to sell product. Also, MLM companies are subject to numerous regulations (to prevent them from becoming pyramids, basically). Not all online companies are complying (or even know about this!). Watch for a big shakeout with many of these companies going belly-up. If multitier interests you, I would recommend that you check out established offline MLMs that are now online. Investigate all others extremely carefully before you decide to invest a lot of time in these. If you are a Network marketing representative who is using Site Build It!, go like crazy! You have a big edge over 99% of Network marketers who are mostly failing online. Be sure to join the 5 Pillar Program before you tell your entire downline about how much Site Build It! has built your online business... http://affiliates·sitesell·com/ Poor or little info about affiliate program available. What kind of priority could it have? Dead links on merchant site. No clear anti-spamming policy visible on site. Site that promotes "get-rich-quick" gimmicks. Financially unstable. You can lose a lot of momentum if a company goes under, especially if you are banking on lifetime customer/2-tier promises. 4.2.2. How To Use Alexa.com To Get the Goods On Merchants If you haven't used this strategy yet, now is a good time to use it. Alexa serves as a wonderful final check in two ways... 1) Its stats indicate how successful a program is. 2) The related links suggest good competing merchants. Check out SiteSell's stats as a trial run... Search It! > Popularity (STEP 1) > Alexa Ranking (STEP 2) > sitesell.com (STEP 3) 4.2.3. Prune Possible Partners By PageRank Score Google uses the quality (and to some extent, the quantity) of in-pointing links to measure the importance of a page. The higher the score, the more highly Google regards the page. A score of 5 or higher indicates a certain degree of success. Once again, Search It! pulls in that information conveniently for you. Search It! > Popularity (STEP 1) > Google PageRank (STEP 2) > domain name that you are researching (STEP 3) Great investigation! You've grown and pruned a list of affiliate programs for your Site Concept. This may well be your main monetization model. Following the principle of using more than one basket for your eggs, you have spread your programs among several merchants. Now diversify further still. Take full advantage of what the Web has to offer by investigating other potential income streams... This article is a part of the eBook. To read the rest of the eBook (full version) please look at: affiliate business back to top
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