Marketing Your Affiliate Program As An Article Marketer
Affiliate marketing and article marketing have one primary aspect in common: they're both online
. They could survive but not thrive without the Internet. Both business and marketing models have been in use for many years.
Early affiliate programs consisted of coupons printed and given to potential customers. The customer made a purchase and used the coupon to receive a small discount. The merchant then paid the affiliate marketer a small amount for each coupon they cashed in each month.
A properly working affiliate marketing program is a business and marketing model that rewards both the merchant and the marketer. A merchant company supplies links and banners for an affiliate marketer to use to drive traffic to the merchant.
Consumers visit each website searching for information on a product or service. The affiliate marketer earns commission for each sale they generate for the merchant company. Many people use affiliate marketing as their primary source of income.
The Beginning of Affiliate Marketing
Links, links and more links. Nearly every website you visited had banner ads and links that led to one affiliate marketing program or another. As a successful business model, many people were trying their hand at affiliate marketing.
Message forums, online communities and blogs became mediums for products sold through affiliate marketing. Merchant companies quickly realized the impact the Internet had on sales. Online communities are the ultimate in word-of-mouth advertising.
Online communities often cater to moms or dads looking to save a few dollars here or there on products they buy every day. They visit their online friends to ask about the best type of shoes or clothing for their child. Word-of-mouth or hand, as the case may be, is still the best form of advertising.
Mixing Affiliate Programs and Article Marketing
Nearly 80 percent of consumers worldwide look online for information before making a purchase. That's about 80 out of 100 people who may click your affiliate link before placing an order with a trusted company.
How do you get your affiliate link in front of that many people? It's simple. Write articles that share valuable information about the products or services you promote.
Distribute your articles to as many online publishers as possible. Most publishers will not allow affiliate links within the body of the article but you may link to anywhere in your author resource box. Don't get your account banned by trying to sneak affiliate links into the body of an article.
Create the Perfect Author Resource Box
People remember the first and last things they read. That isn't something marketers made up, it's scientific fact. Start your article out with a bang and create an author resource box that really gets attention.
Your author resource box is located at the very end of each article you publish. It acts as a last chance to make a sales pitch or otherwise direct traffic to your website. Consumers who read your article should feel compelled to click the link in your author resource box.
Start your author resource box with a link to the product or service discussed in the article. Make it easy for readers to become customers. Link directly to the product discussed in the article if possible.
Most publishers allow up to three links in the author resource box. Make the most of those links by linking to the product, the merchant and your own personal website for more information. Your landing page must be neat and informative if you expect to keep the reader's attention long enough to convert them into a customer.
by: Ken Vogt
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