subject: Why Starting Out In Affiliate Marketing is Low Cost But Never No Cost [print this page] Why Starting Out In Affiliate Marketing is Low Cost But Never No Cost
As the internet gains ever more general acceptance as a place to do business there is no shortage of affiliate products out there to promote.No matter what niche you happen to be in it is likely that you will be able to find several products to choose from. In fact as record numbers of product owners realise the enormous power of affiliate marketing your problem may be choosing which products to become an affiliate for.
Now while it is certainly true that affiliate marketing means you don't have to go to the expense of creating your own products, it is wrong to assume that it is a completely free method of setting up in business.While you will most likely be provided with sales and marketing materials for your affiliate product you willstill have to market and promote your website. There is also the domain name and hosting to fund and, naturally, this all costs money.
If you think as affiliate marketing as low-cost not no-cost' then you should be in the right mindset to get yourself set up in business.
As with any business you will need to spend some time getting the basics right and you might want to ask yourself the following questions right from the outset:
1. What products to I want to promote?
2. What commission will I be paid for each sale?
3. How much will each sale cost me?
4. How am I going to promote the products?
Take time to draw up a shortlist of products you want to promote and do some background research on the businesses behind them. The key point here is you only want to promote high-quality products from reputable businesses.A good test is to ask yourself: "If I was in the market for this type of product would I want to buy the item I am promoting?" Clearly if the answer is "no" then move on until you find a product you are happy with.
Work out how much commission you will be paid as an affiliate. If the buyer is offered an upsell at the time of purchase do you get commission on that too? If they pay a monthly fee do you get a percentage of this too?
Next work out how much it will cost you to actually generate your customers and, naturally, this number must be lower than the commission you get from each customer or you will never make any money as an affiliate! Factor in the costs of your monthly hosting fees, the advertising and promotions you do and any other regular expenses associated with your business.
At first it will be trial and error as you will have to work out and pay for a promotion strategy to gain your initial customers and your affiliate commissions may lag behind by two to three months.
Clearly the first few months will be the toughest but as long as you have a clearly focused strategy and stick to it then you should soon start to see results.
Also don't forget to ask the product owner for their help and guidance; they may even have a dedicated support desk just for their affiliates. Even if they don't have a support desk you may be surprised at just how eager to help many product owners are.
