subject: Get the Facts about Affiliate Marketing From Mark Goodson [print this page] Get the Facts about Affiliate Marketing From Mark Goodson
A lot of people are under the misconception that just because it doesn't cost too much to get started with affiliate marketing it must be very easy to do. If you are new to the online world of marketing you will very soon learn that this may not be the case.Depending on your existing skill level and knowledge of computers and the Internet, you may need to learn some new skills or brush-up on some old ones. And in particular, if you have no prior know of marketing, that's an area that will need your utmost attention.Online marketing is very similar to offline marketing but the tools and medium used is very different. With offline marketing the consumer is able to hold the item in their hand and assess whether or not they want to buy it. With online marketing this is not possible, so the job of the online marketer requires a different way of thinking.Basically the Internet is all about the visuals. When surfing the Internet the consumer can only see an item that may interest them, it's up to the affiliate to make the consumer want to know more about the item. If the affiliate has done a good job, the consumer should click through the affiliate's special link to make the purchase, allowing the affiliate to earn a commission on that sale.To set up this type of interaction with the consumer the affiliate needs to know how to do certain things on the Internet, and some of these things do require money and skill. To most people these skills will be very new to them if they aren't familiar with the workings of the Internet.If you don't know how to set up a website, how to set up an autoresponder, how to get people to sign up for your autoresponder, etc you will need to learn (or perhaps pay someone to do these things for you).If you already know how to do these things, then great, you have a head start over someone who doesn't. But do you know how to bring traffic to your website? And are you targeting the correct type of traffic? There's no sense in sending a dieter to a chocolate website.Do you know how to blog, do you know how to write articles? Again, these are new areas of expertise that you will need to learn. You may be thinking "sure, I know how to post a message on a blog", or maybe "I can write a few words", but do you know how to install the blogging software and secure your blog? Do you know how to get your articles read by your target audience?As you can see there are many things that need to be considered before you take a flying leap into the big wide world of affiliate marketing. But if you are persistent and can get your head around all things virtual, you may just have what it takes to make it.
