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Go With Quality Over Quantity And Your Business Will Prosper
In the early days of developing my home business, I went for the numbers instead of focusing on targeting prospects. It took me a while to appreciate the importance of targeting (quality) instead of just going for the big numbers (quantity).
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Interviews with Well-Known Ezine Writers #1: - Bob Leduc
MS: Bob, how important have Ezine Articles been in achieving your success in online business?
BL: Very important! Most of what I learned 6 or 7 years ago about doing business on the Internet came from articles written by others...
Online Business, Where do I start?
BUSINESS. A big word. A big commitment. A big step.
Very quickly, we can round everything up about staring an online business in four very simple steps. Understand. Prepare. Do it. Sell it. There are no short cuts to working at home, let’s put...
Setting Out Bait Online
In 1995 I created and distributed a free document called Frequently Asked Questions about Freelance Writing, or the Freelance Writing FAQ. (http://www.yudkin.com/flfaq.htm) I've updated it several times since then and allowed anyone to post it at...
"The Power Of CGI Forms" (Part 2)
This is the second in a series of "How-to-do-it" articles for the beginner or pro online. It outlines the uses of CGI Forms, and why you need them now. In our previous article we discussed the power of using autoresponders to automate many of your...
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6 Tips For Affiliates - Choose Your Merchant Wisely
Copyright 2006 Peter Tarrida del Marmol
Affiliate marketing has become increasingly popular in recent
years. Affiliate programs offer merchants the opportunity to
employ vast armies of sales people who only get paid for the
results they achieve.
The rewards for affiliates are high also, and the skilled
affiliate marketer can earn many thousands of dollars a month.
This win-win situation has led to an explosion in the number of
affiliate programs that are available to the would-be marketer.
With this proliferation of opportunities has come many
questions; how do you go about choosing the right opportunity
for you? What qualities should you look for in a program and
which gives you a good chance of making a sustainable income?
Below are some tips that will help you to evaluate merchants and
their programs, and help you to avoid wasting time and money.
1. How Much Commission Does The Merchant Pay?
This may seem obvious, but it is very important that you know
how much you can expect to earn from a sale. There is no point
in spending time and money promoting a product that doesn't pay
well. You could end up spending more on marketing than you are
likely to make on sales. It is probably best to stick with
marketing products with a high commission value, unless you have
found a niche market where you can sell vast quantities of
product, and make substantial commissions on your volume of
sales.
2. How Much Traffic is the Merchant's Website Getting?
Try to discover the amount of traffic the merchant's website is
already receiving. Alexa.com could be a useful tool for doing
this research. If the website is ranked in the top 100,000, the
merchant is getting a good volume of traffic, and there may
already be too many affiliates. If it is ranked below 500,000 it
is either no good or it could just be a golden opportunity to
make some real money! Always research a merchant's product if
their website has a low traffic ranking. It may be a good idea
to buy the product yourself if you can afford to. Otherwise you
could do a search to find out if there are any adverse comments
about it on the internet. If all is well and the product is
good, you
may have found a gold mine!
3. How Often Are Commissions Paid?
Some merchants pay commissions every week; some once a month,
others only pay every quarter. It is important that you know how
often you can expect a pay check if you are going to have
financial control over your business. Do you have the financial
resources to continue to market a product if you have to wait a
long time before you get paid? It would also be wise to find out
the minimum commission that you have to earn before you get paid.
4. Does The Company Use Tracking Cookies?
Many customers do not buy on their first visit to a merchant's
website. It is important therefore that the merchant uses
cookies on their site, so that you get credit if the customer
returns and buys at a later date. Check out how long the cookies
last. The longer the cookies lasts; the better the chance of
getting paid!
5. Does The Merchant Pay On Subsequent Sales?
Some merchants will only pay commission on sales that come
through customers visiting their site via a direct link from
your site. They pay you nothing for any subsequent purchases
that the customer makes if they visit the merchants site
directly. It is important that you get paid no matter what route
the customer returns by if you are to build a sustainable
business.
6. What Promotional Resources Does The Merchant Offer?
Look at the type and quality of the promotional material that
they provide. Do they provide articles or content that you can
use to promote them on your site or free guides, special offers
or samples? If the promotional resources are good it is likely
that the merchant will provide good support for their affiliates.
Finding the right merchant can be a tricky business. The best
advice is to do your own research. Use the above questions as an
aid to finding a merchant that enables you to reach your
financial goals. You never know - You could strike gold!
About the author:
Peter Tarrida del Mármol is a Spanish online and offline
marketer. Get a FREE e-book about making business online EVERY
WEEK by subscribing to his newsletter:
http://www.auctionearnings.com
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