Friday, November 13, 2009

7 Proven Steps For Successful Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is becoming more and more competitive day by day and everybody is adopting the same or similar strategy with little or no different results. No wonder, it is only a handful of the affiliates are succeeding online.

In this article, I am going to show you seven proven steps-- time tested strategies-- that you can adopt which will ensure your success in promoting other people's stuff ! online for maximum ROI.

1. Know The Product or Service You Are Promoting Well Enough

How can you engage in service or promoting affiliate products that you have little or no knowledge of? It will amaze you to know that this is the case with most affiliates, they only know so and so products are creating waves in the market and with little or no knowledge they went ahead to promote it.

If you really want to succeed in your affiliate marketing business then you must have adequate knowledge and information about the product you want to promote. This could mean that you have to purchase the product first, depending on if you could afford it. You must be committed to a continuous research of acquiring adequate ! knowledge of the product well ahead of other affiliate markete! rs. This will avail you valuable information on how to meet the needs of the customers better than them. If done properly you will always discover one fact that would shoot up your earnings.

2. Work From Your Strength

It is essential that you determine and find out from onset which of the promotional tools and strategies you find easier to use without stress or struggling. Do you find it easier to promote your affiliate products via email marketing rather than pay per click advertising? Then don't waste much of your time on PPC advertising rather, you should consolidate and strength your efforts on email marketing. Never try to be Jack of all trade and master of none. You will achieve more concentrating on your strength in email marketing rather than wasting your valuable time trying to improve upon your! weakness in PPC advertising.

3. Be Creative And Trust Your Intuition

"If you do what others are doing, you will get results others are getting"

To outperform other affiliates, you must dig into your subconscious mind for uncommon and undiluted ideas; take all advice from the so called marketing guru in good faith but run it side by side with what your inner voice is telling you about the issue/situation. If there is discrepancy then follow your intuition because often times, it would turn out to be the best idea.

Granted, your intuition could be wrong some times but that usually happens where you have not developed ! it to a level of accuracy. It thrives on constant use. Your su! bconscio us mind has the potential to set you apart from the crowd and shows you better ways of getting things done.

Whenever you face a difficult issue/situation, first search your knowledge base for any related experience on the issue/situation and note any possible solutions you generate in the process. Similarly, pass the information about the issue/situation to your subconscious to generate various ideas on it. However, you must ensure that your past experience or judgment does not come in at this time. Thereafter, identify and arrange ideas generated in terms of their priorities and when this is done, you now have different solutions to the issue/situation at hand, evaluate them and choose the best solution. If you actually take pains to follow this process, then you will have creatively solved the problem and probably come up with unique ideas that would shoot up your affiliate commissio! ns.

4. Your Main Goal should Be To Create Value

The only way you can have loyal and long time customers that are willing to buy from you anytime and that would always want to remain on your mailing list is to ensure that you promote only valuable products to them. You must give them value beyond their expectations for their money.

You should not just promote any product based on the commission you will receive, the first thing that should be paramount on your mind is that how would the product impact positively on the lives and businesses of your customers.

5. Know The Exact Needs Of Your Customers

How can you possible render quality and selfless services or product to customers when you do not know what exactly their needs are? It is your responsibility to find out what these needs are and strive to deliver them beyond their expectations, and far beyond what other affiliate marketers could possibly offer them.

What if you don't know? Then ask them! It is as simple as that. Conduct a survey, give them free gift in return for the information you want from them.

6. Handle Their Complaints Promptly

Feed back could come in form of complaints and you must ensure you attend to this promptly and leave the customers fully satisfied. Most of the affiliates out there are leaving this important service entire! ly to the merchants whose products they are promoting. But you must be different and as such should be able to go out of your usual way to satisfy the customer. But always remember that once satisfied customer is a lifetime customer and would probably bring new customers to you whom might not have patronized you in the first place. An unsatisfied customer tells the whole world how bad doing with you is. Beware!

7. Be In Constant Touch With Your Customers

When last did you mail that customer that bought a product through you? Are you one of those marketers that it is only when they have products to sell that they email people on their list? No wonder, they rarely have loyal and long time customers.

Ensure y! ou are in constant touch with your customers, surprise them on! ce in a while with free gifts they never expected. Give them fresh and valuable information on what they expect from you when they signed up with you.

By Taye Adamo

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