What is Affiliate Marketing, how do you do it, and what does it take? Take cauti

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What is Affiliate Marketing, how do you do it, and what does it take? Take caution when starting Affiliate Marketing. Take caution when deciding what training to use, and the personal qualities you required to do Affiliate Marketing.

So, you want to be an Affiliate Marketer. Well, if you meet the personal qualities you have chosen well. First, let us be sure what Affiliate Marketing is. An affiliate is the meat in the sandwich between the buyer and the seller. It is through Affiliate Marketing that the seller/vendor is able to extend their advertising campaign to reach a far wider potential customer base. To do this the Affiliate Marketer is going to create a small website where they will advertise a single product that belongs to the vender. Visitors to your site read your copy, and if they like what they read about the product you are advertising. They will click on a link, which will take them to the vendor's site, where they can read more information and purchase the item. And, through the technical cleverness of the link between the Affiliate Marketer and the vender, the vender knows which Affiliate Marketer attracted the visitor who became a customer. In this way the vender is able to pay the affiliate, you, a commission (usually a percentage of the value of the customer's purchase).

Easy isn't it? Well, when it works it is easy. But, when it doesn't work, then it's hard. Let me explain. Setting up a website and a link is a straight forward technical procedure. But, creating a website that sells is a lot more difficult, and it is NOT a straight forward technical anything. It requires an understanding of how shoppers think, and what attracts them, and what turns them from potential customers into buying customers. This is the very essence of Affiliate marketing. A lot has been written on this subject and I suggest you read a good selection of it before leaping in. I could offer a reading list here, but I'm not going to because I have not read all there is to read on this subject on the internet. It is better if you use the search engines and find the sources yourself, it will hold you in good stead for the future. A word of warning; do read a variety of material on all the aspects of Affiliate Marketing. Much of what you will eventually do on the internet will be subjective. One article, blog, or eBook, may sound very authoritative and be beautifully written, and be perfectly valid, but at the end of the day it may all boil down to that person's opinion on that subject. A little while later you could read an equally valid piece that in many ways contradicts the first piece. In the beginning read as much as you can. Save a copy of those items you think are good, and gradually you will build an understanding of the subject of Affiliate Marketing.

Beware of jumping into training for the first few weeks, until you have some idea of what you know and what you need to know. And, if you are thinking about using training, try to find out EXACTLY what you get for your money. You can waste a lot of money buying training. I know, I have. I think the first question you should ask yourself is; is this really Affiliate Marketing training, or is it just information dressed up to look like training? Try to have a look at it. If it is Affiliate Marketing training, here are some further questions you may like to ask: Is it worth all the money you are about to spend? How is the bulk of the training delivered? Does this style of delivery suit your learning style? (I prefer to be doing things or watching things being done on video, do you?) When they talk about video they sometimes mean - they put some writing on the screen and then talk about the subject. In my mind this is not video this is audio (my worst form of learning). How much does the training cost? Does it involve a monthly subscription? If it does, be sure to keep your initial receipt safe. This may be just an email recipt, but it has the order number and other vital information on it. If you fail to keep your receipt you may have difficulty if you decide to stop the training at any time. How many hours of telephone tuition you get? How does the support system work? How long will you have to wait for a reply to your questions? And, very importantly, if a website comes with the training - where is it being hosted? How much does the hosting cost? Is hosting paid monthly or yearly? And, there are many more questions you should perhaps ask. There are no definitive answers to some of the questions you may wish to ask, but ask them anyway. How you are treated when you ask your questions could speak volumes for the training and support you may get.

A word about the personal qualities I mentioned at the top of this article. Running a business on the internet is quite different to doing the same job in an office. I could almost write a book on this subject, but here are a few things to consider:

There is no-one on hand to moan at if you are having a foul day.
There is no-one on hand to bounce ideas off.
In fact there is no-one to talk to all day, until the children come home from school!!???.
For some the toughest part is - there are no deadlines set by the boss, and there is no-one cracking the whip to make sure you meet your deadlines.
There is no water cooler or coffee machine chat area to share the gossip.
You will be amazed how quickly you become, 'not part of the old team'.


It may seem as though I'm trying to put you off the whole Affiliate Marketing thing, but nothing is further from the truth. I am just giving back to the internet what I have found from my experience. I wish I had been given this advice when I started, then perhaps I would have made fewer mistakes, and got myself going a whole lot faster.

Good luck for the future, and if you decide to go ahead with Affiliate Marketing, good luck with your new business.