How To Profit From Affiliate Programs

Keegan Michaels The beauty of the Internet is you can own your own business and
earn good money without spending much time at it. You don't have
to mind the store or keep office hours. You don't even have to
be there to answer the phone.

I've known any number of successful Internet entrepreneurs who
got started earning profits online while still working demanding
full-time jobs. Kevin Needham of Memail.com became a major name
on the Web while still holding down his government job. The
media often tells the story of Jim Daniels who started his online
publishing empire while working as a middle-manager for a tech
firm.

Kevin Nunley was a DJ at an oldies station when his articles
started appearing on AOL. Superstar Internet biz person and tech
consultant Kate Schultz was a corporate manager when she
began posting her own ads online.

The moral of these stories is don't let your busy life stand in
the way of your desire to earn extra money or even a good living
online. The Internet will bend, twist, and adapt for you more
than any other kind of business.

But you have to go at it the right way or you will wind up
spending way more time and money than you intended. Here is a
simple plan to get you earning online while working at it just 10
to 20 minutes each day.

1. Choose your affiliate program wisely. You will want one main
program you can promote intensively. It is much easier to make
an impact with one good program you market heavily than spreading
yourself too thin over a dozen or more programs.

Right now affiliates report their biggest earners are information
products that tell affiliate program members and others how to
earn better profits. Ken Envoy's "Make Your Site Sell" course,
Corey Rudl's "Insider Secrets," and Jim Daniels' big "Make A
Living Online" are real winners in this category.

You can also do well working with a company that represents many
products and other affiliate programs. Check the many affiliate
products and services housed under the ClickBank.com umbrella.
QuinStreet.com features direct marketing services and ecommerce
technology.

2. Market to friends and associates using a simple signature
file in your email. This is dirt simple yet incredibly powerful.
Email messages have a very personal quality that sells. Your
email program will let you set this up.

Your sig file should start with a headline that tweaks the
reader's interest. Then follow with your web site address and
your autoresponder address (more on this later.) Here's what
your "sig" might look like.

------------
I made $500 with this program last month. Want
to know more? See http://DrNunley.com/affilates.htm
or write to mailto:bizguru@aweber.com
------------

3. Remember how I promised you would only have to work 10 to 20
minutes per day? The key to this is using the Internet's ability
to automate tasks.

No question about it, you will want a series of canned email
messages you can send to people who are interested. Use a
multiple autoresponder to do this (freeautobot.com is a good
one.) When someone emails your autoresponder address, they get
your messages, one each day.

Chances are the affiliate program offers sales letters you can
use. If not, get a professional writer to help you put together
three sales letters. A set of three often works as well as the
more common seven messages.

4. Finally, get your own web site. It is super easy to build a
nice page or two using the free systems at Tripod.com and
Homestead.com.

While most marketing on the Net is done with email, customers
expect you have a web site with additional information.
Rather than using the free site the affiliate program gives you,
create your own site. Your site can tell your story, help people
get to know you, tell why you support the affiliate product, then
link to your affiliate member site.

There are two reasons for this. Starting prospects with your own
site gives you a lot more power to sell. You can tell the story
of how you used the product and succeeded (very powerful!) and
display additional products or services that compliment your main
affiliate offer.

Most search engines won't list a canned affiliate site, but they
WILL list the original site you create. Search engines can be an
immense automated source of free visitors.

That's all it takes! Do these four things 10 to 20 minutes per
day and you will be well on your way to earning with affiliate
programs.

Recent stats show the average person spends 20 hours per week
online. If you get organized, there is no reason you can't use
at least a little of your weekly Internet time to work your own
small business.

About the Author

Keegan Michaels knows affiliate programs. He knows what to look
for and what pitfalls to avoid. Let him show you the roadmap to
affiliate profits. Contact him today at
mailto:keegan@affiliateteacher.com or 801-328-9006. Get Keegan's
helpful tips and Extra Money Newsletter FREE at
http://www.AffiliateTeacher.com