"Work Those Affiliate Programs and Make Some Cash!"

So you've joined your first affiliate/associate program
and slapped that big old banner on your site. All you
have to do now is sit back and wait for the bucks to
come rolling in. Not so fast there, Bucky...there's a
lot more to making money with affiliate programs than
that. If your best effort is going to be that banner,
don't plan on retiring any day soon.

As with everything else online and off, what you get out
of an activity is equal to the effort you put into it.
So if you want to make some serious cash with those programs
you're joining, you're going to need to promote them.
There are a variety of methods you can use. Here are a few
that I've used with success:

My first suggestion to you is to join only those programs that
relate to the theme of your website. Make sure they're a "good
fit" with your site and that they pay out "healthy" commissions.
A $2.00 bounty is hardly worth the work involved to earn it,
like:

Weaving the URL's throughout your site. Make sure you weave
the URL's throughout your site or devote whole pages to their
topic.Don't just use banners, use alternatives like text links
within your pages. Banners have become so saturated online
that a lot of folks tend to ignore them,not to mention the
extra weight they add to your pages.

Most programs you join will give you a variety of ads to
use in your promotion efforts, but for best results you
really should be creative and write some of your own.
All too often I see the same old advertisement repeated over
and over online until I want to scream. A little creativity
stressing the benefits of your product will take you a lot
farther then canned ads that 10,000 other affiliates are
using.

Make a habit of scanning discussion boards and look for any
opportunity to answer a question or give advice using your
affiliate link. At the least, make the link a part of your
signature line and use in your e-mail correspondence and
newsgroup postings.

If you publish your own ezine, make sure you keep a list
of text ads for all of the associate programs you participate
in and pick two or three to put in your newsletter every time
you publish. If you've purchased the product yourself, a
personal endorsement will pique your subscribers' interest
and motivate them to click through. Your subscribers trust
you, so don't recommend something you don't believe in.

Don't forget about placing your ads in other ezines that cater
to your target audience. There are plenty of inexpensive
newsletters just waiting for your ad copy. Say an ad cost
you 10.00, and from that ad you make three associate sales
that add up to $100.00. That's a pretty nice return on your
investment.

One trick that has worked well for me over the years is
placing my associate links in e-books that I've written.
Since the books are given away for free there's no telling
how many people will see those links and possibly make a
purchase. If your book is well written and popular you
could stand to make some decent revenue from the associate
programs that you've placed in it.

Associate programs really are a great way to make some
cash online, but a banner alone is not going to do it.
Start promoting your "special link" every chance you
get....and you'll be rolling in the dough in no time at
all.