Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Program Mastery Learn How To Build Internet Capital Goods for Free

As I mention in almost all of my articles, 97% of Internet marketers never make a cent online. I mention this simple fact because it has a lot of power–it has the power to completely discourage people who are not succeeding, and it also has the power to encourage those same people who are failing to learn, so that they can succeed.

In this article, I will teach you exactly what it means to build Internet capital goods–and how it relates to entering that top 3%. When you finish reading this, you will have complete faith that you can succeed and you will understand exactly what it will take to do so.

So what are capital goods? You know that regular businesses purchase capital goods to increase production. You know that industrial businesses operate some of these capital goods to produce goods that they can then resell for profit. You know that capital goods can be land. They can be factories. They can be machinery. They can be people. . .

So how does this relate to marketing your affiliate program? It’s quite simple–in order to succeed, you must build a large pile of Internet capital goods and then use them to pull in customers and retain them.

Most affiliates do not understand this concept. They start out with a boilerplate gateway webpage–that everyone else who sells the same product also uses–and then they use that page in conjunction with paid advertisement and hope for success. In almost every single case, they never make more than a couple sales, give up after 3 months at the absolute most, and then move on to the next opportunity.

If you do a simple analysis of successful affiliate program marketers (which, for practical reasons, will be easiest if you do it through websites), you will find that they either a) have purchased Internet capital goods and advertisement with a lot of money or b) have an enormous amount of Internet capital goods. (You can test this yourself by checking the top listings in search engines for any keyword combination).

What does this mean for you? It means that you either a) are already rich and can purchase that land, factory, machinery, and workers immediately (website, product rights, advertisement, etc) or b) you need to start building these Internet capital goods or you are definitely going to fail within 3 months.

So how do you know what is and isn’t an Internet capital good? An Internet capital good is an item that, once you build or purchase it, will constantly add or create value for your business. This includes links, content, dynamic scripts, free tools that your targeted audience can use, and mailing lists that you can consistently offer your products to.

If you are not making an effort to build these Internet capital goods, you are the Internet equivalent of real life business that purchases frozen pizzas from the supermarket next door, heats them up in a microwave, and then tries to sell them. On top of that, your store has no napkins or condiments or tables or chairs or pizza boxes. Everyone must sit on and eat off of the floor.

Would you want to purchase pizza there? No, you would get it at the supermarket frozen at a cheaper price, or you would go next door, where they make it and then bake it in an oven, where you could sit down at a table in a chair.

Take the time to understand this point: If you want to succeed, you absolutely must either have money to buy your land, store, table, chairs, and oven–or you must build them yourself.

Fortunately for Internet marketers, you have a huge advantage over regular businesses–you can build all of these Internet capital goods; you do not need to pay for any of them.

You can build every Internet capital good I have mentioned above for no cost at all. And you will if you want to succeed on a limited budget. So setup your links. Make quotas; reach those quotas every week. Build content. Find legally reusable expert articles and add them to your website. Build pages that offer free tools to your customers. Use free advertising methods advertise this page as a useful stand-alone (which happens to be linked to your related website). Setup a free content ezine or marketing list that is related to your website. Register with free directories to get customers.

All of these Internet capital goods will not only draw customers to your business through a multitude of sources, but they will also retain customers that come to your website through free or paid advertisement by giving them the option to get free information or use free products.

As every marketing study has indicated, multiple impressions of a product increase a person’s chance of buying it–and multiple contacts with a salesperson increases the conversion rate. By retaining customers you will both increase the impression of your product and expose them to your sale copy, which will dramatically increase your conversion rates.

If you get nothing else out of this article, please remember this fact: the only way to successfully build and expand an Internet business is by building Internet capital goods and staying around until you have enough to constantly draw and retain customers. If you do not have the money to purchase these capital goods, start building them today for free or you will probably be ready to give up in about 3 months.

Copyright 2004 Isaiah Hull

About The Author

Isaiah Hull makes money online teaching other people to build successful Internet businesses: http://www.workathomerightnow.net/pluginprofitsite.html.

Email him personally at mailto:Houolol@aol.com to receive free, personal, step-by-step instructions to build a home business online for an investment of $0 to $300 monthly.

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Never Get Burnt by a Cycler Program Again!

A cycler or doubler that offers nothing of real value is likely a scam and for the most part is illegal. Check out what you are buying, and look at the cylcling or doubling as a bonus or rebate. Cyclers and Doublers will never be the main-stay of an honest persons income, but what is wrong with purchasing valuable products and in the long run having the purchase price of those products given back to you two or more times?

Many people, “The Gurus”, are advocating the get in early and pull out 100% when you first cycle. This can make you that one shot of relatively quick cash, but leaves the others who joined behind you waiting for their turn. Why not give everybody a chance to cycle over and over, after all it is the money from those who joined after you that was used to make you cycle in the first place. In short the advice that is so freely being given out is steal from your neighbor and get out before you get caught having to wait.

People need to stop this get in and get out strategy. Make purchases from doubler or cycler programs of products that you need and use anyway. Provided that you only buy products and services from cycler programs that you need or want you can never get burnt.

Cyclers that offer nothing of value and are in place simply for the cycling aspect all fail or stall in very short order. The more reputable cyclers that offer true products and services, very often at bargain prices, are being hurt by the cycle and get out aspect that is being taught everywhere.

News of a cycler launch spreads like wildfire, a whole bunch of those get in quick and get out people wait at the door to grab what they can and leave. Those that come in after line the pockets of the first comers and are left wondering what happened. With the reputable cyclers, given time, the fast cash grabbers are gone and cycle times do come back down.

If you would not buy the product being offered by the cycler or doubler then you should not make the purchase. Never be burnt again, make sure that any cycler or doubler program that you consider joining delivers a quality product for your purchase price and you will never loose a dime.

Written by

Bill Jarboe
I can be found at http://www.mjv-affiliate-programs.com

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Your “Must Have” Affiliate Check-List - Don’t Leave Home Without It

Apparently, life is like a box of chocolates. One reaches in, picks a chocolate, and has no idea what the contents are until one takes a bite. Unfortunately, I see too many people running their online business like this, and more specifically, their affiliate or associate online business. They pick a product with no idea of the contents and expect to simply go out and sell it.

Personally, I think it’s better to actually read the little card with all the chocolate flavors on prior to adding 200+ calories to my already significant daily count. And when picking someone else’s products to market, I think it probably prudent to perform a little due diligence before spending hard earned cash on extensive marketing efforts.

Maybe this is simply taking the “fun” out of running my business, but I must admit to being the type of person who only likes “nice” surprises - you know, like actually getting paid by the product owner for my efforts.

So, how does one pick companies and products to sell online and through more traditional advertising mediums?

Good question. Here is a comprehensive checklist of the things I do before hitting the “go” button on either my own marketing efforts or recommending the product to my readers.

1. Company Stability and Credibility.

• How long has the company been in business?
• Is it a registered legal entity in the state of operation?
• How long ago was it registered?
• How long has the website been registered?
• Does the registration have real people, addresses and telephone numbers?
• Are they PayPal verified?
• Do they have a merchant account and can accept credit cards?
• What is their status with the Better Business Bureau?

Here I am checking to see if the company is “real”, or just some “fly by night” operation that is in for the quick buck. Use the Internet to do some initial research, but always, always send emails and make some telephone calls. Ask the tough questions. If the company says it has been in business for 5 years but was only registered last Wednesday, I want to know they can adequately explain it. Just a quick note regarding Better Business Bureau, companies actually pay to register with them, so one should always bear in mind that there “may” be a bias. If there are complaints filed, it still may be okay, as long as the resolution was successful.

2. Owner(s) and Author(s).

• Can I verify that the owner actually exists?
• Can I get the owner on the telephone?
• If I search Google for the owners name and “scam” what do I see?
• How long has the owner been in this business and what did he do before?
• Is he an expert?
• How much money is he making in sales?

Here I am checking to see if the product owner (author in most internet cases with electronic products) is an expert in his/her own field and has a track record of success. If the company or products are brand new, but the owner is an established “expert”, then I usually feel comfortable given that my other criteria are met. Again, use the Internet to do your research and ask the company directly. Point to note - the Internet is full of people standing on their soapbox shouting about how this is good and that is bad. By all means read what they have to say, but be very wary about people hiding behind the anonymity of forums, blogs and other Internet sites. Most experts I know standup to be counted and never hide behind anonymous reviews.

3. Products.

• How long has the product been in the market?
• What problem does it solve?
• Will that problem be here this time tomorrow and this time next year?
• What do I estimate the market size to be?
• What is the competition doing?
• Can I verify the product testimonials?
• Is there a verifiable, iron clad, money back guarantee?
• What type of advertising do I see online and offline by other affiliates?
• How much does the product or service cost?
• How much will I have to spend on my marketing efforts to make a positive ROI?
• What is the estimated Google AdWords cost per click?
• Does the company have other, complimentary, products or services to one I will sell?
• What other types of products or services will the customers who by this product want in the future?
• Can I make a better product or service from what I already know I can research?
• How responsive is customer service should I have a problem?
• What marketing materials for affiliates and associates are provided for free?

Here, basically, I am looking for products and services created by the premier expert in their particular field, one who has made and is currently making millions of dollars with their offerings. Products that are “best of breed”. A company with products that have a high customer satisfaction rate and therefore a low return rate: Products that will be around and supported for the foreseeable future: Products that the customer will actually like and use.

Products that will make money!

Now, you have picked the company and picked the products you want to sell, how should you go about it?

The first thing to do is to actually purchase the product or use the service. I see this all time, people sign up to be an affiliate and have no idea what they are selling. Would you recommend a restaurant you have never eaten in? Would you tell your neighbor about that great new car without having taken a test drive? No, of course not, that would be just plain ridiculous. Yet, most affiliates do not use the product they are selling - maybe this is one reason why over 90% fail to make any money. Please, please do yourself a huge favor and buy it. This is why, for many, the iron clad, money back, guarantee is so important. In many cases you really do not know what you are getting until you actually buy the product. If you receive it and it is not what you expected and not something you want to pursue, simply return it and move on to another opportunity.

You have your product, you love it, it has value, you want to sell it as you know your customer will love it too - what should you do?

Market. Market. Market. There is only one way, you have to get the word out. Now, we come back to our due diligence. Does the company provide its affiliates with first class marketing materials and recommendations of where to use them? The answer to this better be a resounding “yes” or you are affiliating your self with the wrong company. This is not a marketing article but I will give you my list of top places to advertise: -

• Opportunity Magazines
• Mailing Postcards and fliers etc.
• Your Own Web Page or one provided to you as an Affiliate
• Google AdWords
• Email promotions (be very careful here - SPAM should never be sent)
• Ezine Articles
• Blogs

That’s about it. Get out there and succeed - immediately after you have done your due diligenceand don’t eat too many chocolates.

Mark Willett
mark@wahbreview.com

For Immediate Access to the Best Products and Free Marketing Tools - Including the Highest Converting AdWords Keywords and Cost-Per-Click settings, please go to http://mynetmarketingcenter.com/r/sub/WahbReview/ and sign-up for Free.

For All the Free Magazine Advertising You Can Handle Please Go To http://www.free-ad-secrets.com - Typical Earnings from this are $180,000 per Year.

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