Most people start out by thinking that being an affiliate marketer is a piece of cake: sitting in front of your computer for a while, checking your stats and… well, that would pretty much be it according to most folks.
In a way, they’re actually right. There are a handful of marketers out there who have decided that they no longer want to hustle, that they want to take it easy and limit themselves to simply keeping their current projects alive. Sure, that involves work as well but still, we could say that these people are “living the live”.
But Can You Do That?
Probably, but definitely not right from the beginning! The problem is that the affiliate marketers who have decided to take it easy are a minority and that getting there was anything but a walk in the park.
Most (probably all) of the people who are now “living the life” have started out as workaholics, there’s just no other way. Learning the ropes, banging your head against the wall, making mistakes: it’s all a part of the game! Some people quit, others keep on hustling. The world can sometimes be a painfully simple place, there are winners and there are losers.
Adapt or Give Up
Unfortunately, nobody really cares if you think that life’s hard. The world is what it is, the Web is what it is. There are lots of life-changing opportunities out there and it’s ultimately your responsibility to make things happen. Ask any successful (online or offline) business owner out there, you simply have to suck it up and hustle when you’re starting out.
After one of your businesses (maybe a site, maybe a campaign, maybe several campaigns) is pretty much on autopilot, then maybe (just maybe) you can afford to take it easy for a while and reap the rewards of your hard work. After the (short) celebration though, it’s back to hustling if you want to stay on top.
If making lots of money online were as easy as most people think it is, everyone would be doing it. Why work 9 to 5 if you can make 10x more money just like that? Here’s the thing: yes, there are countless “harder” careers out there but this doesn’t mean that anyone and his dog can make it as an affiliate marketer. In fact, most people fail miserably because they’re not willing to keep at it when things get tough. Adapt or give up, what will it be?
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All of us want a piece of the action and that’s exactly why there’s an insane amount of competition when it comes to traffic, especially sources which have been proven to work. Let’s assume that you’re a beginner who wants some traffic: where do you go? In most cases, the answer is AdWords, YSM and/or AdCenter. Maybe Facebook, it depends on which websites, forums or blogs you have been reading.
But what about “Obscure” Traffic Sources?
Most people don’t have a huge budget at their disposal, so they’re not really willing to venture into the unknown. Second tier traffic sources may or may not be worth it, there’s just no way of knowing for sure until you test.
If you get it right, congratulations: you’ve just discovered a great traffic source where there isn’t a lot of competition. If your test campaigns end up being flops, too bad: learn a few lessons, analyze the data you’ve practically paid for and move on if you think that the traffic source in question doesn’t deserve a second chance.
Is Sticking with Established Traffic Sources the Smart Thing to Do?
There really is no “right or wrong” answer to this question, it depends. On the one hand, at least you know that you’re dealing with a legitimate company but on the other hand, you’ll have to compete with a lot of other marketers for a slice of the pie.
Let’s analyze AdWords Search as an example. If you’re an affiliate marketer and want to target extremely competitive terms, the chances of succeeding are slim to none. Why? Simply because you’ll be competing with networks and/or merchants directly!
And what’s the difference between you and them? The payout! You’re practically competing with people who make more money for each lead or sale they generate and, especially if the merchants are involved, it’s anything but a fair fight. Unless your approach is the best thing since sliced bread, you’re better of focusing on less competitive keywords, on the Content Network or even on other traffic sources.
So, What Will It Be?
If you’re just starting out, it makes sense to check out a few established traffic sources while learning the ropes. After you become more experienced and have a bigger budget at your disposal, you can take things to the next level.
Most people end up failing because they want things to happen yesterday. Be reasonable and don’t rush into anything because you’d probably end up losing your shirt. Seriously, just don’t.
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Taking a Loss Again and Again… and Again?
It’s no secret that as an affiliate marketer, you need to risk money to make money. There’s just no other way. Test and see what sticks, that’s pretty much all there is to it concept-wise.
In theory, you could even sell used toothpicks if you spend lots of time and money in order to find people who would actually be willing to buy something like that. And since we’re looking at 10 figures when it comes to the number of Internet users, you’re bound to find at least one demographic that converts.
But Is Every Campaign Worth It?
Of course not! Yes, you could even sell used toothpicks if you were to test and test until you find people who are willing to buy them but we’re talking about so few potential customers and so much hassle that it just wouldn’t be worth it.
The time required to turn such a campaign into something profitable is always better spent working on campaigns with potential which can actually be scaled. But if you’re interested in becoming a professional time waster sure, go for it.
What If I’m Not Bill Gates?
Leaving campaigns which don’t have any potential whatsoever aside, there are lots which do have potential but are extremely “tricky”. In other words, campaigns which are definitely scalable but which practically devour a small budget just like that.
Just how much can you afford to pay for data? If you get carried away, there’s always the risk of being stuck with an “almost there” campaign and a depleted budget. You need to be realistic, painfully realistic. Your financial situation is what it is, end of story. Once you have more money to work with, you can afford to play the game on a different level but for now, focus on making the most out of your current situation.
Where Do You Draw the Line?
As an affiliate marketer, you need to know when to say no and move on. Analyze the data you have at your disposal and rationally determine if tweaking the campaign is worth it or not.
Let the numbers do all of the talking and based on your financial situation, decide what the best approach is. Don’t let your ego get the best of you and don’t take the “test, test and test some more ‘till something sticks” concept too far. Seriously, don’t!
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Putting Together a Solid Search Keyword List
When selecting keywords for your search campaign, many of the concepts of SEO keyword selection apply. The biggest difference is that, since we are paying for each click, we need keywords that are very specific and have a high probability of converting.
Develop a Preliminary List
The first step in developing your list is to find a large number of potential keywords that we can peel down through research and testing. Using the Google Keyword Tool as described in the SEO article, enter a few generic terms which would apply to the demographic you want to target with your offer. The Google Keyword Tool will give you a number of keyword ideas to work with.
Scout the Competition
There are two main pieces of information you need to gather during your competition research stage. The first piece is which keywords are currently being used for the offer you are promoting. If the offer is not currently widespread, this may not be important. If, however, you are promoting an offer which many others are promoting, you will want to know which keywords they use.
When checking out others promoting the same offer, you will want to take note of which position your competition is paying for. This will of course affect bid price and should play a part in your total analysis of which keywords you bid on and at what price. The second major type of reconnaissance is the competition for keywords you are interested in using. If the competition is not promoting your offer for a given keyword, this could be an opportunity for you if you think the keyword could be successful. You also want to know the types of offers being promoted for a given keyword. If the offers are similar, this is a good sign as it shows you may be targeting the correct audience. You need to be careful of keywords with heavy competition as the bid price may be
too high for you to bid on that keyword.
Keyword Elite and Google Keyword Tool
As with evaluating keywords in the SEO article, you should perform an analysis of competition vs.
searches. Using the Google Keyword Tool, green bars will show you the number of searches on a
keyword in a given month, as well as the competition for that keyword. Always compare searches to competition level – a word with high searches and low competition offers an opportunity to get your ad shown for a low bid price. Of course, you must always mind how well the keyword is targeted to your audience as I will explore later in this article.
Keyword Elite is a paid tool which offers more detailed research on keywords. I would suggest using a paid tool such as Keyword Elite if you are serious about putting together professional keyword lists. Keyword Elite will show you exact search numbers and competition levels, providing you with much more detailed research. Of course, Google’s free tool still provides enough information to develop a strong keyword list.
Less is More
You DO NOT need an enormous keyword list to be profitable with search marketing. Instead, you need a list of quality words targeted to your audience. It all breaks down to a science – you need keywords that have a higher conversion rate (producing more revenue) than what you spend bidding on the keywords.
A good strategy is to develop a number of small keyword lists with separate sub IDs so that you can track the success. Pay attention to each keyword clickâ€through ratio, as this shows attractive keywords, but you also need to use sub IDs to know how well your keywords are converting. By creating a number of small lists with separate sub IDs, you can easily track how well your keywords are doing, and delete those which are not profitable.
Targeted Keywords
When selecting keywords, always think about the audience you want to target. Think about the
demographic of the users clicking on an ad displayed from each keyword you bid on. Are there multiple reasons why a user would search for that keyword? Would users searching for that keyword be interested in the offer you are promoting?
Focus on keywords that are very specific, as opposed to generic, broad keywords. Broad keywords may show your ad, but will probably not target your audience well. If the broad keywords don’t convert on your offer, you will end up spending a lot of money and making very little. Pick specific keywords and track their conversion rates. Delete keywords which aren’t producing.
Keyword List Mistakes
1. Broad or popular keywords which are not targeted to the audience you know will convert
2. Not researching the competition
3. Targeting keywords with very few searches
4. Failing to test your keyword list and update as necessary
Test, Monitor, ReTest
Using sub IDs, you should always be monitoring the click through ratios and conversion rates. By
breaking down your keyword lists into small groups with sub IDs, you can track performance and make modifications just as you should with your landing page. After you test and monitor, you can delete keywords that are not paying off, and reâ€test to check performance. Competition and audience taste is always evolving, so testing and modifying is essential to keeping your keyword list profitable.
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Earn Money by Blogging
Although there is a lot of money to be made in search marketing, blogging affords another great
opportunity to earn money. Blogging is great because it does not require as much time as a website, yet can still capitalize on all three of the advertising models.
Step #1 – Pick a Niche
The first step in becoming a profitable blogger is to determine a niche that you feel comfortable
blogging about. There are three ways you can go in regards to making a decision about the niche of your blog. One method would be to choose a topic you are very familiar with and maintain some type of expertise in. Obviously, it’s easy to write about what you know. Another method to choose a topic would be to pick a topic that has high paying keywords and offers. A final method you can use to pick a topic would be to create a blog based on what is popular. Using Google Trends, at trends.google.com, you can see some of the most popular searches in the Google search engine.
If you go with the first method, you most likely will not need much additional research, as you are an expert on the topic. With the other two methods, it is important that you perform indepth research.
Research is extremely important because you will not keep many readers coming back to your blog if your content is just BS – quality content is the key to generating profits from your blog.
What to write about?
As mentioned previously, content is the most important thing to being a successful blogger. Sumner Redstone, a media mogul, says that content is king in the entertainment industry.
Don’t think on a high level about a topic. Instead, take your niche and peel down to the deep questions people interested in that topic would care about. Controversial topics are always a good way to draw back visitors.
Step #2 – How to Get Readers
Bringing readers to your blog is done in much the same way as luring visitors to your website. Search Engine Optimization is the first and foremost thing you should keep on your mind.
Pick a domain name keeping your SEO tactics in mind. Once you have your domain, you will probably want to install a blog script. We recommend using Wordpress. Wordpress is easy to install and has a number of plugins to use later on as you become better and better at blogging.
Some bloggers attempt to make a small amount of money with a large number of blogs. The reason is that using advanced methods, such as content scrappers, you can automate blog posts across a number of different blogs. Instead, we suggest building up one blog to be a big money maker. The reason for this is that you will learn the whole process of being a profitable blogger by building up one strong, profitable blog. Once you learn all the concepts first hand, you can then experiment with creating many more blogs later.
Step #3 – Make Money
Once you start bringing in visitors to your blog, you will want to focus some of your effort on monetizing the traffic. You can do this by using a variety of advertising methods, including CPA, CPC, and CPM ad models. CPA offers are especially useful if you can find a tactful way to promote a product in one of your blog posts. CPC and CPM ads are good to use on the side of your blog to capitalize on the traffic you bring to your blog.
It’s all about building connections with your readers. If you can build a relationship of trust, readers will return again and again to read your blog. Additionally, trust makes it much easier to sell some of your CPA offers.
A final pinnacle to making money with blogging is to gain so much trust and respect that web site
owners ask you to review their website on your blog. Often, web site owners will pay enormous sums of money to bloggers for a few paragraphs reviewing their website. Keep to the basics – quality content and gain the respect and trust of those who read your blog, and you will see a large revenue stream through blogging.
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