5 Ways To Increase Your Affiliate Checks

Some people who join an internet affiliate marketing program for the first time assume that it is an easy way to earn income. It is true that a lot of the work is done for you. Sourcing a great range of products, price structure, stock control are tasks that are already done for you. Most times the merchant will have ad copy, images and other sales items plus their own website, so that all you have to do is refer your traffic to their site.

Although these time consuming tasks may be done for you, there is still the most important activity of all. That is generating substantial sales. There are so many ways to generate traffic on the internet and not all of them succeed in bringing you sales. This topic is huge but here are five important issues that are often overlooked by inexperienced marketers.

1. Register your own domain on your own website.
If a merchant can only offer you a replica of their website and domain with your affiliate number added to the domain, then be prepared to lose sales from your hard earned traffic. Many savvy internet users will delete your affiliate number before they click. The merchant will then get the sale without knowing it was you who referred them. Your own domain name looks more professional and your own website is more flexible.

2. Know your affiliate products.
When you become an expert on the products, you can then give convincing reviews on your website or advertisements. This sincerity will shine through on everything you write about the products.

3. Write your own affiliate ads.
Most merchants will allow you to write your own ads for their products. If the merchant has a lot of affiliates then the ads they wrote are likely to be spread all over the internet. This means that jaded visitors who recognise the wording of a heading they have seen hundreds of times before, will overlook your ad. Be fresh and creative and visitors may take a look.

4. Participate in forums, discussion boards and chat rooms on topics related to your product.
Carefully read the rules of the site you are about to participate in. This will avoid you being banned or accused of spamming. The rules differ and if the site you are on disallows self promotion then respect that. If they allow a link to your site in your signature file, then you still get that valuable backlink for the search engines.

5. Create a free ezine or newsletter.
Your own ezine or newsletter can be used to inform your list of prospects about a certain subject. Being a genuine source of help and advice to your subscribers will set you apart from most other pushy newsletter publishers. Your subscribers are likely to consider your affiliate links more favourably. Also, don't forget to promote your ezine or newsletter on your website. The basic issues above can be overlooked by the newcomer who is bombarded with claims of wonderful products, provided by merchants who claim to be the best. All affiliate opportunities should be carefully considered with other similar programs, before choosing the one that suits their needs and style.

David Barker is the webmaster of www.DavesAffiliateMarketing.com Visit his website for information on launching six Internet Affiliate Marketing Programs and a free ebook. You may distribute this article unchanged as long as you include this resource box.