Last week we introduced the concept of affiliate marketing as a viable option of making money in the age of technology. This internet-driven venture allows website owners to place advertising materials from affiliated online merchants onto their site.

When the affiliate website’s visitors are convinced to visit the merchant’s online store and make a purchase, then the affiliate is paid a commission. Affiliate marketing is simply word-of-mouth marketing gone high-tech.

Some of the largest corporations in the world use affiliate marketing to increase sales. These include Amazon.com, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Nike, Office Depot, Microsoft, Best Buy, Sony, Dell, and Coca Cola, just to name a few.

Affiliate marketing has also contributed to the development of many small companies by putting them in touch with millions of potential customers that they would otherwise not have been able to reach.

If you would like to participate in this worldwide phenomenon that paid over US$6 billion in commissions in 2006, here are some of the steps to get started as outlined in AffiliateMarketingInsight.com:

Getting Started

1.   Identify something that interests you, and focus on a specific area that you know a great deal about.
For example if you like go-kart racing and you have a special interest in designing go-karts, this would be your area of expertise. Or if your passion is teaching young children, then you would focus on early childhood education.

2.   Search for online merchants with products or services that are related to your interest.
Use search engines like Google.com to find affiliate merchants that provide goods and services in your area of interest. Look for affiliate networks and solution providers that rank merchants by products and compensation schemes, and join affiliate marketing forums that give good reviews and tips. You have to do your research before you commit to a programme.

3.   Create a website that will be able to promote the products that your have chosen.
If children’s books are your area of expertise, then your website’s name and content should reflect what you’re promoting. Search online for inexpensive, reputable design and hosting companies that can get you started for a small fee. If you already have a website, talk to your webmaster about how you can incorporate affiliate marketing on the site.

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Setting Realistic Expectations

While there are affiliate marketers that make tens of thousands of US$ monthly in this business, according to Vinnie Gallagher of AffiliateMarketingInsight.com, about 90 per cent of affiliates make less than US$100 per month. Gallagher explains that this business is not a get-rich-quick scheme. In order to be successful you have devote time to learn the winning techniques that profitable marketers use.

Here are some of Gallagher’s tips on how to increase your earning power:

1.   Learn how to build a good web site that can convert visitors into customers. You must have quality content on your site that builds their trust in you and encourages them to buy products that you recommend.

2. Use proper search engine optimization (SEO) to increase traffic to your site. As Gallagher explains, only about 1 out of 200 visitors will buy your products, so getting your site in the search engines will allow more people to find you.

3. Choose the right products that people want, and learn how to promote them effectively. Gallagher reveals that you will need to learn about building a mailing list, up-selling, and continuous promotion to your subscriber base.

To be successful in affiliate marketing, Gallagher stresses that you must have a strong desire to learn; be willing to invest time and effort in growing your business; have determination to push yourself even when your expected results are slow in coming; possess self-discipline to create and stick to a work schedule; and have a positive, optimistic attitude.

If you’re a technophobe and feel that you would be more likely to fly to the moon than learn all this high-tech stuff, don’t despair. I’m sure you know young people who are very familiar with the Internet, so how about working with them to explore the world of affiliate marketing? At the very least they should help you become more familiar with technology so that you’re not left behind in the 20th century.

Although we have focused on affiliate marketing on the Internet, this technique can be applied to any business. A company could significantly reduce its marketing costs by designing a simple reward system to utilise affiliates instead of only sales employees. It’s only a matter of time before Jamaican organizations pattern their international counterparts and aggressively pursue affiliate marketing strategies suited to our environment. In fact, there is already a large company here that has successfully integrated an affiliate system which has increased profits and put significant commission money into the pockets of its own customers.

So, embrace technology – take advantage of existing Internet programmes, and keep your eyes open for Jamaican-based affiliate marketing opportunities.