If I Had to Start Over as an Affiliate Marketer…
I’ve often been asked the question “What would you do (differently) if you were starting your affiliate marketing business over from scratch today?”
In thinking about the answer, I realize that there isn’t much I’d change about my approach to doing business on the Internet, i.e. I would still seek out high-quality products to promote as an affiliate, write honest product reviews and build a subscriber list to enhance relationships with my site visitors.
Those age-old business strategies have proven over and over again to build trust and credibility with potential customers — which in turn increases conversion rates, sales and your bottom line.
As such, I would also continue to build sites around a specific topic filled with valuable content and an array of product options from which my visitors can choose, rather than a mini-site focused on a single product.
There also isn’t much I’d change about my approach to picking a niche.
I’d still choose to work with topics in which I’m truly interested that have large groups of people with obvious problems (large target markets) that can be solved by products available online through affiliate programs.
However, I’d likely avoid really broad or generic topic choices.
Instead of dating, I’d opt instead for a smaller niche within that market that serves a geographic region or caters to a specific group or ethnicity such as Russian women (mail order brides), black singles or disabled singles.
Although the reason for that is in small part due to increased competition and pay per click advertising prices, the main factor is that there are now so many more forums and social media sites catering to more narrowly focused topics – from which you can get free traffic.
Using social media marketing is one way my strategy would change markedly…
For instance, if my topic was German Shepherds, I’d find out where German Shepherd lovers hang out online and start building relationships with those people by leaving helpful tips and comments on related forums, blogs, groups and social networks. Each comment would be linked back to my site. To find those people I would add terms like “forums, groups, meetup, club” to my Google search for “German Shepherd”.
I would use Facebook and Twitter accounts to deliver my messages (blog posts, articles, product reviews)Â to a wider audience, using services such as TwitterFeed.
Based on my avid interest, I would likely have a supply of photographs to upload to a Flickr account specifically dedicated to the topic.
Each photo would be tagged with the term “German Shepherd” and relevant descriptors such as “puppy” or “training” and photo descriptions would also be linked to specific information on my site. Both tagging and linked descriptions are good methods to generate free traffic.
The other big difference between now and back when I started affiliate marketing in 1997 is website creation technology.
Site building is now SO much easier.
All my sites are currently Wordpress blogs and that’s what I’d choose to start any new site — the main reason for which is again the ability to generate free search engine traffic in a way that just wasn’t possible prior to blog technology.
With all the free traffic that can be generated through blogging and social media marketing, I would be much less likely to try and ‘jump-start’ the traffic flow with pay per click advertising. I would still use PPC to market the site, but would wait for initial traffic to access conversions and make modifications prior to investing in paid advertising.
Too, rather than hunt and pick through free themes, I’d buy a Wordpress theme to give the blog a professional look from the outset. Using a professional theme saves time. More importantly, those affiliate managers who might be reviewing your site prior to approving your affiliate application are going to have a much better first impression of your site. Of course, I’d also use stock photography outlets to improve the look of the site even more.
Lastly, I would be more amenable to buying a PLR (private label rights) article pack to build my core articles and outsourcing substantial rewrites of those articles. That way I’d have more time to concentrate on writing reviews for those products that are intended best to serve my customers’ needs.
In summary therefore, the biggest changes I would make if I was starting my affiliate business today would be to outsource design and writing tasks in order to spend more time on social media marketing in the pursuit of free traffic and enhanced relationships with potential customers.
Want to learn more about new affiliate marketing strategies? Click here to read about a famous Super affiliate who recently revised his own strategies in much the same fashion as discussed above. This will be of special interest to new affiliates who have not yet chosen a niche.
Want more info?
Rosalind Gardner is a Super Affiliate blogger, author, speaker, and Internet marketing consultant.
If you enjoyed this article and want to be notified the next time Rosalind writes something, subscribe to her RSS feed or the No-Hype, No-BS, No Spam NPT newsletter. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Thanks for visiting!
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Buying a Private Label Rights article pack sounds good to me. It can be used in blogs or a site for just some additional information. Also, buy a SEO service is “must to do” activity for they who want their site ranked well in major search engines.
Hi Rosalind, Thank you! This was one of the greatest blog post I have read in a really long time. I started myself in affiliate marketing last year. I am starting to build my list since last month and wish I would have started sooner! The information you provided here has been a huge help. Thanks again!
My pleasure.. and you should have no regrets about building your list at anytime. The fact that you got it started puts you ahead of the game already!
Best,
Ros
Hi Ros,
Your point re specific niche is well taken. Re your “dating” example, it
reminded me how there are sites strictly dedicated to bringing together
people who share green living philosophies. In other words, “dating” on it’s own these days is just so broad a subject.
How about “seasonal” niches? I personally know how that can be fantastic for awhile, and then it’s gone until it’s time for people to look for that item again. It can be a long stretch in between those times, so I think that is certainly worth re-thinking about when starting a site.
Hi Jane,
I like your thoughts about a seasonal niche and have often been tempted to do one — Christmas tree decorations for example.
However, I don’t think that a seasonal niche is the best idea for someone just starting out for exactly the reason that you mention — the revenue isn’t consistent.
I’d recommend choosing something that is always in demand and recommend that folks check out this article for big niche ideas…
http://www.netprofitstoday.com/blog/7-sins-niche-market-research/
Cheers,
Ros
Roz: I have a related question. If you were a new affiliate marketer in the United States, and you had a new blog, and hadn’t had time yet to establish a relationship, must less a relationship of trust, with your readers, how would you handle the new disclosure requirements the FTC will require as of 12/01/09?
This blog is my first, its only about two months old, its not even a quarter finished, and I still have a ton of work to do to it, but its already generating decent traffic, I’m getting on page 1 – 3 of search results on Google for various keyword searches, I’ve been increasing the number of vendors whose affiliate programs I have been accepted to, I’m improving the length of my visitor stays, I’m getting click throughs, I’ve even made a little bit of money in commissions, and I have lots of plans for leveraging the site once its a little more complete, but my success so far still feels tenuous, I’ve made a statement on my “about” page, but I fear that if I explicitly state that its an affiliate website, it will sabotage the site.
What would you do and tell your website visitors if you were in the shoes of newbie US affiliates like me?
Hi,
You’ve done a great job on your blog… keep up the good work.
Re my thoughts on the FTC guidelines for disclosure, you might want to read this:
http://www.netprofitstoday.com/blog/new-ftc-guidelines-for-bloggers/
In a nutshell, it’s best to be forthright and honest about your relationships and the fact that you earn money from your recommendations.
Too, it’s really unlikely that most of your site visitors care if you earn a commission or not — just that you are providing them with a service they might otherwise be unable to find online.
Best of success!
Cheers,
Ros
That is great stuff, thanks Rosalind. There are some basic but solid fundamental principles here and great tips.
Maybe add: “seeing the project through and sticking to your plan”
Jerry
Fantastic post Rosalind. It was great hearing your answers during Lynn Terry’s interview, but this post really sums things up nicely.
I love working in the fitness/weight loss niche and I love the competition. But it took me three years to stop trying to be everything to everyone and narrow it down to the people who I love to serve the most within the fitness niche and that’s busy work-at-home-moms and dads.
Narrowing down my niche and targeting a smaller audience has served my business very well and also made it a lot more fun.
I have yet to dip my toes into ppc and I am incredibly grateful for tools like Wordpress, Twitter, and Facebook. I love social media. It just feels right for me and my business.
Thanks for sharing your insights today. I love how you summarized your points at the end. That’s some really powerful advice.
Scott Tousignant
Hi Scott,
Thanks very much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
I especially appreciate your “I love the competition” comment. That’s the exactly the right attitude to have to become uber-successful in any business. Fearing the competition or worse, wanting to ‘kill’ your competitors (figuratively speaking) generates bad vibes and stress that makes the work all that much more difficult.
Too, your point about focusing on those whom you can help best is absolutely terrific!
Keep at it and if you can do it without PPC, more power to you!
Cheers,
Ros
Hi Ros,
As always your articles are very helpful. This one shows the importance of social media marketing in present times. I think a detailed social media marketing article is in order.
What would be your social media marketing plan? Can you elaborate in detail, please?
Hi Samson,
OK, one order up for “a detailed social media marketing article”. I’ll put that in my queue.
Cheers,
Ros
Roz – I know you love Wordpress, but I’m wondering what you think of such site builders as yola.com and weebly.com. I “get” all the functionality of WP, but for those of us who are truly techno-challenged, I’ve found Yola and Weebly offer a drop-dead simple way of gettin’-it-done. I’ve gone with the paid (although still almost free!) version of Weebly that removes their link at the bottom for a local entrepreneurs’ mastermind group I run. Even after taking your and Anik’s WP course, I found myself overwhelmed even with files, FTP, etc., etc. I had Weebly up and running in minutes! Since you understand the technology of it all, could you give us some insights as to pros and cons? (I have your SAH and it really opened my eyes as to what’s possible on the web…if I can just get past the technology!). Thanks…yours is info and advice I know I can trust, plus I really appreciate your accessibility.
Hi Sharon,
I’m not a Weebly expert by any stretch and until you mentioned it, had never heard of Yola.
I’m glad to hear that your experience with the former has been great, but I will continue to recommend Wordpress for a few reasons.
I must use what I promote and I use Wordpress for all my sites.
Wordpress is completely free to install and use.
Most big web hosting companies make one-step (or ultra-quick) Wordpress installations available to their customers.
Wordpress is always undergoing improvements.
Unlike Weebly, there are no design and formatting restrictions.
There’s no end to the widgets that are being created for Wordpress. You imagine it, it will soon be built.
In addition to it’s own instructional documentation and support forums, wordpress users offer expert advice on thousands of blogs so you can always find an answer to your questions or a solution to your problem.
I think that the bottom line is that you should continue to use what works for you and I’m glad that you’ve found that product.
Cheers,
Ros
Thanks for this. I am currently reading your first book and am struggling with a niche. My passion is spas – I think they offer so much for women and relaxation. My problem is I don’t know what else goes with it (like how you describe in your book – running-shoes=pedometer-running shorts-nike, etc) I don’t know what else correlates with spas.
I am also looking into weddings, because so much goes into that and it’s easier: church-bridesmaids-dresses-rings, etc) but I still have to research and see how many people are doing this (It might not be worth it if the market is already saturated)
Look forward to receiving this tips – they’re great!
Caroline
Hi there Ros,
Just like in the Super Affiliate Handbook, this article comunicates youth and vitality and reflects the maturity of knowing how to work an affiliate marketing business. You are a blessing to this industry and yes…Wordpress ROCKS!
Sincerely,
Kazooli
Thanks so much Kazooli – you are very kind. ‘Youth’ indeed… I’m about to hit the big 5-0 pretty quickly here – so it’s nice to hear that word.
Best,
Ros
Do you think it is harder now to start in affiliate marketing from scratch? I have started some websites, but they barely get any organic traffic despite unique content and inbound links.
Hi Ros,
Thank you for sharing this post.
I like your point on being honest when doing the internet business. There are so many scams that are on the internet and having a reputation on being honest when doing business will helps to differentiate the person from the competitors.
You do have a very good and informative blogs. Looking forward to your next blog post
Zack
Hi Zack,
Thanks kindly. Always happy to help spread the word about a better, more sustainable approach to doing business online.
Cheers,
Ros
Valuable thoughts and advices. I read your topic with great interest.
Hi Ros
I work as a Financial Planner and have a twitter account etc. I am looking to develop an affiliate based site, however what I don’t really want is my name in Google for non-financial planning related subjects. Prospective clients do Google my name and my personal Google image is ’strong’.
So, the question: Is it ok to use a pen name? I know Eben Pagan and others have gone down this route, what do you think?
Thanks
Ray
UK
Hi Ray,
Using a pen name is absolutely fine in that case. I (obviously) can’t tell you who they are, but I know many internet marketers who use pen names to protect their offline business and other interests.
You might be interested in this article:
http://www.netprofitstoday.com/blog/whats-in-a-pen-name-as-it-turns-out-maybe-a-lot/
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
Ros
Who are the top 50 most influential bloggers of 2009:
#42: Rosalind Gardner – NetProfitsToday.com
http://www.incomediary.com/50-most-influential-bloggers-of-2009/
Congrats!!
Hey Kit,
Thanks much for letting me know. Just blogged about it.
Cheers,
Ros
Hi Rossalind, thanks or all the great tips you posted here. I have mainly been an article writer for many years and have learned the SEO ropes on the way. I recently started my own blog to share what I have learned over the years and what I am still learning, so these tips are timely finds and I don’t mind retweeting them for you.
Ray,
In addition to what Roz suggested above, in order to maximize the chances of keeping your two “worlds” separate and apart, I would also recommend registering any domain names with privacy (that way if anyone does a WHOIS search on your domain name, or runs your address “123 British Street Name” through Google, it won’t come up. I can tell you from personal experience, at least two people have checked through WHOIS on my website’s ownership, and I myself have run searches on my address through Google and *some* (not all) of my domain names have shown up as a result.
So privacy on your domain registrations would be a good thing.
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
Hi Polprav,
Of course you may… and thanks kindly in advance!
Cheers,
Ros
Recently, there has been a great deal of inquiries by the
FTC against blogs and website developers
for not revealing their advertising profits, or potential
connections with advertising networks.
What are your ideas concerning how this could potentially effect
the blogging world?
Hi all wanted to introduce myself!! I look forward to being part of this comunity.
Ros…
I find myself every night coming back to your web site and reading your posts. You are really good. I’m sure your husband must say this. Anyway, I have been working hard trying to grasp the elements of good affiliate marketing for lots of reasons. I feel like the guy that can talk real big but doesn’t have much to really deliver.
Ros… I know you are coming out with your new affiliate blogger pro package. Should I wait for it or order your book and dig in now?
Thanks… SN from Seattle.