Secret #1: Affiliate Programs

I want to explain how I think about affiliate marketing, so it’ll help you plan how you’re going to attack your own affiliate marketing.

Major Product Launches

One affiliate marketing route is to get in on the major product launches. These normally convert very high and pay very high. Also, you get less refunds than with ClickBank for instance.

The only downside is waiting far what seems like FOREVER for payouts.

The way you get in on major product launches such as PPC Classroom and Traffic Secrets is you either do one of two things:

1) E-mail the marketer or office of the marketer and ask for the sign up page for the affiliate program. Make sure you say you have resources such as an e-mail list or website that gets regular traffic (if you do).

2) Type into Google “THE NAME OF THE PRODUCT + JV Blog.” Usually there is a blog created specifically for joint venture partner affiliates. You can sometimes get “in” on the action like this.

ClickBank

Forget about the low commissions you get from Amazon (4%) and other alike affiliate programs.

I believe you’re better off selling digital info products from ClickBank.com. They’re bigger and far more trusted. I’m sure you’ve already heard of them or used them before.

The merchants pay up to 75% commissions.

Instant Commission Affiliate Programs

You might also enjoy promoting products that pay directly to your PayPal account upon purchase. These are sometimes known as Instant Commission Affiliate Programs.

7 Dollar Offers has a lot of $7 offers to choose from using the $7 Secrets script. You simply put your PayPal e-mail address on the end of your affiliate link and get paid directly into your account, usually 100% commissions. The reason these programs exist is normally two-fold: the internet marketer is making higher sales from the one-time-offer upsell and he’s also growing a list of buyers at the same time.

Another similar route is by promoting products that use the Rapid Action Profits script. These are often higher priced and offer higher commissions, yet normally less percentage of commissions. As for products set up with RAP, I haven’t found a directory of sites like I have with $7 Secrets. You simply have to search for affiliate products on forums and in Google.

Here’s a thread started in Warrior Forum containing a lot of instant commissions affiliate programs with both the $7 Secrets Script and Rapid Action Profits: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/20805-instant-commission-affiliate-programs.html

Secret #2: Simple Plan For An Affiliate Marketing Business

The fastest way I know how to start making money affiliate marketing in the internet marketing niche is this. And this is also a way to build a real long-term affiliate marketing business:

1) You need something to give away, so write a simple 5 page report on a hot IM subject such as Traffic Generation or Affiliate Marketing. You could even simply create a list of affiliate programs in a PDF file if you want. You just want something of value to give away.

2) Write a squeeze page and give away the report on it in exchange for e-mail addresses.

3) Followup with e-mails to prospects pitching affiliate products.

Focus almost all your time and energy driving quality traffic to you squeeze page and building your list. First I would create a WSO at Warrior Forum and give away your report, then I would focus on other listbuilding strategies such as Article Marketing (5 or more articles per day submitted to ezinearticles.com). There are several other traffic strategies as well such as through joint venture deals, list rentals, and even PPC.

Secret #3: The Skeleton Key to Affiliate Commissions

Selling goods through affiliate programs is the first thing most of us do when we get into this game
(same here).

This section will help you actually make money as an affiliate right away. If you will avoid this #1
mistake and discover this one technique, then you’ll cut your learning curve like with a chain saw.
If you’re new to making money on the internet, then this is the most important message you will ever
read.

Here’s the thing.

This might have worked at the beginning of the internet, but it doesn’t now:

Don’t try to be like Amazon.com and hustle tons of products on one page.

This makes you sales:

You want the focus to be on only one affiliate product on one page. Here are the reason’s why…

The Russian Net Gun

Imagine the Russian military crafted you a special gun that shoots only a really large net. The net can capture up to 10,000 people at one time. When you’re targeting the people who are going to buy from your page, which 10,000 people will you shoot your net at?

The answer is: You shoot the net at 10,000 people who would be interested in one affiliate product. So you promote that one product. You don’t promote 30 products on one page and target a hodge podge of 10,000 people who would be interested in different products. You won’t get any sales this way and you’ll waste your efforts and money driving traffic.

The Psychological Trigger that Makes Sales

Believe it or not, there’s something psychological going on here.

● If you give a visitor one option (to buy or not to buy), then they will more likely make the decision to buy than the other situation.

● If you give a visitor several options (to buy or not to buy 30 items), then they will more likely not make a decision to buy.

This is because you’re forcing them to make a yes or no decision. Do I buy this product or not? And people don’t like to be in a situation where they have to make a decision (but that’s where you want them).

Promoting 30 items gets too complex. Your visitor’s psyche shuts down and he leaves your page.

When he finds something else to click on, he doesn’t have to face the pressure of making a decision.

“Greasing the Slide”

Famous copywriter John Carlton calls this “greasing the slide.” It’s where you write a sales message in a way that has no distractions for your prospect. You want to grease your sales message so that your prospect slides smoothly to the order button.

Internet people are click crazy. As soon as there’s something for your prospect to click on, he’ll click it. He wants to click things right away and he doesn’t want to be pressured into buying anything (and that’s not good for business).

Let’s apply this concept to hustling affiliate products.

Not only do you want to promote one item at a time… Let’s say that you have a review site where you
review affiliate products.

On a single item’s page, you don’t even want a navigation bar, no other links, no other products, nothing else that could divert the visitor away from making a yes or no decision for buying your product. Only a copywriter would tell you to do such a thing. But do it and find out it works.

Lay on the pressure. “You either buy this or not. You HAVE to make a yes or no decision. You can’t take the easy way out and click something else.” Don’t say this, but this is what your page says to your prospect.

This is the way the psyche works. Your prospect doesn’t want to think. He would much rather say,

“Nah, I’ll click here before I have to think about and consider what this guy is asking me to do. I’ll click here and take the easy way out.”

Your prospect doesn’t want the pressure of having to decide, but you want your prospect to have a lot of pressure and have to decide yes or no.

This is What You Do

● Promote one product at a time on one page. (You want your prospect to be pressured into making a yes or no decision with no other options.)

● With no distractions, not even a navigation bar or any links. (You want your prospect to be pressured into making a yes or no decision with no other options.)

● Drive a targeted audience to that page like with your Russian net gun. (You want to drive qualified prospects to that page.)

Food for Thought

Also use the same tactic for when driving prospects to an e-mail opt-in page. You’ll significantly increase your conversion rate.

Secret #4: Recurring Commission Affiliate Programs

One thing you’ll learn fast in this business (if you don’t already know) is that you have bad weeks, decent weeks, good weeks, and great weeks. Even your own customers “turn on you” too, if that makes sense.

They’re much like the friends you’ve had at different points throughout your life. One day your friendship is great, the next day they can’t stand you. In your case, even some customers go cold. They stop buying for whatever reason. And it’s usually unknown, NOT because of the quality of your products. Maybe they don’t have the money anymore, maybe they stopped with the subject all together.

What can you do? Well, you’ve probably noticed gobs of membership sites springing up. You make consistent money each month. The problem with membership sites, however, is that they normally take a lot of work to keep up with! Often you become a slave to your own business. That’s the opposite of why you probably got into internet marketing in the first place: freedom.

With recurring commission-based affiliate programs you don’t have to keep up with constant content creation. Instead you’re getting residual income while others are doing all the work for you. You simply drive traffic to those membership sites on your backend.

Good residual affiliate programs take some serious research to find. That’s why I’ve listed some of the best recurring commission affiliate programs in this section. Load up your backend with these and you could grow a residual, consistent affiliate income in the internet marketing arena. If you’re not in the IM niche, then you can go to the ClickBank Marketplace and search for membership sites specifically with recurring commissions.

Standing Start Profits Affiliate Program

Lee McIntyre’s Standing Start Profits Affiliate Program pays 50% recurring commissions. You pocket
50% of $19.95 monthly.

However, if you’re already a member of SSP, you get 90% commissions. It’s worth being part of the
membership program JUST for that purpose.

If you want to join the site then get 90% commissions for each sale, then go here. If you want the 50%
recurring commissions, then go to the ClickBank Marketplace and search for “Standing Start Profits.”

Affiliate Classroom Affiliate Program

Affiliate Classroom is one of the most well-known and highest converting recurring commission
affiliate programs on the net. Pays $10 per month to you as long as the customer sticks with the
membership.

They also have a nice big affiliate tool kit with banners, e-mails, ads, etc. It couldn’t be any easier
promoting and getting recurring commissions.

SiteSell’s Affiliate Program

SiteSell is another popular recurring commission affiliate program. For SiteSell, commissions recur
yearly.

There’s also a multi-level 5 tier affiliate program built in. Also known as a “pyramid scheme.” Sure
there’s a negative connotation attached to pyramid schemes, but they have been known to work IF you
can get passionate, hard working people beneath you on your team.