OK, forget everything you know about affiliate marketing. The simple truth is that the old rules no longer apply. You need to adapt and change or perish. 
You’ve been duped
You’ve been told it’s easy to get started as an affiliate. And it is – sort of. There’s no doubt it’s easier than starting your own business. But “easier” doesn’t mean “easy”.
The bad news…
To top it off you’ve been given false information. You’ve been told to find quality products. Next to pick your keywords carefully. Then to use keyword-based advertising to send visitors to the product. And just enjoy the commissions. But, it’s all wrong.
Forget keywords
There was a time when this worked. But keywords are too expensive now. It’s time for a paradigm shift.
A brand new formula
There is a solution to this problem. Here’s how to win at this game.
- Start using CPA marketing
- Instead of researching keywords, research demographics
- Do image ad marketing
Do CPA marketing instead of product promotion
CPA means Cost Per Action. It’s much better than promoting a product. Because you don’t have to get people to spend money. You get paid when they take an “action”. Entering their email into a form, for example. Which is much easier than getting them to buy something.
Instead of researching keywords, research demographics
You’re not even going to use keywords (explained below.) But demographics are highly important. Once you’ve picked the CPA offer to promote. Then go to a site like Quantcast.com. And find your target demographic.
Use image ads
Now you have your offer and your demographics. Display networks allow you to target demographics with your ads. And let images do the work. And there was no keyword research required. And you’ll save a fortune. Image ad clicks are much cheaper.
Summary
This is truly a quick cash concept. Because it’s free to get started in CPA. You can buy image ad clicks for a fraction of keyword ad clicks. You can use demographics to target your ideal prospect. And your commission is much easier to earn.
Think about this: What’s the biggest reason millions of people log onto the internet each day? The answer is simple – they’re looking for information. Google alone serves up 400 million searches per day! So what does this mean to you? This quest for information is an opportunity for you to fill a need. And if you do it right . . . to make some money along the way.
Info marketing 101
First, understand that this is the simplest kind of business there is. You take information and turn it into a digital product – like and ebook. And other people buy this product to get the info. Sounds simple enough, right?
How do you make it work?
You’ve got the basic concept – exchange info for money. However, to succeed you’ve got to provide information people want. So step one is to discover what kind of info people want. How can you find out what people want?
One very simple method is to do a little research. Head over to ask.com or Yahoo! answers and look at the questions being asked there. Your goal is to find a common problem. That people are having trouble solving. And provide the answer – in the form of an info product.
An encouraging word
If you’re concerned about information product development Think about this: An ebook is just a series of articles. So instead of sitting down to write the whole thing. Just try to write one or two articles a day. And once you have bunch of good ones, expand and embellish them and voila! You’ve got an ebook. 
Why info products? Interestingly enough, we’re back to the name of this article How about 7 reasons why:
1. Simplicity and ease
Once it’s built it runs pretty much on it’s own. Custom support is all but non-existent. So it’s nearly a 100% hands-free business. It’s like having an automated cash machine.
There’s no inventory. You don’t have to ship anything. Your business is 100% digital.
2. Repackaging
After you’ve created a few ebooks. You can just combine them into a more expensive product. It’s a simple matter to merge a few ebooks into one. Then you can sell it for a lot more. People will be willing to pay a lot more for one big ebook. Versus multiple smaller ones.
3. Private label right
You can grant other people resell rights to your own products. Resell rights are very hot right now, because most people simply don’t have the time, money and effort it takes to create their own products. Plus, you’re selling the same product . . . but for 3 times the price for the rights!
4. Leverage
It’s your content, so you can use it in as many different ways as you want. Take parts of your info product and turn it into a email training series. And build an email list that you can sell other products to.
5. More leverage
You can also take parts of your ebook and turn it into smaller eBooks. Then use these to generate leads for the main product. They can be free or low prices. And you’re creating targeted leads for your main product all along. Taking this technique to the max, you can let your affiliate give the reports away for you. Wait, did I say “affiliates”?
6. Affiliates
This one is huge. If you’ve got products you own. Other people can become your affiliates. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bunch of other people doing your marketing for you? You can’t do this unless you have your own product.
7. JVs
OK, this is by far the biggest reason why. Setting up joint ventures is the fastest way to gain success. Period. And this is probably the number one reason to create your own product. No products of your own = no way to do joint ventures.
Summary
If you can’t see the power of info product marketing, then you’re either crazy or not listening. 
With your own info product you can write your own ticket. Because you’re 100% in control. So, don’t waste any more time:
- Head over to Yahoo! answers
- Discover what questions are being asked
- Start providing information
Information product development really is that simple. Before you know it, you’ll have your own info product and use article marketing software to submit to article directories.
There is no doubt that web page audio significantly increases results. If you’re not using audio on your sites, you’re making a mistake. Audio increases opt-ins. It boosts sales, too. 
What makes it so effective?
It’s simple. Most of the web is cold and impersonal. Audio adds a human quality to your site. It also makes your site feel more real. Audio literally breathes life into your website. Which fascinates greater interaction from your visitors.
Here are the benefits
Adding audio increases your profits in two ways. First, you’ll make more sales. And second you’ll save money on the sales letter. Instead of having to pay a professional to write you a great sales letter. Simply record an audio message yourself. Your honest message about your product will sell better than a professional copywriter.
You’ll get more subscribers, too. Most people need to be led by the hand. So you just add a simple audio that says: Fill in your name and email and click submit. A simple message like this will increase your opt-in conversions by 305% or more!
Some web audio ideas
A welcome message on your homepage. Most people abandon a website within just a few seconds. This could be all it takes to get your visitor to decide to stay.
A guided tour. The same principle the we used to boost opt-ins applies. Use an audio message to lead your visitors through a process. Use this to lead them through the ordering process, as well.
Get testimonials for your services and products. Written testimonials are good. But an audio testimonial is better. It’s much hard to fake an audio testimonial. Audio adds a level of higher believability. And will definitely increase your results.
Power tip
Something you may not have thought of is using audio for the product itself. You’ll be able to produce audio products faster than any other kind. And your customers will be very happy with the product. The great thing about audio products is people can take them with them on the go. And you can get someone to transcribe them for very little money. This is the easiest way to “write” an eBook!
Is it hard to add audio?
It’s not hard at all. There are quite a few audio streaming software programs out there. You don’t actually have to do anything yourself. The program records and then converts the recording and generates an audio button. Just paste the code you copy from the software. There’s nothing to worry about.
In closing
Here’s a recap of the benefits. Setting up some web audio will do wonders for all your results. You’ll enjoy more customer sales. You’ll get more subscribers. And you can quickly produce products and website sales copy. You’ll be one of the few you use these strategies. So you’ll be one of the few reaping the rewards. Don’t be lazy! Add some audio today.
Yes affiliate marketing rocks, but it’s really hard to get started. The reason is because there is a lot of competition. In order to survive you have to beat your competition. There’s also a lot of information out there about how to do affiliate marketing, so it can be confusing. Here’s one trick that almost no one else is using.
Video marketing
You can’t deny that video is powerful. Video online is everywhere because people love it. About the only thing that keeps people’s attention anymore is video. So using it in your affiliate promotions is a no-brainer!
Here are a few ideas for creating affiliate videos:
- Record your testimonial
- Record a walk-through
- Record the order process
- Do a preview video
Testimonials
This is probably the easiest of all. Simply turn on your recorder and talk. Don’t worry about quality. Just seeing another real person endorsing a product helps your viewers decide to buy. In truth, mistakes and mess-ups just make it more believable. You can literally just press record and talk. If you don’t want to be in front of the camera use one of the other methods.
Record a walk-through
This is a great way to promote something without selling it. Make this more like a tutorial helping them use the product. And seeing it being used is a great way to make people want to buy it. As long as the product is good, the tutorial makes them want it. So, obviously, pick a good product to demo.
Record the order process
This technique is super powerful. Record yourself placing an order. Nothing inspires your viewers to buy like watching you do it. First of all it’s what’s called “social proof”. In general people are more likely to something they’ve seen other people do. This also makes your viewers trust you. People believe you’re giving them good advice if you take that advice yourself. And let’s not forget about good old fashioned envy. They see you getting the satisfaction of making the purchase and that makes them want it. You can add additional juice to this one with: If you want to see the inside, you’ll have to order it yourself.
Do a preview video
This is a great way to build value. In this case you record a screen share of the inside of the product. They get to see everything they’ll receive when they order. It also reduces the reservations of skeptics. Once they’ve seen the back-end, they know it’s real.
You can do this!
No special skills are required. There are simple software programs that make it easy to create videos. Really, the software does all the work. So you don’t have to worry about the technical part of this at all. Keep focused on the rewards:
- More sales Using videos in your affiliate marketing will dramatically increase your sales. Start using videos because people love them.
- Lower refund rates You’ll also have less of your commissions taken back. Thanks to you people know what’s inside before buying. So, very few of them will cancel their order.
- Beat your competition! Adding video is so simple. But only a very small percentage do it. This puts you out in front of the rest.
Take your affiliate promotions to a higher level and getting started with this now. The bottom line is that if you’re not using video, you’re losing money.
You need a list. That’s a given. It’s the one thing above all else that matters most. Because you can market to your list whenever you want. It’s like a renewable resource that allows you to make money on demand.
Now you now why. Here’s how:
Here’s what you need to build your list:
- The Squeeze Page
- Your Bribe
- The Thank You Page
Your Landing Page – The squeeze page is the first thing your visitor is going to see. This page is the one that asks them for their email. This page needs to look professional. And it needs to be simple to see how to opt in. You’ve also got to make a strong “close”.
Failure to include a great “call to action” will result in failure. This is a definitive message that tells your visitor what to do. Without this your opt-in rate will plummet. It’s strange, but if you don’t tell people what to do, they won’t do it.
You can take your opt-in page to the next level if you add a video to it. You only have a few second to get your visitors attention – video helps! Plus it give you a chance to tell them to opt in multiple times. And you can have the video just tell them to fill in your form after it’s done playing.
Now, don’t worry if you have no idea how to make videos. You can hire freelancers to do this for you for a few hundred dollars. There are also list building systems that give you squeeze page templates.
The Bribe – The next thing you need is an incentive to subscribe to your list. People need a good reason to part with their email address. Email privacy is very important to most people. So make your “bribe” a good one!
The only way to make this work is to provide real value. Then it becomes something people want to get from you. And something from which they can derive a benefit. This can be:
- An eBook
- Some useful software
- Videos
- A multi-part email series
You’ve got to create some great content. And make it both helpful and informative. And of course it has to be free. Bottom line is it’s got to be worth more to them than their email address.
If you’re worried about creating this content, don’t be. It’s super easy to hire someone to create it for you. Just give them a topic and they will write the content. One easy and effective bribe is a 5-part email training series. Each email will cost between $20 and $25. So, a great premium will cost you around $100 – $150.
Or again, you can find complete list building packages for sale online that include an email series. There are two important things about the email series. The first thing is that it delivers value to your subscribers. And second, it needs to make you money. The easiest way to do this is to market affiliate products in the emails. This is such a simple solution because you don’t have to create the product. And you can earn some commissions immediately from your emails.
The Opt-in Success Page – The last bit is the thank you page. After subscribing to your list, your visitor is redirected to this page. It’s a great idea to give them some valuable information right on the thank you page. Then they feel good about giving you their email address. It also helps to build the relationship. So when they get your email, they’re happy to hear from you.
This is another case where you can get a complete marketing package. You can also put the whole thing together on your own. You can either write the content pages on your own. Or have someone ghost write for you.
Final thoughts
It doesn’t matter if you do all of this yourself. Or pay a freelancer to write produce it all for you. Or go with a complete package. The important thing is that you build your own list starting now. Once you’ve got it built. You can basically write your own meal ticket.
