Valuable Content Brings Success

In the first part of this topic, Valuable Content is The #1 Key to Online Success, I presented you with information about creating value for your blog readers and monetizing your blog.  This lead to further details about affiliate marketing.  I gave some pretty well-defined guidelines on how to choose your programs or networks wisely.  If you haven’t read that post but are interested in this topic, I suggest you take a look at it to get up to speed — then come back here. In this post, I wanted to cover the appropriate way to market your chosen programs online.  Proper netiquette, if you will.

You are here because you want to take your business to the next level.  You want and need to make money.  Since we are going to be discussing a serious subject, your financial future, you will find the tone of this post is more serious than usual.  Since the reason for this post is for your benefit, not mine, it deserves your full attention please!

As Part 1 of this subject stated, there are many types of affiliate programs and ways to market them.  You won’t have this all figured out overnight.  This will take work, trial and error, and experience.  The only way to get all of that… is just do it!

Each of us has our own idea of what a successful affiliate is and what makes a successful marketing campaign.  You have to set goals and implement steps to reach them.  Whatever it is that you are seeking from affiliate marketing, just know that it will take work, diligence, and persistence.  Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve those goals?

Also, as stated in Part 1, you have to start researching viable proven affiliate programs.  Affiliate programs are how you will make a few bucks to at least cover your monthly expenses; if you do it right, it can mean some serious money.  Later, after you have mastered affiliate marketing, then we can move on to a serious MLM business where you will qualify and take on serious partners.  You have to crawl before you can  walk, much less run so let’s get you started on the path to monetizing your blog!

I have to be very clear on one point; you can have the BEST most FANTASTIC affiliate program in the history of affiliate programs but you won’t earn much if anything IF you have no market intelligence. What am I referring to?  How to actually market (get the word out) about this best, most fantastic program.  What do your ads look like?  What do they say? Where do you place them… or better yet, NOT place them?  Your images, your ads, your banners… all of this becomes content and an integral part of your blog.  HOW you do all of this will determine the results of your marketing campaign.  This type of marketing is an art form, a skill.  You have to develop it.  STAY FOCUSED.  Don’t just run all over the Internet looking for all the latest this, that or whatever.  Let me give you a big clue as to why this is a HUGE mistake!

If you are just starting out, I know EXACTLY how you feel.  I have been doing affiliate marketing over the years but now… NOW I really get it!  Today, you are overwhelmed, excited, enthusiastic… you are ready to take on the world!  I’m not here to let the air out of your balloon but I’m not doing you any favors if I don’t set you straight and prepare you.

As I write my blog posts, you will be able to get a feel for my style, the way I do things.  This may resonate with some of you, and turn others off.  That’s part of being in the public view… putting yourself out there.  What you will notice is I always lay everything out, put my cards on the table.  No games.  With this topic, I’m going to do the same.  There is a right way to market and a wrong way.

I want to do a mental exercise with you.  As an affiliate marketer, let’s pretend you invite me to connect with you.  Let’s see how this plays out.  Your interaction with me will most likely determine the future of our relationship!  I am going to give you a “real world” example of one type of trying to get a commitment or a sale.  Then, I’ll give its “virtual” or “online” counterpart.

Real World Example

A friend introduces us, we speak briefly on the phone, and you invite me to stop over for a

chat as I mentioned I’d be in your neighborhood on a certain day.  I drive over to your home for the first time. Then, I ring the doorbell.  You come to the door, and before you even say, “Hello” and invite me in, you shove your 10 year-old son in front of you and tell him, “Go ahead, Tommy.”  He then proceeds to tell me in an excited voice that he wants to go to summer camp and he’s selling submarine sandwiches.  They have a great package deal of 10 sandwiches for $25 bucks.  As I stand there in shock, he then adds, “I can make change!  How many do you want?”  This makes me really want to get to know you better… and buy the darn sub-sandwiches right?  WRONG!

Virtual World Example

Picture me on my laptop stopping by your blog for the first time.  I am there because you invited me to stop by for a visit.  It could have been by email, on Facebook, Twitter, or another social community.  After the page loads, the first thing I see is a pop-up ad square in the middle of the screen right up in my face!  Typically, it’s asking me to buy something or give out my contact info.  I close the annoying pop-up but instead of being able to concentrate on your video post, I see banners and flashing ads in your sidebar.  Let’s up the frustration factor even more…  I am able to finally focus on your video message and post.  It seems interesting to me.  I then click to read another post or go to another page.  As the page finishes loading, another pop-up appears!  Now, if you were a big-name in the network marketing industry, and I was already a big fan, I can put up with a message like that because I’ve already determined you have valuable information for me… I know you. If you are not a big industry leader, I’m gone… outta there!  I hope this is making sense to you.

We all hate popups!

In real life, is this how you treat your friends or people you want to work with or partner with?  It’s like poking me and insisting I give you something (money or personal information) when I don’t even know you!  Let alone, trust you enough to give you something that has value to me!  I don’t appreciate people asking me for something when they are a stranger to me  unless it is holiday time and you are a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army.  There are many others that agree with me.  Learn the proper techniques; learn to utilize the right tools… get your message out there the RIGHT way!

Used incorrectly, any marketing technique can be disaster.  Here, watch this video and see what I mean…

Now, personally, there are a few instances where popups are “okay.” What is so irritating about them is that they are usually unexpectedly forced on you (like in my example above).  This violates the correct  permission-based marketing model. Now, it’s an entirely different situation when the popup is actually requested by you.  Such as, when you desire more detail on a product or service, you may click on a link to present a popup that gives you a help file, or if you would like to view an image at a larger size.  Then, it’s by the viewer’s choice and not an annoying thing that they didn’t expect and didn’t want to view.  Life is stressful and when you are online trying to find answers or information, popups are definitely an unwanted annoying distraction.  I can’t stress this enough… FOCUS, study, learn… then market right!!!

Pick an affiliate program or network and really work it!  I see too many amateurs promoting tons of things instead of focusing on learning how to be an effective affiliate period. Find out everything that’s available about that program: where to promote it, where not to promote it, what types of ads, banners, etc. are working the best, etc.  Each program has tons of information the creator/advertiser has researched to give you the best possible start.  Call them up!  Ask all the questions you can think of!  Learn how to be an affiliate before signing up for every program on the planet!  Why increase your probability of failure?  And promoting too many things all over your blog is a sign you are desperately trying to make money!

Here’s a good place to remind you of something else that’s very important… while doing the research to become an effective, self-supportive affiliate, pay close attention to the entire process.  Isn’t your goal to someday create your own product? A promotional product? When you have thoroughly analyzed the affiliate process, you should be simultaneously educated on how to launch your own promotional product and set it up to have others to help you promote it… create your own affiliate program!

I know I was supposed to get into a review of various recommended affiliate programs but, I thought this information was much more important for you to learn than just posting a list of potential affiliate program winners.  You have to have a certain mindset and understanding before signing up for affiliate programs of any kind. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure.  I would rather teach by example.   For those that want to know what I recommend, I will give you more details on actual programs in my next post on this subject.

For now, I don’t do this very often, but I have a strong suggestion for you.   If you want to have better than low to average results as an affiliate, then you need to learn from the experts.  If you don’t, you are free to dabble at it, take a long time, and get mediocre results at best.  If you want to start making money sooner rather than later, get the book below.  Again, this is an art, a skill.  If you don’t know what you’re doing, then it’s better not to market at all until you do learn.  Investing in your affiliate marketing education is not a time to be cheap.  You won’t find the answers free online like you can with a lot of other subjects.  Most of what you’ll find won’t help you at all.  It’s junk and worthless trash.  Get the book, start studying, then… happy marketing!

____________________________________________________

I hope you enjoyed my post about learning to market online correctly, and how affiliate marketing in particular can be a great way to start earning a decent income from your online business!  Feel free to add yourself by joining my Google Friends or as a recent Twitter Visitor! If you have time, rate my blog on Alexa! Just click the banner in the sidebar!

To your prosperity,

To your prosperity and online success,

Related Posts:

• Newbie Tips To Start Your Own Empire
• Is Your Blog Boring?
• Making Money Online: Compensation Plans
• A Personal Message to Blogging Newbies
• Valuable Content is The #1 Key to Online Success: Part 1
• Do You Include Your Photo As A Business Owner? Reasons Why You Should.
• Is Utilizing Post Tags and Categories Beneficial to Page Ranking?
• A Little-Known Hole in Your Online Marketing Bucket.

27 Responses to “Valuable Content is The #1 Key to Online Success: Part 2”