Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Amazon.com Affiliate Program: Is It Worth the Effort?

Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall

It seems like affiliate programs are all the rage these days. And why not? It is a good way to create an income stream with very little work. One such program is Amazon.com.

What Are Affiliate Programs?

In case you are a newbie in the world of affiliate marketing, here is a quick tutorial about the concept. Affiliate marketing basically involves selling products for others and earning a commission on those sales or sales leads.

There are many advantages to this model. First, you don’t have to house any inventory. The products are managed by the affiliate program owner, in this case Amazon.com. There is nothing for you to keep up with.

Second, you don’t even have to come up with tools to promote the products. The affiliate does that for you as well. They provide an affiliate’s toolbox filled with all sorts of goodies that help you to get started. You can use different codes on your site to embed pictures, text or both with your affiliate code so that it traces back to you when someone clicks on the links.

Third, you don’t have to monitor the clicks. All of that is done for you, by the affiliate owner. They compute your payment and send it to you.

So, what’s your responsibility? Successfully promote the product and drive traffic to your site so others will take advantage of the offers displayed there. But, that is a subject for another time.

What about Amazon.com?


Amazon is a pioneer in the affiliate marketing model. When you are growing a company it is often hard to also grow the advertising. There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Amazon have developed a strategy whereby others help to promote the products and services that they offer for a percentage of the commission on the sales.

It’s ingenious, actually. Now, someone else is working for you so you can concentrate on other business aspects.

With Amazon.com, you are backed by a brand that people trust. When you promote any of their products, potential customers already know that it is good quality so you don’t have to sell them on that. The products practically sell themselves.

But, before joining any affiliate program, even Amazon.com, read the fine print. Know about fee structures, payment schedules and what you are getting to help you be a successful affiliate. This will help you evaluate whether the program itself is worth the effort.

If you are looking for a constant income stream that gets better over time, then this one may work for you. Some are skeptical about the low starting commission rate. However, while it is low compared to other programs, you can grow that as quickly or as slowly as you want with increased sales each month.

Also, Amazon.com pays quarterly. You won’t see a check until the end of the first three months depending on when you sign up. So, it is not a quick bucks kind of program.

Is Amazon.com worth it? That depends on your needs and affiliate marketing goals.



About the Publisher: Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Affiliate Marketers: How to Increase Conversion

Publisher: Earl Williams
Shop-Now Mini Mall

Your conversion rate is perhaps the most important factor to improve if you want to create a successful affiliate marketing campaign. If you have a 2% conversion while your competitor only has a 1% conversion, it becomes very hard for them to compete.

How do you raise your conversion rates as an affiliate marketer?

==> Start by Getting More Targeted Traffic

Start by improving the quality of your traffic.

One easy way to do this is to narrow down your keywords. For example, if you're selling sports shoes, instead of bidding for keywords like "Nike shoes" try going for specific models like "Nike Sprint Runner 2011."

Also try cutting down on broad match or phrase match terms, and go for exact match terms instead.

The principles of getting more targeted traffic apply no matter what kind of traffic source you're using.

==> Use Keyword Pass-Through & Geotargeting

Let's say someone who lives in Boulder, Colorado typed in "Nike Shoes" and landed on your site. Which of these headlines would be more appealing?

"Buy Sports Shoes Online Today" or "Buy Nike Shoes Online, Delivered to Boulder in 48 Hours"?

Naturally, the latter is going to be more appealing.

Two quick ways to increase your conversion rate on anything you're promoting is to add keyword pass-through and geotargeting.

Keyword pass-through simply means passing the keyword someone typed in to get to your website to your landing page, and using it in the headline or body copy.

Geotargeting involves using the IP address of the browser to detect where they're located and then using that to increase conversions. There's a free script you can use from MaxMind.

==> Split Testing

Ultimately, the only way to really increase your conversions consistently is to split test on a regular basis.

If you have a small amount of traffic, start with basic A/B split tests that tackle large differences in your website.

If you have a profitable campaign that's getting significant amounts of traffic, try using multivariable testing to figure out the best possible combination of factors.

==> Starting an Email List

If you have a campaign that's profitable or breaks even on the front end, you might want to consider setting up an email list.

Setting up an email list will allow you to promote multiple affiliate offers to the same traffic source. Since you've already proven that you're able to get buyers to your landing page, you're likely leaving money on the table if you don't try to get them on a list.

These are a few proven tactics for increasing your conversions as an affiliate marketer. The most important habit you could get into is regularly trying out different ideas. Affiliate marketing is often just about trying out as many different things as possible until one sticks. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif


About the Publisher: Shop-Now Mini Mall is the place whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time online from a list of stores on our site. The consumer deals direct with the merchant for which we provide the store links. Our online shopping mall provides everything you need for shopping online.....