Many who are new or exploring Internet Marketing as a business often get started with Amazon.com as an associate. It makes sense, for publishers who want to get setup quickly, as they have the best set of APIs, tools, and widgets to get started. It is a great way to start monetizing a website that already has traffic. My associates account was opened years ago by me, but was closed a few days ago by Amazon. Here’s what I’ve learned, and you should too.

Amazon Associates Shuts Down Account Keeps Money

First let me say, I am disappointed, but not bitter. If you are looking for anti-Amazon vitriol, or any flavor of vitriol that is just not what we do here. There are products we recommend, and products we don’t recommend, and then there are public service announcements. Consider this a public service announcement. However, I will offer them some free advice in a moment.

Amazon is a great example site, when working with marketing coaching clients who are looking to sell online. I will continue to use them for that as well as some online shopping.

So I logged into my Amazon Associates account, and was greeted with the following message:

Scouring the email address associated with the closed account, I found a message they sent a few days earlier indicating that I was in violation of the terms of the Amazon Associates agreement, and that “account has been closed and you will not receive further payment.”

The email from “Gary – Associates Account Specialist” also included a link to the Amazon associates agreement.

https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/associates/agreement

What Current or Potential Amazon Associates Should Do That I Did Not

Shore Up Weak Points in Your Model. It’s important to consider your business model carefully when starting an Internet marketing project or business. Many have lost their businesses overnight because they relied on one vendor as their sole revenue stream and then a change comes and the relationship is over.

Streams. It is important to have multiple streams of income. The stories of Amazon.com, Ebay, and Google AdSense accounts being banned and decimating home based businesses are heartbreaking an unnecessary.

Know the Issues. Amazon has been in the forefront as they respond to State Tax laws across the nation. Consider this conversation with Shawn Collins regarding successful affiliates being shut down overnight.

So what happened with me? I got lazy.

I didn’t properly study the Amazon associates agreement, nor keep up with the update to the agreement, most recent update being yesterday. Turns out, I was in violation. They closed account with no further payment. End of story.

I’m Not Alone

Doing some cursory research, it seems I’m not alone when it comes to having my account shut down. It has happened to many others, even to more notable marketers like Joel Comm.

What Now?

After finishing this post, I’m going to call Amazon, but I’m not expecting much. They don’t make it easy to reach them by phone (if you have a good number feel free to list it in the comments). It was only several hundred dollars, others have lost a lot more.

So it’s time to move on.

Advice for Amazon?

Some might argue Amazon is out for affiliates and really don’t want them to profit. I disagree. I think Amazon is like a lot of small businesses, having limited resources, and doing what they can to make a profit while scaring people into complying with their agreement by having a “no second chance” enforcement policy.

I’m also aware that this site is just one site. Whose operator is a regular guy from Ohio, managing an online business. Just a mere pittance to Amazon.

However, that said. I would remind Amazon what their associates are, small businesses. Regular people, like Jeff Bezos (ok, so he’s a Billionaire…).

Therefore consider changing their enforcement policy and offer a 10 day window for associates out of compliance to make adjustments to their sites. Better still, would be a phonecall, saying there is a compliance issue, requesting it be changed immediately, etc.

Why this is good for the industry. Amazon is the big kahuna. When government regulators think of affiliate marketing/e-commerce sites, they think of Amazon. With all the potential Internet tax legislation’s looming, it seems to me having a unified front (publishers and advertisers) is a key to victory.

Not only would this new policy be good for affiliates like me, but it would be good for Amazon, building goodwill in the affiliate community and stronger business relationships and alliances with associates.

Was this helpful? Useful? Please Facebook Like, Google +1 (at top), and Retweet this post.

What are your thoughts, feedback, experience, or opinions on this?  Chime in below.
Image credit: hans_van_rijnbrk

We aren’t doom an gloom here. After all the Internet is a world of opportunity for budding entrepreneurs and online marketers. Sometimes things happen outside of the marketing online world impacting the marketing online world. Such is the subject of today’s post. If you are an affiliate marketer in the United States, or considering becoming one, this is for you.

Successful Affiliates Out of Business Overnight

There is a trend that is gaining momentum that has the power to shut an affiliate marketer down overnight.

In this interview Shawn Collins, of Affiliate Summit, discusses the latest news on revenue hungry states, who are passing legislation that requires affiliates to either relocate, or shut down their businesses altogether.

Learn what the affected states are, and what Shawn says you can do to prevent it form happening in your state.

Expert Interview with Shawn Collins

Can’t see the video? Go here.

Summary of Items Discussed in the Video

Shawn Collins runs affiliate summit with Missy Ward, which they started up back in 2003. State governments are passing legislation to identify affiliates as a sales entities, and thereby classify that as a tax nexus, and thereby obligating them collect sales tax for any transactions that take place in that state.

IL, AR, NC, RI, have passed such laws. And it has resulted in no increase in revenue for states, essentially has resulted in unemployed affiliates as internet based companies like Amazon.com pull their affiliate program from those states.

Tim Storm of FatWallet.com moved Company of 55 Employees from Illinois to Wisconsin. Governor Walker said they would not pass a similar law there.

Companies have to leave the states where legislation has passed in order to stay in business.

More than just Amazon kicking out affiliates, hundreds of companies who have affiliates don’t want to pay sales tax, so they shut down affiliates in the affected states.

Now is the opportunity for affiliate marketers to get engaged in the community and organize in order to communicate with states why such tax legislation is bad for everyone.

Contact your congressman, contact local newspapers and publications.

States are calling this an “e-faireness” bill, without considering the adverse effects on businesses.

Neither Shawn or Travis are tax experts or legal professionals.

If your state is considering passing similar legislation, you might need to figure out how to run your business in the state you are in, move it to another state, or sell off the sites.

Walmart welcomes affiliates in Illinois, yet Shawn indicates they only have roughly 50 affiliates, Travis observed their affiliate program is currently hosted by LinkShare.

Leverage resources by organizing with other affiliates in your state.

Resources from the Video

• Visit www.MeetUp.com/affiliatesummit and join a local group to discuss this issue and connect with other affiliate marketers.
• http://blog.affiliatetip.com/?s=advertising+tax
• http://www.performancemarketingassociation.com
• http://www.cj.com/news/internet_tax.html

Image Credit: Randy Son Of Robert

A good affiliate program makes both parties happy to be together, like the two guys in this picture. That should be your goal. There was a question posted on LinkedIn*, and I thought I’d offer a more detailed answer here. It is both timely and important for those wanting to do online commerce effectively.  I’m sharing my experience primarily from being an affiliate (rather than the product creator, “merchant”, or affiliate manager), so it may take a different tone than you might be expecting. In this post I’ll share not only what is important for kicking a program off, but also what you need to do to keep it

How to Kickoff and Maintain a Successful Affiliate Program

So you have a product. Good work! You want to sell more of your product, so it’s time to think about having an affiliate program. Even better. But you aren’t satisfied with good, or even “better”. You want to be GREAT! Well I’m glad you are here, because like many things online, there is a strategy to launching affiliate program to make it successful.

1 – Don’t Manage it Yourself

This is especially true if you are just starting an affiliate program in your business.

What does it mean to self-manage an affiliate program? You (the merchant) are responsible for the technology (online software an services) used to track affiliate information, links, profile data, tax information, etc. You are also responsible to pay affiliates, process tax documents, etc.

Why not? This may not apply for every industry, but let me tell you from an affiliates perspective why it is important that your affiliate program is not self-managed.

• You are unproven. Even before the economic challenges, people do shady things, like not keeping their promises, and paying affiliates. Since MarketingProfessor.com launched in 2008, we’ve lost several thousand dollars in commissions because merchants couldn’t manage their business (cashflow), and affiliates suffered (no diniero, geld, greenbacks!). The common link? They managed it themselves.
• Don’t fuss with technology. If you self-manage your program, you also have to manage the software you purchased to track affiliate stats an information. Can be a huge time suck. More on this here and here.
• First things first. Because you don’t have to fuss with technology, you can focus on what matters, recruiting, developing relationships, and proving yourself with affiliates. If you wish to manage your program afterwards, do so once you have established a good track record.

Affiliate service sites to consider using:

Clickbank: This is the most reputable service, especially in the info product world. They take care of virtually everything when it comes to publishing their product on their service. They deal with all the technology, have an army of affiliates, and pay affiliates for you.

ShareASale: They make it easy to get up and running, with ok reporting tools.

Commission Junction: They are the more expensive option in terms of startup costs, but they have a great reputation, and a step up in reporting tools. They do require merchants make the payments, unlike Clickbank who takes care of that. They have a Quality Team responsible for finding both bum affiliates and bum merchants (who don’t pay).

2 – Be Aggressive

Recently I was asked by a hosting company to be an affiliate. They promised 5% commissions for the life of the customer. Huh? Why would I do that when I can easily get 20-30% for life with an existing hosting company that is already proven with affiliate marketers?  Would you?

Don’t come out with a 5% commission program if the market is paying 30%. In fact you’ll need to have incentives to attract top affiliates.

3 – Kickoff with Incentives

When starting your program. Fund new affiliates with $50 in their account! Tell them when they reach the payout threshold (of say $100) they get paid.

Have performance tiers. Reward affiliates with a bonus, or increased % who sell certain volumes.

Hold a contest. Affiliates have egos, they can work to your advantage. Offer prizes, incentives, and sent out a status of the front runners at regular intervals. This is a great way to build relationships and sales.

4 – Communicate with Affiliates Regularly

Call an affiliate who was a sale or two away from the next level in the performance tier and offer to pay them at that level. Yes, call them, as in a phone. This can do wonders for rapport building.

Deliver valuable email messages. Let them know what is going on in the industry, how you are responding to it, and what affiliates can do to take advantage, and sell more.

5 – Be Available – Support Affiliates

When communicating with affiliates let them know they can call you (most won’t) and give your cell number in the welcome emails and newsletters. Be proactive, and give them new tools that they are asking for (and even those they don’t ask for), and invite feedback of what can be done to help them succeed.

6 – Focus on Relationships

Money motivates some people, but it is often not the primary motivator. Find out what motivates them by building relationships with affiliates who are interested.

Hold a monthly call with top affiliates, invite a few to be on your company advisory board.

Not everyone will respond to this, but it is your opportunity to create an environment of partnership. It can give you great insights for future products and promotions.

7 – Pay On Time

So if you do manage your program, or the program you go with puts it on you to pay, or have funds available to draw from an escrow account… By all means. Pay. Accurately. And. On. Time.

Ok, so that wasn’t exactly a sentence, but hopefully you are getting the idea.

8 – Have an Offline Event That’s Invitation Only for Top Performers

This may not be something you can have within the first year of your program launch, but it is something you should have in mind for down the road. A goal. A milestone. These events can do wonders for relationships with affiliates (see point #6).

Bottom-line on Launching an Affiliate Program

Your reputation is the most valuable asset. Once it is tarnished with poor payment procedure, numbers that don’t add up, or broken promises, it is hard to reverse.

If you made a mistake, admit it, own it. Let affiliates know that you have a course of action to fix it, and then do so.

Building trust with affiliates can pay dividends for years to come, and not just monetarily.

Think long-term. Resist the pressure to launch an affiliate program before it’s time, at least until these items are in place.

*Thanks to Marina Arnaout for her question on LinkedIn.
Photo credits: juhansonin, randysofrobert, pinksherbert

Continuing our series on reviving your online business, today I’m going to talk about something that may turn off quite a few of you, what it lacks in flash, it makes up in importance. You see, some things in marketing are a science, others are an art. One of the benefits of online marketing is that nearly everything can be measured. In this post you learn the reason why you need to know your numbers, and a simple example from an affiliate promotion to understand what it will take to hit your revenue goals.

Know Your Numbers

Last time we talked about 8 Ideas for Online Businesses to Make More Money. However, there is an important step that should happen in advance of implementing any grandiose ideas with your online business. What I’m going to share is nothing new. May it serve as a reminder to take the time to determine how viable your idea might be.

Why Are You Promoting That?

Insert affiliate marketing, if you are going to promote a product as an affiliate, what will it take for the promotion to be profitable? How does it compare to other products you could promote?

To get clarity, it’s important to know your numbers.

This is something I’ve learned the hard way. Today, I don’t consider an affiliate marketing initiative without it.

5 Numbers to Consider:

1.)    Revenue Goal: how much money do you want to make per month with this affiliate promotion?

2.)    Commission: What is the commission that you earn for each sale you refer of the product?

3.)    Total sales needed: The amount of sales required to reach your revenue goal.

4.)    Conversion Rate: Does the offer convert into sales? Sometimes you can ask the product creator for this information, many will share it. However, if promoting larger brands, you may never get such information. Note: Conversion rate for your traffic may differ from the traffic they report on.

5.)    Visitors: with the above number you can determine how many visitors you need in order to convert a sale.

Note: this example doesn’t factor in the cost of traffic, if driving paid traffic, update your numbers accordingly.

Example

Goal: make $1000 a month with a product priced at $97 and a 50% commission.

Revenue Per Sale: 50% of $97 is $48.50 per sale.

Monthly Sales Needed: $48.50 into $1000 means I’ll need to make 21 sales per month to hit the $1000 mark.

Conversion: Assuming the sales letter converts at 1% (average, but hopefully it converts at a higher rate), you’ll need to send…

Traffic …100 visitors to the sales letter to get one sale.

Note: this number is highly flexible depending on the traffic source, how targeted the visitors are, and if visitors have been “pre-sold”.

Total Monthly Visitors Needed: Since 1 sale occurs every 100 visitors, to get 21 sales, you’ll need 2100 visitors (21 X 100).

This information may seem elementary, but for those who are new to online marketing or entrepreneurship this information can make all the difference. Another benefit of this specific model, is it gives you a traffic formula for your campaign.

Have a new project? Want to develop a product? Entering a new market? There are many things to consider before you move forward. Don’t overlook one of the most important, know your numbers.
Image Credit: rutlo

What The New FTC Guidelines Mean to Online Marketers

Note: I am not trained in the legal profession; therefore do not take this as legal advice.  If you have concerns regarding the specifics of the FTC updates, please contact your legal counsel.   I am in no way affiliated with the FTC, and do not, in any way, receive compensation reviewing the updated guidelines. :-)

The intent behind this update is protect consumers from the emotional euphoria accompanied with product endorsements people offer in the form of testimonials and paid promotion.  Promoters have to disclose upfront how they are affiliated with the product, if they receive compensation, and consumer testimonials must indicate whether results are “typical” and if not, what “typical” results a potential consumer should expect.

Very loose terms.

What Do the New FTC Guidelines Mean for Bloggers?

Essentially, if you are being paid or receive any compensation to blog about a specific product, the FTC wants you to disclose it.  In the world of social media, and connectedness, most successful bloggers who review products are already doing this.

The Problem with the FTCs Revised Guidelines

I’m in favor of these updates by the FTC, for the most part.  There are way too many scams in the online marketing world, and if the FTC is successful, it should bode well for independent and small business online marketers who are legit.  That said, my concern lies with the enforceability of these guidelines.  How will they enforce them, when the terms are a bit loose to say the least, and policing the net is such a challenge?  What makes for sufficient disclosure?  How will they decide who to go after?

What Is An Affiliate Blogger to Do?

Write excellent reviews.  Add value for your subscribers.  Be sure to disclose clearly your relationship with the product creator.  The truth is, this is good for business!  It builds both credibility and trust with those in your market.

What Say You? Do the new guidelines, spook you, put a smile on your face, or are you in different altogether?  Chime in below.

*Image from the FTC website

Affiliate marketing is one of the best places to start for newbie’s who want to learn Internet marketing.  Why?  Because it helps hone key skills necessary for any online business.  Getting Traffic. Affiliate marketers don’t have to deal with creating a product, updating the product, supporting the product, etc.  they only have to promote the product, and in all the promotion a web visitor buys, the affiliate get’s paid.  Well, maybe.  In this post you’ll read about the 3 questions newbie’s often don’t ask when it comes to getting started with their affiliate marketing.  This post is no means complete, in fact, it is a starting point, and I’m hopeful to hear what you think as well.

3 Questions Every Newbie Affiliate Marketer Must Ask

As exciting as it might sound to start, there are some important questions to consider for those diving into affiliate marketing.  I’d like to share a few here, and get your collective input as well.

Important Note: A moment for definitions here.  In my observations, there are really two type of affiliates.

• Transparent Affiliates- Those who post on blogs, maybe have an email list and freely identify themselves, and are known by the subscriber or web visitor who eventually clicks their link.
• Hidden Affiliates- Those who use PPC (sending directly to offers through their link), Junk sites, Anonymous blogs and other means to drive traffic through their links.

For purposes of this post, we will consider this for transparent affiliates (after all we are living in the age of social marketing), though the questions could be applied to hidden affiliates as well.

What You are Promoting?

Of course you need to consider what you are promoting.  Is this a product you have experience with?  If so how much?  Did you experience real value ad as a part of using the product (or the information contained therein).  This information can really help you get behind the product with real world results, and share them with your readers.

Example: I took the time to go through an entire course on YouTube marketing a while back, and wanted to quantify the results of implementing some of the things that I learned.  I compiled the results in a comprehensive review here so that subscribers and visitors would understand why I thought it was a good investment (296% higher opt-in rates from YouTube traffic was pretty cool).

I probably went a little overboard, because I looked at the results over an extended period of time (months).  I wanted to be sure that it delivered, and that the review had credibility with readers.

Who is Behind What You Are Promoting?

It is also important to consider who is behind the product you are going to share with folks.  Is it someone you know, is it someone who has put out good products in the passed, and have a proven track record?  As Joel Comm mentioned in his recent post if they are someone reputable – great, however, if they are someone new with a great idea, but never put a product in the market, be very careful.

Example: I was intrigued by a product Brad Callen put out not too long ago called PPC Webspy.  He’s been around for quite some time, and put out a lot of great products over the years.  However, this one was one I did not care for, and I shared about it here.  It’s never all “roses”, and your audience knows it.  If you invest in reviewing a dud product, let people know, don’t slam the person (by all accounts Brad Callen is a stand up guy), keep it real with your audience.

Where Will Payment Come From?

This also ties into the answer from the previous question.  Usually someone who is concerned about their reputation, and has a decent track record…pays their bills but not always.

Getting Paid: This is one many don’t think about and can be burned.  In fact, I’m not sure if it is the global economy, or the fact that Internet Marketing industry has experienced a deluge of product launches (many of which I chose not to promote), but I’m currently in a situation with one of the most reputable companies in internet marketing who cannot pay their affiliates.

This is a real issue, and is a risk of not going through a third party.  If you are using the publishers own affiliate management software, you are taking a risk, that their software works, and that they will pay as agreed.  If they don’t pay you as agreed, your business takes a hit.

The great thing about using 3rd party affiliate networks is that they are the keeper of the funds, and have interest in satisfying all three components of the transaction (customer-affiliate-product creator).  You can learn more in this post.

Your Turn: Enough already (from me), what do you think?  What are some questions you wished you’d asked when you started affiliate marketing?  Or if you are a newbie, what other questions do you have about getting started with affiliate marketing?  Chime in below…

*Image Credits: kevincollins, pinksherbert, and solyoung

What do you do when a best of breed stats tracking tool for affiliate marketers comes on the market?  You get excited about it.  What do you do when they come out with a compelling promotion?  You see if there is any reasons not to add such a tool to your arsenal.

StatsJunky Celebrates with Unheard of Promotion

Last month, posted here was a Review of StatsJunky affiliate stats tracking software for affiliate marketers (but don’t buy through the link there, go here).  The folks at StatsJunky made a very special offer for MarketingProfessor.com readers and subscribers.

Today, through Thursday at midnight EST, StatsJunky is having a 3 day Birthday Bash, and the are making Lifetime Memberships available for a one time fee of $297.  This software is normally available at $699 per year.

As a recap, the software allows customers to:

• Configure all their affiliate and PPC accounts in one central location
• Update stats on a hourly basis
• Identify profitable keywords in your PPC campaigns
• Calculate near real-time profit and loss
• Securely from your PC

You can see the full StatsJunky Review here.

If you know you’ve needed a software package like this for a while, or been on the fence with StatsJunky, I strongly encourage you take a look at this birthday celebration promo.

Chime In Below: StatsJunky user, or considering becoming one? Feel free to share your experience or comments in the comment forms below.

With the dynamics of the current global economy, many are researching to see if there are legitimate ways to make money online.  One of the business models that attracts a lot of interest is affiliate marketing.  Affiliate marketing, while not devoid of challenge, says promote other peoples products online and sit back while the cash rolls in.  Website visitors will hopefully click through your special product link (aka affiliate link), giving you credit (and commission) for the sale.  There are probably millions of products available to promote online.  This post will highlight 5 sources you can use to find products to promote.

Affiliate Marketing- 5 Sources to Find Products

While there are quite a few affiliate marketing tips, posts, articles, and snippets online, all of that is for naught if you don’t have products to promote, or reputable places to go to find said products.  If you are to invest in affiliate marketing, the last thing you want to have to deal with is not getting paid, it is important to go with a reputable service.  Let’s open the discussion with these 5 suggested sources.

5 Product Sources:

Commission Junction

Site: www.cj.com
This is the big daddy of affiliate sites, home to many major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Home Depot.   At the time of writing this, they have 30 primary categories, with 4-5 subcategories each.  Side note: this is a great place to research niches, they have already broken it out for you when you look at the category page. Beyond that they have great training (CJU) and affiliate marketing tips for their members.

Clickbank

Site: www.clickbank.com
Clickbank is the largest supplier of digital information products. Clickbank products are 100% affiliate marketing oriented. You can pick from among thousands of products, some paying as much as 75% commission per sale.  Quick point: great thing about information products, is that they are not commoditized, and they can be what is called evergreen products.  This means they will have value for some time in the future, and are not negatively impacted with a new product or technology that would make them obsolete.

LinkShare

Site: www.LinkShare.com
Also having a consumer products focus similar to Commission Junction.  Their interface isn’t as intuitive, but they have a great range of products to choose from with 21 main categories.

Paydotcom

Site: www.PayDotcom.com
This is Mike Filsaime’s site, and is a direct competitor/alternative to Clickbank.  It features information and software products geared toward marketers.  What I like about this site, is that is was created by someone who is an affiliate marketer, and understands affiliate marketing.  The site features reflect that.

ShareASale

Site: www.ShareaSale.com

Not sure if this is as large as Commission Junction, but similar functionality.  It seems many of the products I promote through this 3rd party are outside of North America.  They have great tools for affiliate as a well.

Your Favorite Product

Of course the best place to go is often the products that you have have a great experience with.  Consider a product that you found valuable, look on the product website, and see if they have an affiliate program.  After sign-up and getting your affiliate link, consider writing about your experience with the product yourself and share it with others on your site, business blog, or via email (if you have a list).

There are a lot of services available to find products that you can promote.  Just make sure what you promote is either something you believe in, complimentary to your market, or both.  While it may seem that the best products to promote would be your favorite ones, that really depends on what market you are in, and how you market.

Let’s Talk: These are just 5 sources in a world of many.  Do you have a preferred service?  What is your opinion of any of the above services?  Engage in the boxes below.

*Image credits to HeidiHo

Welcome to the new world of Web 2.0 Affiliate Marketing where Web 2.0 technology is making it more powerful than ever.  Online reviews are fast becoming among the most credible ways to promote a product. Web 2.0 is gaining tremendous ground when it comes to the credibility of products? What can affiliate marketers do to harness the power of Web 2.0?

Affiliate Marketing… Web 2.0 and the Naked Truth about Transparency

Important Point: Web 2.0 + Slight of Hand Affiliate Marketing = Problems.

In a Web 2.0 world personal information is pervasive, and with the instant communication that is available a bad name travels much faster than a good one.  Transparency is key to success in Web 2.0, and with affiliate marketing it is no different.  If you use these or other affiliate strategies with combined trickery or manipulation, people won’t take to it very kindly, and it has the potential to damage your reputation online.  That said, if done correctly, Affiliate marketing is more powerful in a Web 2.0 world.

Affiliate Marketing Tip 1: Get on Myspace.com

The creators of Myspace never envisioned it taking off the way it has. Today, while now overshadowed by the more elegant Facebook, there over 100 million users promoting every product under the sun. When you create a Myspace account, you put up your profile and use your affiliate links within it discuss the product as you would with a good friend. When someone clicks the link, it’s up to the merchant to finish the sale.

Affiliate Marketing Tip 2: Get on Facebook.com

Facebook is another powerful social networking site for affiliate marketers. When you sign up for a Facebook account, you’ll be able to create a stronger web presence for yourself and/or your company. This begins the process of social proof. This means that people will begin to look to you as an authority on your topic. By using Facebook, you’ll be able to write about and recommend your various affiliate marketing products.

Affiliate Marketing Tip 3: Twitter.com

Twitter is one of the best (and most often misunderstood) social networking applications. Essentially, you sign up and then “follow” people, and as they provide status updates, you learn what they’re doing. Twitter operates by text messaging. You type in not more than 140 characters and your followers see your update. As an affiliate marketer, you could type something like, “just bought the Canon X40 Z from canonxyz.com” and this could be your affiliate link with a re-direct.  However, some find that too brash. Instead you could say “just bought the Canon X40 Z from canonxyz.com, here’s my experience thus far — anyone else considering it, have a look.” and include a link to your written review with video, etc.

Affiliate Marketing Tip 4: Blogger.com

Blogging is one of, if not the, most important action you can take as an affiliate marketer. With a blog you can write about what’s going on in your life, your industry, your products, the world, etc. and you simply add your affiliate program links within the context of your blog. Blogger.com is Google’s service for those wishing to setup a blog quickly and get started.

Over the long haul, this has the potential for to generate a lot of traffic, and is far better than trying to run a Pay Per Click campaign that has thousands of competitors. Pay Per Click can get instant traffic, but why pay for traffic when you can get it from the search engines for much less?! Remember, the search engines are content hungry, and blogging is one of the best ways you can add relevant, and unique content to your site, while building a following as an affiliate marketer.

Enter the Conversation: Of course, this is not a comprehensive list of techniques, rather an overview of how they might be used. How are you leveraging Web 2.0 websites and technologies to engage your affiliate marketing?  As always, leave your comments here on the blog.

*Image credits to Luis Villa