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My opinion on affiliate marketing differs from that of many, but I have had fairly good success marketing affiliate products when I choose to do so. As the old saying goes, "there's more than one way to skin a cat."
The biggest problem you face as an affiliate marketer is competition from all those other folks selling the same affiliate product. How do you position your link ahead of there link?
There are a few ways to do it, but I think the most effective way of doing this is to develop a rapport with a targeted niche audience. You can do this through a blog, a forum site, whatever.
Once you have established some level of credibility with your audience, they will listen to what you say. That does not mean they will buy the products you pitch, but it does mean that they will at least listen to you when you do pitch a product.
I like to add a bonus or some other incentive to not only buy that product, but to buy it from me. For example, if I were recommending article submission software I would probably offer an audio recording or manual on article marketing. Explain that they need to use your link, then forward the receipt to you so that you can forward a download link for the bonus.
I tend to stick to those products that pay large commissions. You may only make a handful of sales, but if your commission is $500 per sale it only takes a few sales before you're talking real cash. The plus here is that you'll only have a handful of requests for the bonus, which you can respond to yourself.
When I do respond to a bonus request, I like to add a personal comment or two. I also try to share some of the benefits that I found with the product. This all helps to reinforce the purchase decision. Remember, people have buyers remorse and part of your job as an affiliate marketer is to reinforce the reasons your referral made the purchase decision so as to reduce refunds.
Of course, sometimes people make a legitimate mistake and buy a product they don't need or cannot afford, or it simply is not what they expected. When one of my referrals need to return for a refund, I always offer to help them if they have trouble getting their money back. Because I limit myself to products from reputable marketers, this is rarely a problem and has never required much of my time. The benefit of doing this is that you reinforce your relationship with that person who may very well buy other products through you, you provide reassurance to others by the fact that you offer your assistance, and you get some good PR for yourself and those selling the product.
This is not an over night success sort of thing. You have build this slowly. I started marketing in a non-IM niche, which also helped because it was not nearly as competitive. That has changed a bit in the last couple years, and I find myself competing with some pretty big companies now. They have much larger lists, a lot more money to spend on advertising, and should be all right be kicking my butt. Much to my satisfaction, my audience has stuck with me and seems to appreciate the added service I deliver. I guess it works because I am on the "Super Affiliate" list for every program I've adopted for my sites.
Good luck with the affiliate marketing venture. Give yourself a chance to make mistakes and experiment a bit. Too many people expect immediate results and those are just far too uncommon to rely upon. You'll struggle for a while, then find a formula that works for you.
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