MONEY SPINNER. Affiliate programs allow you to earn a
sales commission by promoting products and services for
other online companies. All you have to do is add a
website link in your ezine and you're in business.

BE THE SNAIL - NOT THE HARE. Don't be in a hurry to
join a whole load of programs - promoting any old thing
in your ezine won't go down well. You need programs
that add to, rather than dilute, the quality of your
newsletter. The absolute key is to ensure that your
affiliate's presence looks like it's a natural part of
your ezine -- and not something that's just been tacked
on as an afterthought.

SPARE A THOUGHT. You need to think a little about the
kind of products and services your subscribers will be
interested in. If you publish an ezine for writers, for
example, you can easily recommend books, writing
software, stationery, and critique services etc. Your
affiliate program(s) *must* appeal to your subscribers
before you can hope to make any sales.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Any reputable affiliate program will
give you all the FAQs before you join. If it's not
free, it's probably not worth joining. Why should *you*
pay to promote someone else's product?

ASK BEFORE YOU SIGN:

* How long has this company been in business? Think
twice if they're very new.

* When and how do you get paid? This is especially
important if you live outside the US.

* How are your referrals tracked? Will you still
get credit for a sale six months down the line?

* How much commission will you earn? Think about how
many sales you will need to make in order to earn
the income you're hoping for. If you sell just one
product/service to every 100 subscribers, you'll be
getting a pretty good return.

* Are affiliate stats provided? These show you how
many sales you've made, and how much interest has
been generated.

* How many tiers does the program have? A one tier
program will pay you for sales that you alone make.
A multi-tiered program, however, will pay you for
the sales that your referrals also make.

OFF TO A FLYING START. For anything on affiliate
programs visit: http://www.associateprograms.com  This
website is especially useful if you're stuck for the
right products to promote.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK. When you've joined several
programs, you'll need to keep track of which ones are
working for you. Why waste time on programs that don't
work? Make tracking easy with Affiliate Assistant:
http://foreverweb.com/cgi-foreverweb/aa.cgi?IM10143
It allows you to analyse and compare all your affiliate
programs with ease. You could do this manually with
spreadsheets, but it will take a fair whack of time.

POWER PROMOTE. Stick to promoting just one product at a
time -- you'll get far higher results. Here are some
quick ideas for promoting your affiliate programs: a
product review, a personal recommendation, an article,
or an ad -- either in your ezine or someone else's. The
more creative you are, the more sales you will achieve.
Simply copying standard ideas won't get you far.

CONVERT AND SELL. The right affiliate programs can
provide a small income for many an e-publisher. And,
before you start to sell your own products, you should
try your hand at affiliate sales. Why? Because this
will provide you with all the training you need to
convert your browsers into buyers.

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