We have received requests, from several of our readers, who would like to know more about affiliate marketing. Not just the usual overview, as is so common, but some real facts, to help them decide which to pursue.

As this is quite a lengthy response, we have had to split it into 4 parts. Today is the fourth. If you missed any of these parts, just go to our site at http://dersalsites.com/southafricanbusiness/ and look for the others.

Today we look at what you need, to start making money from your new Affiliate Marketing business.

Making Money From Affiliate Programs
Okay, now that you know what to look for, in an affiliate program, let’s move on. Here are some pointers on how to maximize the sales of those products and services and therefore, increase your commissions.

Get Your Own Website
No ifs, and no buts. Don’t rely on the “you-beauty” self-replicated job, that the company provides to all it’s affiliates. Link to that site, from your main site.

Get Your Own Domain Name
This presents a much more professional image, of your business, to the traffic. Many people won’t give the time of day, to a business that thinks so little of its prospects, that the owner won’t even shell out $30, or so, for a personal domain name. So mean business and look like you mean it.

Get Traffic To Your Site (Duh!) Lots of it.
As a rough guide, you will need at least 500 targeted, unique visitors, a day, to your site, to make reasonable money, from affiliate programs. Think how you are going to achieve this.

You Must Have A Site That Will Attract Repeat Visitors
If your website is nothing more than a splash page, consisting of little else, than banners for umpteen different affiliate programs, forget it. Your site must be worthy of your visitor’s time and interest, before you can even begin to think about converting that visitor into a paying customer. So create a real site, with real content, that looks professional and will will keep them coming back for more.

Personal Testimonials
A personal testimonial will result in more sales, than a mere link, or an advertisement. So take the time and trouble, to write a personal endorsement of the product, or service you are promoting, or even better, get some of your customers to write testimonials for you. It goes without saying, that in order to write a personal endorsement, you must know what you are talking about. Never promote a program, that you haven’t first purchased yourself and tried out. If you don’t think enough of the program, to invest in it, how do you expect to persuade others to do so?

Promote With Your Bio Box, Or Sig File
Include a link to your site, in the signature box of every e-mail, e-zine and article you send out.

Promote In Your Own E-zine
Finally, if you’re not already publishing your own e-zine, or newsletter, to stay in touch with your site visitors, start now. It’s a great way to promote not only your site, but also the affiliate programs that you promote from your site.

Making Serious Money From Affiliate Programs
The only way you can make serious money, from affiliate programs, is by creating your own product, or service and by recruiting affiliates, to sell for you. This is the complete reverse of what you have been doing up to this point! Let hordes of other marketers sell for you. You pay them a healthy commission and keep the rest.

The affiliate, program phenomenon, is one of the Internet’s true success stories. It provides a toe-hold, for the “wanna-be”  internet entrepreneur, to begin a real, live business of his, or her very own. But, the real beauty of affiliate programs, lies not in what they can do for you, as an affiliate, but what they can do for you, as a recruiter of affiliates, for your own program.

By all means, jump on the bandwagon and start promoting other people’s products, to get you started, but then don’t wait too long, to start developing your own product line. There is a ready made sales force, numbering in the millions, ready and waiting to sell it for you.

Like most successful businesses, you and your new Affiliate Marketing Business need a system. The Affiliate Marketing Dashboard offers a simple “point and click” interface with software allowing you to run your affiliate programs more efficiently and access all important stats easily. If you have sub affiliates, or intend to have them, you need a complete affiliate management system. This fits the bill perfectly. Find out more about it here: http://www.dersalsites.com/affdashboard/

Derek Robson is a South African Internet marketer. He has a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and other non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet, by finding solutions to the many obstacles facing them. He is a syndicated article writer. He and his wife Sally, have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. For daily postings and articles, on Internet marketing, South African online business, list building, affiliate marketing, article marketing, blogging, seo, the law of attraction, rugby and other general topics, visit Derek at: http://dersalsites.com/southafricanbusiness/  

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