Learning the Hands-On Basics of Affiliate Marketing from the Ground Up Affiliate Marketing is one of the hottest ways to make money online. For a few dollars, anyone can buy a URL and start a blog or website. By placing the right links on those websites, it’s possible to make anywhere from a few dollars a month to six-figure incomes or more. Before you start, however, it’s important to learn the basics of the business. By understanding some of the fundamentals, such as terminology and functions, you’ll have the foundation to make the decisions to build the type of affiliate marketing business that suits your interests and skills.

1. Affiliate Marketing 101 Davinci Institute Jeannine Crooks February 20, 2010

2. Learn basic terms Review the requirements for an acceptable site How to find merchants Choosing the right merchants How to use PopShops Working with Affiliate Networks Broad Networks Specialty Networks Today’s Goals

3. Working with Affiliate Managers Learning More Q&A Today’s Goals

4. Definitions

5. A website owner who sends traffic from their website to another website in order to generate a desired action. Upon completion of this desired action, the website owner will receive compensation. AKA – Publisher, Media Partner Affiliate

6. Affiliates do: Attract traffic originating around the globe Actively promote their websites Encourage site visitors to take action – buy something, fill out a form, etc. Affiliates do not: Know the person who has come to their site Know what product the person buys Process any financial transaction for the customer Assist in the delivery process of the product Affiliate

7. A website owner who facilitates a specific action on their website such as: Purchase a product Completing a lead form If the site visitor originated via a link from an Affiliate site, the merchant is obligated to pay a fee or commission to the affiliate for successful completion of the action. Merchant

8. Acts as liaison between merchants & affiliates Investigates both merchants and affiliates before allowing them into the network. No cost to join. Hidden Affiliate Information All traffic flows through the affiliate network Affiliate > Affiliate Network > Merchant Merchant > Affiliate Network > Affiliate Responsible for ensuring Affiliates are paid for successful actions. Affiliate Network

9. Usually has 100’s of merchants and 1000’s of affiliates Source of merchant banners and links Best known: Commission Junction LinkShare Google Affiliate Network ShareASale Buy.at Affiliate Network

10. Usually works for Merchant Works with Affiliate Networks and/or managing In-House Affiliate Program Recruits affiliates Affiliate Retention, such as day-to-day affiliate activities Affiliate Manager

11. OPM for short Manages affiliate program for merchant who has chosen to outsource this function. Usually manages multiple programs Charges a monthly fee and a portion of commissions. Recruits affiliates and handles day-to-day affiliate activities. Outsourced Program Manager

12. Cost Per Action, CPA for short Broad term, could mean: Sale Registration Inquiry Commission can be percentage of sale or flat amount Cost Per Lead, CPL for short Completes lead form Usually fixed payout Cost Per Click, CPC for short Clicks on ad Google AdSense Usually fixed payout Actions

13. Site Requirements

14. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Sites MailOrderShoppe.com PPC (Pay Per Click) Sites Coupon Sites Shopping-Bargains.com Lead Generation Sites InsureMe.com Incentive Sites Hard Incentive – Memolink.com Soft Incentive – FatWallet.com Types of Sites

15. Network/Affiliate Manager Review Requirements Active URL Site Description Category Children, Home & Garden, Gifts Unique Visitors/month Quantcast.com Business Tax ID number or SSN Site Requirements

16. Site topic Promotion method BrightestCandles.com is a one-stop online candle store, offering a wide selection of products including scented candles, decorative candles, soy candles, and candle holders. Site promotion is primarily SEO though PPC may be used in the future. Site Description

17. About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Footer Overall design No typo’s Site Requirements

18. Finding Merchants

19. Niche Merchant – only offers one product line or category of products. Broad merchant – Amazon, eBay, Wal-mart, Target – can find various types of products Trial & Error – part of the process. What Type of Merchant Is Right For Your Site?

20. Search by Keyword Use PPC results Google search “___ affiliate programs” Check footer of favorite merchants for affiliate program link Study competitor’s sites Search affiliate networks Use PopShops.com Ways to Find Merchants

21. Easy way to find merchants with your desired products. Fast way to build a datafeed for your site, without technical knowledge. Free to join – 4 free “shops” Find the design that best fits your site. Review the copy Not “set it and forget it” PopShops.com

22. Guaranteed payment Merchants have been vetted Merchants know affiliates have been vetted Apply to Merchant’s program through network; Merchant has right to accept or reject your application. Standard banner selection process Affiliate Network Merchants

23. Run by Affiliate Manager or OPM Payment direct from Merchant Affiliate Forums may have info about programs Ease of application process Interface Creative selection In-House Program

24. Products Site design – would you shop there? Quantcast.com – evaluate traffic Shopping process – easy or hard Creative available Evaluating Merchants

25. Affiliate Networks

26. www.cj.com Known as CJ for short Largest network Merchant list hidden Commission minimum requirement No affiliate support Keyword search tool Charges for datafeed Uses EPC ranking Commission Junction

27. www.LinkShare.com 2nd of Big 3 Affiliate Networks Requires Merchant exclusivity Hidden merchant list Low acceptance rates No affiliate support LinkShare

28. www.google.com/ads/affiliatenetwork Formerly Performics 3rd of Big 3 Affiliate Networks Merchants hidden No affiliate support High acceptance rate Only shows merchant one URL Hard to search for merchants Google Affiliate Network

29. www.ShareASale.com Largest of smaller networks Some affiliate support Smaller, specialized merchants Decent interface Keyword search tools ShareASale

30. www.Buy.at Newer Network, growing fast Some good exclusives; Ticketmaster, Discount Tire Quirky interface – requires practice Good affiliate support Buy.at

31. Digital Downloads Digital River Name Brand Software products – Norton, Hallmark Cards Clickbank Lesser known software products, ebooks Primarily promoted through PPC Specialty Networks

32. Primarily promote health & beauty products, insurance leads, Dish Network, etc. Smaller, newer networks Dozens of them! CPA Networks

33. Good for blogs with many entries on variety of topics. Searches site copy to turn into links to merchants. Matches can be questionable. Epicenter.net Text Link Networks

34. Joining Affiliate Networks

35. Identify the merchant programs appropriate for your site. Use PopShops OR Visit merchant sites and determine the network they use. Visit the network’s website and go through the application process. Joining Affiliate Networks

36. Related site, well designed Promotion description Reputation within network Good EPC Traffic sources Incentive vs. non-incentive No Typo’s What Merchants Look For

37. Consider them a resource Recommend keywords Restricted keyword list Best selling items, seasonal sellers Special links Customized banner ads Okay to call, but don’t be a pain Super Affiliate – when ready, special deals. Working With Affiliate Managers

38. Websites & Blogs AffiliateTip.com AffiliateMarketingAnswerBook.com Problogger.net Forums Affiliate-Marketing-Forums.5staraffiliateprograms.com ABestWeb.com Learning More

39. Events Affiliate Summit Affiliate Summit.com Twice each year, 4000 attendees Follow @AffiliateTip, can win free Gold pass Commission Junction University CJU Open Attendance Learning More

40. LinkShare Symposium Open to all LS affiliates ShareASale Think Tank By invitation only Affiliate Convention AffiliateConvention.com In Denver Learning More

41. Jeannine Crooks jcrooksdenver@gmail.com AIM: jeanninecrooks Yahoo: JeannineCrooks Twitter: @Jeannine_Crooks 303-841-0987 Thank You