How to Effectively Plan an Affiliate Site

Copyright 2005 by Shannon Herod

I was running out of patience and the hatred of it all was setting in. Whirling around the net searching for that one piece of gold that was going to set everything in motion and bring a windfall of cash was just a big waste of time. Thousands of dollars wasted and countless hours wasted with not one single return of investment.
 
That was the way that I started my business. As you can imagine I was getting nowhere fast. Setting up running and profiting from an Internet business takes more than just a web site, an e-mail account, and a computer. You need a plan of action, what direction are you going to go with your web site, what products will you promote, what other sources of revenue will you have, and many other factors will determine your success.

Affiliate Game Plan

I can give you a quick glimpse or taste of a simple plan that you can put in effect. This plane is going to focus on affiliate marketing in the arena of Internet marketing.

OK, here is a simple little plan but at least it's a plan.

The first thing you need to consider is the products or services that you will be promoting. There is a ton of different products and services available for you to promote. Finding the right one that pays is the most important part. When considering what you will promote you need to look at a few different areas.

1. What percentage does that product pay
2. How well does the sales page convert
3. Does the sales page have cookies and how long does the cookie last
4. What is the minimum payout and how often do they pay
5. How long has the Company been in business
6. What type of reputation and customer service does the company have

These are a few things that I consider when looking at a product to promote. Always try and test a product before you put your name on a recommendation for that product. Just as this you are going to open a brick and mortar business your reputation is very important.

Web Site and Hosting

Next you need to consider the type of site you will build and the hosting company you will use. Your web site will be your virtual real estate and you need to assure that is in a good location. You can find many hosting options by just going to Google and doing a search for hosting company. When choosing a hosting company here is a few things that I consider.

1. How much bandwidth do they offer
2. How much disk space do they offer
3. How many mysql databases do they offer
4. Can I host multiple web sites from one account

As a beginner those four things should be the only things you really need to worry about. As you become more experienced and building web sites and programming there'll be a few other options you will consider, but for now I think that should do.

The type of web site you build is going to be very important. Don't worry if you are a complete moron when it comes to HTML there are plenty of what you see is what you get (wysiwyg) web site builders available just go to Google and search for web site builders.

A simple direct response web site should be your goal. You do not need to worry about building a fancy web site with a ton of graphics and fancy navigation bars. That piece of information alone should take your fear out of trying to build a site. Remember keep it simple stupid.

A direct response web site is just what it sounds like. Your main goal should be to capture your visitors name and e-mail address. You can do this by giving away a free report that you produced or by getting a report that has giveaway rights.

Build a List

You are going to want to build an opt in e-mail list so you can keep in constant contact with all of your leads. To do this you will need an autoresponder to make your life a whole easier.

Your goal with your opt in e-mail list should be to build a relationship so you can offer products that you recommend. Once you have a list that trust you making money is very simple.

The Process of Profit Maximization

Now there is a process you are going to want to take your visitors through in order to maximize your profits, here it is in a short description.

From your opt in page you will want to lead your visitor to a thank you page that should offer some sort of up sell. Your thank you page should exit to the product sales page. Even will need to follow up with your new lead on consistent basis and offer information to help your new customer and occasionally recommend a product that you believe in.

That is a short version because I'm not trying to make this book just a quick little plan for you to follow.

That is a real quick plan of action that definitely need some more consideration, but hopefully it will get your wheels turning so you can expand on this idea to fit your business. There are many different things to consider like traffic generation and support but that is a whole new subject.

Do some research and try to expand on the ideas listed above. Your business should have goals and your goal should have plans of action. Put your mind to work, work up plan, and work your plan and success will be right around the corner.

Shannon Herod is the CEO of makearesidualincome.com and publisher of the Dreams 2 Reality newsletter. For more tips and business building advice subscribe to our free Dreams 2 Reality newsletter at: Residual Income [http://www.makearesidualincome.com/]

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