Are You Building a Business or a Downline
A common mistake *A LOT* of affiliates make is to focus too much Energy on building their second tier and not enough on selling Their business on the first tier.
I myself belive that two-tiered affiliate programs are overrated, If you have a website that PRE-sells effectively you stand to make Quite a bit more by concentrating your efforts on your first tier.
Simply put, if you plan to make a living online and build a serious Source of income from affiliate programs, you cannot rely on others To sell products for you.
When I got started I had this 'great' idea of applying to a few programs, Then signing a 'motherload' of sub-affiliates and reaping the benefits of THEIR efforts.
Did it work?
Ahem???? NO. I came to the realization that it is nearly as difficult to Sign sub-affiliates as it is to make direct sales. You cannot simply join A program and promote your team building link everywhere you go.
* Remember between 95-98% of affiliates never make a profit!*
Even if you sign a hundred affiliates under you, you still cannot make a decent living off of the commissions generated by their sales.
The best way to generate a good source of additional income from affiliate Programs is to find a high paying affiliate program that is compatible with Your business' theme and blend your 'recommendations' (affiliate links) into Informative content that is beneficial to the reader.
The "Go here, buy this" approach will yield minimal rewards for you and your Visitors. No one wants to feel pressured into buying a product, if they feel Informed and not 'sold' they will be far more likely to click to your merchant.
Building a downline through your affiliate programs is an excellent way to ENHANCE your business and generate some 'additional' income but, if you spend Too much time on this, you'll be neglecting the heart of your business.
About The Author
Adam Buhler is the owner of Affiliate Programs Directory: http://www.smokesoft.net.