Are you frustrated with your affiliate programs?

I used to be. Very frustrated! One day, in sheerdesperation, I wrote to one of my affiliateprograms and suggested that the market was nowsaturated with their product - it was no longerpossible to sell it.

The next day I received a very nice reply. "TheInternet is HUGE", they said. "We predict it willbe five years before the market is saturated withour product. And long before that, we will haveintroduced our next product." They were right, ofcourse. The problem was not with the market (theInternet is huge). Nor was the problem with theirproduct. The problem was in the way I waspresenting it.

Since then, my affiliate sales have soared. Why?Because I learnt a few secrets to winning theaffiliate game. Here they are:

1. Choose affiliate programs that relate veryclosely to the theme of your website. Let me giveyou an example. Of the three affiliate products Isell from my web site, the one that does best bya long way is an eBook that shows people how togenerate free Ezine advertising. Why does it doso well? Because my website is a directory ofezines and most of my visitors are alreadyinterested in Ezine Advertising before they evenarrive at my website - I don't have to persuadethem very much.

2. Buy the product yourself! Research acrossdozens of affiliate programs shows that at least70% of sales in any affiliate program are made bythe small percentage of affiliates who actuallybuy the product they're selling. It makes sensedoesn't it (how can you recommend somethingyou've never used)?

3. Banners - they don't work anymore, and someexperts believe banners will actually damage youraffiliate sales.

4. Personal recommendation. The human factor isvery important on the Internet - people want toknow that someone else has bought the product andthat it worked for them. But to write aconvincing personal recommendation, you'll haveto buy, read and use the product you're selling.

5. 'Over-selling' - this is the most commonmistake of affiliates. Keep in mind that all youneed to do to succeed with affiliate programs isto get your potential customer to click throughto the affiliate website in an 'open-to-buy'mindset. If the affiliate program is good, theaffiliate website will make the sale. So don'ttry to sell the product from your website - justaim to get a click on your affiliate link.

5. Standard Ads. When you join an affiliateprogram, you'll probably be given some standardads to use. Don't use them! Why? Because yourpotential customer has probably seen those exactsame ads on dozens of websites and in dozens ofEzines. And if that standard ad hasn't led themto buy the product so far, it probably won't now.Something new and original is required.

6. Back-end sales. Once you're succeeding in oneaffiliate program, join another program thatoffers a related product and use the techniquethat marketers call 'back-end' sales. It's a wellknown fact that people are much more likely tobuy from someone they have already bought from.So when someone makes a purchase from youraffiliate link, send them a nice follow-upletter. At the end of the letter, tell them aboutyour other affiliate product and how it can helpthem.

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Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this simple technique to build a successful online business.