If you've been building an opt-in list, you are on the right track to making a living online. If you have yet to start building your list, you need to get started right away! A quality list is worth a lot of money, if you know how to use it. Notice the word 'quality'... .not 'quantity!' A list does not have to be huge to turn a profit. Again, if you have a quality list, you can turn out a quality newsletter, and then you can learn how to use your newsletter to promote your affiliate programs.

First you should note that the newsletter must be of high quality. Just sending your list advertisements will not cut it in today's competitive online market place. Your subscribers do not want advertisements - they can find those anywhere. What they want is quality up-to-date information. As a marketer, you produce that information, and build the information around one of your affiliate programs.

Start by choosing a product that you feel your highly qualified list will be interested in. Really think about this long and hard, and make sure that you pick a quality product or service. If you've used your newsletter in the right way up to this point, your subscribers will put a lot of faith in your recommendations - and you are about to make a recommendation.

With that product, write an article. The article should not be about the product - unless it is a review of the product. Instead, it should pertain to something that relates to the use of that product. For instance, if you are advertising a shampoo, you would probably want to write an article about hair care - not about the shampoo.

You can work the product into the article in various ways. For instance, if you are just promoting one product with your article, at the end of the article, you might suggest to your readers that using brand x - with your affiliate link - will help them achieve better results or that you've found that this brand is better than that brand, or something along those lines.

If you are promoting several products within one article, spread them about throughout the text, but make sure that your article doesn't become one big advertisement - and avoid promoting too many products within one article. Also avoid including more than one article in each issue of your newsletter. You want your visitors attention to remain focused - and if you give them information overload in one issue, your chances of making any sales at all diminish!

It is vital that you use a professional link cloaker. You do not want your affiliate link to look like an affiliate link! A link cloaker will change the text of your link, but when clicked, the linked cloak will take your reader to the site with the product that you are promoting - and you will get credit for the sale. Using a link cloaker also prevents link hijacking - where someone exchanges your affiliate ID with their own affiliate ID in the link.

Be personable with your readers. Become their friend. Let them know that you are looking out for them, and that you are interested in helping them achieve something. Developing a relationship with your readers is the key to getting them to trust your recommendations.