So, you found a product you want to promote and you signed up for their affiliate program. You picked the marketing materials you’re going to use to promote that product and now, you’re all pumped and ready to go.

Finding the right products to promote is only a small piece of your affiliate marketing plan. Now comes the real challenge; finding buyers for the products and services you are selling. Something you should keep in mind is this; if there are buyers, there are always products to sell them.
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Every once in a while, I get asked the following question: “what are some of the best ways to choose an affiliate program”? So, I thought it might be a good idea to list some tips that can be used as a guide when choosing an affiliate program. Here are some of the things you may want to consider when choosing your next affiliate program:

1. This is interesting
Always look for affiliate programs that you have an interest in. If you find a product or service that you wouldn’t hesitate to purchase for yourself, in most cases, it will be something you would want to promote. You’ll also be enthusiastic about the product or service and prospects can usually sense that. If you have an interest, chances are, there will be many others who will have a similar interest in the product.
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Did you know that over 90% of affiliate marketers earn less than $100 per month? In all actuality, that figure might be closer to 95%. There are many reasons for those shocking statistics but one of the main reasons is this: affiliates will simply put a banner or text link on a web site or blog and expect sales to come pouring in and their pockets to be stuffed with cash. Judging by the statistics I mentioned, you really shouldn’t count on earning a significant income unless you are either very lucky (your odds would be better to win the lottery) or you learn how to become proficient in the following areas:
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If you’re looking for ways to increase your affiliate sales, a most effective way to do that is by contacting the merchant. Not only is this a way to increase sales but you’ll also save yourself some time and frustration.

Nobody will know a product better than the merchant. They also know what methods and strategies the other affiliates are using to effectively market those products. By contacting the merchant, you not only demonstrate enthusiasm but you also show a sincere desire to succeed.
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I am often asked about some of the tools I use to make my marketing tasks a little easier. I’ve compiled a partial list of tools that I use almost daily. All the tools I’ve listed here are free, powerful and will save you loads of time with your marketing tasks.

1. Kompozer
If you’re looking for a great HTML editor, Kompozer is the way to go and I give it my highest recommendation. Kompozer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) web page editing. Kompozer is ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create attractive, professional looking web sites without needing to know HTML or web coding.
Click here for Kompozer.
2. Smart FTP
You’re going to need a software program when you’re ready to upload files to your web host. There are quite a few programs out there but the one I use and recommend is Smart FTP. It’s fairly easy to use but it is fast and powerful. There are also lots of user guides in the event you get stuck.
Click here for Smart FTP.

3. Roboform
I use many marketing tools but this one probably saves me the most time. If you’re like most marketers you probably have dozens of usernames and passwords all the different sites you frequent. Remembering all those passwords would be near impossible. Roboform saves all of your various log-in details inside a toolbar that sits at the top of your browser. When you want to visit a site, you just select it from the drop down menu and Roboform takes you to the the log-in page and logs you in.
Click here for Roboform.

4. Zamzar
Zamzar is an excellent free online tool that allows you to convert your files from one format to another, without the need to download bulky software. It supports a large variety of formats, and it’s perfect when you need to quickly convert something to a PDF  or when you need to turn a gif into a jpeg. They have upgrade options available but the free service is all you should need.
Click here for Zamzar.

5. Gimp
If spending hundreds of dollars on a graphics editing program isn’t in your budget, Gimp is a great free alternative. This is an outstanding program that has more functions than I can list here. If you’re like most marketers, there will come a time when you need a program to edit your graphics and Gimp will be an excellent resource.
Click here for Gimp.

6. Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a great time saver that is completely free and which really helps save lots of time. You simply tell Google what keyword you’d like to monitor and when that keyword appears in Google, you get an email telling you all about it. This saves you having to spend time looking for new content on different topics and instead, you can let Google notify you as soon as anything relevant hits the Internet.
Click here for Google Alerts.

7. Google Reader
Almost every blog publishes an RSS feed and when you subscribe to a reader, you’ll get the content delivered to you as soon as it appears. If you are not using RSS to stay up to date with the best content, I recommend that you start doing so. There are many RSS readers available but my favorite is the Google reader. It is free, saves time and very easy to use.
Click here for Google Reader.

8. Copyscape
Have you ever wondered if someone was copying your content? Copyscape gives you the ability to check and see if anyone is copying your content without your permission. All you need to do is enter your URL and hit submit. Their system will quickly check the Internet and see if anyone is using your content. This free tool can come in very handy.
Click here for Copyscape

9. Big Boards
Here is a great tool to help you find busy forums relevant to your chosen niche. Searching for those forums can be very time consuming but this handy resource will help speed things along. If you need to do some forum marketing or research, this is a great tool to have.
Click here for Big Boards.

10. Stock.XCHNG
This is one of the best resources for free photos on the Internet. I usually go here first when I need to find a picture for my site. You’ll find photos for nearly any category you can think of. Most of the photos have unrestricted rights but just in case, you should always check before using them.
Click here for Stock Xchng.

I hope you find some of these tools useful. The tools listed above are just a partial list and I’ll be adding more in a future post. I don’t want to be responsible for you suffering from information overload.

Are you currently using any of these tools for your marketing tasks and if so, what do you think about them?

Affiliate marketing has been around for quite some time and it’s now become a billion dollar industry. Many people are attracted to this business because of the ease in which to get started and minimum risk involved. Before you begin to promote your affiliate links and banners on your web site or blog, there are some things you should be aware of. First of all, this business is not for everyone. If you’re looking to make loads of money overnight or you have little patience, affiliate marketing is not for you. There are a couple of things that you must have to be successful as an affiliate marketer and those are; determination and patience. If you possess both of those qualities, there is no limit as to what you can accomplish in this business.

There are several ways affiliate marketing can be done. The most common ways are web sites, blogs, email and newsletters. As long as you promote to the right audience, any of those methods can work. Once you find the right audience and attract them with good content, you’re on your way to becoming successful. To make that work, you need to know where your readers go and what they look for. A good place to begin is; forums and message boards. However, you should exercise caution and patience and don’t come off as a know-it-all. It’s always best to take your time and generate interest in what you have to say. You can always add a link to your site in the signature line in most forums or message boards. More importantly, the forums and message boards must be related to your products or services. If your web site or blog is about dog training, you don’t want to participate in forums about weight loss.
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Recently, several people have asked about the various types of affiliate marketing programs that are available and what the differences are. I thought it would be a good idea to post an article about it and explain what the different programs are.

Today, more than ever, affiliate marketing is gaining in popularity. There are many reasons for this but the most likely reason is the very small or no risk that’s involved. There are also a great deal of benefits for both the affiliate marketer as well as the merchants.

In today’s marketplace both the affiliate and the merchant realize that affiliate marketing can be beneficial to both. The affiliate (especially newbies) looks at an opportunity to earn money without a product, website or subscriber list and the merchant sees it as an opportunity to market their product or service to a much broader market at a lower cost.
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The concept behind InstantPlugNPay.com is really very simple. It was developed by Craig Haywood (or the blue guy) who is also the owner of highly successful sites like TrackThatAd.com, MyViralPopAds.com, ExitLightBox.com and MyViralSurfer.com

From the above sites you can probably deduct that Craig focuses heavily on Viral Marketing which is good when you consider what he’s done with InstantPlugNPay.com

A quick summary of the IPP homepage reveals that IPP is a resell rights product website which integrates with mlm through viral marketing, but that doesn’t even begin to lift the layers of nice goodies. In Fact, Jane Mark from JPEAdvertising.com describes it better…
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