One of the best ways for making money online is Affiliate Marketing. Affiliate marketing is where you promote another company’s product or service in return for a commission on the sales you generate.
All you need is an Internet connection. You don’t need a website. Or a product of your own. However, there are three things you need to understand to get started.
This article briefly explains the 3 steps to making money online as an affiliate.
Pick a niche.
A niche is a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service.
The top 3 niches for affiliate marketers are Health, Relationships, and Money. Anything that falls under these three can be profitable.
Start with this exercise. Make a list of everything you think of related to health. Broaden your thinking. Health includes recreation. And mental stimulation. Weight loss is in that niche. So are vitamins. What you want to do is drill down into your chosen niche. Find your pocket and work it.
Enter “lose weight” in your search engine and millions of sites come up. Or make money online. And anything to do with relationships. Success online is when you are very specific in your offer. Narrow your niche.
A keyword is what you enter when searching for a topic or product online.
Entering “health” in your browser generates every online resource related to health. When you are specific within a niche you want to use longtail keywords. Long tail keywords are three and four keyword phrases that are extremely specific to what you are selling. Click on this link for more longtail information.
Perhaps you choose to market a fishing product. Your keyword may be freshwater fishing. Or saltwater fishing. If you choose freshwater fishing narrow that down to fishing a lake, pond, river, or stream.
Then drill down further. What type of fish is the angler going for? Trout? Bass? Each requires different equipment. And different skills. Continue narrowing your focus. Rather than selling everything to anybody offer specific items to solve specific problems. This is important when making money online.
Example of a specific niche.
A friend retired from banking and decided to sell fishing rods by mail. After much research, he designed a rod and set up manufacturing. One rod style was all he sold. He studied his market. And learned he could buy lists of those people buying fishing licenses. He designed a simple brochure. And mailed it to a purchased list of people buying fishing licenses. The offer was when you buy one rod you get one free. A lifetime guarantee was included.
Within a year the business grew to $650,000 after taxes and expenses. All from one type of fishing rod. And excellent customer service. One buyer called to order another rod because he broke one he previously purchased. The buyer timidly admitted he slammed his car door on the rod breaking it. My friend sent a free replacement saying, “A lifetime guarantee is a lifetime guarantee.”
Another fellow I know sells lures for bass fishing. That’s it. Nothing other than fishing lures. I found a site focused on Chesapeake Bay (Maryland) saltwater fishing. Fishthesurf.com is a website for California surf fishing.
If you choose health you may focus eventually on skin cream. Or nail fungus solutions. Don’t try to market all things to everyone on the Internet. Even if you choose to join the Amazon Associate program stay in your lane. Work your niche. Don’t try selling everything listed on Amazon.
Use this link for an informative niche selection article.
Your challenge is finding your niche and drilling down to that one item that solves a real-life problem. Or satisfies an individual’s wants. Not every purchase solves a problem. Many satisfy a want or perceived need. That leads us to step 2.
Identify your ideal customer.
Let’s examine the example of my friend selling fishing rods. He did not sell online. He knew his core buyers didn’t use the Internet. Nor did they purchase with credit cards. His customers paid by check. He didn’t advertise. Marketing was always a simple brochure sent by mail.
That example is important because he studied the market. And developed a profile for his ideal customer. Many affiliate marketers develop massive email lists. Then they sell into that list often. And their successful offers are in their chosen niche. You are probably on one or more affiliate marketer mailing lists. Making money online depends on how well you define your target audience.
You’re on those lists because:
You took the bait and gave up your email address in return for a lead magnet. A lead magnet is something of perceived value. It may be offered in a paid ad. Or in a blog or social media post. The lead magnet offer is enticing. It may or may not have value for you. The offer is often more compelling than the downloaded item.
When you give up your email address you are self-identifying as a prospect for what is sold. Your ideal customer is a person fitting the profile of someone likely to use your product. You’re not going to sell a car to someone too young to drive. Someone without a vehicle isn’t a target for tires or engine repair.
Some marketers recommend writing a complete description of an ideal customer. That’s a teachable exercise. It helps define your customer’s attributes. Is your product more likely to appeal to a married person? Does that person have children? Is he/she living in a city or suburban area? Does he/she rent or own their residence?
I was in a DIY store recently and a sales associate approached customers with air conditioner information. The salesperson missed qualifying the people he approached. This fellow didn’t ask if the target owned or rented their residence. Or if it was an apartment or house. A/C systems are purchased by homeowners. Your job is to figure out how to qualify prospects online.
It is helpful to study those marketers selling in your chosen niche.
Don’t copy what they do. Learn from what they do. If you offer motivational products study Tony Robbins. Look at social media for your niche. What are people posting? What are groups discussing? Learn where your target customer hangs out.
Making money online depends on knowing your product and your ideal customer. Discover what resonates with him/her. What are the keywords used over and over? Are there hot buttons in blog posts? Sign up for Clickbank and JVZoo. Both are free. See what is selling in your niche. Look at the marketing materials. Learn as much as possible. Become an authority.
Marketing Your Product
“If you would sell what John Smith buys you must see it through John Smith’s eyes.”
The psychology of selling is understanding the customer’s situation. Otherwise, you are no different from someone standing at a freeway offramp holding a bag of oranges or flowers. That approach is hoping for an impulse purchase. It is similar to candy and magazine displays at supermarket checkout locations.
Study your niche market. Where are the most fish? That’s where you put your bait in the water. Sorry for focusing on fish again. Why do you think so many fine restaurants are clustered in the same neighborhood?
Your niche may offer many products. But they are related. An example is a hobbyist selling items related to betta tropical fish. That’s a crowded market. However, you can stand out by studying prominent sites and being slightly different.
If you decide to put up a website devoted to bettas you can offer one item or many. But all have to be related to the care and feeding of bettas. Marketing pet products is an excellent niche. That’s especially true in this Covid period. Click on this link for more information.
“Don’t find customers for your products. Find products for your customers”. Steve Jobs
Know your customer. Know how to put your message in front of them. Your goal is to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right product or service. What motivates your ideal customer? Read other posts on this blog and you’ll find some points repeated and repeated. That’s because making money online depends on consistency and focus.
Using weight loss as an example you can ask, “Do you want to lose 10 pounds fast?” If you are marketing a relationship product the qualifying question may be, “Are you tired of playing the dating game?” Or, “Are you ready to meet your life partner?”
Qualifying questions are simple yes or no. They are designed to move prospects into your sales funnel.
This takes some analysis.
Why does your ideal customer think they need your product? If my kitchen sink springs a leak I have a real need for a plumber. If I want my kitchen to look better I need other help. Your marketing program has to appeal to basic needs or wants situations. Someone may want to lose weight to improve their social standing. They want to be more appealing socially. Weight loss for them has nothing to do with health.
60% or more of the American economy is consumer related. One of the fastest growing business sectors is self-storage. Americans buy so much stuff they rent places to put it. That’s true today with inflation at a 40-year high. A few months ago a reliable source reported the average family has to spend $400+ more a month to maintain their living standard.
Recently I read that figure has risen to $800+ a month. Yet Americans are still buying. They may be buying cheaper things. But we continue buying. That’s especially true for online sales.
Your niche is chosen and you’ve researched your ideal customer. The question now is how to reach that customer. You are in complete control of your message and its placement. I recommend this article for help understanding low-cost Internet marketing.
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