Despite the popularity of affiliate marketing, some people still ask the question “What is affiliate marketing?” or “how can I make money with affiliate marketing?” This article will answer that question and tells you what you need to make money in affiliate marketing.

Simply put, affiliate marketing is a kind of marketing strategy whereby a person (the affiliate) promotes the products/services of other people or companies for a commission. The company whose product the affiliate promote is called the merchant. In some programs, you get commission when people just sign up or download a software through your link.

You can join an affiliate program through affiliate networks. An affiliate network serves as a broker between the affiliate and the merchant. The network handles payment processes and ensures that no one is dupe. Few examples of affiliate networks are ClickBank and Commission Junction (cj.com). While registering with an affiliate network, you’ll be required to provide some personal and payment information. Once registered you are free to choose and start promoting any product of your choice. For each product you want to promote, you will be provided with a special affiliate link. Whenever somebody makes a purchase through your link you’ll receive a commission. Apart from crediting you for a sale, another thing the affiliate link does is to drop a cookie into the computer of anyone who clicks on it. This way, even if the person who clicks on your link does not buy immediately, you will still be credited if the person comes back and buy within a period of 30 or 90 days, depending on how long the cookie is made to last.

The above is basically how affiliate marketing works, that is, you sign up with a network, choose some products and start promoting them through your affiliate links. This is not as easy as it sounds; the real work is in the promotion. There are many smart tactics super affiliates use in their promotion but the most important is lead capture. To make it big you must capture the email addresses of visitors to your website. This is because in order to persuade a visitor to buy, you must educate them on the benefits of the product while feeding them with valuable information. Having your visitor’s email means that you can sell more than one products to a customer.

Another important thing you’ll need to make money with affiliate marketing is traffic, you have to be conversant with both free and paid methods of traffic generation. You can get free traffic from article directories, blog comments, forums, social networking sites, search engines and free to use websites. Paid advertising can be in the form of pay-per-click, link advertising or cost-per-mile advertising.

There are other things you need to make money with affiliate marketing, for example, you have to choose the right niche and products if you want to see good result. You also have to learn things like search engine optimization (SEO), keyword research, HTML coding, how to use autoresponders effectively, how to write engaging articles, article marketing etc.

The final truth is that making money with affiliate marketing requires some work and effort. You must be determine and believe that you can succeed. Many new affiliate marketers fail because they lack an action plan. Your action plan contains a list of things you’ll do daily in order to achieve your goal. Having a sort of one week marketing action plan can go a long way to help you.

If you want to fasten your learning process and learn how to do things the faster way, then you have to get a good affiliate marketing guide that already contain a step-by-step one week marketing action plan.

I get lots of questions from different people on “How can all this social media stuff like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Squidoo, Digg, YouTube, Blogs help me?”

So lets first define Social Media, with Wikipedia’s Definition: Social Media is a form of internet marketing which seeks to achieve branding and marketing communication goals through the participation in various social media including writing content that is remarkable, unique, and newsworthy. Lastly Social Media utilizes social networking and user-generated content platforms to promote a product, service or content.

Now that being said…necessary tools for Social Media are bookmarks, blogs, forums, podcasts, networks, communities, wikis. Important and versatile sites are places like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Myspace, Digg, Stumbleupon and Squidoo.

The number one point to remember is this

..Due to Social media marketing being so easy to implement and it being so affordable, it is of significant importance to small businesses.

So where do I start?

By a long shot, Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook were the top four social media tools used by marketers, with Twitter leading the pack. All the other social media tools paled in comparison to these top four. Download Social Media Marketing Industry report.

How do I measure the effectiveness of social media?

A significant 81% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated exposure for their businesses. Check out Social Media Marketing Report. Improving traffic and growing lists was the second major benefit, followed by building new partnerships. A rise in search engine rankings is also an evident increase, as well as a reduction in your overall marketing expenses. Now that is some GOOD news…if your not involved in Social Media Marketing…then it’s TIME!

StartupNation does make a valid point when it says that many small businesses have failed to embrace the opportunities in social media marketing.

If that’s you, then speak with an Internet marketing consultant or do your own research of how social media marketing can help you. It would be beneficial for you and your company.

Last year in February, an article came out on “Social Media Will Change Your Business”

It’s a good read with some great links for blog writing. One of the paragraph talks about “grabbing you by the collar, and shaking you into action” and that was written LAST YEAR! All in all there is some important information for newbies and veterans alike. The story of the Google employee that got fired is one of them…because it shows how fast social media can work.

Another way Social Media can help your business is the customer relationship.
As a business you would be interested in creating a dialog, direct and immediate feedback benefits, and to learn directly from your customers on what has been successful and what areas need focus and enhancement. Sharing content is the real power and the advantage of using social media. Businesses can keep their online community up to date with news, events and what the business has to offer.

Ezine @rticles has some great thoughts on Blogging, Relationship Marketing, Customer Voice and Social Marketing. Customer Voice is a huge one this year which is where Twitter or blogs have been the most efficient.

Customers want voice in your business…give you feedback.

Relationship Marketing

Is also top in 2009 as a tool to build loyalty, along with a timely response, or you can have a blog and a Twitter account as these all have interaction with the customer. These also allow you to create a personality for your business as well as develop an image as a forward-thinking company that is responsive. Responses include Tweeting back on Twitter, a Facebook response, sending a personable card, thank-you card and a quick thinking of you card. A top of the line online card system that is extremely affordable and saves you time and effort is SendoutCards. The fastest, most affordable Relationship Marketing tool online with over 13,000 cards available along with gifts and gift cards. You write it, they print it, stuff it, stamp it and mail it for you. Can’t beat that deal!

Facebook for Business!..

Yes you read that correctly…Facebook for business is very real…read this artlcle: Facebook’s Latest Design Update Helps Businesses part of it reads “With the latest evolution, Facebook makes its service more valuable to businesses.”

Here’s another good one to check out: 30+ Apps for Doing Business on Facebook great read from Mashable The Social Media Guide.

What is LinkedIn? and why should I be a part of that?

If you’re running a small Internet business or have a regular brick-and-mortar business, “knowing” the right people and being able to ask and answer questions significant to your business will help you build your network with contacts. Someone you know in your line of business is already on LinkedIn. You just need to set up a profile, start introducing yourself around, join groups and discussions, start discussions with any questions, or answer discussions with your expertise in your area. What a wonderful way to reach beyond the limits of time and travel to someone else who is like minded and able to discuss important things, answer questions all in a few lines.

Never heard of a Squidoo lens before?

A Squidoo lens is a free web page that states what you are interested in…it could be as simple as a recipe if your a restaurant, to as complex as how to take the perfect picture. Along with links to anyplace you want, you can join groups, be a lens master, create as many pages as you want and get the word out!..

StumbleUpon…great name…what does it do?

Here’s how it works. Install the toolbar, identify some categories you like on the web, then hit the Stumble button. The service takes you to a web page that is popular with people who share your interests. You’ve got the option to give that page a thumbs up, a thumbs down or just leave it by hitting the Stumble button again. Over time the service learns what you like and integrates that into the decisions it makes in sending you someplace new when you hit the button. If you’re a small business with very good content, submit that content to stumbleupon. When these people finally will shop they will shop in their local area and an most of them will use Google to do it. Yes you will stand out with a Stumbler in this sea of 10. Try it…you’ll be surprised!

What has Social Media done for me?

I really enjoy meeting new people, creating new relationships, networking along side people with like interests, and using the tools available to generate opportunities and provide insight to help others. As a business owner, I have enjoyed the benefits of Social Media, it’s simple approach with countless of avenues. I also enjoy presenting this knowledge for others to use as it would benefit them by building relationships with other like-minded businesses and entrepreneurs along with keeping their customer base informed of products, generate better customer relations and service.

Social Media has opened a whole new door for businesses and individuals alike.

Social Media is the solution for your business…have you gotten on board yet?

Social media seems to be the hot topic on just about every blog and every article I read, but I know why; it’s because social media marketing is probably the most underused type of marketing around; which is ironic because it’s virtually free. It’s apparent that everyone seems to be aware of social marketing sites and just about everyone you know probably has a Facebook profile page, a fan page, a Twitter page and a LinkedIn profile, maybe one of those or all of them; but for marketing purposes they are underutilized and I’m not sure why. My hope is that you’ve taken advantage of all of these platforms and more. Dentists; as a business owner you should think of every social media site as an important set of tools needed for your dental marketing toolbox and use them liberally.

As a dentist, you have tools for various procedures performed in the dental office and although I’m not a fan of dental tools I am very appreciative that modern dentistry is accessible to me and my family. In the past dentists have gotten a bum rap; not everyone is excited about their dental appointments. Hopefully with the right mix of social media and some attractive dental marketing ideas the public will have a more positive outlook about their dental care.

I took three of the most popular social platforms in the networking world today. There are more and only one of these three is ranked in the top three according to Alexa.com, but they are my “go to” sites for networking. One is less used by the masses; however it pulls its weight in performance if used correctly and consistently. Let’s begin with that one;

LinkedIn – Ranked #25 on Alexa.com. I know it seems strange with others rank higher but; LinkedIn is on a more “profession oriented” level of social media, not so mainstream but very effective in communicating and networking with other professions linked with dentistry. The tricks here are getting the profile page filled out in its entirety. LinkedIn gives you step by step guides as you fill out your information; however what it doesn’t give you is some beefy information about using keywords in your current job titles and descriptions. Even using keywords in the area provided for websites. Instead of just adding your URL, name your site with keywords. Example; Your Town Dentist, if you blog then add that URL too but also use keywords to name it on your profile, ie; Dental Marketing Tools Blog. There is even a place to add your Twitter URL. Once you have completed your profile, go find some groups that are compatible with your profession, like other dentists, orthodontists and dental surgeons, comment frequently in the discussions, add discussions, be active in the groups you belong to. If you have a blog, LinkedIn offers the capability of feeding your blog posts to your profile page or if the blog post is on a specific hot topic that warrants some feedback, post that to the discussions with in a group.

Facebook -Ranked at #2 on Alexa.com of [the]top sites on the web; what you don’t know can hurt you in this social platform. For instance did you know that you do not necessarily need a personal Facebook profile page to create a Facebook fan page? To create a Facebook fan page one needs only a title for that page and within a few minutes you’re ready to begin posting status updates and finding connections. Facebook even gives you tips on how to effectively promote your page with Facebook advertising. Something to note when setting up your page, think about the title carefully because you won’t be able to change it. Do some research to find out what keywords works best for your practice; most likely you would use your practice name and the town in the title. Example: “Your Town Your Dental Practice Name” or “Your Dental Practice Name in Your Town”. From there the sky is the limit as you can set up RSS feeds from you blog or website when you add new content. Even send updates from your phone.

Twitter– Ranked at #11 on Alexa.com; a very efficient tool for dental marketing. Every dentist/dental practice should be utilizing this free social platform. It’s quick, easy and now that Twitter has implemented some changes by redesigning their web interface, it now becomes a multimedia arsenal for your social networking. Very soon you will be able to embed photos and videos directly on twitter. Set up your page with a title just like you would your Facebook page. Personalize and customize your background with literally thousands of background choices on the web or design and create your own. Google the words “customize your twitter page tutorials” to find out how to make your twitter page reflect your dental practice.

Of course all of these tips are only useful if you use them along with a little research to help optimize the steps you’ve already taken. Something to note; these tasks can be thieves of your time so it is recommended to do one at a time and in little bites if that is all you can do. Asking a staff member to assist you might be an option or maybe a college student in the graphic design department. College students always need the money and you can dictate what you want done now that you have some basic knowledge.

If you have not had the chance to see what the social platforms look like or how they work, take some time to lurk around Twitter, read up on LinkedIn. Facebook is pretty much a closed door unless you have a profile or fan page, but look for information via Google searches. Like I said earlier, almost every marketing blogger has written on this subject it shouldn’t be too tough finding a DIY article on social media.

One last nugget of information; profile pictures, don’t neglect this area. You should aspire to have a consistent profile photo or avatar on each one of these sites. This makes you recognizable and gives you and your practice; status and credibility. Think of it as a brand for your practice’s social badge. A personal photo of you is fine; this puts a face with the name. A logo is fine too; as long as it is web ready. Achieve a more polished and professional look with a profile picture that complements any backgrounds or banners on your existing website or blog.