Grow Through Search Engines…
I guess a good place to start your search for merchants would be, of course, at the Search Engines! Do a search for one of your keywords, plus the word “affiliate.” Let’s use this example...
+fashion design +affiliate
(The “+” sign means that both words must appear on the Web page returned by the search.)
Now open Search It! and do this search…
Search It! > Straight up Search (STEP 1) > Google, no quotes (STEP 2) > +fashion design +affiliate (STEP 3)
If you have time, try a second search for the same term and compare…
Search It! > Straight up Search (STEP 1) > Yahoo!, no quotes (STEP 2) > +fashion design +affiliate (STEP 3)
Grow Through Directories... Search and/or Drill Down
Directories are also a good place to research POTENTIAL PARTNERS. An interesting place to start is…
Search It! > Inbound Link Opportunities > Yahoo! Wide (STEP 2) > fashion (STEP 3) > fashion design (STEP 4)
Since this is a large directory and there is a substantial annual fee, it has only serious merchants. Many of the sites listed here will have affiliate programs so this search is like hitting pay dirt in a gold mine. Simply enter your Site Concept word and hit Search It!.
Grow Through Specialized Affiliate Directories
Now let’s investigate your POSSIBLE PARTNERS and add some new merchants, too. How? Easy...
Search It! > Monetization (STEP 1) > Find Affiliate Programs at Google (STEP 2) > fashion (STEP 3)
Visit a site that appeals to you. If it has an affiliate program that fits your Site Concept, first enter what kind of merchandise it sells and then enter the URL of the “join page” into POSSIBLE PARTNERS for that keyword (as explained above). Check the top ten sites -- twenty if you are feeling ambitious - and record those with potential.
Repeat the process for each keyword in your Master Keyword List (i.e., replace “fashion” above with another keyword like “fashion model”), starting with your specific high-profitability keywords and then following up with your general Concept Keywords (ex., “accessories” and other “concept-level” keywords that you develop, such as “design,” etc.). Read the review of each potential match.
You can also look for “cross-concept companies.” These are companies selling products that, because of their nature, fit with most or all Site Concepts. For example, whether your concept is about “Renaissance art” or “pricing” or “fashion,” you’ll find books about it. So always include a bookstore in your group of affiliate programs.
If you want to be really, really, really thorough, and you have more spare time than I do, you could check out these affiliate directories…
Associate Programs http://www.associateprograms.com/
Refer-it http://www.refer-it.com/
1webindex http://www.1webindex.com/
Grow Through The ClickBank Network
ClickBank, through its fast-growing Marketplace, gives you access to over 10,000 digital products and a commission range that extends as high as 75%.
http://www.clickbank.com/
Its account setup is simple and free. And ClickBank’s tracking and payment procedures are reliable and accurate. The company manages the publisher (merchant) relationship so you always receive your payment.
Use Search It! to find digital products and their affiliate programs.
Grow Through Other Affiliate Backend Providers/Networks/Aggregators
There are several companies that provide the tools, technology and services that online businesses need to register, track, report and pay affiliates. In other words, merchants don’t have to “do it themselves” because these companies provide all the backend functionality necessary to run an affiliate program.
The “backend providers” prefer to call themselves “affiliate networks.” Why?
Because they do more than just provide merchants with affiliate software. They also provide merchants with affiliates, and vice-versa. Since they have a pool of hundreds of thousands of affiliates, a merchant’s program gets instant exposure to potentially interested affiliates.
And affiliates get exposure to a wide variety of merchants. It’s a good idea to join each of these backend providers. You will likely come across many of the same merchants that you found in the affiliate directories. But you will also find new ones. So it is worth checking to see whether they feature any programs that fit with your concept. For example...
Commission Junction http://www.cj.com/
Clickbooth http://www.clickbooth.com/
LinkShare http://www.linkshare.com/
If you find merchants with products that fit, enter what kind of merchandise they sell and also enter the URL of the “join page” to the POSSIBLE PARTNERS column in your Master Keyword List for each keyword that is relevant.
Grow through Alexa or Quantcast
Use Search It! to find potential affiliates through Alexa or Quantcast. Choose the Popularity search category.
Alexa, for example, displays traffic ranking, in-pointing links, and even visitor reviews! Once you establish which sites in your niche are the big players, use the Related Links tool from Alexa to expand your horizons!
Grow Through Search Engines & Directories... Favorite Tricks
Now for a few of my favorite tricks...
How else can you find merchants through the Search Engines? Easy!...
1) Visit the advertisers!
2) Sniff affiliate sites. (They’ve already done the homework for you!)...
These “linked-to” merchants already have affiliate programs -- all you have to do is check them out and see if they fit with your Site Concept! Add the ones that do fit with your list of POSSIBLE PARTNERS
Grow Through Back Links
Find other sites that link to a site with this query….
Search It! > Back Links (STEP 1) > To (sub) from All Other Sites (STEP 2)
Many of these sites will be content sites that also link to other fashion-related merchants as affiliates (you can often tell by the linking URLs). More than likely, these linked-to merchants already have affiliate programs -- all you have to do is check them out and see if they fit! Add the acceptable ones to your list of POSSIBLE PARTNERS for each keyword.
And you can use this Search It! link-finder technique for all of your POSSIBLE PARTNERS for all of your keywords!
Reduce Risk by Diversifying
One of the major attractions of becoming an affiliate is the small amount of risk involved. As an affiliate, you have little or no...
• product development expenses
• advertising costs
• inventory to maintain
• overhead expenses (salaries, physical location, etc.)
In other words, affiliates do not have millions at stake.
But you do have one big risk...
If a merchant or backend provider goes out of business, it takes you with it. Let’s talk briefly about how to minimize this risk...
After you review the affiliate directories and backend providers, you should have a good selection of programs. How many programs should you choose? How do you know which ones are solid?
You don’t, really. Yes, you can weed out the dogs by doing the basic research outlined below. But most of us just don’t have the ability or time to thoroughly analyze a company, its financials, and its business model… and then predict success or failure.
So your best bet is to spread your business among as many programs as possible that fit with your Site Concept. But there are some important qualifiers to this policy...
1) If you represent 10 programs, don’t put them all on the same Keyword- Focused Content Page. Work in only the few that are tightly relevant to the content of each page.
2) Pick the best-of-breed from each category of merchant. For example, if you plan on representing a Net marketing company, SiteSell would be the obvious choice (ahem!).
If you plan unusually heavy support for a given category of product, you might want to represent the best two merchants. For example, suppose you foresee hundreds of book links on your site. It might be a good idea to choose the best 2 online bookstores -- if Bookstore A and Bookstore B fit with your concept and both seem to be stable companies, then use these two. No more, though...
3) Don’t choose too many programs. Tracking each program takes time, so 10 programs is probably a good balance. If any one of them dies, you don’t lose too much.
4) Your best results will come from focusing on a smaller group of quality programs (from within the 10). Their products must...
• be excellent
• be complementary with, even enhance, each other
• fit your concept
and...
• be from a rock-solid company. Since you will give these companies more attention than the others, you must feel very comfortable with their business prospects.
Here’s the bottom line...
Don’t give too much emphasis to any single program, unless you have some special reason to feel unusually comfortable with it.
Things happen. So protect yourself by choosing a variety of affiliate partners.
Of course, you can also reduce your risk by weeding out the dogs through some basic research.
Grow Through Search Engines…
I guess a good place to start your search for merchants would be, of course, at the Search Engines! Do a search for one of your keywords, plus the word “affiliate.” Let’s use this example...
+fashion design +affiliate
(The “+” sign means that both words must appear on the Web page returned by the search.)
Now open Search It! and do this search…
Search It! > Straight up Search (STEP 1) > Google, no quotes (STEP 2) > +fashion design +affiliate (STEP 3)
If you have time, try a second search for the same term and compare…
Search It! > Straight up Search (STEP 1) > Yahoo!, no quotes (STEP 2) > +fashion design +affiliate (STEP 3)
Grow Through Directories... Search and/or Drill Down
Directories are also a good place to research POTENTIAL PARTNERS. An interesting place to start is…
Search It! > Inbound Link Opportunities > Yahoo! Wide (STEP 2) > fashion (STEP 3) > fashion design (STEP 4)
Since this is a large directory and there is a substantial annual fee, it has only serious merchants. Many of the sites listed here will have affiliate programs so this search is like hitting pay dirt in a gold mine. Simply enter your Site Concept word and hit Search It!.
Grow Through Specialized Affiliate Directories
Now let’s investigate your POSSIBLE PARTNERS and add some new merchants, too. How? Easy...
Search It! > Monetization (STEP 1) > Find Affiliate Programs at Google (STEP 2) > fashion (STEP 3)
Visit a site that appeals to you. If it has an affiliate program that fits your Site Concept, first enter what kind of merchandise it sells and then enter the URL of the “join page” into POSSIBLE PARTNERS for that keyword (as explained above). Check the top ten sites -- twenty if you are feeling ambitious - and record those with potential.
Repeat the process for each keyword in your Master Keyword List (i.e., replace “fashion” above with another keyword like “fashion model”), starting with your specific high-profitability keywords and then following up with your general Concept Keywords (ex., “accessories” and other “concept-level” keywords that you develop, such as “design,” etc.). Read the review of each potential match.
You can also look for “cross-concept companies.” These are companies selling products that, because of their nature, fit with most or all Site Concepts. For example, whether your concept is about “Renaissance art” or “pricing” or “fashion,” you’ll find books about it. So always include a bookstore in your group of affiliate programs.
If you want to be really, really, really thorough, and you have more spare time than I do, you could check out these affiliate directories…
Associate Programs http://www.associateprograms.com/
Refer-it http://www.refer-it.com/
1webindex http://www.1webindex.com/
Grow Through The ClickBank Network
ClickBank, through its fast-growing Marketplace, gives you access to over 10,000 digital products and a commission range that extends as high as 75%.
http://www.clickbank.com/
Its account setup is simple and free. And ClickBank’s tracking and payment procedures are reliable and accurate. The company manages the publisher (merchant) relationship so you always receive your payment.
Use Search It! to find digital products and their affiliate programs.
Grow Through Other Affiliate Backend Providers/Networks/Aggregators
There are several companies that provide the tools, technology and services that online businesses need to register, track, report and pay affiliates. In other words, merchants don’t have to “do it themselves” because these companies provide all the backend functionality necessary to run an affiliate program.
The “backend providers” prefer to call themselves “affiliate networks.” Why?
Because they do more than just provide merchants with affiliate software. They also provide merchants with affiliates, and vice-versa. Since they have a pool of hundreds of thousands of affiliates, a merchant’s program gets instant exposure to potentially interested affiliates.
And affiliates get exposure to a wide variety of merchants. It’s a good idea to join each of these backend providers. You will likely come across many of the same merchants that you found in the affiliate directories. But you will also find new ones. So it is worth checking to see whether they feature any programs that fit with your concept. For example...
Commission Junction http://www.cj.com/
Clickbooth http://www.clickbooth.com/
LinkShare http://www.linkshare.com/
If you find merchants with products that fit, enter what kind of merchandise they sell and also enter the URL of the “join page” to the POSSIBLE PARTNERS column in your Master Keyword List for each keyword that is relevant.
Grow through Alexa or Quantcast
Use Search It! to find potential affiliates through Alexa or Quantcast. Choose the Popularity search category.
Alexa, for example, displays traffic ranking, in-pointing links, and even visitor reviews! Once you establish which sites in your niche are the big players, use the Related Links tool from Alexa to expand your horizons!
Grow Through Search Engines & Directories... Favorite Tricks
Now for a few of my favorite tricks...
How else can you find merchants through the Search Engines? Easy!...
1) Visit the advertisers!
2) Sniff affiliate sites. (They’ve already done the homework for you!)...
These “linked-to” merchants already have affiliate programs -- all you have to do is check them out and see if they fit with your Site Concept! Add the ones that do fit with your list of POSSIBLE PARTNERS
Grow Through Back Links
Find other sites that link to a site with this query….
Search It! > Back Links (STEP 1) > To (sub) from All Other Sites (STEP 2)
Many of these sites will be content sites that also link to other fashion-related merchants as affiliates (you can often tell by the linking URLs). More than likely, these linked-to merchants already have affiliate programs -- all you have to do is check them out and see if they fit! Add the acceptable ones to your list of POSSIBLE PARTNERS for each keyword.
And you can use this Search It! link-finder technique for all of your POSSIBLE PARTNERS for all of your keywords!
Reduce Risk by Diversifying
One of the major attractions of becoming an affiliate is the small amount of risk involved. As an affiliate, you have little or no...
• product development expenses
• advertising costs
• inventory to maintain
• overhead expenses (salaries, physical location, etc.)
In other words, affiliates do not have millions at stake.
But you do have one big risk...
If a merchant or backend provider goes out of business, it takes you with it. Let’s talk briefly about how to minimize this risk...
After you review the affiliate directories and backend providers, you should have a good selection of programs. How many programs should you choose? How do you know which ones are solid?
You don’t, really. Yes, you can weed out the dogs by doing the basic research outlined below. But most of us just don’t have the ability or time to thoroughly analyze a company, its financials, and its business model… and then predict success or failure.
So your best bet is to spread your business among as many programs as possible that fit with your Site Concept. But there are some important qualifiers to this policy...
1) If you represent 10 programs, don’t put them all on the same Keyword- Focused Content Page. Work in only the few that are tightly relevant to the content of each page.
2) Pick the best-of-breed from each category of merchant. For example, if you plan on representing a Net marketing company, SiteSell would be the obvious choice (ahem!).
If you plan unusually heavy support for a given category of product, you might want to represent the best two merchants. For example, suppose you foresee hundreds of book links on your site. It might be a good idea to choose the best 2 online bookstores -- if Bookstore A and Bookstore B fit with your concept and both seem to be stable companies, then use these two. No more, though...
3) Don’t choose too many programs. Tracking each program takes time, so 10 programs is probably a good balance. If any one of them dies, you don’t lose too much.
4) Your best results will come from focusing on a smaller group of quality programs (from within the 10). Their products must...
• be excellent
• be complementary with, even enhance, each other
• fit your concept
and...
• be from a rock-solid company. Since you will give these companies more attention than the others, you must feel very comfortable with their business prospects.
Here’s the bottom line...
Don’t give too much emphasis to any single program, unless you have some special reason to feel unusually comfortable with it.
Things happen. So protect yourself by choosing a variety of affiliate partners.
Of course, you can also reduce your risk by weeding out the dogs through some basic research.
No comments:
Post a Comment