How to: Internet Marketing - Affiliates

There is much disagreement over affiliate marketing on the internet - the idea of advertising masquerading as content is a contentious one.  Many principled people balk at the idea of placing ads on their internet boards - and certainly for your main content - your "shop window" this isn't really such a great idea as it tends to give off a bad impression.  This is why, if you're going to go down the road of placing adverts on your blog you need to consider this quite carefully.

Don't get me wrong advertising on the internet can be quite a powerful tool for advertisers, and some people can earn significant amounts of money from their blogs.  One woman, mentioned on radio 4 recently how she was earning $2100 a month from Huggies coupons.

So how do you actually do Internet Marketing?


The principle is simple - create a blog (or series of blogs) dedicated to specific topics (such as Huggies coupons) and then either create specific content yourself, or you can pay people to create content for you. 

Then litter the blog with links to content relevant products, promote this via press releases to aggregators, and promote yourself on twitter, commenting whenever someone mentions a specific product, to raise your profile and then, voila let the $$$ roll in.

The reality is not quite as simple as that.

Is there anything worse than twitter marketers?  Not only are they annoying in terms of contacting you, feigning interest, because they want to sell you something, but how can you trust their word if they're simply selling a product that pays the highest yield rate.

This is how it works, on sites such as "click bank" you can view potential companies that will advertise on your blog.  In return they'll pay a percentage of any sales made as part of a click-through - this could be anything from 4% to 15% or higher.

Now knowing that, can you trust the word of a marketer who offers you a solution to your problem, knowing that there is something in it for them?

No, the answer is in the form of ethical marketing.   This basically means that you build your reputation for honesty by being honest. Don't advertise products you don't know anything about or wouldn't personally use.  Your endorsement is your bond. 

So, if you have a passion for music, or are a musician - on your music related blog, only promote products that you either use or know you can trust personally.  This may not offer the highest rate of return in the long run, but over the long term will build you a brand reputation for honesty which readers will respect and return to you for.

This may also mean being critical towards the brands you advertise, if they warrant it.

By Jez with 1 comment