Make sure before you go with a product you do some good market research and that includes keyword analysis. What you need to do is make a list of the keywords that fit the niche you are going to promote. One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is to use too general of a word that doesn’t really focus on your specific targeted market. Usually one word will be too general and it is best to have two or more words in a phrase to start your search.
If you are going to promote cat beds, then you don’t want to just use the word cats. It’s too general and you won’t get your specific hungry market. Look for phrases related to cat beds and then you need to do your keyword research to find the demand for the keyword phrases.
There are several free keywords research tools you can use as well as popular pay ones such as Wordtracker and Nichebot. You can google the phrase free keyword research tools to find the free ones and also checkout the Wordtracker and Nichebot websites. I have used the free ones and also the pay ones. It all depends on your budget but you have to do the research before you promote.
When you are looking at the results of your keyword phrases, if the daily count is less than 50 people searching for that phrase, then you should look for other phrases. You should come up with as many phrases as possible for your niche and with each phrase having over 50 people a day searching, the total number of people searching in your niche should add up quickly.
Another important point when doing keyword research is to check out the competition. The good keyword research tools will show you how much competition each phrase has and if it is worth pursuing that specific phrase. You can look at competing websites and see how they compare to what you might have on your site.
I can’t stress enough the importance of putting in the time to do your market research including keyword research. If you don’t get this step right, you won’t be making the money you want.
When deciding what product to promote, you first want to think about what excites you. What area or field do you have experience or interest in? It is a lot easier to promote a product that you are comfortable with or are passionate about. It would be good to brainstorm and come up with five good areas and narrow it down from there by doing research on the viability of the product and the competition. If there is no market for a product, then move on and don’t wast your time. As far as competition goes, you want competition because it shows there is demand but you don’t want an excessive amount that you will be competing with.
You will want to check out two of the better affiliate networks – Commission Junction and Clickbank. Clickbank does not deal with physical products so you don’t have to worry about problems with product delivery or supply. Most of your information product ebooks will be found here and you can make up to 60% commission on each product. Commission Junction is a giant that handles all kinds of products and many major brands. Go to their sites and look for yourself. There are many more affiliate networks so just google in those two words and you will get a long list.
Once you have a product you want to promote then you need to go to their website and sign up as an affiliate. It should be a quick and easy process. When you are accepted, you can use some of their advertising tools but it is better to do a lot on your own so you don’t look exactly like the other affiliates. Remember you want to stand out from the crowd of other affiliate marketers.
When I was thinking about what would be the best way to start in internet marketing, affiliate marketing seemed to be one of the quickest and easiest. With an affiliate program, you will be selling someone else’s product and can be started very quickly. There are three types of affiliate programs:
- Pay per lead in which you get paid a certain amount when a customer fills out a form or survey
- Pay per click where you are paid when a customer clicks on a link for a certain program
- Pay per sale when the affiliate is paid a certain amount or percentage for each sale from the affiliate’s link
When you sign up to be an affiliate for a product, you will be given an unique link or URL that will have your special ID so you will be given credit for each sale you make.
Being an affiliate marketer is quick and easy to start up. You pick the product you want to sell and contact the company and once you are accepted you can start making money.
There are many advantages to affiliate marketing:
- very little cost to set up
- no inventory
- no employees
- no order processing
- no shipping costs
- no customer service hassles
- no experience needed
So when you start out you need to follow some steps to get the ball rolling and the money flowing:
- decide on a product or program
- do your research on the viability of the product
- get a domain name and web host
- do research for your site so it fits with the product
- sign up for an affiliate program
- get traffic to your site for your sales
I will continue on what you need for affiliate marketing next time.
When I decided to give internet marketing a try, I was overwhelmed at what I needed to do and what I needed to learn. So what to do first-learn more computer skills, brush up on my writing skills, or get some fancy program that promises instant wealth. Of course, I went for the instant wealth. I am sure there are thousands who started the same way I did and also crashed and burned. Why does everyone always look for the quick and easy way to get what they want. Alas, as in real life, there are no shortcuts to your goals.
I think the first lesson for any new marketer is to assess what they want and develop a plan. Remember in your business classes when your teacher told you that you need a solid, comprehensive plan. I was in the back of the class gawking at the girls so I didn’t pay close attention to that one. And you remember the famous quote, “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”
I realized the first thing I needed to do was get more knowledge of computers and how to perform tasks I needed to do to successfully run a business online. Luckily, I had some former students who could do more in five minutes that I could do in a day. I was like a sponge, learning all I could while they laughed at my ridiculous questions and talked about the girls they liked. I didn’t mind. I would listen and learn, and buy them a pizza when we were done.
I will get into some specifics on my next post.
How did a middle-aged man with no real computer experienceget involved in this crazy world of internet marketing? My background is that of a business owner and teacher and I jumped into the computer world kicking and screaming. It has been a slow process with my learning curve being compared to a delivery guy learning to be an astronaut for NASA.
I started reading about ordinary people like myself who were changing their life and income because of internet marketing. My curiosity made me try and learn as much as I could and let me tell you just learning basic computer tasks drove me to the brink of lala land. Simple tasks that took me weeks to figure out, were often shown to me by a student who did the same task in minutes. Talk about a humbling experience.
But this has all been part of the journey and I have slowly learned about the different aspects of making money online. It is often stated that 95% of the people trying to make money online make very little or none at all. The main reasons boil down to knowledge, procrastination and determination. I have dealt with the lack of knowledge and that nasty habit of procrastinating. If you don’t take the first step, you are going nowhere.
I will try and share what I have learned and am learning to make a good income online with the different areas of internet marketing. So lets lace up our boots and get ready to rumble.
