So many people "miss the boat" when it comes to affiliate marketing that it is no wonder I hear complaints like "I'm not making any money" or "Why aren't my affiliate sales higher?" all the time. It seems that many people are under the misconception that affiliate marketing means no work and all profits. With so many so-called "gurus" showing off screen shots or scans of big commission checks you can hardly blame people for having these misconceptions. However, what they are not showing you are their business costs and the effort that they put into their businesses.
Affiliate marketing can truly be one of the most incredible business opportunities around. After all, here is a business model that does not require you to have your own product. It is also a business that can be stated with a small amount of money and return high profits. But, you need to carefully plan your strategy and choose the right products to promote in order to successfully generate an income as an affiliate.
The biggest misconception people seem to have is that affiliate marketing simply requires you to publish your affiliate link and you will earn a commission. Most frustrated Internet marketers fail to realized that just like any other business you must build a relationship with your prospect and keep sending your message to them over and over again. It has been estimated that it takes seventeen contacts with a prospect before he will make a purchase. If your business model consists simply of sending people to an affiliate link you completely miss out on this important relationship.
Instead, send your prospect to a specially designed web page that entices him to give you his name and email address. By adding your prospects to your newsletter you build a relationship and are able to continually sell them on the product you are promoting.
Yes, this technique is going to require additional effort on your part and yes it is going to cost you more to set up and maintain. However, your long-term results are going to be significantly better. Not only will you now have the opportunity to market your product over and over again, but you have qualified your prospects by making them demonstrate that they are actually interested in your product. Plus, the cost of continually marketing to this group is next to nothing since you have already captured their information and gotten their permission.
The other common misconception I see in new affiliate marketers is that the amount of work involved in promoting their product will be minimal. Advertising any online venture can be costly and time consuming. You simply cannot rely on search engines to drive traffic to your website. Instead you need to consider pay per click advertising, Google Adwords, ezine ads, traffic exchanges, article writing, and anything else you can come up with.
By combining a never-ending persistence when it comes to promoting your web page and using a lead capture page that ads prospects to your newsletter you can achieve a great deal of success as an affiliate marketer. But, do not be mislead by the hype and the so-called "gurus" out there that will fill your head with the idea that it is a get-rich-quick business. Affiliate marketing is a business like any other and when treated that way, with proper planning and persistence, will generate an income for you that you can be proud of.
America's watchdog consumer agency, the Federal Trade Commission, has hoisted yet another red flag about an education-related scam. The FTC's missive, entitled "Diploma Mills: Degrees of Deception", takes dead aim at diploma mills, a particularly insidious form of online trickery that plays on the country's love affair with distance learning and online degrees. The companies behind these diploma mills usually approach their prey in the form of an email that promises respondents a degree based on their life experience, all in exchange for a one-time, up-front fee. For some, the fact that little, if any, course work is ever required makes the offer virtually irresistible.
Those familiar with the online education phenomenon say diploma mills have been a scam waiting to happen. Distance learning and legitimate online degrees from accredited institutions like the University of Phoenix, Westwood College or Kaplan University have made it easier than ever for Americans to better their lot through education. The job qualifications that come with an online degree generally mean better pay and better career prospects.
While legitimate online degrees are now widely accepted by employers as proof of a job candidate's education qualifications, it's safe to say employers will not easily suffer the embarrassment of hiring a "diploma mill" graduate. If you get caught holding a diploma mill degree when applying for a job or - perhaps even worse - a graduate degree program, expect to be shown the door in no uncertain terms.
The FTC says that diploma mills trolling for "graduates" often set their hook and then reel in their catch using a spurious claim of accreditation. By claiming to be "accredited", a diploma mill can easily create a sense of security in its victims.
While many people know that American colleges and universities voluntarily have their educational programs reviewed as part of the accreditation process, few are familiar with the roughly six regional and eighty professional accrediting associations in the United States. When a diploma mill makes up an official sounding designation for its alleged accrediting agency, it's easy to be fooled. One way to confirm a school's accreditation credentials is to check the list of accredited colleges and universities at the Department of Education website.
Of course, says the FTC, a claim of accreditation is really just the icing on the cake for diploma mill scammers. If they're going to take the bait, most recipients of an email offering a diploma mill degree are already hooked by the idea of having their life experience "officially" recognized, especially when there's no waiting and no attendance requirement. But there are other tip-offs, too, that an email offer of a degree isn't everything it's cracked up to be.
At the top of the list, perhaps, is the ever-present offer of a degree in exchange for a one-time fee. Legitimate online colleges and universities charge by the credit hour, reminds the FTC, and not by the degree. Also, an instant degree offer made through an unsolicited email or online pop-ups is almost unquestionably a scam. Finally, watch out for imitative names. While not always a dead giveaway - some search engine marketers legitimately target common misspellings of a university's name - diploma mills like to choose names that deliberately mimic the names of famous colleges and universities, a practice that goes so far as to proffer instant degrees from institutions with foreign names that seem both persuasive and credible.
Both James Pearson & Matthew Paolini are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
James Pearson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Supplements, Small Business and Affiliate Programs. James Pearson is a successful online entrepreneur and editor of the Affiliate Success Secrets newsletter. To subscribe and get a free copy of the "Affiliate Money Machine" ebook visit. James Pearson's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
Matthew Paolini has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home, web development and Travel and Leisure. Matt Paolini works from home as a distance learner. Visit or. Matthew Paolini's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.