Social bookmarking sites are particularly popular among people with affiliate marketing programs because such sites are a free and effective way to get backlinks and drive traffic to web sites and blogs.

If you have been thinking about promoting your web sites, blogs, or affiliate marketing programs through social bookmarking sites, this guide will help you get started.

How to Use Social Bookmarking Sites

First off, you need to find a social bookmarking site and register as a user. If you participate in affiliate marketing programs, your best bet is to choose one of the more popular sites, such as Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, or StumbleUpon. These social bookmarking sites have the most traffic and allow you to submit and bookmark web sites and blogs.

The next step is to get used to the site. To make the most of social bookmarking, you need to make sure that there are other users besides yourself who will be interested in your affiliate marketing programs, blogs, or web sites. Different social bookmarking sites have different types of users. Finding a site that works with your niche rather than against it is a must.

Finally, pay special attention to the blogs, web sites, and articles that are bookmarked the most and ranked the highest. This will give you an idea of what people like to see. Knowing your social bookmarking audience is essential, particularly if you are promoting affiliate marketing programs or niche-specific blogs.

How Not to Use Social Bookmarking Sites

Nobody likes a spammer. Social bookmarking users are no exception. If you want to promote your affiliate marketing programs, it is best to do it in a round about way. Sales copy will only make it so far up the ranking.

The blogs and web sites that do the best in the social bookmarking arena are those that offer entertainment, worthy news, or some sort of draw. In other words, don't submit content with a title like "Check Out These Affiliate Marketing Programs".

When submitting content to social bookmarking sites, it is essential that you stick to submitting quality content. Once you get traffic flowing into your web sites and blogs, the sales will follow naturally.

More Social Bookmarking Tips

A few other things you will want to keep in mind when promoting affiliate marketing programs and blogs through social bookmarking:

- Timing is everything. Articles that get at least 25 votes within the first 15 minutes will rise through the social bookmarking ranks faster than articles that get 25 votes in two days time.

- Opening several accounts on one social bookmarking site so that you can vote for yourself should be avoided. This will only damage you if you are promoting your own blogs and affiliate marketing programs.

- Get your friends to help. This is the easiest and best way to promote your blogs and affiliate marketing programs through social bookmarking.