Making Money From Your Website
What operating system do they use?
If you find that a large part of your visitors are using the same
operating system, then would it make sense to offer them an affiliate
program that can not support their needs? For example, lets say
that you have an affiliate program that offers a free downloadable
game to your visitors. Lets further say that the requirements for
this game are Windows XP. If your tracking information tells you
that the bulk of your visitors are using Windows 2000, then does
it really make sense to offer this program to them? This is just
another example of what thoughtless work can do to your dreams of
making money from the internet. This concept is the same for browsers,
screen resolutions, and the other information that can be provided
by tracking information.
What are my visitor's interests?
If they are techno geeks ( like me :o) ) then they might enjoy
offers for software, computer peripherals, trial offers for educational
books, etc. What need does your site fulfill for a potential visitor?
Think about what kind of people you designed the site for, and how
that relates to the information you gather on your actual visitors.
You can get even more specific information on visitors through free
services that allow you to offer opinion polls on your site. The
more you know about your visitors the better you can fit their needs
with programs they will click on.
Affiliate Marketing Strategy Program Choices
When choosing an affiliate program, there are more questions to
be answered than just how well it fits with your visitors needs.
You also need to take into account how well it fits with your needs.
Do they have restrictions that apply because of geographical locations
or site requirements? Do they limit your ability to promote them
by not allowing promotion through newsletters or mass e-mail? What
kind of reputation does the company have? Do they restrict you to
certain sized banner advertisements or text links? How well do they
know which of their own banners or text links produce the best results?
Company reputation?
Truth is, you can offer anything through your site that you want,
but if you are not careful what you offer, then the affiliate could
also hurt your reputation and cost you in the long run. Put yourself
in the visitor's shoes. If you went to a site and clicked on a link
that promised you something but didn't deliver, would you be so
quick to click on the site again when you didn't trust the links?
How many times have you visited a site that promised something through
a link and didn't deliver? Did you go back to the site? If you did,
then did you click on other links, or just look over the information
on the site? How does the company stack up in customer support areas
or quality of products/services?
These questions apply to the company's ability to provide to customers,
but what about their ability to deliver to the webmasters and website
designers that promote them? Have they been accused of "shaving
hits"? Do they pay commissions on time? How often do they pay?
Do you know of any other webmasters or designers that are successful
with their products/services? What does the Better
Business Bureau say about the company? Does the company have
a long history of treating their promoters fairly and paying them
on time? Is their payscale in line with industry standards for that
type of program?
How well does the company know its own marketing materials?
Do they know which of their marketing tools provide the best return?
Do they even track that kind of information? I love companies that
know this information, especially those that have incorporated rotational
programs in their code to rotate their best producing banners on
your page. The larger the site, the more of a pain it is to go in
and manually change affiliate program links. Working with a company
that tracks this information greatly reduces the amount of time
and energy needed to promote them.
A company that has no clue to this kind of information is a liability.
If they do not know this kind of information, then how can they
give their affiliates the tools needed to generate sales, make them
successful, and provide them with the income stream they seek? Even
worse, how long do you think that this kind of a company can remain
afloat without knowing what works? Any good company worth its weight
has a marketing team that knows what works. It is the ability to
reproduce what works in more advertisement areas to generate more
sales. Stay away from companies that do not know this information.
They will only take addspace away from you that could have been
used on other companies that produce.
Back
to Table of Contents
Increased Traffic From Your Programs (Article Continues)
Other Marketing Articles:
Related E-Book Downloads
By James R. Sanders
December 23, 2001
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About the Author
James R. Sanders is the owner of Sanders
Consultation Group Plus. He has been a webmaster and website designer since
1997. He has also been involved in self employment ventures since 1992. He is
presently a contributing author of NewbieHangout,
and has been published through WebProNews
and 4Rankings.com.
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would be website designers, self employed, or those researching information
looking for solutions to questions associated with design, business operations,
and promotion today. His goal is to provide practical information based upon
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