In this lesson we're going to look at the basics of affiliate marketing, as well as the kinds of things you can do to promote the product/service as an affiliate. Don't worry if some things seem a bit advanced for you right now - some might be ideas that you try once you've got a little more experienced.

Affiliate Marketing in a Nutshell:

Affiliate marketing is quite simply promoting other people's products online for a commission. Traditionally, an affiliate would have their own website which brings in traffic - they would then link to the merchant via and affiliate link, which is a special kind of hyperlink that contains a code that is unique to that affiliate. If a person who is sent from the affiliate's website to the merchant's buys a product, the affiliate gets a commission. Simple!

Affiliate marketing has grown into a multi-million dollar industry, with thousands of people making full time incomes promoting other people's products online.

Types of Affiliate Marketing:

There are many different strategies affiliates can use to promote affiliate programs. In fact, when it comes to online marketing, the only limit is really your own imagination. Here are some common examples:

• Having a small website that provides information on a certain topic with links and reviews of several related paid products or services (via affiliate links - obviously!)
• Have a blog and regularly post interesting and useful content on a certain topic. Build loyal subscribers and inbound traffic, then provide links and reviews of affiliate products and solutions, or advertise on the sides of your blog
• Create an opt-in email newsletter which people can subscribe to get free information on a specific topic. In addition to the free information you provide, you also have links to affiliate products that you recommend.
• Create a video review of a product and post it on YouTube and other video hosting networks.Link to the product via your affiliate link
• Use Pay per Click advertising to target specific searches. Direct the PPC traffic to a pre-sales page that makes them interested in buying the product, then link to the product sales page through your affiliate link!
• Use social media channels like Twitter and Facebook to connect with people, build relationships, provide value and content, then recommend paid products. (But keep in mind that posting nothing but affiliate links on Twitter is not only really annoying - it simply doesn't work!)
• Post in relevant forums with links (warning: be careful not to Spam! Check the blog rules for each site to determine their linking policy)

These are only some of the ways affiliates can promote products online. The best ideas are going to be the ones you come up with yourself.

The "do I need a website?" question...

We are constantly asked by new affiliates "do I really need to have a website to be an affiliate?" The answer is not a definite yes or no, but we recommend that you do. Now, we know that the idea of building a website can be a bit scary to someone who's never done it before, but there are several reasons why building a website is a good idea - and with all the free tools that are available these days, it's never been easier to build a simple website.

• It's a good learning experience: If you're serious about affiliate marketing, you're going to end up building at least a simple website at some point anyway - so why not start now?
• You control your own business: The trouble with being an affiliate without a website is that you're always relying on other people's services, like social media, PPC networks, and forums - if something happens to those sites, or they change their policies (which happens a lot!), you could lose your whole business overnight! If you invest in your own site, it's much harder for this to happen.
• It's hard to add value without one: Without a website, it can be very hard to differentiate yourself from other affiliates and other products. A website allows you to add extra value, either though more content, mailing lists, bonuses, or links to other related products. If you're just posting your affiliate link directly on to third party sites, you miss out on all these opportunities.

Affiliate Best Practices

We recommend you use the following best practices when acting as an affiliate - these are not rules so much as what we think will make you the most successful (although some lead on from the rules we outline in the Affiliate Agreement).

• Spam doesn't work. Not only could doing anything spammy get you kicked out of our affiliate program - it simply doesn't work! People are used to spam these days, and they simply ignore it. This goes for email, forums, blog comments and social media sites like Twitter. If no one clicks on your link, no one is going to buy, and that means no commission! The only thing you'll do by spamming is damage the Speed Success brand, which hurts both us and every affiliate that promotes us.
• Add Value. You have to give people a reason to buy through you. Either by offering great, high quality free content, or by offering bonus products to people who actually buy Speed Success through you. The general rule is that the more you offer people over and above a simple affiliate link to our product, the more successful you will be. Your visitors are more likely to trust your opinion, and be interested in the products and services you recommend!
• Think outside the box. You can't do something ordinary and expect extraordinary results. If you do the same thing as ever other affiliate out there, then you can only expect a moderate amount of success - because really, you're sharing the market evenly with the hundreds or thousands of others that are doing the same thing. Try and come up with different ideas and ways of promoting Speed Success - this will help you break through the clutter and really shine as an affiliate. Some of your ideas will work and some won't, but the important thing is that you are constantly trying new things!
• Keep in touch! We pride ourselves in our affiliate program management, but we can't help you unless you ask us! If you have any questions, concerns or ideas you want to float by us, just shoot us an email! It's in our best interest to make you successful!