One of the things which strikes you as soon as you decide to become an affiliate is this: the lack of helpful information on what you can actually do to get your affiliate marketing efforts to prosper. Of course, basic guides tell you that you can start off by registering a website and putting together a sales page. Then all you have to do is register with some service for pay-per-click ads and money will start flowing in, they say.
Sadly, this is a “pipe-dream!”
But it is possible to promote without spending a boat-load on advertising. There are dozens of ways to generate free traffic to your site that are quite effective…
1. Forums
With their popularity rising every day, forums provide you with a great opportunity to promote your affiliate link. Visit forums related to your product and give helpful suggestions or useful information. Do not forget to include your sig file at the bottom of the post. This is how interested customers will find you.
My guarantee: once you’ve contributed something useful, you will see an immediate rise in traffic through your link.
2. Blogging
Search engines simply love blogs. So you really can’t dream of earning ’super’ money without setting up a blog. There are a number of free blog services available. Sign up with one of them and follow their simple instructions. You’ll be ready to go in less time than it takes to bake a cake!
Target your blog tightly around the exact niche you are promoting and add to it regularly. The incoming traffic will blow you away! This is one of the top ways to earn affiliate income from your website.
Another neat trick: Visit related blogs and post your comments. This will bring links back to your own blog. Of course, spamming is a big NO!
3. Set up a fantastic squeeze page
Your ‘pre-sell’ page or landing page is similar to the appetizer before the main course: just good enough to whet your reader’s appetite for more. Just give your visitors enough to make them leave their email address with you.
Squeeze pages help you expand your most important affiliate tool - your lead list. This list is the pulse of your online business because it contains the names of all those people who might be interested in the product you offer.
A important tip: Make use of technology to your advantage. Place a short video or audio on your squeeze page. This is the easiest way to punch up customer responsiveness.
4. Write a complimentary report
The web is all about offering quality content for FREE!
Write a free 5-8 page report and advertise it using blogs, forums and social bookmarking sites. Include your affiliate link in the report. If your report is genuine, many people will check back and discover your product.
Paid ads can break your marketing budget even before you start. So stay away from Pay Per Click advertising.
A new affiliate marketing campaign must always start out with the lowest possible investment on your part. If your product is brand new in the market, diving directly into a Pay Per Click campaign will lose you money. Before you decide to pay for ads, exhaust all free methods. Once the existing channels start paying up, you can try paid advertising.
This easy blueprint will help you generate massive income from your site.
To see a great example of a video squeeze page (mentioned above), and to get more insight on driving clients to your site, visit TheSecretAffiliateFormula.Com. For a limited time, you can also sign up for a free training course worth $67.
- Secret Affiliate
Highlights 
January 20th, 2008 