Remember,
Eric's success came from focusing on just one
marketing strategy and really conquering it.
Only now that he has mastered search engine optimization
will he start to think about some of the other marketing
ideas he's had floating around in his head for some time.
“If
we weren't the first listing on page one of the major
search engines -- if we were the first listing on page
TWO, we'd only do a small fraction of the business we've
been doing,” Eric says.
Case
Study #2: Sage-Hearts.com
Promoting
affiliate products can be a great way to earn money on
the ‘Net -- especially if you don't have a product
of your own to sell. But just putting up a few links and
calling it a day won't cut it. If you don't give your
affiliate endeavors the attention they deserve, you will
likely be disappointed by the paltry commission checks
you receive.
Rosalind
Gardner of Sage-Hearts.com has established herself as
an expert in online dating services by building a site
that provides tons of useful information
about the online dating scene. And she's used that reputation
to build a healthy affiliate income, promoting the top
dating sites she reviews. Her focus has allowed her to
earn $30,000 to $50,000 per month, with a whopping 40%
to 50% profit margin.
Rosalind
owes her “super-affiliate” status to some
very simple but incredibly effective techniques
that allow her to have conversion rates 3 to
5 times higher than most.
How
does she do it?
“High-volume
traffic sites are one of the first keys to earning excellent
revenue from affiliate programs. A great conversion rate
is another important factor,” Rosalind says. “I
believe the main reason for my excellent conversion rates
is that I offer excellent products that I've researched
thoroughly and on which I'm willing to stake my reputation.”
And
there's the key -- Rosalind thoroughly researches any
program she plans to get involved with, making sure she's
comfortable with both the service she'll be recommending
and the program itself.
“Fortunately,
top-quality services and reputable affiliate programs
tend to go hand-in-hand,” she says.
Here
are some of the things Rosalind recommends you look for
before joining any program:
- A
great product: She recommends only products
and services she would be willing to pay for herself.
“I frequently purchase and test products before
listing them for sale on my sites,” she says.
- High
commissions:
Some programs will pay as little as 5% commission (which
means it will take a huge volume of sales to earn any
real money); some will pay as high as 50%.
- A
high-quality affiliate interface: You should
be able to quickly and easily access your sales and
visitor statistics at any time.
- Excellent
-- and available -- management: Great management
is usually a sign of a great program. “The best
companies take care of their affiliates by ensuring
that their program managers are accessible and responsive,”
Rosalind says.
- Real-time
statistics reporting:
Real-time reporting allows you to track the success
of any advertising or promotion.
- Low
minimum payout: “One of the companies
I promote has a $1,000 minimum payout, which means I
don't get paid until I've generated $1,000 in earnings,”
Rosalind says. “That's fine if I can do that every
month, but suppose it takes a year?”
- Frequent
payout schedule: Payout schedules can vary
from weekly, to bi-weekly, to monthly, to quarterly.
Frequent payouts mean your income is more regular.
She
also recommends making sure that you understand your affiliate
agreement by reading it from top to bottom before signing
up and monitoring your statistics to keep close
track of payments.
Once
you're comfortable with the program, make sure you give
your customers a reason to click on your affiliate links
-- and that the affiliate products and services you're
offering appeal to your site's audience.
Rosalind
has accomplished this by personally reviewing and profiling
the dating sites she recommends. Plus, she makes a point
of constantly updating her reviews to make sure her visitors
have a compelling reason to return time and time
again.
Case
Study #3: InvestmentHouse.com
Free
opt-in newsletters are another great way to establish
yourself as an expert in your field. They're also a great
tool for capturing the names and e-mail addresses of potential
customers so you can contact them again, continue your
relationship with them, and hopefully convert
them into customers.
Eric
Aafedt of InvestmentHouse.com offers a number of online
newsletters, both free and paid, to a subscriber base
that is currently 130,000 strong and growing.
With
an emphasis on opt-ins over traffic,
Eric grew from gross revenues of $80,000 in 1998 to a
whopping $2 million by 2000 -- and now, a couple of years
later, he's got the rules of success down pat.
What's
his secret?
“My
focus is solely on getting opt-in e-mail addresses and
then converting them to paying customers
over time,” Eric says.
That's
why Eric offers both free and paid investment newsletters.
Once visitors opt in to one of his free publications,
he offers them:
