Step-by-Step Affiliate Marketing Process Outline

What You Must Know to Become an Affiliate Marketing Professional

Note: I am making no recommendations on what web host to use, what affiliates to work with, etc. on this page.  You'll find my recommendations on other pages here on the Internet Marketing IQ site. This is just a basic outline for people who are new to Affiliate Marketing Online.

1. Ideas and Brainstorming - You have to come up with a product or service to sell. Think about products you use in your everyday life, think about products you WANT, think about the things you have purchased for yourself, friends, and family.  Try to pick products and services you know about and are interested in; this makes your time spent marketing more enjoyable and helps you sell.

2. Market Research - Does this product or service have a market? Everyone has to eat, everyone has to buy automobile insurance if they drive, everyone needs a place to live.  Does everyone need an electric powered toothbrush?  You may make money selling commodities people must have or specialty items they want (The electric toothbrush). What matters is there are plenty of people to make the purchases.

* Keyword Research - What words and phrases are used to find your product or service? I write about tools used to find these keywords on other parts of the Internet Marketing IQ site.  What is important here is that you take the time to see how people are finding what they are looking to purchase.

* Affiliate Research - Are there companies willing to pay you to sell these products and services (You'll be joining these programs AFTER you have your site working properly). An Affiliate Marketer works on commission so you must select industries with companies willing to pay you.

* Competition Research - Who else is selling in your market. How many websites already exist selling what you want to sell.  Are they huge companies or mom and pop operations.  Don't be discouraged by competition - you need it; it shows there is a viable market. But don't think you can just step right in and knock the big boys out of the top spots either.  Just make sure you know your competition so you can form your marketing plan.

* Legal Research - Is there any liability to sell in the marketplace? Don't pick a Market that is "sketchy". You might find online gambling, pornography, and pharmaceuticals look profitable, but it could come back to bite you.

3. Internet Access and Computer - High Speed Internet Service (Dial-up modems are not fast enough for what you'll
need to do). You'll also need a computer of course - Mac's and PC's are both great, except you'll find many more customized programs for the PC.  Sometimes custom programs will only run on a PC.

4. Site Creation Software - (Choose BEFORE you select a Web host to be sure they will support your needs).  My preference is for Wordpress because it's free, powerful, and easy to learn.  I would NOT recommend using a FREE host like Blogger or Wordpress.com because you do not control your destiny with them.  You may just log on to your site one day to find out it's gone!  What do you do then?  Own your destiny!

5. Site Optimization and Copywriting Skills - Your site needs to have Headlines and text that BOTH sells and allows search engines to find you

6. Affiliate Link/Product implementation - Don't go crazy here... start with a couple of products. Too many new affiliate marketers try to take on too much at once, and the result is unprofessional sites cluttered with advertisements and links.

7. Domain & Webhost Selection - You need to think about what the name of your site will be and purchase the domain.  I always recommend .com, as that is what people doing business expect to see.  Keep in mind the vast majority of "Good Names" are already regestered.  You'll need to be creative or purchase a name from someone else.  I recommend you include keywords in your domain. Make sure the Web Host you choose supports the software you choose to use.  Once you install a script like Wordpress it can be a hassle to move your site later.

8. Promotion Skills - Write Articles, Ask for links, Join Social Networks, Use Social Bookmarking, Visit Forums... promotion is a key part in your sucess; you must find ways to get people to visit your site. You can also purchase links from other sites, or participate in Pay Per Click (PPC) programs where you purchase clicks based on the keywords you select. This is a fast way to get traffic to your site, but if you don't know what you are doing it's also a fast way to lose a lot of money.

9. Statistical Tracking - You need to know where, how, and when people come to your site. You use this information to figure out what they buy and why. You can use the built in statistical reports your webhost provides, purchase services from vendors, or particpate in free Analytics programs from Google and Yahoo. This is a CRITICALLY IMPORTANT part of affiliate marketing.  People who learn how to use stats will make a lot more money than those who do not.

10. Business - Once you start to make money you'll need to choose a business model - propritor, partnership, corporation. Guess What?  Taxes are owed on income.  So in order to pay them, and track your expenses to write off against your income you need to be a business. This all depends on how much you make.  YOu need to talk to a tax person/accountant/bookeeper.

Now you know the Basic Skills required to get into Affiliate Marketing, the rest is up to you.  The details are within articles throughout the  site.  This is NOT an easy business.  YOu don't get rich quick, most don't get rich at all. But if you have a good idea, a good site, and good marketing you can make a real living. Everyone has their own work style, so you will likely rearrainge the order of the above and that's okay.  But make sure you have done your research BEFORE you start building.