The idea is that you become a sales person for the company and in return they pay you a commission. However, the problem is you are up against thousands of other affiliates all trying to sell the same thing. The competition online is hot. In the "real world" if you were a sales person for a product or service you would be allocated a territory, you may even get exculsive rights. But in the online world your territory is the same as everyone else - and they are all using the same marketing materials as you. Consquently, affiliate marketing often fails to deliver.

Ask any successful internet business about their affiliates and they will tell you the same story; almost all of the income from affiliates is derived from about half a dozen individuals, with the thousands of others who participate in the programme sharing just a few per cent of sales.

So, if you want to make money from affiliate products you need to do what those half dozen people are doing, rather than what the majority do. Most affiliates simply use the marketing materials produced for them - many do not even do this, they just include links in their web pages. That's rather like marketing your own products by putting a postcard through one letter box in the street and hoping that many of the neighbours will see it and respond. Some hope.

Successful affiliate marketers produce original marketing materials and focus on a specific sector. Say for instance you want to market an ebook on pricing strategy. That would be popular for any business and the supplied marketing materials would be completely general as a result. But if you built a website, say, for pricing strategies in the hotel sector, you could then sell the book more easily. You would need original content, regular articles and specific items for hoteliers, for instance. But the additional effort makes it worthwhile as you get increased sales.

In other words, when you create specific sites, for particular audiences, with original content and then you try to sell the affiliate products you will do well. If, however, you simply use affiliate links in a general site, the income you produce will be insignificant.

If you want to understand more about how to make money from affiliate marketing get The Super Affiliate Handbook from Super Affiliate Rosalind Gardner - and yes, that is an affiliate link..!

Remember, you can always ask your question and get it answered in this newsletter by going to: http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/questions

WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK:

If you don't ask you won't get 

Twice this week I have been in situations where people asked for something and got it. I was in a hotel where the person I was dining with requested a special item because of his diet. The waitress came back and said the chef said it wasn't possible. My fellow diner said the chef should check the packaging for the ingredients. The waitress returned a few moments later and said it was OK. If my friend had not persisted he would have had to choose an alternative item from the menu, rather than what he wanted.

Later in the week I was lecturing at the University of Buckingham when a student came up to me and asked if I could change the order of the planned lectures in the coming weeks. The reason? It would make it easier for their revision plans for the forthcoming exam. I thought for a moment and realised the student was making sense and so agreed to change the topics around.

On both occasions the "status quo" would have been acceptable, but wasn't exactly what the individuals really wanted. By being "brave" and asking for what they wanted, they both got it. Sometimes we hold back as we fear being seen as rude or too assertive. But frequently people realise that what we are asking is perfectly acceptable. So, if you want something ask - the worse that can happen is people say no.

If you want to check out what else I've been doing for the past week, you can always look at: http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/week

THIS WEEK'S "MUST BUY":

How to make a million online - honest..!

Ewan Chia is a well known internet entrepreneur who has made more than $1m from affiliate marketing. Given the topic of this week's question it makes sense to take a look at his book "How I Made My First Million on the Internet". This is a complete guide to making money online largely from affiliate products and services. It details Ewan's rise to millionaire status and shows you exactly how you can make money online using his techniques. Some of the techniques may seem odd, but they do work. If you want to earn money online by creating an additional business to the one you already run, this book is an excellent introduction.

You can buy the book from http://GJurl.com/chia.

So, that's it for this week - see you in seven days...!

Kind Regards

Graham Jones
Internet Psychologist

Web: grahamjones.co.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/grahamjones
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Tel: +44 118 336 9710
Email: graham@grahamjones.co.uk

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Affiliate Links: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links provding me with a small commission when you purchase the item. However, I only use affiliate links for products which I personally value.