Affiliate Business Trends

Posts Tagged ‘Home Based Business’

Right now more and more individuals are finding themselves out of work.  Either because their job has been eliminated, their company is downsizing, or the company has closed completely due to a failing economy.

So there are more people than ever looking to the internet to either supplement their income or completely replace a lost income.  One of the areas of online work that people are looking to is Affiliate Marketing.

To succeed in affiliate marketing, there are certain qualities you must find in yourself.  This is a very competitive industry and to be able to rise above the rest, you need to posess the right stuff.

The first quality you need to possess is to be open to learning and have a willingness to be trained.  A know-it-all-attitude will just cause you to spin your wheels.  You must be willing to learn from those who have gone before.  They can give you an advantage with their knowledge.  So find a mentor to help you.

The second quality is the willingness to invest the time it takes to see results.  This is not a get rich quick scheme.  This is a business, it grows with time and effort.  You must possess the stick-to-it-ness to see the results of your labor.  It may and probably will take months.  Just keep at it!

The third quality is self determination.  If you want to be successful you must be a self motivator.  You need to be able to push yourself.

Which leads us to quality number four, discipline.  There will be no boss standing over you like a task master, saying “Get it done”.  So you must have the ability to set goals and time frames for your work.  Procrastinators need not apply.

Our fifth and final quality is optimism.  If you really have the desire to have your own Affiliate Business, you must disregard the nay sayers.  A negative attitude will never let you succeed.  It will only drag you down and discourage you.  However, if you feel that you can, down in your own heart, no one can keep you from achieving Greatness!

The tools you need to have a successful Affiliate Marketing Business are diverse and exponential.  However, if you have the drive, the integrity and the gumption to succeed, then you will.

The capacity to realize all your dreams lies within you.  Desire is the capacity.

Are you one of the thousands of americans or millions of people around this small world that would like to join the ranks of the work at home crowd?  If you are, then Affiliate Marketing may be just what you’re looking for.

What is Affiliate Marketing you might ask.  Basically, it is an agreement between an individual and a merchant.  The individual  or “affiliate” agrees to use their website or blog page to promote the merchants products by linking to the merchants website.  In which case the merchant pays the affiliate a commision on all sales created by that affiliates link.  Only when the customer purchases the product through the affiliates’ link does the affiliate get paid.

Affiliate Marketing can be a win-win situation for all persons involved, because of the pay per action plan.  All involved reap the benefits.  The merchant for sure, because he gets his product in front of more potential customers’ eyeballs.  The affiliate definately, because they have the potential to earn huge profits.  And yes even the customer, because they may find a product that’s a better fit for their need.

Affiliate Marketing is a great way to start earning money from home.  The start up costs are minimal, usually under $100.00, because most affiliate programs are free to join.  There are literally thousands of affiliate programs out there for all sorts of products and services.  Just pick something that is relevant to your website or blog.  Affiliates can earn anywhere from 5% to 50% or more,  depending on the product and the merchant.  So you want to shop around for a good return on your time and effort.  You don’t need any sales experience because most affiliate programs offer an excellent array of marketing materials. 

Because of the simplicity of the business model you can build a very lucrative affiliate marketing business right from your home, in your spare time.  You don’t have to worry about products, orders, customer service or shipping.  All those responsibilites lie with the merchant.  All you need to do is find customers that are looking for what your merchant is selling.

With the international appeal of the internet you can readily reach millions of perspective customers.  You can grow that potential by employing viral marketing technics.  That way, by attracting the maximum amount of prospects, you also grow your earning potential.  Another plus, is the almost non existant risk factor.  If the product you choose isn’t making you any money, stop promoting it and find a new product.  Unlike traditional businesses with inventory, you’re not struck with a non performer.

I’ve saved what I think is, in my opinion, the very best reason to start an affiliate business.  You can start seeing a profit in little or no time, even in your spare time, while you work your day job.  However, don’t get the idea that because of its ease and lowstart up cost, it’s not work.  Just like anything, you get out of it what you are willing to put into it.

I’ve been doing some Google searches for home based business’s and came across Internet Marketing.  A name that keeps coming up is Jimmy D. Brown. 

Jimmy D. Brown is a guru’s guru for internet marketing.  He has many of his own products.  He also has an affiliate marketing program.  So I signed up for that, and I’m on my way to affiliate marketing.

I think I may have hit on something here.  If this pans out, I will be able to work from anywhere in the world that has internet service.  Now this is what I was looking for in a home based business.

More later.

In February of 2008 I saw a magazine at the local bookstore called Empowering Women.  It was a direct marketing magazine targeting women.  I picked it up and flipped through it.  That particular month their showcase company was Gold Canyon Candles.  I decided to buy the magazine and after reading it almost cover to cover, I decided to try one more direct marketing company.

I purchased my demonstrator’s kit, with the understanding that if I made a certain amount of sales within my first month, my kit would be free.

Well needless to say I was able to sell my quota and got my kit for free.  It was actually very easy, the candles once people smell them, pretty much sell themselves.  The company touts their candles as “The Worlds Finest” and in my opinion they really are.  Their scents are amazing and their throw, (company term for how well a candle scents a room), is very, very good.

After being with the company for five months and making a Squidoo Lens on Gold Canyon Candles, I began to develop a downline. 

However, after a year, as much as I love the candles, this is still really not what I had in mind when thinking about a home based business.  So my search for the perfect (for me) home based business continues, tomarrow.

I left Herbalife in March of 2007.  I had a few regrets, one of which was leaving some of the people that I had met during my time with that company.  I think that was why I hung on for that third year.  I didn’t want to miss the comaraderie that I felt with my downline and one very special person in my upline, Rosey, my mentor.  After I quit, I later learned that most of my downline also quit.

About a month later, Rosey called me and told me that she had started working with another direct marketing company, Meleleuca.  She told me it was different than working with Herbalife. 

So began my next venture into the home based business.  Meleleuca was different.  A much friendlier atmosphere, and the upline wasn’t so driving.  I advanced to director in my first month and I have to say that 3 years later, I’m still with the company.  I’m not really working it as a business anymore, but I am still using the products.  I like them, they are quality products.

Tomarrow the journey continues.