How to Promote Any Affiliate Program In 5 Easy Steps

Using ezine articles is a great way to promote your favor affiliate program. What I'd like to do in this article is provide you with a simple system for effectively writing an ezine article that strategically promotes your offer.

There are five steps...

1. CHOOSE THE OFFER YOU WISH TO PROMOTE

This one is kind of a no-brainer. It all begins with deciding what you want to promote. What offer would you like to send traffic to.

HINT: You can promote your affiliate link directly, but what works better is to promote a list at YOUR site which you then use to promote your affiliate link over and over again after the visitor becomes a subscribers.

2. DETERMINE YOUR "USEFUL, BUT INCOMPLETE" APPROACH.

I love to use what I have coined as the "useful, but incomplete" approach when using freebies of any kind. (Ezine articles, free eBooks, reports, eCourses, etc.) What I mean by that is simply this: You provide your reader with "useful" information (something they find of value and are able to actually apply) but make certain that it is "incomplete" in that they can better use the information by making a purchase. That's "useful, but incomplete." And it works like a charm.

The idea is to use your content to build up to your desired response. You provide the reader with content, and then you make an offer that allows them to fully utilize the content, gain extra insight from the content or maximize the content in some additional way.

Let me give you an example:-

If I wanted to promote an autoresponder service in an ezine article, how could I do it? I'd write an article that explains how to benefit from using autoresponders. My article would explain different uses of autoresponders and how the reader could profit from implementing the ideas.

** I.E. 7 Ways To Create Revenue Streams With Autoresponders

Naturally, they will need an autoresponder service in order to use the information, right? And I just happen to know of a great service they can use. More on that later.

OK, so that's an example of how to promote a SERVICE offer with your ezine article. What about a software product or an eBook?

Want some examples? Good, because I've got two...

TO PROMOTE A SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

Let's suppose you want to promote a software program that creates "ecovers". How can you do it?

• Write an article outlining how important presentation of your offer is, and how creating a cover graphic can increase response rates by up to 1300%
  
• Write a step-by-step tutorial article for "do-it-yourselfers", explaining how to design your own graphics from scratch. Then promote the software as a super-simplified way of doing it.

TO PROMOTE AN EBOOK.

Let's suppose you want to promote an ebook that teaches advanced list-building strategies. How can you do it?

• Write an article that covers the "basics" of building lists, and then promote the eBook as the "advanced" tactics.
  
• Write an article on how to profit from a list, and then promote the eBook as the "how to build the list."

See how easy this is?
That's how it works. Determine what your "useful, but incomplete" approach will be, and then..

3. TURN YOUR APPROACH INTO A TIPS OR TUTORIAL ARTICLE.

Let's use my example again. I decided that I would describe various uses of autoresponders and how the reader can actually profit from them. What kind of tips list or tutorial could I create?

• How to Generate More Subscribers, Sales and Profits With Automated Follow-Up Messages"
  
• 7 Powerful And Profitable Ways To Use Autoresponders To Skyrocket Your Sales and Subscribers!
  
• Want to Increase Your Online Profits And Leads? Here are 7 Ways to Do It...
  

I actually went with the middle title. I wrote my list of the 7 ideas that I wanted to share. And I had the makings of a perfect article to promote an offer. That's all you need to do. Determine your end result. Decide how to get there with your "useful, but incomplete" approach. And then develop a list, or even a step-by-step tutorial for your article that leads the reader along.

With each new "idea" or "way" or "tip" or "step" or "strategy" that you share, you can further direct the reader towards realizing their need of your upcoming offer, and lay the foundation for them to accept the offer.

4. EXPAND ON EACH POINT TO BUILD YOUR CONTENT.

Here's more of the easy part. Just "fill-in-the-blanks" to complete your article. Write 1-2 short paragraphs for each of your points. Make them good. Provide quality content. The offer you will soon make will see poor results if your information isn't useful.

Remember, you are trying to presell the reader on the idea that they are going to need your offer. If you don't provide them with quality information that they WANT to begin using immediately, then why will they want to buy what you are promoting?

Light a fire in them. Motivate them. Challenge them. Give them such nuggets of gold that they want to keep mining until they hit the mother lode!

5. PUT ON THE FINISHING TOUCHES WITH THE "FIVE PILLARS"

There are five things that you should always do to finish up your ezine article. Don't skip any of them. They are all critical.

• POLISH. Re-read your article. Does it provide information that really is "useful" to the reader? And yet leaves them wanting even more? That's what you want. Polish it. Put on the wax and make it shine. It has a very specific purpose -- make certain it has the means to achieve it.
  
• PROMOTE. Use your resource box to promote your offer. This is why we've written the article, right? Remember step one? It's time to put it into play. Give the reader what they (hopefully) are wanting...a way to maximize the information you gave them.
  
• PROOF. Don't do this yourself. Have a trusted friend, relative or co-worker check your article for grammatical and typographical errors. The last thing you want to do is present a poor image after sharing some high quality information.
  
• PUBLISH. Zip your new article out to your favorite list of publishers. Submit it to the announcement lists and the ezine directories. Don't forget to publish it yourself in your own newsletter!
  
• PROFIT. If you've covered all the bases that I've mentioned, then profits are almost certain to start coming in when your ezine article is published. You deserve it. Be proud of your accomplishments.

And then start it all over again! That's how you promote your favorite affiliate program in 5 easy steps using ezine articles. Obviously, there are many other ways to promote your affiliate program, as well as a considerable more "details" in the strategy we've looked at today.