Solo Ads – Outmoded or Back in Style?

For years, Internet marketers have asserted that solo ads are simply outmoded – they're a dinosaur that no longer has the potential to reap any profits; however, another group of Internet marketers knows that the exact opposite is the truth: solo ads can reap massive profits, but in order to do so, they must be engineered perfectly, as must the selection of the solo ad distributor.

A solo ad can be a number of things. Usually, it is a large ad between 200 and 300 words that is placed at the very center of a page. The rate on solo ads is higher than on all other potential options, but it also captures readers' attention the most by far. If you have the money to spend on a solo ad, it can be an excellent investment. However, as with all investments (and advertisements for that matter), you must conduct your due diligence. This involves a considerable amount of research.

Now, when conducting research for a solo ad, there are two things you will want to look at:

1. The first is a list of your potential advertising outlets (in this case, probably e-zines)
2. A list of potential approaches you can take on your solo ad.

Let's start with the first part – finding a list of e-zines in which you can put a solo ad. I personally suggest starting with Directory of E-zines, which you can find at the following URL: http://www.directoryofezines.com/

This is the ultimate resource for advertisers who want access to all e-zines and also want tips for advertising in them. If you don't have any money to spend, I would suggest starting here instead: http://www.ezine-dir.com/

Once you have selected reputable e-zines to advertise in, you will then want to begin creating your solo ad. There are a number of writing “formulas” you can use to do this; however, you will always want to keep in mind what it is that your potential customer wants most.

In advertising, it is often easy to project our own wants in a given product onto potential buyers; however, it is important – when communicating with them – that you talk about their wants, not yours.

Now, when it comes to creating solo ads, I personally suggest that you spend some time at the following URL, learning about what it takes to convert readers into buyers: http://www.copywritersboard.com/.

Furthermore, I suggest that you go beyond simply writing copy and write as you would in the specific medium. For instance, if your solo ad will be featured in an e-zine, then you will want to write as if you are contacting members of a mailing list about a special offer or something similar. You may even want to refer to the owner of the list by his/her first name if (s)he allows that.

Keep all of these skills in mind when conducting solo ad campaigns. All you have to do is select the right advertising mediums and create an excellent ad – and your effort will pay off three fold.

Using Classified Ads To Generate Sales

The process of using classified ads to generate sales for any product whether it be an original product or an affiliate product is often over-simplified and discouraged. This is, in part, because it actually is one of the harderst ways in which you can advertise. It requires you to use a small amount of words to communicate an important point, which will either make or break your ability to garner interest in the product in question. In most cases, supposed experts will discourage you from using classified ads because they themselves have never had much luck using them, NOT because classified ads aren't a viable method of advertising.

So how can you use classified ads correctly to generate a considerable amount of traffic to your affiliate product sales page?

The first step entails finding viable places to advertise. Again, many of the so-called experts will jump in and either tell you to use free sites or that free sites never work. The truth here, too, is somewhat in between: free sites can work, but you must use them carefully. For instance, if you want to generate traffic from sites that allow you to post free classifieds, you will have to find ones that actually receive traffic themselves.

One example of a site that receives a massive amount of traffic, but also allows you to post classified ads for free is craigslist, which you can find at the following URL:

http://www.craigslist.com

As long as you post classified ads in the proper section, you can do it completely free of charge. Additionally, you can do this on each of the craigslist sites for the metropolitan areas in the United States. Another place you can post free classified ads is Yahoo. You can find this feature at the following URL:

http://classifieds.yahoo.com/

Again, as long as its on topic, you can post a classified at for whatever you want. Now, with this in mind, you will want to consider the best way in which you can construct your classified ads. I personally suggest creating a headline or first line that uses psychological triggers.

Remember! With classifieds, you're not paying by the click. It's either free or you're paying for a certain period of time or impressions, so your goal should be to generate as many clicks as possible, so use words like “cheap,” “free,” “proven,” and “shocking” to draw attention to your ad.

Once you have successfully drawn attention to your ad through the headline, you will then want to seal the deal by providing viewers with a reason to click through, provided that your affiliate product is something they will want to buy. You can do this by explicitly stating a quantifiable benefit in the second line of the classified ad – and then stating a crucial feature in the third line. Once you have gained some experience posting ads on free classified ad mediums, you will want to move on to major electronic publications, including large e-zines and authority sites; however, before you do this, you could be confident in the classified ad and your conversion rate.

Build Your Own Mailing List… Even Though You’re an Affiliate!

Today, I want to share with you one of the biggest mistakes affiliates make. I want to share this with you so you wont make the same mistake: The one major mistake many affiliates make is NOT setting up a mailing list!

Affiliates will often send traffic that they generated to affiliate links, rather than a list. When they do this, they are unknowingly making a bet that visitor will buy on first contact. Unfortunately, this is generally not the case. Visitors often need to be warmed up to a product – through the course of multiple visits and additional information – before they are willing to purchase from a person or a business. This is where building a list comes into play.

By building a list, affiliates can fix this problem. Additionally, they can retain traffic, warm it up, and then direct it to different purchases in the future. This means that it isn't a one shot deal: instead, they can attempt to sell the same person multiple products over the course of time. Now, in order to do this successfully, the affiliate in question must purchase the necessary tools. I personally suggest using http://www.aweber.com for the actual auto responder service.

Aweber is relatively inexpensive ($20/mo.) and comes with a formidable range of services, including spam checkers and macros. Best of all, it is whitelisted by many email clients and boasts a delivery rate of 99%. This service will not only manage your list, but it will also help you build it. It includes free tools that allow you to create web forms, pop-ups, and hover-ins – all of which can be used to increase your opt-in rate.

Now, in addition to purchasing the auto responder service, you will need to setup your own site if you do not already own one. If you already own a related site, you can simply add your opt in form to a page on your existing site. If not, I suggest purchasing cheap domain and hosting and using this to host your list forms.

Http://www.27hosting.com currently offers some of the cheapest hosting available on the market. Once you have your site and your auto responder setup, there are only two steps left: the first is building a course of some sort that is related to the affiliate products you will sell; and the second is creating an opt-in form that converts.

The first part is relatively easy. Start by determining your topic and then outline it over the course of five to seven days. Remember that everything should be written as if you are talking to a person, rather than as if you were writing a formal article. If you don't feel comfortable writing these articles yourself, you can always hire a ghostwriter at http://www.elance.com for $5-15 per issue, depending on the size.

Once you have created your autoresponder series, you will want to feed it into your auto responder, setup advertisements in the text for the affiliate product you are planning to sell, and then create an opt-in form for your list.

Once you have setup your opt-in form, the only remaining step is to drive various traffic sources to your opt-in list, collect their email addresses – and then wait for the commissions to roll in!

Generate Traffic and Affiliate Sales with Free Viral Reports

Did you know that the free viral report is quite possibly the most deadly weapon in an affiliate marketer's arsenal?

It allows him o her to quickly multiply his or her efforts while slashing down on marketing costs. All the marketer has to do is develop a viral report for little or no cost, embed an affiliate link in said report, and then find various avenues of distribution that will ensure that the report is perpetuated as far as possible, from group to group to group.

Now, with this being said, when it comes to developing free viral reports, a considerable amount of precise calculation and back-end system setup is needed. Simply jotting down garbage, tossing in an affiliate link, and then attempting to send it to everyone you know in .txt format isn't likely to gain you anything; nor is it likely to multiply your efforts by inducing other marketers to redistribute the report for you.

Instead, you must start from a different point. You must determine what topic people are looking for related to your specific affiliate product.

For instance, do they need more information about the product itself? Do they need to know how to use that product effectively? Whatever your angle happens to be, make sure that it lines up with the wants of your customers and also ties in nicely with your affiliate product.

Next, create the actual viral report and embed your affiliate link in multiple places. If you have a site and a list, you may want to instead post a link to your list – and then use back-end mechanisms to make the sale.

Your last step is to actually ensure that this viral report:

1. Gets into as many people's hands as humanly possible; and
2. Gets into the hands of people who will definitely redistribute it to others without charging any fees. This is where the art of free viral report distribution comes into play.

A good way to distribute your viral report is to create a buzz on forums. You will want to discuss some specific experience you had related to the topic you will cover in the report – and you will want to do it well in advance of your release date.

You will then want to start talking up your release – and also explain that the report will be completely free. Furthermore, you may want to even start locking people in for immediate distribution via email by getting them to join a list. To learn more about viral marketing through this method, you may want to check out some of the case studies at the following URL: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/.

Additionally, you may want to check out http://www.viralPDF.com, which is an excellent tool you can use to create the actual viral reports.

Once you have begun building a forum buzz for the report, you will want to go to e-zine owners in your particular niche and ask them if they are interested in getting a free report on whichever subject you are marketing. The distribution effect will multiply, subsequently multiplying your sales.

Free virals reports is one of the must use strategy every affiliate marketing must use in order to achieve the super affiliate level. Don't miss the chance to learn about it further and also actually do it.

Affiliate Marketing:The Reward Of Direct Referals

Aside from the profit potential of affiliate marketing from your own efforts, you can also earn money from “direct referrals”. When you introduce a new affiliate to the program, they become your direct referral, or sub-affiliate. Affiliate programs will pay you a commission for every direct referral you make. This is sometimes called a “residual” to distinguish it from the commissions paid in relationship to product or service.

While direct referrals are the most common type of residuals you can earn, you can find some affiliate programs that will pay you a residual on different levels, also called “tiers”.There are affiliate programs that have an unlimited number of tiers. These are Multi-Level programs. Tiers are just like steps, in a 2 tier program; your referral link is tier one, the visitor who clicks the link they find on your website and becomes an affiliate of the company is your direct referral or sub-affiliate. When they place their referral link on their own website, their referral link becomes tier two. The commission for each sub-affiliate usually is not as generous as for your own direct sales.

In a 3 tier program, the same process is extended; you are paid a commission or residual when your direct referral’s link is clicked on their website and as a result another person becomes an affiliate of the company. You now in a position to earn commissions three different ways:

1. By referring visitors to the company website that results in a preferred action
2. Through a referred visitor who becomes an affiliate of the company
3. Through payment of a certain percentage from the first referral, a smaller percentage from the second referral and on through the number of tiers in the program for each sub-affiliate.

Depending on the number of tiers in an affiliate program, and the promotional efforts of your self and your sub-affiliates, residuals can add between 5-10% to your overall commissions.

You can create your own websites that can systematically generate income for you day or night, even while you sleep. You can link your web sites to the Online Merchants you represent, and earn commissions from the visitor traffic you “Drive” to them.

Free Affiliate Marketing Tools

Affiliate Marketing tools is few software or programs that you should decide to use to help and assist you in your affiliate marketing arena. There's load of affiliate marketing tools loaded the arena of Internet Marketing right now both free and paid.

For beginner, you might want to consider to download free software unless you are a risk taker or have a lot of money to spend for your affiliate marketing activity. Free tools is a good start for you to learn and decide for purchase consideration next time.

There is a lot of website that offer free download affiliates marketing tool which is completely free and will make you a better affiliate marketer such as affiliatetips.com. The free tools provided helps you to :-

• Select desired tool and copy/paste the displayed code into you website.
• Calculate you monthly affiliate revenue Measure the SEO potential of your website.
• Implement a complete and advanced Affiliate Glossary
• Get the latest and well-written articles with the Affiliate Content Feeds tool.

The tools provided by affiliatetips.com include:-

• Affiliate Program Search - search for the company or category you would like to add your site and get a list of appropriate results displayed
• Affiliate Glossary - look up any word directly in your website to have better understanding of affiliate marketing terminology
• Affiliate Calculators - get an accurate prediction of Monthly revenue or your websites SEO potential.
• Latest Affiliate Content Feeds - enables users to educate their website visitors by simply copy/pasting some code.
• Basic Affiliate Content Feeds- get feeds of exceptionally educational content to your own site.

Go check this affiliatetips.com right now and start download free tools for your use. You also can browse google search for other free tools for your affiliate marketing. There's a lot more if you just browse.

On-site promotion For Your Affiliate Product

As mentioned earlier, there are two ways that you can use your website to promote the product for which you are affiliate.

The first way is to build pages that have content that your visitors will find both interesting and informative. The search engines love this kind of page, because they see them as providing the visitor with a valuable experience. It would therefore make sense to include advertising materials on these pages, such as banner ads and text links in order to direct visitors to the product for which you are affiliate.

I would, however, recommend that you go further than this by creating specific pages of product reviews, where you give a relatively honest opinion of the product.

Note that I used the term ‘relatively honest’ above. Only you can decide how upfront you want to be with your site visitor about the pros and cons of the product that you are, after all, selling. As suggested earlier, if you are too wildly enthusiastic about the product for which you are an affiliate, then the site visitor will see through the façade of your ‘unbiased opinion’, and that will kill your potential sale stone dead.

On the other hand, if you are too negative about the product then that will harm your prospects of making a sale in exactly the same way. Here is what you should do to create an effective review site. While these ideas may not be very original, they are extremely effective, and they have worked very well for me, so I commend them to you. This is an outline of how you should write your product review.

First, don’t be too over-enthusiastic about the product, but do make sure that, in the final analysis, the review decides in favor of the product that you are promoting at the end:

• Headline. This has to grab the reader. Tell them, for example, how you heard about the product but did not believe the claims that were being made for it – they simply seemed too good to be true!
• First paragraph. You bought the product but did so against your own better judgment, and still had no great expectations of it.
• Second paragraph. You did not expect to be overly impressed, but you gave it a try anyway.
• Third paragraph. Begrudgingly, you found that it worked better than you expected.
• Fourth paragraph. It was a lot better than you expected, while not being perfect. Suggest who you believe the product would work well for, and also highlight those for whom you do not think it will be effective (but keep this group as small as possible!).
• Fifth paragraph. Re-emphasize the major benefit, and the fact that it worked for you. Tell the visitor that there is a detailed free report available at XXXXXX/com (this is something I will come back to below).

Into this review, you should then add any genuine personal results that you have enjoyed using the product. Remember that this is intended to be a reasonably honest and unbiased review, and the more you can impose your personality and character on what you write, the more impression you are likely to make on your reader.

How To Choose Top Converting Affiliate Programs For Your Blog

Many people have had the issue where they choose some affiliate products to promote, only to find that the traffic is there but the sales aren't. There is nothing more frustrating! The best way to prevent this from happening in the future is to make sure you are choosing the right affiliate products from the start.

It can feel like you need to be psychic to figure this out. Luckily, there are many tools at your disposal -- no special powers needed! These tools are also free, and can help you immensely when it comes to choosing profitable affiliate products.

The first thing you need to do is some market research. Search around on the Internet to find where people in your niche hang out. The chances are good that you'll find a forum or message board, You can read through these posts to see what kind of product these people would be most interested in.

You see, some markets are better suited to digital products. Other markets are much more attuned with physical products. This is very important for you to know so you always choose the right kind of product.

You can take this a step further by "spying" on your competition. If there is a major blog in your niche you should go look through it. Figure out what they are promoting and how they are doing it. You can't be sure, but the chances are good that if they are established and highly ranked they have done a lot of market research themselves. You can simply use this data to help you figure out what the best fit for your site will be. Remember, a product that is not targeted will make far less sales (if any) than one that is targeted.

After you've decided exactly what kind of affiliate product to promote you can start to look into the specific product or affiliate network. Many of the networks will give you some kind of data that you can use to figure out if it's an offer that sells (look at present and historical data). It is important to remember there are many variables that go into these numbers, so use them as a guideline.

Once you think you've chosen a good product you should look at their sales page or website.

The site should:

• Have well-written copy
  
• Have symbols of trust (verification signs, trustedcompany logos, etc.)
  
• Include a Phone number (increases trust)
  
• Have few distractions (increases conversions)

The site you link to can truly either make or break you! Even if you've done a good job of pre-selling the product (described below), the customer will ultimately make her decision based on the sales page and whether or not she things it's a good offer.

Last but not least, you need to do a good job of pre-selling the product. That means letting your visitors know that this is a great product for them by eithershowcasing banners on your site, writing a review about it, etc. In order to learn how to write a good presell, you should consider learning the basics of good copywriting.

When you put all these pieces together you'll have a much easier time making great affiliate sales on your blog!

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.

Network Style Affiliate Programs

There are several affiliate program networks on the Internet where you can find a wide range of merchants in different categories. Pay careful attention to the details of each program. Keep in mind that although these programs are all on the same site, they are independently owned and operated.

Commission Junction

Commission Junction is one of the leading affiliate program networks with over 2,000 merchant programs to choose from.

Clixgalore Affiliate Marketing

Clixgalore is a leader in pay for performance affiliate marketing solutions. Drive customers to your site now using your own large affiliate sales team and only pay for performance.

Hydra Network

Hydra Network distributes over 1,000 performance-based ad campaigns, with 300 exclusives, generating more than a million new customers per month to advertisers.

NCS Credit Card Affiliate Marketing

You can earn commissions by promoting credit cards from some of the largest banks in the United States.

Forex Affiliate Marketing

Affiliates in the Forex program earn over $10,000 per referral. This is one of the Internet’s leading affiliate programs.

Performics Affiliate Marketing

Performics makes online marketing cost-effective, easy and profitable. Affiliate marketing experts who specialize in improving Return On Investment (ROI) and maximizing sales.

DirectTrack Affiliate Marketing

DirectTrack is a tracking, reporting, management and ad serving solution to control all of your online marketing efforts.

oneNetwork Affiliate Program

oneNetwork has one of the largest selections of software titles on the Internet where 40,000 affiliates earn up to 75% commissions.

Global Industrial Affiliate Marketing

Affiliates earn up to 10% commissions with Global Industrial Equipment’s e-commerce affiliate program. Global Industrial carries over 30,000 industrial and office products from great manufacturers. This is a solid company that has been in business over 50 years and is a Better Business Bureau member.