The Key To High-Volume Web Sales
by Michael Southon
The quickest way to achieve high-volume sales
on the web is to set up your own affiliate program.
There are two ways to set up an affiliate program: you
can install affiliate tracking software on your server
or you can use a 3rd party affiliate tracker.
Here is a list of sites that offer affiliate tracking software:
http://www.ezine-writer.com/affiliatesoftware.html
For most people, a much easier option is to use 3rd
party (or web-based) affiliate tracking.
There are literally dozens of web-based affiliate management
services. Some have setup fees, some have monthly fees and
others charge monthly commissions on your sales.
Here is a list of 3rd party affiliate trackers:
http://www.ezine-writer.com/3rdpartyaffiliate.html
One of the most popular 3rd party affiliate trackers
is ClickBank (http://www.clickbank.com).
Compared to some other affiliate programs, ClickBank's
system is quite basic - for example they only offer one-tier
affiliate tracking and they don't provide click-thru stats.
But the one big advantage of ClickBank is they are
widely used (by over 10,000 merchants) and trusted -
and that means your customers will feel safer when
ordering your products.
Here are some of the features of the ClickBank
affiliate program:
> one time setup fee of $49
> no monthly fees
> 7.5% commission on your sales
> automatic email (to you and your affiliates) every
time you make a sale
> ClickBank issues checks to your affiliates
> checks issued every 2 weeks
> low minimum ($5) before a check is issued
One drawback to using ClickBank is that the links
your affiliates post on their websites won't contain
your domain name - so they won't increase your
link popularity.
But there is a way around this - a script specifically
designed for ClickBank merchants that generates URLs
for your affiliates, based on your domain name:
http://www.easybiztools.com
With this script, your ClickBank affiliates would use a link
that looks like this:
http://www.yoursite.com/sales.php?offernickname&pid1
Once you have your affiliate program set up, you'll
need some promotion tools to offer your affiliates.
Here are some ideas:
> free eBook - this could be as little as 5 or 10
pages explaining the benefits of your product or
service. Make sure it contains some valuable tips
and include links to your website that your affiliates
can customize with their own affiliate link.
> your own articles - if you write free articles,
encourage your affiliates to use them in their
newsletter and on the website, with their affiliate
link in the resource box.
> ezine ads - offer your affiliates 30-word ads they
can place in newsletters (preferably ads you have
tested and found to be effective)
> email course - if you have an email mini-course,
allow your affiliates to offer it from their website,
with their affiliate links
> popups - give your affiliates a template popup for
their website, with instructions on how to install it
> affiliate kit - put all your affiliate tools into
an eBook that your affiliates can download
That's it! All the information you need to set up your own
affiliate program.
(c) 2003 by Michael Southon
About the Author
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over
3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use
this simple technique to get massive free publicity and
dramatically increase traffic and sales. For more information
visit: http://www.ezine-writer.com/