Picking the Right Affiliate For You

Affiliate marketing, is it for you and how do you pick the right product to promote?

If you have a web site or an e-mail list, one way to make extra income and our favorite type, passive income, is sign up to become an affiliate for a company, entrepreneur etc.

It sounds easy, looks easy, and yes, it is, but the skill is in picking the right one.

Here are three tips to help you decide which ones might be the best match for you-

Don’t Go With the Big Bucks

Some companies pay their affiliates lots of money while others offer just a dollar or less. Instinct tells us to go with the bigger payout but if it’s for a product that’s unrelated to your audience needs and wants then the chances of making any money from signing up, is at zero. In fact, I’d say it’s a total waste of your time.

Know Your Audience

This ties in with the previous tip. Get to know your audience and what they want, what they’re looking for and based on that, seek out products and services that will fulfill those needs. For example, if your audience is parents who are homeschool their children then seek out products and services that will help them educate their children. These might pay less but if you get more parents to click on the link and buy products, over time you’ll make more money.

Use It Yourself

One rule I have is I never sign up for an affiliate program unless it’s a product or service I’ve already used myself. I don’t believe in telling you to buy something if, one, I haven’t tried it out and liked it, and two, think it’s worth the money and that my subscribers will benefit from using it. You want your audience to trust you and by trying to sell them things and services that might be downright awful, well, that’s the fastest way to lose subscribers and customers. Earning an extra few dollars here and there isn’t worth the price of a dwindling list or worse still, losing every single one of your customers. Without customers your business doesn’t exist!