Rosalind Gardner was the one to introduce me to internet affiliate marketing through her book the Super Affiliate Handbook.  Rosalind has been recording a video at the beginning of each year predicting what the year would be like for internet affiliate marketing.  I though it would be fun to see what has happened so far in 2010 and see how correct she is.  Watch the video below.

Rosalind makes some great predictions.  Let me tell you what I think.  I have always been a fan of frugality.  If you know me personally I have used coupons to buy things for year.  I carry a coupon binder to the store and last week I even got about fifteen items for FREE!  Yes for FREE!  I am one of those people that hold up the grocery story line with a stack of coupons. Rosalind was completely correct when she discussed saving money.  Right now a lot of people are looking for coupon codes on the internet, they are looking for ways to be frugal and a lot of it is out of necessity!

She also mentions social media and video marketing!  Within this year I have noticed a huge increase of companies offering coupons, sample and free full sized products if you become a fan of theirs on Facebook!  Big companies are really using social media to benefit them.  I have also noticed if I have any kind of bad experience with a company and mention it on Twitter, I get a message from the company asking what they can do to help!  Rosalind is right on the mark!

Video marketing has become huge.  The very few courses I have paid for this year have been on video marketing.  It is a way to not only bring traffic to a website but it is a way to get noticed.  This week I finished reading the book Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk.  He got noticed because of his video marketing on Wine Library TV!  I believe videos make things personal for people.  In a world of electronics we want to be able to see you and know we can trust you!

Lastly, Rosalind tells us about Forrester’s report that they predict that affiliate marketing will experience double digit growth!  Companies will also be putting more money into affiliate programs.  That is fantastic for us as affiliate marketers!  So what do we need to take advantage of this?  What do  you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter!

Until Next time!

Remember back in January when I told you about the 52 week Amazon Lens Challenge?  Right after I wrote this I went to NAMS 3 and I honestly have not done any Squidoo lenses since.  Even though I have not continued I have made money on the lenses I have.  Yay, right?!  Well yes and no.  I need to get back on the bandwagon!  Why am I telling you this?  I want you to learn from my mistake.  If you are making money somewhere then continue doing what you are doing and get better at it!

So what is Squidoo?

Squidoo is really where you can create a mini-website for free!  You can enjoy the benefits of making money and not have to spend money!  I am all for that.  The thing about Squidoo is that  you can create a Squidoo lens (your mini-website) on anything you would like.  So for my purpose I want to create genealogy Squidoo lenses!  I can create Squidoo lenses on software, books, how-to, etc.

Why use Squidoo?

Squidoo is a great way to build links to your site.  This is the first thing Squidoo is really good for.  The next is search engine ranking!  When you use Squidoo as a mini-website you will get the benefit of Squidoo’s high ranking in Google.  You can build a brand and reputation off of your Squidoo lenses.  One of the best advantages of Squidoo is it is so quick!  You can get a lens up and going in an hour or less!  You will also be supplementing your income with affiliate marketing on your Squidoo lenses.

If you haven’t opened an account with Squidoo go do it now!

PS. If you haven’t used Squidoo ever or need a guide as to how you should build a lens I would recommend Tiffany Dow’s ebook Social Networking on Squidoo!

I have been in Spring Cleaning mode here.  Up until yesterday we enjoyed seventy degree weather for a few weeks.  It was wonderful!  I have basically reorganized and purged most of my home!  This week my husband and started a Square Foot Garden.  SFG is container gardening.  We have not yet planted anything because it  is too cold still.  The day after my husband build the box and put in the soil it snowed!!  As I was thinking about the seeds we are going to plant and the harvest we will receive in several weeks, I started thinking about business!

What kinds of seeds are you planting?

As you know with any plant there has to be a growing period.  You have to nourish that seed.  You need to protect that plant.  Then harvest at the right time!  So what seeds are you planting.  In other words what do you want to harvest?  When I was at NAMS in January Mark Hendricks talked about how you need to have the end in mind.  This is the same idea! Do you want to build a list?  Have an increase in traffic?  Or do you just want an increase in income?

What will you do to nourish that seed?

So the seed has been planted in your mind as to what you would like  to harvest, now what?  It is time to go to work.  With a garden you have to consistently weed and water.  So how do you nourish your seed?  To build a list you need to get the word out, provide an incentive and maybe do a Telesummit or guest blogging.  To increase traffic do link building, guest blogging, consistent blogging on your blog, maybe some pay-per-click or advertising some other way.

The nourishing of this seed needs to be consistent.  This will be every day work or at least several times a week work.  It will be work where sometimes you get really dirty.  This is essentially the work you will do to make the harvest all worth while.  If you forget to water for a week your work will be a loss, so don’t let things slide! Read more »

So far we talked about what is affiliate marketing and what are the advantages of affiliate marketing.  Today I want to talk about the pros and cons of affiliate marketing.  There are some of both.

Pros of Affiliate Marketing

1. Very little to no money invested. – This is something that most people are looking for when they start an at-home business.  You do not have to invest money into the business to get started.  That is true if you are starting out by using Squidoo lenses or free blogging platforms such as Blogger or WordPress.com.  A more professional look is to buy a domain name from Godaddy.com and setting up a self-hosted blog on WordPress.org.  Godaddy it will cost you about $10 for a domain name.  If you search Google for a Godaddy coupon code you will be able to purchase a domain for as little as $7.  You can get hosting for a penny the first month at Hostgator.  Hostgator packages start out as low as $7.95/mo!  That is all you need to pay to get started!
2. You can choose products that you love. – The products you choose to promote are limitless.  That being said you should stick with one niche or subject until it becomes profitable.  Lynn Terry’s Elite masterminding group with help you there!
3. It is a repeatable business. -  Once you have become successful in one niche all you have to do is go and repeat what you already did with a new niche.  So the business can be as large or small as  you would like it.
4. You can truly work from home. – You do not have to go anywhere to be an affiliate marketer.  All you need is a computer and and internet connection!  You can even have kids running around you while you do this business!
5. Freedom to walk away. – A lot of businesses you are tied to everyday.  Once you have built your business up to be profitable you will be able to go take a vacation and still earn an income.  That is the life, right?

Cons of Affiliate Marketing

1. The time you must put into the business at the beginning. – In the beginning you will need to spend a lot of time working on webpages, link building, testing and tweaking.  This is not a get rich quick scheme!  It takes time.  I like to think of it as the snow ball effect. The first month you may get up twenty product pages.  The second month you get faster and more efficient so you put up thirty pages.  At the end of the second month you now have fifty product pages out there.  If you continue at the pace of thirty a month you will have three hundred and fifty product pages.  This means it will take time for you to create them as well as get traffic to these sites but the more you create the more passive income you will receive in the future!
2. You must learn a lot about internet marketing. – If you don’t know anything about internet marketing, you will soon become an expert in this field.  You will have to master search engine optimization and link building to get all of your web pages found.  This is something that is absolutely necessary.  This may be a pro for you!
3. You must have patience and persistence. – Okay for some of you that have these characteristics it will not be a con.  But for people like me this is a constant struggle!  You will have to be persistent every day for a long while to see results.  You must be patient while you wait for your income to become a full-time income.  It will come if you learn these skills.

These are the pros and cons of affiliate marketing!  I would love to hear your view on what I missed or what you think may be the pros and cons!  No business is easy but I absolutely believe that affiliate marketing can open up a world you never imagined!  You can have financial and time freedoms!  All the work you do up front is always a means to an end!

Best to you!

PS. To help you get started in affiliate marketing the best book I have found it the Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner.

photo credit: USACE Europe District