By Dave Cooper
There is absolutely no doubt that Affiliate Marketing is becoming more
and more popular every day. On a daily basis more and more would be
entrepreneurs are turning to affiliate marketing as a way of making an online
income. There are obviously many compelling reasons for the popularity of
affiliate marketing. Near the top of that list has to be the fact that
affiliate marketing is considered a low-risk opportunity for many people
looking to make money from the comfort of their home. Now many people believe
that low-risk also means low-reward. I however, am not one of those people! In
the case of Affiliate marketing, I believe it falls into the low-risk category
because the potential losses are relatively small and the potential for
earnings can be huge.
Affiliate Marketing affords many ordinary people the opportunity to not
only start an online business, but to also keep their financial losses to a
minimum.
As an affiliate marketer you are truly not involved in the hard selling
of a product, service, or program. Your main responsibility is to promote
quality products, services and programs. Compensation is earned when the
prospect makes a purchase from the merchant's site after being directed by your
affiliate link.
I have included four very important reasons why affiliate marketing
should be a low-risk business venture for you.
1. Minimal or Low Set-Up Cost
Unlike brick and mortar businesses that need structures such as offices
and showrooms, setting up an affiliate marketing business does not involve
large expenses. There will be no offices to fill up with tables, chairs, and
filing cabinets. There will be no showrooms to fill-up with products. A little
corner of your den or small office above your garage will do the trick.
Obviously you will need a computer and internet connection, but if you are
reading this article you already have those items. Now, does this make
affiliate marketing similar to any other online business?
Unlike other online businesses, would-be affiliate marketers do not need
to invest a lot of money to conduct affiliate marketing. Most affiliate
programs are free to join and the online company or merchant that established
the affiliate program may even provide you with the promotional materials and
websites that the affiliate will need. Therefore, the set-up cost of affiliate
marketing is truly negligible.
 |
| Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
2. No Inventory
As an affiliate marketer you do not own the products you are promoting
on your website. Your main job as an affiliate is to give your visitors
compelling reasons why they need to click on your affiliate link and go to the
website of the merchant you are promoting the product for. As an affiliate for
a product or service you are not responsible for taking orders from your
visitors. The order process is done on the merchant's website. What does this
mean for you? It means you don't have to worry or think about product inventories.
In affiliate marketing, the affiliate does not handle the purchasing or
delivery of the products. In a nutshell, as an affiliate marketer you do not
have to worry about the costs or time involved in stocking, buying, delivering,
or taking inventories of the products.
 |
| Image courtesy of mapichai at FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
In affiliate marketing, there is no need for regular employees. Most
affiliate marketers are a one man or woman operation. Many of the tasks that
you must complete as an affiliate marketer can be done on your own. You might
enlist the help of a spouse or other family member, but there really is no need
to hire a staff. Without a staff or regular employees, the affiliate is no
longer burdened by the financial pressure of providing wages.
There may be times where you don't feel you have the expertise of
handling certain aspects of the work you must do as an affiliate or you just
don't have the time. You may need to outsource some of your work. What is
outsourcing? Very simple, getting others to do the work for you...at a cost of
course.
4. Minimal Customer Service
As an affiliate marketer you are not involved in the manufacturing or
delivery of products. The responsibility for maintaining quality products does
not fall on your shoulders. This means that keeping the customers happy is also
not your major responsibility. That responsibility falls on the merchant, who
deals with the paying customers.
Now, this does not mean that you totally remove yourself from the
customer service aspect. What it does mean is that in order to avoid unhappy
customers, it is very important that you stand behind the products and services
you are promoting. Make sure you are recommending quality products, programs,
and services that you use yourself. After all, many people are going to buy the
product you are promoting based on your recommendations. How can you make an
honest recommendation if you have never used the product yourself?
Always remember, a customer that purchases from you one time is more
likely to purchase from you again. If they have had a positive experience with
the merchant and product you recommended you have gained a customer for life.
David Cooper is the editor of the Affiliate Marketing Articles
Newsletter. David specializes in helping affiliate marketers practice low risk
affiliate marketing strategies.
Article Source: EzineArticles expert: Dave Cooper
No comments:
Post a Comment