The affiliate marketing domain can be a little daunting for first-timers, but as your
experience grows, so does your confidence. Sure, it’s tough choosing the right niche and to cultivate a following, but success tends to yield more success and at some point you might wonder if it isn’t time to take your affiliate marketing program to the next level.
Affiliate marketing is in fact a very low-risk venture, as it costs you nothing and demands no hard labor. Yet it’s not uncommon to err on the side of safety, shying away from the road less traveled, never taking risks or making changes that could actually benefit in the end, if you’d just give it a try. Don’t just sit there any longer and let opportunity pass you by. These suggestions can jump-start your affiliate marketing venture, putting more green right where you want it…in your wallet.
Taking on a Competitive Niche
Most any article about finding niches will suggest you look for the area with the least amount of competition that still has a marked interest. That is the absolute right thing to do if you’re just starting out and don’t have much experience with affiliate network marketing. But if you’re looking to expand or you didn’t have much luck finding those low competition niches to begin with, you should take a closer look at niches with a saturated market that you passed over at first.
For example, fitness has been a hot topic. It seems there are thousands (if not millions) of fitness-related links out there and you might assume the market has been reaped of any and all crop it’s likely to give. But that’s looking at the niche far too generally. Not only can the niche be broken up by gender and age (or both), there are numerous related topics: fitness equipment, active wear, sneakers, fitness destinations (Tour de France, anyone?), spas and gyms. What about the latest fads in yoga and Pilates? What about fitness for pregnant women or fitness to help prevent obesity in children?
Not only is the market hot, there are hundreds of sub-niches from which to choose, some more heavily marketed than others. It’s likely there are high-quality products in every single market. Think generally but then use your ingenuity and narrow your scope. You might be surprised what you discover and where you find it.
Outsourcing
It may seem preposterous to hire someone with an online marketing venture, but two heads (or pairs of hands or pairs of eyes) can do more work than one, and if you’re successful, then chances are you’re also busy and a bit stressed or overwhelmed. If affiliate marketing is something you do on the side to generate a little extra cash flow, and you suddenly find that business is booming, don’t be afraid to hire some help before you get too overwhelmed and start making mistakes. If you’ve been writing articles or blog entries to market products, think about hiring a freelance writer to assist in content creation. There are a number of online freelance sites, or if you don’t want to join a site, try Craigslist in any major metropolitan city, which are usually teeming with qualified writers looking for work.
If you suddenly find that you’re not making as much as you once were, you might also look at hiring someone for a few hours a week to track results and see which merchants are performing and which are not.
Offline Marketing – Remember Newspapers and Bulletin Boards?
It may seem Stone Age, but offline marketing still exists because it works. Aside from reaching a mass, general audience, as opposed to the more niche-specific online customers, offline marketing can also reach a portion of the population who may yet not spend lots of time on the internet (like the elderly) or people who don’t have ready access to it. You can start with well-written press releases or small ads in the newspaper or if you have the funds for it, place ads in market-specific magazines. You’ll reach a huge audience you might otherwise never have come into contact with. Yes, it’s more expensive than the relatively pain-free online marketing model, but the possibilities for return, if you’re savvy, are worth the risk.
This post was written and provided by Christian Willis. Christian has been making a living from his affiliate network for the last 3 years and is a freelance writer for Clickbooth.com.