| Affiliate Marketing 101 - Part 2 |
Page 1 of 2 The discussion In part two concerns the different business models the affiliate might have. One such model is the content site. The affiliate works with advertisers to deliver promotions to users to help sell products or subscriptions that is directly related to the content of the website. Th content website model is the best business model for new affiliates. A content site is a specialty site with information specific to a group of people. For example, www.makebeerathome.info is a content site for homebrewers who enjoy making their own beer at home. The information provided is the reason people visit the site. The site is monetized by placing advertisements or promotions such as beer brewing equipment, beer ingredients and books on brewing. Affiliates can also take part in a paid search where you pay search engines to rank your website at a premium spot on a search result to drive traffic to your site. Most search engines call these "sponsored" links and can set the price of the sponsorship depending on demand. While more time consuming and more sophisticated than natural search, paid search can be very cost-effective and profitable for experienced publishers. Paid search also requires some additional up front costs to purchase the rankings. Continuing with our example, Google or AOL or Yahoo would be paid to rank the Make Beer At Home website when someone types it or a designated keyword as a search term. The site is guaranteed coverage, but it will cost a fee for placement. Affiliates make money when the commissions, that result from traffic driven through paid placement, are higher than the costs of buying the keyword, resulting in a positive profit. While more time consuming and sophisticated than natural search, paid search can be very cost-effective and profitable for experienced publishers. For those with opt-in newsletters, adding advertising or promotions is an easy way to increase commissions. But be careful, most affiliate programs do not allow for SPAM or unsolicited emails to promote their products. Starting slowly and master one category and business model before trying trying to tackle another. You can learn more about publisher business models on this site or by purchasing one of the guru's eBooks. The old saying "Knowledge is Power" is a great illustration of how to be successful in catering to your visitors. The more you know about your audience and their desires, the better you can provide targeted offers that will improve performance and increase commissions.
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