Affiliate Marketing News: Ideas For Finding Hot Products
In the next couple of weeks I will publish a series of articles, each will detail a step on the way to a rewarding affiliate marketing business. The first article is written for people who are completely new to the subject and are still looking for information. I will suggest a simple definition of affiliate marketing and show some simple ideas for finding lucrative products.
This first article is not for experienced marketers neither is it for those who know and understand affiliate marketing and know how to find good products, as it covers only the essential basics. My following articles will hopefully discuss more complex steps and thus may be of interest even to experienced marketers.
I will start by explaining what affiliate marketing is. Well, I like to say that Affiliate Marketing is to the 21st century what the Gold Rush was to the 19th century. The gold is there - one only needs to find it. But, on a more practical note: Affiliate Marketing is simply an agreement between you and a merchant or a product publisher, that says that the merchant will pay you a percentage of each and every sale he or she makes to a customer that you have driven to their web site.
There are different types of products: material products - from face cream to a million dollar villa; digital products - software, ebooks, videos, that can be downloaded instantly from the Internet; and products in the form of registrations to courses, opts-in to email lists etc. Many thousands of merchants pay commissions to their affiliates for sales and for leads.
So, you see, the gold is there, all over Internet Marketing World. The question is how to find it. And, indeed, many people who decide to try affiliate marketing discover that the first step they need to take, i.e. finding the right product to promote, is the most difficult part of the whole process.
I will show you a few ways to find it:
1. Have you ever purchased a product online which you really liked? Why not try to become an affiliate? Go to the product’s site or sales letter, click on the “affiliate program” link. You’ll find there all the information you need.
2. Start thinking about your hobbies, things you are interested in, things you have knowledge about. Perhaps you are a member of some forums in which you discuss your passion. This will help you a lot later, in your promotions. Let’s say you like basketball; you know everything about the game, the teams, and the players. Start searching for products that are associated with basketball, find their affiliate programs and start promoting them.
3. Try to think of something that is very popular in the United States, but hasn’t reached Europe yet, register to become an affiliate and start a Google Adwords campaign in France or in Great Britain. And, vice versa. Perhaps you’ve been to Europe and discovered a great product that is not yet known in North America. Contact the production company and start promoting it in the US.
4. Follow the popular products on your kids’ list. Talk to them and to their friends or to any group of teenagers to find out what they like. These are usually best selling items.
5. Read popular magazines and see what new fashions and products they report about.
6. And let’s not forget the obvious: register to become an affiliate at Commision Junction, ClickBank and other Providers of affiliate programs. Search their marketplace to find their best selling products.
In Article 2 I will describe the second step on the way to rewarding affiliate marketing.
