Affiliate Classroom Blog Archives

The Week’s Top Affiliate Marketing News Stories (July 28, 2008)

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 4:47 pm by Sarah Holland, AC Staff Writer

Are You Cuil? - Pronounced “cool,” this new search engine has set a lofty goal of becoming the next Google. The best part is its creators are almost all former Google employees.

HP MS Cashback Toolbar to Grab Shoppers from Google and You? - The new HP Microsoft Live Cashback Toolbar has raised a few eyebrows around the industry, and rightfully so. Read on to find out why it’s something to keep an eye on.

Google Rolls Out Knol - The Google monster takes on another nook of the internet by launching its very own online encyclopedia/article site.

The Deceptively Simple Steps to Persuasive Writing That Works - Find out the simplest and most effective secret to persuasive writing.

What’s the Real Benefit from Google Sitelinks? - Many webmasters are eager to get Google sitelinks but don’t really know why they are helpful. Here are the top 4 reasons!

7 Steps to Getting Published on Authority Sites

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 6:40 am by AC Editorial Staff

Backlinks from authority sites not only mean better search engine placement, but super-high quality traffic. But how do you get published on authority sites? Follow these 7 steps to getting your articles published on authority sites.

1 - Search Google (and other engines) for your keywords. Authority sites will typically show up on the first two pages of results. Note down all the sites from which you’d like to get links, including the contact information of the webmaster. You’ll probably want to keep track of this in a spreadsheet.

2 - Determine the type of article each site prefers. Do they publish articles, news reports, reviews? Do they offer free white papers, case studies, or special reports? Do they have an opt-in exchange with industry ezines or newsletters? Your goal is to decide what types of copy they can use - so you can provide the copy in exchange for a link!

3 - Tailor your topics and titles to the sites. Once you have a good idea of what will appeal to the webmaster, come up with at least three focused, unique, and keyword-rich topics you can write about. Also write some catchy titles based on the titles you find on each authority site. Webmasters always want articles with eye-catching titles that include good keywords.

4 - Write some rough drafts. Skip the opening and closing paragraphs, and just jot down the points you’d like to cover in each article. Remember that ALL good articles - no matter what type they are - are tightly focused, and offer solutions in an easy-to-read, short paragraph format.

5 - Open a dialogue. Once you prepare your titles and draft your articles, start networking with those webmasters. Send them a personalized email that shows you’ve actually read their web site and understand the type of visitors they want. Include the titles of your articles, and ask if they’d like to publish them on their site.

If your articles are on an in-demand topic, with a tight focus, you should have no trouble getting them accepted by webmasters. If you’re offering a white paper, case study, or special report, give the title plus a synopsis of no more than three sentences.

6 - Offer custom content. It never hurts - especially if the authority site has high PR - to offer customized or exclusive articles just for that webmaster. Webmasters love free, non-duplicate content. Be sure you honor your agreement not to publish them elsewhere, including on your own site.

7 - Remember what an authority link is worth. Yes, it takes more time to develop unique articles - and to personally ask webmasters to publish them. But consider what it would cost to buy a link on an authority site, IF you can buy a link at all. The extra hour or two of your time can be worth many thousands of dollars in advertising costs, not to mention the increase in leads and business.

5 Point Strategy for Article Traffic in Tiny Niches

Monday, July 28th, 2008 at 1:13 pm by AC Editorial Staff

The traffic and backlink opportunities that come from writing articles can go beyond submitting to article directories. Let’s say you’re writing articles to establish your expertise in a tiny niche, such as technical knowledge of enterprise level software. The typical how-to article for an article directory is written for a more general audience, and probably won’t get you much traffic - or business.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t do article marketing. All you need to do is adjust your strategy from getting mass traffic to getting highly targeted, specialized traffic by:

1 - Writing the RIGHT type of article for your niche.

2 - Targeted both authority sites and article directories to get the maximum coverage.

Your goal is not to get your articles syndicated on thousands of mass market sites. Instead, you want to get links from high traffic, high PR sites that will turn YOUR site into an authority site in no time.

Let’s look at this strategy in more detail.

First, think carefully about the type of article that will attract eyeballs in your niche. Most articles fall into one of five basic categories: Trade/Specialty; Informational/How-to; News/Current Events; Creative; and Journal/Blog articles. To attract highly targeted traffic in a small niche, you’ll probably be writing Trade/Specialty articles.

Second, who is your business audience? Is it industry “insiders,” people who have spent their lives working with a particular industry or product, and who share a common technical language and jargon? Members of credentialed professions (doctors, lawyers, engineers, real estate agents, etc.)? Researchers, such as scientists or anthropologists? Hobbyists and collectors? Members of clubs, societies, and organizations?

Knowing who makes up the audience of specialists and enthusiasts in your field means you can tailor your articles to them - and that they will consider reprinting your articles on their sites.

Third, think of your articles as lead capture tools. If you’re targeting micro-niches, you want to convert every serious reader of your articles into a lead. So take a tip from those PPC marketers who also play in small niches - be sure to capture leads with an opt-in form, and then follow up with white papers, case studies, or downloadable reports.

Fourth, rewrite your specialty articles into press releases. Press releases give you access to an important group of online movers and shakers: journalists and reporters. Online reporters often publish on authority sites and high traffic blogs. So if you can get yourself quoted - and linked to - in online news stories.

Fifth, publish in the big article directories anyway! Never underestimate the value of publishing technical or specialty articles in general article directories. If the directory has a category that’s even remotely connected to your niche, you may be one of only a handful of contributors on that topic. You’ll still get all the benefits of the directory’s speedy indexing and a quality backlink - and every quality link helps.

The Week’s Top Affiliate Marketing News Stories (July 21, 2008)

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 5:40 pm by Sarah Holland, AC Staff Writer

Affiliate Voice - A different take on the creation of an Affiliate Marketing Industry Association that hopes to work in tandem with the recently formed Performance Marketing Alliance.

New York Senate Votes to Repeal Amazon Tax - Find out the latest on the vote to repeal the Amazon Tax and what New York affiliates can to do take pro active political action.

Guide To Networking at Affiliate Summit 2008 East - Affiliate Summit is coming up in just a few weeks! Check out this guide to networking before you go.

Online SEO Tools - The Ultimate Collection - IF you are into search engine optimization don’t miss this ultimate collection of SEO tools available online.

.ME Domains Great But Not for Affiliate Marketing - Despite the rush to buy the new .me domains that went up for sale last week, they seem to be less than ideal for affiliate marketing - read on to find out why.

Article Marketing: The Human Factor

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 am by AC Editorial Staff

One of the least appreciated benefits of articles is also one of the most obvious: articles send people, not just search engine spiders, to your site. So incoming links are not the only benefits you get from article marketing. These human elements are also at work when you submit articles to directories…

1 - Qualified traffic. Individuals who read and enjoy your articles will often send traffic your way, via reviews or creating links you didn’t need to ask for. Those are targeted visitors pre-disposed to consider your products and services.

2 - Reputation. Well researched, well written articles show off your expertise and inspire confidence in your visitors. That draws the kind of traffic that’s interested in what you have to say - and sell.

3 - Word of mouth. Automation helps, but the best source of the best kind of traffic is a recommendation from someone who likes your stuff. Articles help get the word out about what you offer, and a well done piece pre-disposes them to like it. Which leads us to another important human factor…

4 - Viral Marketing. You can recycle your articles into viral reports or ebooks for subscribers to your opt-in list. It’s easy to encourage others to pass along your report if it’s filled with quality content. In addition, many webmasters will be more likely to link to a download page that offers a quality free report on a relevant topic.

Of course, well-researched, well-written articles take time. You have to weigh the value of that effort against dozens of other pressing demands. To help mitigate that dilemma, if you have the funds, you can outsource some or all of the article writing chores.

But be careful. Writing well takes expertise and skill. It’s still your name and site that goes on the final article. Put your best foot forward. If you don’t, your articles may get you some links, but they won’t attract real visitors or help you convert them into buyers. In fact, poorly written articles can HURT conversions. After all, would YOU buy from someone whose articles don’t inspire confidence?

8 Ways Article Marketing Can Improve Your SEO

Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 10:32 am by AC Editorial Staff

One of the best link building tactics - and the favorite of many affiliate marketers today - is submitting articles authored or owned by you to article directories. When experts on SEO advise new site owners to acquire natural incoming links, look to article directories to give you those first links easily.

1 - Links are one-way. Some SEO experts believe that search engines downplay reciprocal links in their results calculations. While reciprocal links can still be valuable, they don’t count as much as one-way links to your site. Article directories give you a one-way link.

2 - Links are guaranteed. If you’ve never asked a webmaster for a link before, it can feel a bit intimidating. But when you submit articles to directories, you know you won’t get turned down. Seeing those backlinks show up in the SERPs is a nice confidence booster, especially if your site is brand new. As long as your articles are of good quality, they will also send you targeted visitors for a long time to come.

3 - Links per page are fewer. This is a little known, but valuable benefit. Some SEO experts believe that the higher the number of links per page, the less SEO value each link will have. But the link back to your site in an article directory is usually only one of only a few links on the page.

4 - Backlinks soon multiply. Article sites exist for a reason - to provide other webmasters with access to free, quality content. So just one article, in just one directory, can actually turn into hundreds of links, as webmaster after webmaster finds your article and uses it.

5 - Speed. Submitting requests to other sites for reciprocal links, listings in directories, and other methods are excellent long term SEO tactics, but they can take ages. Articles, however, can appear very quickly online, getting you those backlinks right away.

6 - Your time is valuable. You write an article and submit. Usually, that’s the end of your involvement! You can move on to one of the thousand other things on your list - and while you do them, that article is sending traffic to your site without any additional work on your part.

7 - Reliable. Many site owners will not enter into reciprocal link relationships. Sometimes they don’t perceive you as offering sufficient value. Maybe they don’t have time to respond to requests. Or it could be that their spam filters catch those requests - and delete them - before you can even make a case for a link.

But most article directories want all the articles they can get! So even when other webmasters say they can’t add one more link, article directories will be actively seeking submissions.

8 - Content for you. The more content you write and submit to article directories, the more content you’ve got to use on your own site. Just make sure you tweak the articles a little, if you’re worried about duplicate content penalties. All it takes is a brief introduction or summary of the article to freshen it up.

The Week’s Top Affiliate Marketing News Stories (July 14, 2008)

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 7:47 pm by Sarah Holland, AC Staff Writer

A Good Start to Optimizing Your Site for Google Search - Find out the best ways to optimize your site for Google search - straight from the horse’s mouth!

5 Copywriting Keys to Landing Page Credibility - A lesson in copywriting credibility based on the importance of scent, transparency, specificity, proof, and readability.

The Psychology of Landing Pages - Don’t pass up these 4 great tips on creating great landing pages, and how to make your site work for you.

Google Sheds Light on Factors Influencing Search Engine Rankings - Read on for a peek at what really matters when it comes to improving your Google ranking.

Performance Marketing Alliance Elects Advisory Board - The PMA moves forward as it elects the members of the Formation Advisory Board and outlines the upcoming objectives.

Meeting Gurus at Live Affiliate Marketing Events

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 5:13 pm by Evelyn Grazini, AC Student and Staff Writer

In my previous post, I mentioned that I went to a live seminar with the intention of meeting two Super Affiliates. I’m betting you’re wondering if I had any success. So I thought I’d write again to let you know that I DID meet Anik and Rosalind, and it really wasn’t that hard at all.

Meeting Anik was the easiest. I had been a member of the Affiliate Classroom for some time so I was getting mailings from the classroom, and would also always read the blog posts.

Anik made a blog post saying that he was going to be at the seminar, and students could meet him there if they were going to the event. So before I left I made sure to email him and let him know that I was going to be there and that I wanted to meet him in person. That way we were both aware of each other, and it was pretty easy to “run into” each other at the seminar.

So I tracked him down on the last day and we had a nice chat. I even got a great tip on something that I could use in my marketing efforts.

 

Rosalind was a little harder to meet – mostly because I’m sometimes “afraid” of approaching successful people. But I was also on her mailing list so I knew that she was going to be speaking at the seminar.

I made sure I attended her speech, made careful notes, and then wrote down a few questions I had about her marketing efforts. Later when I saw her in a more relaxed setting talking to a group of people, I joined the circle and the chat. A few of the people were asking questions, so I felt that this was the time to ask my questions also. I introduced myself to her and asked her the main question on my list. She answered it fully, and I was soooo glad I asked! I learned a LOT more than just what was in her speech and it was just what I needed to keep me on the right track.

Later that day I ran across her again and ask if I could take a picture with her (I guess I was kind of star-struck!) We chatted a little more and then went our separate ways.

And that’s how we met for the first time. Nothing major. I didn’t attack her like a person needing a new best friend, but the next time I saw her I was a more familiar face and now we chat like old friends when we end up at the same places.

 

I guess the moral of my story is: Don’t be afraid to meet people. Everyone at live events is there to meet people and network. It shouldn’t be hard or scary, it should be a FUN learning experience.

As an affiliate marketer – it’s very important to go to live events if you want to meet the people that have knowledge to share. And, be SURE to subscribe to the mailing lists of the people you want to meet. It’s always helpful to know where they are going to be if you REALLY want to meet them.

 

Easy Ways to Network At Live Affiliate Marketing Events

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 12:45 am by Evelyn Grazini, AC Student and Staff Writer

I never used to be able to attend live affiliate marketing events. For one thing because I had a full time job, but secondly because I’m a little shy around other people and networking has never been my real strong point.

But after I quit my job to do affiliate marketing full-time, I decided to attend an event while I still had some spending money left; hoping to gain enough inside information to give me a quick start.

I think I paid about $1,500 for the seminar, and another $1,000 for airfare, hotel and food. I had no idea what I was going to do when I got to the event. I just knew that I would learn a lot and hopefully be able to meet some interesting people. Maybe even a super affiliate or two.

In fact, I made up my mind to meet Anik Singal - because I was a new member of the Affiliate Classroom at that time, and also Rosalind Gardner - because I wanted to meet a very successful female affiliate marketer.

So, I made up my mind that in order to meet as many people as possible, as easily as possible, I would sit in one spot in the morning, and then after lunch each day and/or whenever possible I would move to another seat. I figured that this strategy would (by default) allow me to meet at least four new people a day (the one sitting to the left of me, and one to the right each time).

To make a long story short, I was BLOWN AWAY on the first day of the conference! Most of the information that I learned was NEW, and simple enough that I could put it into action the minute I got home. Some of it I even did at night in my hotel room. I just couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of some of the things that others were doing to increase their sales.

This first event was a huge success for me! By strategically changing my seating arrangements, I had new people to talk to, made a lot of interesting acquaintances, and learned what tools other affiliate marketers were using to stay successful.

 

It’s just amazing how much you can learn by chatting with people during breaks, or by striking up conversations with people you notice at the event - and just asking them what they think, or what they’re learning.

Everyone does things differently. I not only learned new techniques from the speakers at the event, but also through the networking with other attendees.

Now I make it a point to go to at least one event a year, even if I make that event my only vacation. It’s the one sure way to have fun while getting to meet people that are succeeding in the business you love doing. 

It’s also a great way to get tons of FREE information from everyone!

 

Great News! Google Keyword Results Now Show Search Volume Numbers

Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 6:50 pm by Evelyn Grazini, AC Student and Staff Writer

Google just did affiliate marketers a HUGE favor! It’s one that they once claimed they would never do, but now it’s done.

I found out when I did a keyword search using Google’s External Keyword Tool and noticed that the keyword result was no longer a rating of 1-5. Now it’s returning results that show search numbers!

That’s right, instead of just showing you those “green bars” - which only gave you an idea of relative search volume - you now get to see search numbers based on Google’s database.

Whatever your reason to search keywords - AdWords PPC, SEO, article marketing, blog marketing - getting real Google search counts for those keywords is a very welcome development.

In fact, the only people who probably don’t think this is great news are the people who have developed fee-based keyword search tools. Because now, at long last, we can get up-to-the-minute search volume information from Google itself, and for free.

Most of the comments I’ve seen say “it’s about time!” Many of us often wondered about the purpose of Google’s keyword tool, since it didn’t actually show real numbers. Yes, it was useful for knowing whether a given search term would get a little or a lot of traffic, especially when compared to related search terms.

But now that Google is showing search counts, their Keyword Tool has jumped way ahead of any other free tool - and may even mean you can do without a paid tool, if all you do is very basic keyword research.

And now you don’t have to guess about the amount of Google traffic in a market or niche. You’ll be able to base your marketing decisions on approximate numbers.

According to this Google Blog post, “Now, when you use the Keyword Tool to search for relevant keywords to include in your keyword list, you’ll be able to see the approximate number of search queries matching your keywords that were performed on Google and the search network.”

You can check it out yourself here.

This is great news. Thanks Google - and it’s about time :-) !

Left Arrow Previous Entries
Affiliate Program | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Earnings Disclaimer | Link To Us