Affiliate Mangers - How To Energize Your Affiliate Force

I've been told by a number of managers of HUGE affiliate programs that 95% of their sales come from their top 25 (or fewer affiliates). When you consider the fact that some affiliate programs have thousands, even tens of thousands of affiliates, that's actually pretty sad!

The fact is that most affiliates join an affiliate program, and then do nothing. Why is that. It's generally because being a great affiliate marketer can be hard WORK.

Even the top producing affiliates are not big fans of hard work. They often have insider techniques that they use but don't discuss with anyone.

So how does an affiliate program manager energize his affiliate force?

Since affiliates don't like hard work, the obvious answer is to make it easy for them. You do this by providing easy to use tools. For example, if you could have your affiliates just share a video with their lists and website visitors, that's really easy. Often, they'll use a tool like this or a branded PDF file, when they wouldn't use other tools. Part of the reason they'd do that is that often their list members enjoy these info product and don't seem to notice that they're being sold.

Video works so beautifully because the prospect isn't even require to do any WORK. They just sit and watch. We're all conditioned to watch television and movies. However, many of us have grown to hate reading... it's too much like work, and reminds us of when we were in school, and often had burdensome reading loads.

If only Camtasia-style videos could be branded easily with affiliate links that then redirected the viewer to the affiliate site, this would be heaven - right.

Well, you can very easily brand Camtasia videos with affiliate urls. There's absolutely NO reason that every affiliate in your affiliate force can't be given a personalized (branded) version of your sales-producing videos. That would get a lot more of the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of affiliates on your team, actually out promoting your products.

The real secrets that you've taken advantage of is the facts that:

1) For many affiliates, you really do have to do it for them.

2) You have to make your affiliates feel special. Giving them a video to distribute that has their url embedded accomplishes that. With Camtasia, the video will play, and at the end of the video, deliver your affiliate's prospect right to the sales page or order form.

4) You need to give your affiliates the tools that they prefer to use. This sometimes differs but video is really hot these days. It's hot with your affiliates' customers too, because they don't have to work... they just sit and watch, and buy :-)

5) Many affiliates worry about protecting their sales. They worry about other affiliates hijacking their links. With branded Camtasia-style video, as the customer is taken to the sales page, you can also "set the cookie." Depending upon how your affiliate program software is configured, you can prevent that cookie from being overwritten.

Offering your affiliate the easy to use tools that they prefer does one other things - it makes them loyal to YOU. Many affiliates display no real loyalty, and hop from product to product... often going to competing products. If you're offering a tool like branded video, and your competitors aren't, your affiliates will stick with your affiliate program.

Ok, so we've just covered a few ideas on how to really energize your affiliate force. Doing the things covered above can easily double or even triple your affiliate sales. The key to doing that is taking massive action. Start by learning how inexpensive and easy it is to offer your affilates branded videos. You can do that at: http://williecrawford.com/brander/

Willie Crawford has been marketing affiliate, and his own products, over the internet since late-1996. His innovative techniques and total dedication to his customers makes him an in demand mentor! Camtasia video is his favorite tool. Discover how you too can create a flood of traffic with branded Camtasia videos at: http://williecrawford.com/brander/

Want To Become A Super Affiliate Marketer?

The humdrum existence of going to the office day after day doing the usual 8 to 5 shift is a trying task for those who have lived all their lives doing so. This is why the convenience of doing work at home under amazingly flexible working hours is a dazzling prospect to them. Doing work at home that is as fulfilling as having a career working for a computer on the 19th floor of a skyscraper is already a possibility in these modern times. This is because the jungle-like network that is the Internet has given birth to a business that has given some people practically new lives doing nothing but so.

This particular business allows people to work at home under flexible working hours. There is no boss to scream around putting pressure on everyone about the deadline at hand. There is no clutter of messy paperwork that needs to be completed the soonest possible time. Conveniences such as these are experienced by those who are into affiliate marketing, the newest way to earn money without having to go through all sorts of routine found in regular employment.

Those who have been in the business long enough can attest to the fact that it is a lucrative business indeed, one that can actually give people things that they could not possibly possess or experience under ordinary circumstances.

The business called affiliate marketing involves an affiliates promotion of a merchants website. Here the website owned by the affiliate is made to advertise and market the website of the merchant through the affiliate program that they run. Whenever someone clicks on the merchants website promoted by the one owned by the affiliate, the affiliate is given a commission. This is in recognition of his effort in helping the merchant make a sale.

The system involved in affiliate marketing seems easy, but it also takes a lot of diligence and perseverance for one to be able to penetrate it thoroughly. Those who want to get into this type of business should possess the necessary skills to be able tread through the industry with confidence and self-assurance. Still, other factors are needed by one to be able to really break in. Knowledge about the business at hand is very important as it dictates the actions that are to be done by people who are into it.

The leading figure in affiliate marketing is the super affiliate. He or she is basically an e-mail marketer who collects large databases of e-mail addresses through newsletters. Super affiliates are also those who know the business even better than affiliate managers as a result of their knowledge about the affiliate marketing industry inside out. Those who want to be super affiliates should know that becoming a super affiliate is not easy, because it takes a lot to be able to master the marketing craft.

Becoming a super affiliate means having ones own website and auto responder. These tools will help a lot in ones facilitation of the business. Building ones own list is another. Creating a loyal customer base and taking care of it is one secret that successful super affiliates have. Making good customer relations is also important if one wants to be a super affiliate to reckon with.

Continuing to market to the people on ones list is another must if one wants to succeed as a super affiliate. Sending out quality content in lieu of ads is an advantage as products are marketed better whenever enough information is given about them.

Building traffic to ones own site is also one of the most essential points in the affiliate marketing business. Making ones affiliate links his own business will allow him to build a strong relationship with his customers, enabling him to market to them over and over again.

The most important thing one should remember if he wants to become a super affiliate is to treat affiliate marketing as a business first and foremost. If he is capable of doing this, then he will never have to go back to the humdrum existence of working the 8-5 shift. A career as a super affiliate in the business, which will change his life forever, could possibly take that unexciting jobs place.

Clarence Binayu is the founder and Webmaster for http://www.virtual-guides.com. Here you can find FREE information on many subjects including business, automobile, travel, vacation, affiliate marketing, advertising, internet, sports, entertainment, technology, communication, fashion, home improvement, culture, education, society, science, politics, fitness and health. http://www.virtual-guides.com provides you with helpful guidance, tips and news update, from basic to the latest skills, knowledge and information, about these subjects.