This is the fifth post of my Affiliate Marketing: a Beginner's Guide series.
Like many other posts here, I'm writing about the stuff I wish I knew when I first started blogging. With so many affiliate programs to choose from it is hard to know where to start. I had a hard time figuring out which affiliate program I should try.
The "best" affiliate program depends largely on your niche. If, for example, you write about dating and relationships, your best bet is to sign up with a dating website's affiliate program.
Having said this, let me tell you what has worked best for me and share my comments:
Clickbank has out-performed every other affiliate program I've tried. Most of the products on clickbank were specifically designed for online affiliate marketing, which is a big advantage. Many of the clients offer 75% commission to you, the blogger, for sales. Clickbank also gives you a ton of valuable information in terms of analytics: hops per order, etc.
Shopzilla has been a consistent earner for me as well. It is sort of a modified pay-per-click program. This means you get paid for clicks (vs sales), but the earning potential isn't as high as with commission affiliates. I have a couple of pages/posts that regularly earn 3-5 dollars a day with Shopzilla. This services is more of a slow, steady earner for me: the daily profits ad up.
Amazon.com has one of the most well-known affiliate programs on the internet, and some bloggers do quite well with them. I personally have not made much money with their program, but it is a good one to use for book and video reviews, etc.
Commission Junction is the program used by Dell.com and several other well-known companies.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. I'm just sharing some of the programs that have worked for me.
Should You Use Adsense?
But I don't use adsense on my two most popular blogs.
I decided to completely give up on monetizing my personal blog (kuyakevin.com). I had two problems with adsense there:
1. It wasn't earning much money.
2. Since my personal blog is more spiritual in nature, ads for religious wacko groups kept appearing.
I also removed adsense from my fitness blog (strongandfit.net) once I switched to affiliate marketing. I was running into two problems:
1. The ads that show often advertise the same products I'm selling through affiliate marketing, which means someone else could "steal" my commission.
2. The other ads are what seemed to be bogus products ("lose 20 lb in 20 days," etc).
Here are a few more random thoughts:
*I think most blog readers understand that you, the blogger, are personally endorsing whatever product shows up in adsense. You'll just have to decide what you are comfortable with.
*It's always good to experiment with more than one way of making money. Adsense may or may not be the best for you.
*Maybe geographical issues come into play here. One nice thing about adsense is regional ads automatically show up on your blog--this could be a huge advantage if your visitors are not concentrated in one country (or region).
Guest Posting for A-List Bloggers
A while back I started a thread about guest posting over at the problogger forum. The questions kind of inspired me to write a post about it.
Why is this important? Well, in case you are new to blogging, guest posting is one of the most important (not to mention free) blog promotion strategies I know of. Writing a guest post for an “a-list” blogger can do wonders for both your traffic and your page rank.
I see this issue from both sides: I have had the privilege of writing a guest post for some a-list bloggers. I also receive requests for guest posts on my blogs (though I’m not anywhere near the “a-list” level).
Here are some tips I think you’ll find particularly helpful for landing a guest post on a highly ranked, high traffic blog.
Believe in Yourself:
Here’s the wonderful think about the blog world: you have the same access to the a-list bloggers as everyone else. Don’t underestimate your God-given talents. The successful bloggers, after all, had humble beginnings just like you. The worst thing that can happen is your post doesn’t get accepted—you’ll never know until you try.
Do Research:
Most a-list bloggers will have a post explaining whether or not they accept guest posts and what their requirements are. Read it carefully and follow the guidelines when making your post.
But your research shouldn’t stop there. Hopefully you’ve been reading your “target blog” for a while and know what kind of articles the blogger prefers.
Here’s another important tip: search the blog and see how your post idea compares to what is already there. This is especially important with the high-ranking blogs—you’ll want to be sure you are sending something unique. Bonus points if you can find a topic that hasn’t been mentioned on the blog in a while.
Bring Your A-Game:
“Give your best content away” –I’ve seen this advice several times from blogging gurus. This is especially true when trying to guest post for an a-list blogger. Most of these guys have several posts to choose from every week (if not daily). Make sure you have chosen your most helpful, informative, entertaining, unique, and ingenious content for your a-list guest post.
Note: I prefer to go ahead and write/send a whole post (instead of asking permission first). I think this is much more efficient, but there are different schools of thought here.
Be Patient
This one is a must for dealing with a-list bloggers. A successful blogger manages a flood of email daily and it may take a while for you to get an answer. Be prepared to wait at least a week (probably longer).
Here’s an example: I recently submitted a guest post (re: fitness) to a self-help blog. I waited about a week before contacting them to make sure they had received my submission. The editor responded, saying he receives about 50 posts a week and it usually takes him two weeks to respond to a guest post proposal.
IF YOUR POST IS NOT ACCEPTED:
There’s always a chance you post will be rejected. As I’ve already said, successful bloggers have plenty content to choose from. Here are two tips for responding to a rejected guest post:
Humbly Accept Feedback
Most bloggers will try to help, even if they reject your guest post. The blogger may ask you to expand on a few points and re-send it. He/she may explain that you’ve missed the mark completely. Just be thankful that a really busy person took time to respond to you.
Try Again
Don’t give up just because your first guest post was not accepted. Take what you’ve learned from the process and try again.
Here’s another hint: you may want to submit the same article to a different blog (I’ve had success in doing this). After all—there’s more than one a-list blogger out there. Just be sure you’ve heard a definite answer from one before submitting it to the next—you don’t want to destroy your reputation by withdrawing the guest post or creating duplicate content.
Why is this important? Well, in case you are new to blogging, guest posting is one of the most important (not to mention free) blog promotion strategies I know of. Writing a guest post for an “a-list” blogger can do wonders for both your traffic and your page rank.
I see this issue from both sides: I have had the privilege of writing a guest post for some a-list bloggers. I also receive requests for guest posts on my blogs (though I’m not anywhere near the “a-list” level).
Here are some tips I think you’ll find particularly helpful for landing a guest post on a highly ranked, high traffic blog.
Believe in Yourself:
Here’s the wonderful think about the blog world: you have the same access to the a-list bloggers as everyone else. Don’t underestimate your God-given talents. The successful bloggers, after all, had humble beginnings just like you. The worst thing that can happen is your post doesn’t get accepted—you’ll never know until you try.
Do Research:
Most a-list bloggers will have a post explaining whether or not they accept guest posts and what their requirements are. Read it carefully and follow the guidelines when making your post.
But your research shouldn’t stop there. Hopefully you’ve been reading your “target blog” for a while and know what kind of articles the blogger prefers.
Here’s another important tip: search the blog and see how your post idea compares to what is already there. This is especially important with the high-ranking blogs—you’ll want to be sure you are sending something unique. Bonus points if you can find a topic that hasn’t been mentioned on the blog in a while.
Bring Your A-Game:
“Give your best content away” –I’ve seen this advice several times from blogging gurus. This is especially true when trying to guest post for an a-list blogger. Most of these guys have several posts to choose from every week (if not daily). Make sure you have chosen your most helpful, informative, entertaining, unique, and ingenious content for your a-list guest post.
Note: I prefer to go ahead and write/send a whole post (instead of asking permission first). I think this is much more efficient, but there are different schools of thought here.
Be Patient
This one is a must for dealing with a-list bloggers. A successful blogger manages a flood of email daily and it may take a while for you to get an answer. Be prepared to wait at least a week (probably longer).
Here’s an example: I recently submitted a guest post (re: fitness) to a self-help blog. I waited about a week before contacting them to make sure they had received my submission. The editor responded, saying he receives about 50 posts a week and it usually takes him two weeks to respond to a guest post proposal.
IF YOUR POST IS NOT ACCEPTED:
There’s always a chance you post will be rejected. As I’ve already said, successful bloggers have plenty content to choose from. Here are two tips for responding to a rejected guest post:
Humbly Accept Feedback
Most bloggers will try to help, even if they reject your guest post. The blogger may ask you to expand on a few points and re-send it. He/she may explain that you’ve missed the mark completely. Just be thankful that a really busy person took time to respond to you.
Try Again
Don’t give up just because your first guest post was not accepted. Take what you’ve learned from the process and try again.
Here’s another hint: you may want to submit the same article to a different blog (I’ve had success in doing this). After all—there’s more than one a-list blogger out there. Just be sure you’ve heard a definite answer from one before submitting it to the next—you don’t want to destroy your reputation by withdrawing the guest post or creating duplicate content.
Warning: Facebook Obama Hillary Video
My Facebook wall keeps getting spammed with this "Barack Obama Hillary Clinton Sex Scandal" video. This is apparently propagated by koobface or a similar type of worm.
You need to be really careful with any kind of "watch this video" message that gets posted on your wall. Usually this type of link will redirect you to another site which asks you to download an update of the Adobe Flash player. The "update" is actually the worm, which infects your computer.
You need to be really careful with any kind of "watch this video" message that gets posted on your wall. Usually this type of link will redirect you to another site which asks you to download an update of the Adobe Flash player. The "update" is actually the worm, which infects your computer.
Facebook Hack Attempt
I got a weird message today when I tried to log into Facebook. Apparently someone from the Ukraine tried to hack my account so Facebook temporarily disabled it:
I'm glad Facebook has some security measures to catch this kind of thing. It would have been a bit embarrassing to have a bunch of malware or unsavory messages distributed through my profile.
I'm glad Facebook has some security measures to catch this kind of thing. It would have been a bit embarrassing to have a bunch of malware or unsavory messages distributed through my profile.
More Page Rank Stuff
I read that google did a page rank update last weekend. Let's see how I did.
Beginner Blogger Tips did not do so well:
Now, to be honest I don't remember if this blog was ever ranked, but I thought I got a page rank of 1 or 2. Why zero? I have no earthly idea.
My personal blog (kuyakevin.blogspot.com) was dropped from a 4 to a 3.
My Strength and Fitness blog has remained at 2 (it was at 3 a few months ago).
So apparently I really stink at building my page rank and you should take all my PR advice with a grain of salt. But the longer I blog, the less I care about it--all three of these before-mentioned blogs are doing pretty well (this blog doesn't get much traffic, but it never has).
Beginner Blogger Tips did not do so well:
My personal blog (kuyakevin.blogspot.com) was dropped from a 4 to a 3.
My Strength and Fitness blog has remained at 2 (it was at 3 a few months ago).
So apparently I really stink at building my page rank and you should take all my PR advice with a grain of salt. But the longer I blog, the less I care about it--all three of these before-mentioned blogs are doing pretty well (this blog doesn't get much traffic, but it never has).
iPad Fever
I have to admit it, I'm getting a little case of iPad fever.
I have a MacBook and a few iPods but that's about it in terms of Apple stuff.
I don't have an iPhone and I don't plan to have one any time soon--I only use dirt-cheap cell phones.
But the idea of having something ultra-portable for e-books, light internet use, and videos is kind of cool.
Here are my main issues:
I'm just not yet sure exactly what will be available through iBooks. Most of what I read is Christian nonfiction. I'm also not sure how iBooks are priced.
I know if I'll just wait a year the price will probably go down considerably.
Decisions, decisions.
Create Pages in Blogger/Blogspot
I realize some of you have already figured this out, but there's a new feature in blogger/blogspot.
One of the biggest complaints I've heard about blogger is the inability to create pages, such as an "about me" page. Well, that has changed. You can now create up to ten pages by clicking a tab in the posting options:
Cool, huh?
One of the biggest complaints I've heard about blogger is the inability to create pages, such as an "about me" page. Well, that has changed. You can now create up to ten pages by clicking a tab in the posting options:
Cool, huh?
That Was Fast . . .
OK, I just wrote my review for Triple Threat Muscle, posted it, and digged it. I checked, and within minutes I'm #4 on google:
Now, I have to admit: SEO, and search engine stuff is just not my forte.
I don't know if google is just getting faster at indexing or if I'm doing something right (maybe both). I'm thankful, regardless of how this is happening.
I don't know if google is just getting faster at indexing or if I'm doing something right (maybe both). I'm thankful, regardless of how this is happening.
Gmail: "This Connection is Untrusted"
I got a weird This Connection is Untrusted message when I tried to open Gmail. Not sure what's up but I guess they'll fix it soon enough:
Adgitize Offers Niche Targeting
Adgitize is now offering subject matter targeting in addition to niche targeting. In other words, you can opt to have your ads show only in blogs of a specific niche/topic.
You can also target both niche and geography.
Interesting.
You can also target both niche and geography.
Interesting.
Adgitize Offers Geographical Targeting
I just noticed something new over at Adgitize.
They are now offering geographical targeting options for an additional 3 dollars a month. I really like this:
My strength and fitness blog is more for an American audience (at least, that's where the sales come from.
My personal blog (kuyakevin.com) is more for the Philippines (you can target Southeast Asia).
I'm going to give geographical targeting a try and see what happens.
They are now offering geographical targeting options for an additional 3 dollars a month. I really like this:
My strength and fitness blog is more for an American audience (at least, that's where the sales come from.
My personal blog (kuyakevin.com) is more for the Philippines (you can target Southeast Asia).
I'm going to give geographical targeting a try and see what happens.
Spam blogs deletion & self-hosted blogs
This post was inspired by 2 emails, one regarding the widespread deletion of blogspot.com blogs and one regarding web hosting. I myself have had 3 blogs related of which one probably was because it was a song, music and video blog which had many embedded Youtube videos. From a quick reading of Blogger Buzz A quick note about music blog removals, it was probably because of Blogger.com enforcing
Affiliate Marketing: Up's and Down's
Here's something I've learned about doing affiliate marketing with your blog: you have to be patient.
You may go days with low sales (or in my case, no sales), then suddenly have a big day that makes up for all the slow ones. Sometimes I get a little restless after a few slow days and start thinking about starting a new advertising campaign, etc.
But I've learned to let the process work. I'll keep getting traffic if I keep writing good content. As long as I'm consistent, the money will eventually come.
Using Forums: Bypassing Search Engines
Here's another benefit to using forums:
People often look to forums to find information on products. Most forums have some type of feature that allows users to search threads. You can use these factors to your advantage.
It's pretty simple--you just post a link to one of your posts in a related thread in the forum (assuming the forum allows links).
Your best bet is probably going to be posting in an existing thread (even lenient moderators tend to frown on a new thread with nothing more than a link to your blog). Users search the forum for specific terms and find your link. You are sort of bypassing the search engines, giving people another way to find your blog.
People often look to forums to find information on products. Most forums have some type of feature that allows users to search threads. You can use these factors to your advantage.
It's pretty simple--you just post a link to one of your posts in a related thread in the forum (assuming the forum allows links).
Your best bet is probably going to be posting in an existing thread (even lenient moderators tend to frown on a new thread with nothing more than a link to your blog). Users search the forum for specific terms and find your link. You are sort of bypassing the search engines, giving people another way to find your blog.
Blogging Blogs: Blah, Blah, Blah
A few posts ago I mentioned the importance of learning from the blog gurus. I still stand by that . . . but I have to admit something--sometimes they all start to sound the same. Anyone else notice this?
I know part of the reason: there are basic principles that work, and there's only so many different ways you can explain these before-mentioned principles.
And before you accuse me of being too critical, I'm not--some of these sites have given me some incredibly good tips.
Here's my approach: I follow about 12 different "blogging blogs" via feed on my google page. If a title grabs my attention I'll check it out. Maybe I learn something I can apply, maybe not. Then every once in a while I'll come across a really good post that makes up for all the "blah, blah, blah" stuff I've read.
Earning Money at Home
It takes a lot of work to make a profitable blog, and I'm far from an expert on this. I'll probably never be an expert because other aspects of my life are far more important to me.
But I will say this--the whole idea of making money through a blog is just super-cool to me. Maybe I'm just easily amused.
The Two Types of Blogs You Should Follow
The best way to improve as a blogger is to learn from other bloggers. I'd suggest you follow several blogs in two categories:
Blogs about Blogging
I follow problogger.net, dailyblogtips.com, blogussion.com, and a few other blogging gurus. I don't agree with every single thing they say. In fact, I don't even read every single post--I just keep up with the feed and read posts that catch my attention. Anyway, I've learned a lot of helpful tips from these blogs.
Blogs in Your Niche
I have a strength and fitness blog, so I also follow a few other blogs in this niche. I like to know what my peers (or competitors, if you prefer the term) are saying. Here are a few reasons to do this:
*You may get an idea for a new post of your own.
*You might disagree with what another blogger says and respond with your own post.
*Your fellow blogger may have run across a product that you also want to promote.
Hope this little tip helps.
Blogs about Blogging
I follow problogger.net, dailyblogtips.com, blogussion.com, and a few other blogging gurus. I don't agree with every single thing they say. In fact, I don't even read every single post--I just keep up with the feed and read posts that catch my attention. Anyway, I've learned a lot of helpful tips from these blogs.
Blogs in Your Niche
I have a strength and fitness blog, so I also follow a few other blogs in this niche. I like to know what my peers (or competitors, if you prefer the term) are saying. Here are a few reasons to do this:
*You may get an idea for a new post of your own.
*You might disagree with what another blogger says and respond with your own post.
*Your fellow blogger may have run across a product that you also want to promote.
Hope this little tip helps.
Adgitize is Back
Seems Adgitize is back online. I'm still having some trouble editing/updating my ad information. Anyone else having this problem or is it just me?
Adgitize Fail
A few hours ago I wrote a post about Adgitize prices rolling back to 14 dollars a month. Ironically, their website and service went down soon after. Not sure what is going on, but it has been down for about half a day now. Hopefully they'll get things up and running again. This is the first time I can remember this happening.
Farmville Secrets
Are you a Farmville Addict? Here's something to fuel your addiction: Farmville Secrets.
In Farmville Secrets you'll learn from the ultimate guru how to grow your farm quickly and legally. Just click HERE to check it out.
In Farmville Secrets you'll learn from the ultimate guru how to grow your farm quickly and legally. Just click HERE to check it out.
Adgitize Prices Rolls Back Prices
A few days ago I realized the Adgitize prices were lower when I renewed my ads. Today I finally took tome to look over the Adgitize blog and realized prices have dropped back to 14 bucks a month. You just can't beat 50 cents a day for the number of impressions Adgitize gives you.
Just click here if you want to try it out: Adgitize - Get World Class Advertising on a Bloggers Budget
Page Rank Issue, Part Three
For those of you who are unfamiliar with my story, my page rank at Strongandfit.net was dropped from 3 to 2 a while back, and I was successful in having it reinstated. Then the same thing happened again a couple of weeks ago--a drop from 3-2. This time the google gods have frowned on my reconsideration request, so my fitness blog is stuck at PR2 for the time being.
I'm really not 100% sure why my page rank was reduced. I have a few theories, but I'm not going to worry about it. My standings in the search engines are really good and I'm still getting plenty of traffic through google.
Nigerian Scam, Filipino Style
Here's a message I found in one of my email addresses. Seems the Nigerian scam has a Filipino/Philippines version:
So I'm the lucky one chosen to get $18.5 million dollars? Wow--sign me up!
Hello Dearest One,
I am Mrs Laarni E Enriquez, a Philipino by nationality, And once President, Joseph Estrada courier mistress. Honestly I would like to have confidentiality investment with you,
I want you to know that I am broken heated and needed someone to trust in respect of this transaction without remembering my past and forsaken experiences from close confident and relative/family.
All i want from you is to represent me as my foriegn partner and assist me to claims $18.5M US Dollars. I concealed in a metallic trunk box deposited in a trusted company in abroad, as this was the money that was supposed to be used by the ex-President to acquire some properties in Abroad.
For more details I will forward the deposite documents to you in my next mail for your view. I want you to be honesty and sincere with me in this transaction.
Thanks in advance
Mrs. Laarni Enriquez,
So I'm the lucky one chosen to get $18.5 million dollars? Wow--sign me up!
Problem with Custom Domain Blogspot
Seems there's some problem with all my custom domain blogs (including this one). I can post here, but I can't see the blog.
I'm assuming (and hoping) it is something temporary. Anyone else having problems with this?
Update: that only lasted a few minutes . . . it's fixed now . . . never mind.
I'm assuming (and hoping) it is something temporary. Anyone else having problems with this?
Update: that only lasted a few minutes . . . it's fixed now . . . never mind.
Facebook Down (Site Maintenance)
Apparently my Facebook account is down for site maintenance:
Interesting--first time I've ever seen this on Facebook (though I've seen this several times on Friendster). Well, no need to panic--there's life outside of facebook (so I hear).
Are you a Farmville Addict? Here's something to fuel your addiction: Farmville Secrets.
Are you a Farmville Addict? Here's something to fuel your addiction: Farmville Secrets.
The Page Rank Drama Continues . . .
This is really weird--I just had the page rank re-instated a couple of weeks ago.
I don't spend too much time worrying about page rank, but we'll see what happens.
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