The A-Z of Internet Marketing (Part 32)

Here's another issue of the A-Z of Internet marketing. Learn more about picking colors for your website, finding the right niche, plus monetizing and advertising.

156. Hοw tο Monetize Yουr Site wіth AdSense

 

If уου hаνе аn existing site thаt receives traffic, bυt іѕ nοt monetized, consider adding AdSense ads. Thіѕ іѕ аn easy аnd cheap way tο generate revenue.

157. Hοw tο Pick Colors fοr Yουr Website

 

Thе background color уου pick fοr уουr website οr salesletter іѕ іmрοrtаnt. It wіll influence thе mood οf уουr visitors іn ways уου mіght nοt understand. In particular, іf уου want уουr customers tο relax аnd read casually, уου ѕhουld pick a light blue. If уου want thеm tο feel pressure аnd take action, уου ѕhουld pick a red background.

158. Hοw tο Pick thе Rіght Niche

 

Whеn уου look fοr a nеw niche tο sell іn, уου ѕhουld dο three things: 1) perform a thorough keyword analysis tο determine whether οr nοt іt іѕ a profitable niche; 2) try tο discern hοw crowded thе niche іѕ аnd 3) determine hοw hard іt wіll bе tο enter thаt niche.

159. Hοw tο Uѕе Traffic Exchanges

 

Traffic exchanges allow уου tο post аn advertisement fοr уουr site. In exchange fοr “views” уου mυѕt view οthеr websites. Thеѕе аrе generally free tο υѕе bυt dο hаνе upgrade options.

(to be continued...)

If you do own your site, it's a good idea to find ways on how to monetize it. This helps with additional earnings, esp. if your website receives regular traffic. Having good quality content on your site is a must. You probably have heard about Niche Marketing. Certain topics are more highly searched than others. Naturally it is more profitable to market in this particular niche. However, competition would also be tougher. I do suggest to find a niche that appeals to your interest too. That way, you won't lose appeal or feel discouraged if you don't make money right away. Building online business takes time and there's no easy button to guarantee success.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. Examples include rewards sites, where users are rewarded with cash or gifts, for the completion of an offer, and the referral of others to the site. (source: Wikipedia)

This is an online business where you use your selling and marketing expertise to get consumers to buy other people's products and earn income from the sale you made. Typically, you would earn a predetermined amount of money or percentage based on your sales. In some cases, you could make money from the clicks from your site that take the consumers to the affiliate websites. 

When you sign up for a program, you are usually given an affiliate link that you use to promote said product, service, or site. Make sure you check on the process of how you can earn from your marketing efforts. 

There are a good number of affiliate programs available around the Internet. I must say I'm involved in a few of them. Some sites are free to join but would earn you more -- like rebrand the free e-book -- if you upgrade your membership. 

What skills are helpful?

You don't have to be a salesman or a marketer to be an affiliate marketer. You can learn this by learning how online business is conducted. You can also learn from how to be a successful affiliate marketer from other top marketers. 

It will take hard work and much dedication to get your affiliate marketing business to be a successful one. Don't consider this to be your online business if you don't have the patience and time.

What tools are needed?

The tools needed will be minimal; i.e. a computer with reliable Internet access, a website to sell the affiliate products from. You won't need to stock up on the products. 

If you have your own site, it will need fresh content on a regular basis. Prepare to write some articles yourself or hire someone to do them for you. A blog to link to your site will be helpful as well to make the search engines happy with you.

How do you get started?

You will need to determine what niche you have for your affiliate marketing website. This helps you to stand out from your competitors. For example, if you chose nutrition as your niche, then create a website based on the niche you chose. 

Find affiliate products to sell from your site. Make sure that the products you choose to sell are related to the niche you chose for your affiliate marketing business. 

There are many people who make quite a bit of money running this type of business. It's important to remember that the most work you will have will be marketing your website to get consumers to find you. Once there, you would want to get them interested in your products and purchase them using your links.

Now that sounds quite simple, right? Here are some tool and resources that I use that also have good affiliate marketing programs:

AdKreator   - DIY Splash Page Banner Design and Creation

TE Toolbox  - Website & Banner Rotators, Splash Pages, Trackers

TrafficWave - AutoResponder, Email Marketing, Contact Management

Buildabizonline - Splash Builder, Banner Builder, Link Cloaking, Personalized Programs Page

TE CommandPost - Manage All Your Traffic Exchange Advertising From One Place