The Penguin Did Not Kill Affiliate Marketing 97

The recent Penguin update released by Google has struck a lot of marketers hard. Some have even gone so far as to state that Affiliate Marketing is obsolete. This statement couldn't be further from the truth. While a number of black, grey, and even white hat link building stategies have been rendered ineffectual, the basics remain the same. A marketer has to have unique content that is helpful, diverse and authorative backlinks, and good on-page SEO. With these tools in place, you need not fear the penguin. However, it's always a good idea to have a backup plan for those times that algorithm updates do effect you. That's where list building comes in. When a affiliate has a good quality list to market to, he can persist profiting even if his site drops a few rank positions. The following methods will help the affiliate marketer in his list building efforts.

An affiliate marketing business is just that … a business. To be successful, you require to treat your business the same as a business and concentrate on growth. Your affiliate links are your corporation; you are the owner of a marketing organization, and it is an asset you can grow into more and more assets. Here are three strategies to build your marketing business.

1. Obtain your own website and domain name.

It looks tatty and marks you as a "freshman" when you post a lengthy affiliate link in your ads. With domain names as low-priced as they are now you can buy your own domain name. You can then either forward your URL to your affiliate link or fix yourself up with some free hosting and set up more of a web presence. Your best bet is to write a benefit-full description of your affiliate program and link to your program by an HTML link that is part of your description.

2. Compose your own list.

Stop relying on one-shot ads to earn you money. Real businesses have recur customers that they cultivate in order to make more cash. You have to do the same. Make a dedication to organize relationships with your customers and mainly with visitors to your site. Craft an email list to keep in touch. Send out periodic tips or articles and focus on serving your customers. Only push your affiliate links in restrained ways; don't make your emails one huge ad.

One of the best ways to build traffic to your list is to write a light report that describes the benefits of your affiliate program. Make this paper available entirely by email. When anyone sends for your report, they are added to your list and you can proceed to communicate with them.

3. Make traffic to your own site and list.

This is where you really make your affiliate links your own company. By having your own site and constructing your own list you are building your own business and brand, not just selling someone else's. By doing this, you can market to your own customers over and over again. Do not overlook this point: When your ad redirects a customer to your affiliate link, you have lost that individual as your own customer because you lost the potential to communicate with them on a repeat basis. When you direct customers to your own site and list, they build a relationship with you.

There are many ways to build traffic: write articles, post in forums, market in safelists, sell offline, etc. My advice is to pick one traffic-building tactic, work on it for awhile, and dominate it before moving on to something else. If you center on offline publicizing, write and revise your ads until you ascertain how to develop the best response. If you promote on safelists, make a list of the top 50, and send your ad to 10 each day. Continue testing to make certain your safelists are reactive. These three strategies will help you build and mature your affiliate marketing corporation.