Secrets of Six-Figure-Income Affiliates

By Ola Edvardsson

Those sound like pretty good conditions for a conference dedicated to affiliate programs, don't they?

For the second time, Commission Junction University put on an awesome conference in its hometown of Santa Barbara, Calif. The majority of the audience was there to hear the latest news from Commission Junction and learn from experts such as Declan Dunn and Patrick Anderson. Dunn's book, Net Profits: How to Win the Internet Game, and Anderson's book, Right on the Money, can both be ordered online.

For me, the biggest joy at the conference — besides the magnificent party Monday night — was to meet and spend time with some very successful affiliates, the ones I call "the six-figure-income affiliates."

Rubbing Elbows

These people I met at the conference earn anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 (U.S.) per month working out of their homes. They have almost no overhead costs except for what they pay for Web hosting and bandwidth. They make money by using e-mail and cost-per-action affiliate programs.

You can't tell who they are by looking at them. They don't talk much about their businesses. They aren't flashy. They are normal people just like you and me.

But, very silently, these entrepreneurs are pocketing serious amounts of money every single month from affiliate programs.

Some of them work full time. Some of them work part-time. Some of them hardly work at all! The latter are the ones who have very good domain names and automated sales systems.

I am afraid I can't point you to their sites or let you know exactly what they are doing, but I can tell you what techniques they all have in common.

Be an Advocate

Don't sell. Recommend and refer users to free offers or services.

Selling something online is very hard. And most affiliates I know who are making serious money are instead referring users to free offers and services and getting a commission for each user referred.

Aim for the Action

Use high-paying, cost-per-action affiliate programs. These are programs that pay per customer registration or per download.

Don't just choose a program that has a high commission. It is even more important that the program be designed to get visitors to register your Web site or to make a purchase. Test different programs; drop the losers and keep the winners.

Make Your Web Site Attractive

Entertain and provide value. Create a site that just forces visitors to tell their friends about it.

Most people go online to be entertained or to receive information. When they find something they really like ... they want to tell their friends.

Use E-Mail

You are losing money if you don't have an e-mail strategy incorporated into your Web site.

So many people make the mistake of focusing on their Web site most of the time. It's much more effective to use the Web site as a lead-generation tool to build an opt-in e-mail list. Conversion rates, the average percentage of visitors who buy or complete an action at your Web page, are much higher when you market through e-mail.

And don't just gather e-mail addresses; use them. Send e-mail to your customers. Take action. Get an e-mail autoresponder system, such as AWeber's or GetResponse.com's, to help you build a relationship with your audience.

Have a Simple Goal

Be very specific. Guide users toward taking the action you want them to take, be it to register for something or download something.

If you confuse them ... you lose them. Design your Web site and write your copy with the users in minds. If you want them to fill out a form, tell them to do that, and tell them what will happen after the form is filled out.

Isolate the Action

Use a landing page with your offer (this is the page customers "land on" when they click on a link on the Web page where you endorse an offer). This page is where you can guide customers to complete a specific action (see the previous tip) and/or capture opt-in customer data, such as an e-mail address — so you can follow up with customers later.

Or integrate a pop-up window into your site instead of a landing page, if you think your audience would not be put off by it.

If you want visitors to sign up for your e-mail list, then the form is pretty much the only thing you should have on the page. One offer per page equals maximum conversion rates.

Sell Advertising on Your Site

Don't rely solely on affiliate programs. Sell ad space if you have enough "eyeballs" (a sufficient number of site visitors).

These are real, proven techniques. Use them.

And if you want some good information from the conference, you can download the PowerPoint slides used by Declan, Patrick, and myself in our presentations.