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The Two Basic Steps to Affiliate Marketing Success
By Mario G Carini

Everyone has heard about making an excellent income from joining affiliate programs. While profits can be realized a lot sooner than a typical real world business, many just plunge in only to discover that the dream of instant wealth doesn't materialize. They discover that it requires just as much time, effort and money to get an online business going until it starts to turn a profit.

While affiliate marketing programs are abundant and you should do some research to find the best program that's right for you, there are two critical skills necessary before you can realize a successful business online.

Affiliate programs make it easy to get started. Everything is done for you except for the need to market the products the program offers. And if you don't know how to market, you need to learn how if you ever hope to see a dollar from your affiliate business. Simply posting ads won't guarantee profits, but it will help you waste a great deal of money in the fruitless attempt to get customers.

Like a professional salesman, you need to know your product and its advantages and how those advantages benefit the end user. Signing up with an affiliate program is just the start to making money. You need to educate yourself through improving your marketing skills and that takes time. If you expect to make a profit right out of the gate, you'll be disappointed. Learning how to market is the first thing you need to start doing well before you start spending your first advertising dollar. The best affiliate programs have online courses in place. Forums and chat groups are almost never used by newbie affiliates, but should be. There is little communication between the new affiliate and his upline sponsors and management.

Affiliate marketing isn't just about selling. It's one area most new affiliates don't understand. Marketing is an overall term. It means advertising and promotion both online and off. It means having a website presence beyond just the one the program offers.

The second skill you need is the ability to be a leader. Every good affiliate program allows you to sponsor and build a downline. Residual income can be substantial, far beyond making those sales yourself. But once you've leaned how to market, you need to learn how to be a leader to those newbie affiliates who sign up under you. Forget about signing up hundreds of new affiliates unless you learn marketing techniques first. No one makes money blind, no matter how deep the downline gets.

Being a leader means taking responsibility and few affiliates know how to do it well. Again, communication is an important key. If you're not working as a team with your downline, you won't make any money fast. But once you know the marketing end of the business, you'll have a better understanding of how to teach your downline to be as successful as you.

But just as it's important to contact your downline, it's just as important for them to contact you. If they don't, they're not interested enough in the business so you don't need to badger them constantly if they won't act. To be a success you need to find the action takers as they're the ones who will advance you in your affiliate program. So leave the deadwood behind. You'll know who they are if they don't take the time to fill out their profiles, take the courses or get active in the forums.

Just as you need to establish trust in your customers so they feel comfortable in buying from you, you need to establish a rapport with your downline. Once you've learned both the techniques of marketing and leadership, you'll be on your way to making a comfortable income in your affiliate marketing business.

About the Author:
The author is a freelance writer who writes mostly in subjects dealing with health, business and self-improvement. Currently he is studying copywriting to provide a valuable service for business to attract customers and buyers. His skills can be employed on blogs, websites, and ezines. He currently has a number of articles published on Suite 101: http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/mrmagica
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