Questions Newbies Ask
There are many people flocking to make money online and with them there are many questions newbies ask along the way. Why shouldn’t they, there is a lot to learn in the area of affiliate marketing. I have tried to gather the most sought out questions that are asked the most by newbies in forums, blogs, websites and they all narrow down to the top five I am sharing.
One of the first questions asked is“Okay I have my website up, I have my product listed with information how come I am not making sales?” I find this question to be a common misconception by those just starting out with the thought process of “If I build it, they will come”.
At times, sorry to say, I have to laugh when I read a post mentioning that they have not made any sales. For some of these newbies they think it is so easy to become an affiliate marketer. Wrong! There is a lot more to it than just building a website. I know, I was one who thought the same thing! LOL
So then all the common questions come forth, “Is your product in demand?” Are you using targeted keywords?” Are you providing valuable information on your website? Here is the biggest one of all, wait for it… “What type of traffic do you have going to your website?” Of course the answer always ends up being, “Well, I posted a classified ad and I have one article out” or “I need to send traffic back to my site?” Cracks me up every time, reason being? They did not do their homework before jumping in with both feet.
So before we go into this answer, let’s tackle one very important question, “Do I need a website to sell products online?”
The true answer to this question is it all depends on what goals you are trying to meet to have any form of success. Sure you can make money without a website by just marketing products as an affiliate (go directly to the vendor), but why not branch out and build a name for yourself with your very own website or at least a landing page to collect names and emails? All in all, both of these techniques you will need to know how to market the products you are promoting.
The next most sought out questions newbies ask is “What should I sell online”?
Basically only you can answer this question. If you have knowledge in a certain field let say ‘making candles” why not build a website sharing your personal expertise on this topic? If you get brave enough you can even write your own e-book sharing the steps in how to make candles, or you can look for products that others have built and you can promote those instead. The internet is a vast world of products and information find something you are interested in and put your best foot forward.
Here is some additional information on choosing products to promote once you narrow down your selection. “Who is behind the product you are promoting?”
This is where you should do a little bit of research for you need to know who you are backing and helping to make money for. Remember, you are promoting this product and it is your reputation on the line if it is a negative product. “Is the name familiar to you?” “If so, do they carry good products with a great turn around?” and “What type of track record do they have as far as returns?” Research, research, research!
Afterwards of finding your products, building a website (choice) another question comes up “When can I start seeing sales?”
This is a tough question to answer for it boils down to what I mentioned above about traffic. There are quite a few variables that come into play, “Have you put in the time and effort?” “Did search for keywords?” “Do you have your traffic set up?” if so, “How much?” So this question remains unanswered for there are many components that must work together.
Let’s go back to this other question, “How can I get traffic back to the website I have just built? “Why do I need traffic to my website?”
If you are going to marketing products, traffic is a must to have success. This is very important to getting the word out and directing people back to your websites.
There are many free ways to market your products without spending a dime, if you want to spend money that is your choice, but to start out, it is best to use all the free ways that you can.
The best way to accomplish this massive goal is to make sure you are using keywords that people are typing into the search engines for the products and information you are sharing. If you have not done so, you will be lost in the internet realm of nothingness with all the other thousands and thousands of information and never make it to the front pages of Google, Yahoo, Bing where you need to be.
Free ways of marketing, some you of it you will enjoy doing while others it’s like pulling your teeth out to get it done. Sorry, but true! We all have our likes and dislikes, but it is all worth it when sales start rolling in.
Here is a great list of free ways to market:
- Article marketing
- Classified Ads
- Forum marketing (sharing through your signature link)
- Social Bookmarking (Digg, Stumble upon etc.)
- Linking to other blogs (do not spam, provide valuable feedback)
- Press Releases
- Social Networking (Twitter, Facebook etc.)
- Question and Answer Sites- (Yahoo Answers, AllExperts)
I am sure that there are many more questions that come to mind of newbies that are not shared on the internet. Affiliate marketing entails a lot of work and individuals should not expect instant results to replace other income. It takes time and effort to build with a huge learning curve of gaining knowledge to make it a success.
