In my last blog article I compiled another list of products you can dropship for profit.  I keep making these lists because it’s extremely difficult for people to come up with product ideas.  The ideas that automatically pop into your head are probably the most common products people buy online, like electronics and books.  Unfortunately it’s difficult to dropship these common products because the markets are extremely saturated and profit margins are slim.

Focus On Niche Products

Your best bet is to think outside the box and come up with a really unique niche product.  Now of course it can’t be too obscure, but there are plenty of products with a heavy demand outside of the typical pet products/flat-screen TVs/purses arena.

Find Unfilled Needs

Just last week I came across two extremely unique product niches I didn’t even know existed.  I included them in my post Products You Can Dropship To Make Money Online.

The first was African-American hair products. I had no idea what a huge market this is, and how extremely intricate.  Reading the article Do Blacks Need To Relax Their Hair To Get Promoted? at www.diversityinc.com completely opened my eyes to the specific and varied needs of this segment of the population.  Now, obviously since I’m not African-American myself, I would have to do an extreme amount of research before presuming to open a website supplying black hair needs.  I’m not saying you can only sell products to people exactly like you, but you definitely need to understand your customers before you can satisfy them.

The second product niche I discovered last week was cheerleader and drill-team products. My sister-in-law is on her high school drill team, and the range of products her team requires to compete is truly staggering.  Special hairspray, makeup, fake eye-lashes, hair ties, dance sneakers, “spankies”, dance apparel, costumes, gym bags, and water bottles are just the beginning.  Their drill team promotes something called “Pink Dot Pride”, which means they also purchase pink polka-dotted stuffed animals, makeup bags, pillowcases, and picture frames to show their team solidarity.  If I were opening a cheerleader/drill-team website, I would make sure all my products could be easily customized to show the team colors and themes, and I would sell all manner of girly memorabilia as well as the regular cheer-leading necessities.  Again, I would consult my sister-in-law as an expert in this particular niche.

When brainstorming products to dropship online, don’t just consider typical categories like home decor.  Look for needs in the people around you.  What would your mom like to buy online, or your little brother?  What are people talking about on message boards,  and in blogs and news articles?  Always be looking for needs – your online business will be successful when you find a way to fill a need.

dropshipping, make money online

It is so darn difficult to think of a unique product to dropship.  Unless you can be creative, it will be extremely difficult for you to make money online because you’ll be competing in a saturated market.  For this reason, I have compiled yet another list of product ideas.  The following products are all items that people are selling online for profit.  I have specifically chosen these products because they are reasonably easy to ship and are likely to be available from dropshippers as well as wholesalers.  As always, I’m not guaranteeing that any of these will be profitable for you, because so much depends on the quality of your supplier, the venue you choose to sell from, and how you market your products.

Dropship Product Ideas:

Absinthe accessories
African-American hair products
Astronomy supplies
Bookends
Boxing supplies
Building toys
Cheerleading products
Cricket gear
Gaelic sports products
Geocaching products
Hair removal products
Magic tricks
Metal art
Microscopes
Militaria
Mobility and disability products
Mosaic kits
Piggy banks
Sci-fi memoribilia
Stamping and embossing accessories
Telescopes
Tobacciana
Weaving supplies

For information on how to choose which niche market is best for you, and for three other lists of products you can dropship for profit, follow this link:

http://www.wholesalematch.com/blog/category/product-ideas/

Product Ideas, dropshipping, make money online

So you want to start an online business and you’re interested in dropshipping.  How do you start dropshipping products online?  Well, it’s actually pretty simple to set up.  Online entrepeneurs are drawn to dropshipping because it allows you to sell products online without carrying an inventory.  Basically, you could start posting and selling products today with very little capital required.

How do I start dropshipping products online?

Step 1: Get your Seller’s Permit, Tax ID Number, and PayPal account

The best dropshippers and wholesalers require a Seller’s Permit and/or Tax ID Number, so the first thing you should do is apply for these.  Second, set up a PayPal account so you’ll have a way to process payments from customers.  It may seem strange that this is the first step, before you’ve even thought of products to sell onine, but getting these three things set up can take time so it’s best to do it right away.

Step 2: Brainstorm products

You need to decide what kind of products you might like to sell online.  You should think of a few different options because there may not be a supplier for the product you first had in mind, or the product may not be as profitable as you’d like.  If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, check out this link to a list of Products You Can Sell Online For A Profit.

Step 3: Find a supplier for your products

The easiest way to find quality suppliers for your products is to let Wholesale Match do the work.  For a small monthly or annual membership, our Research Team will find dropshippers and wholesalers for any and all products you can think of.  If there is not currently a supplier for your desired product in our database, our Research Team will go out and find one for you – we are the only database that does this.  Best of all, there is no risk to using our services because our annual membership comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.

Step 4: Set up an account with a dropshipper

After you’ve reviewed the list of dropshippers and/or wholesalers our Research Team provides you, simply choose the one(s) you want to work with and contact them.  It’s a simple process to set up an account with a dropshipper, and it shouldn’t cost you any money.  The dropshipper will provide you with a pdf file with descriptions and images of their products.  You can use these images to start posting items online.

Step 5: Start selling products

Once you have an account with a dropshipper, you can start selling their products online.  You can do this from your own website, on eBay, or from another auction site like Bonanzle or Amazon.  When you make a sale, you simply order the product from the dropshipper and have it shipped directly to your customer.  The difference between the price you charge your customer and the price you pay your dropshipper is your profit.

dropshipping, make money online, selling products online

Last week I was talking to someone who makes a couple hundred dollars a week buying jewelry off Bidz.com and reselling it on eBay.  He mostly buys rings, though on occasion he’ll get earrings or necklaces.  He marks the price up by a modest margin, say $10-50 per item, and resell the items in 3 day auctions.  I tend to focus on eBay in these blogs, as that is the most common online sales venue, but there are certainly other websites you can use to buy and sell products, including Bidz, Etsy, and Craigslist.  Like my friend, you can purchase products off these sites and resell them on eBay, but as with any super-retail sales, you have to be very careful.

Bidz is often touted as a place to buy products at wholesale or clearance prices (mostly jewelry, but also some watches, sunglasses, and art/knick knacks).  After hearing my friend’s success story I checked the message boards and forums and Bidz has definitely gotten mixed reviews.  The biggest complaint is the quality of the product.  I read stories of soft metal, loose stones, off-colors, etc.  Other users were completely happy with what arrived in the mail, though a few mentioned that the supposed original price of the product was inflated.  The second-most prevalent complaint was that returns are a hassle and re-stocking fees are charged regardless of the reason for the return.

If you want to try buying and selling from Bidz I recommend two things:

1. Have the products shipped to you first so you can check the quality.

When purchasing the cheaper jewelry, my friend usually buys 10 or 20 different rings and resells only 8-15 of them, trashing the rest.  The rings are inexpensive enough that he can still make a profit selling the remainder.  He does this so he doesn’t get a lousy rating on eBay or have to deal with a bunch of returns.

2. Be prepared to lose money on some sales.

When buying and selling super-retail, you always run the risk of taking a loss on a particular product.  Hopefully this is balanced by all the sales you make money on.  With a site like Bidz, you may not be able to return products that are sent back to you – you might just have to eat the cost of those.

I usually recommend setting up an account with a dropshipper or wholesaler over selling super-retail, but if you do decide to go the latter route with a site like Bidz, make sure your customer service doesn’t suffer.  Making a couple hundred dollars isn’t worth trashy your rating on eBay.

make money online, selling products online

To help Wholesale Match members sell the $200 A Day products on eBay, I’m going to be making regular posts like the one from last week where I’ll show examples of products that can be sold for a generous profit margin on eBay.  Last week we looked at an emerald and diamond ring.  This week, I’ve got two potential products in mind: a Lowepro messenger-style laptop bag, and the first season of The Prisoner on Blu Ray DVD.

Step 1:

The first thing I do is click on the $200 In A Day button and select “Products” from the drop-down menu.  I scroll down the list of products and choose two that looked good to me.  Basically what I look for is products that have been significantly marked down (the messenger bag was 80% off its original list price), and I also like free shipping since that’s something that helps your listings move on eBay.  I only choose sellers who don’t have a problem with shipping to an address other than the one on the credit card.

Step 2:

Once I have my potential products in mind, the Lowepro Messenger Factor M 14″ Laptop Bag and the The Prisoner: The Complete Series on BluRay DVD, I open up my eBay account and do an advanced search on both products.  I check the completed listings, and determine that Lowepro messenger-style laptop bags are selling for about $30-40, and The Prisoner on BluRay sold for $49.99.  Make sure that you are checking only new products, or refurbished, or used, depending on what your potential product is.

I can buy the Lowepro bag for $12 after a $48 instant discount, with free shipping.  I can get The Prisoner for $40 after a $60 instant discount with free shipping.  That should provide me with approximately $18-28 profit on the bag, and $10 profit on the DVD set.  Maybe I’ll get a little more, or a little less.  For my two products, I should make around $35.  That’s not a ton of money, but I’ll probably spend less than an hour finding, posting, and selling the products.  For me, $35 an hour is a decent wage.  Maybe you expect to make more, in which case you’ll probably want to look at slightly more expensive products.  I like to minimize my risk, and I think these two products are quite safe.

Step 3:

Before I post these products I’m going to do one more thing – follow the links to the retail websites selling the products, copy all pertinent information including the URL, coupon codes, etc., and call or email the retailer to ensure there are plenty of messenger bags and DVDs in stock, and the price isn’t going to jump up in the next couple of days.  Once I’ve covered all my bases, I’m ready to sell my products on eBay.

eBay, make money online

The following are testimonials from Wholesale Match members who have successfully used our services to make money online (surnames have been truncated for privacy reasons):

“I am very happy with the support I have gotten with Wholesale Match. They have helped me greatly in finding wholesalers as well as dropshippers. Thank you.”

-Mike N.

“I joined Wholesale Match a few months ago and have thoroughly enjoyed working with your company. I am still a member and wouldn’t hesitate to pass along positive thoughts to anyone that was interested or searching for the right kind of help…I have every intention of staying with your company indefinitely. Best wishes to all.”

-Sylvia C.

“I was able to find a supplier through wholesalematch.com that I can use for my dropshipping. And a company that made it very easy for someone who is a complete novice. I am most grateful for the companies I was able to find. Again, many thanks.”

-Hilary G.

“As a new member to Wholesale Match I am very excited and pleased with this very helpful service. Originally I joined as a regular monthly membership and had an employee contact me and introduce himself. He then asked how he could help me…Within the last couple days, I have used the Research Team to help me find contacts, which has saved me much needed time but also gave me the information I was looking for right away in a quick response. I am glad I have joined and can’t wait to watch all the training videos and start making some money with your help. Thanks for such a great service.”

-Howard C.

“I had been making exhausted searches of the Internet for suppliers for my new online business, but everyone wanted store fronts, companies that purchase huge minimal orders, or established long-term contract companies. Wholesalematch.com was able to supply me with quality, reliable, affordable manufacturing contacts who also agreed to do my dropshipping, eliminating my need for minimum orders, worrying about shipping delays, inventory, storage of products, and ensuring that I could sell quality products on my website.”

-Judy K.

“I cannot say enough about wholesalematch.com. I use it every day and have made some good contacts to a lot of dropshippers. It is one of the best sites I have ever been to. I am so happy to be a part of wholesalematch.com. It is easy to maneuver through the site and every link works well. Thanks.”

-Debra M.

“Wow, working with Wholesale Match has really made finding a supplier a lot easier. It really takes the hassle out of the work, especially in finding specific kinds of suppliers. I really appreciate what this company has done for me as an entrepreneur in eCommerce.”

-David N.

“I am a Healthcare Professional totally oblivious to the whole concept of Internet/Online business. I just opened the Wholesale Match website one day out of nowhere. But one click took me to the world of surprises. I was barely starting to realize that a common person like me can also have an online business for some extra bucks. For someone like me who didn’t even know what a dropshipper is, Wholesale Match came as a blessing. The tutorial videos were very helpful in guiding me step by step on how to start looking for what sells, how to do your research, how to set up a PayPal account, how to successfully sell on eBay, and much more…no matter how many businesses you want, Wholesale Match will find you a reliable, committed, and legitimate dropshipper/wholesaler after their extensive research…You can never be wrong with your decision to choose Wholesale Match for your online business venture…Thanks a lot to the entire team.”

-Shama V.

“Any request for suppliers has always been provided back within a 24 hour turn around which is great! I also liked that the person who responded provided additional information about certain suppliers, this information helped me to choose at one glance if I was going to reach out to that supplier.”

-Mary F.

Here at Wholesale Match the success of our members is our highest priority.  If you have any questions about the services we offer, or if you are a current member and require assistance with any aspect of your online business, please email us at support@wholesalematch.com or call our customer service department at 801-938-4718.  Customer service reps are standing by Monday to Friday, 9-5 MST.

finding suppliers, make money online

How do you know if you’re in the right online business?  An easy indication is, are you making money?  And if you are making money online, could you be making more?  There are countless ways to make money online, but the main online businesses most people begin with are affiliate marketing, retail, or selling products on eBay.  Some other venues include blogging, selling e-Books, and writing articles.  If you’ve tried one of these ventures and you’re not making much money yet, should you give up?  Definitely not – but you may need to alter your strategy a little.  Here are some methods to turn your online business from pointless to profitable.

Tip #1: Change your venue, or add another venue to it. A lot of people try to get started in affiliate marketing.  It’s fast, it’s easy; I could set up an affiliate site within an hour and sit back waiting for the money to roll in.  But it would be like trying to fill up a bathtub with the tears I shed reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Countless people build affiliate sites and then end up making about $6 a month, or nothing at all.  The reason is, affiliate marketing only brings in revenue if you have sufficient traffic, and if that traffic is actually interested in your links.  If you’ve built an affiliate site and you’re not making any money, you need to figure out how to bring in more visitors and interest them in your links.  The best way to do this is to add products and/or a blog/article series to your website.  You need informative, valuable content to draw visitors in, or great products.  The benefit of the former tack is that it also helps you build a positive, trustworthy image with your visitors which helps you to promote your affiliate links.  So if you are not currently making money off your affiliate website, try adding another venue like a blog or product line.  If you’re addition is successful, you may want to switch entirely to articles or products.

photo credit: B Rosen

Tip #2: Don’t be married to a particular product. It’s natural to want to sell a product you’re passionate about: if you absolutely love knitting, it makes sense to set up a knitting-supplies website.  In fact, this can be very beneficial since you can easily write tips and articles on knitting to help with your SEO and customer satisfaction.  However, the product you are passionate about may not be profitable.  Perhaps it’s difficult to ship, or you can’t find a great supplier.  You may love to knit, but you’re in e-commerce to make money.  If you can make money selling fishing reels or steel-toed boots, than that’s what you should sell.  If you aren’t having much success with your current product line, whether selling from a website or on eBay, then switch to another kind of product.  Don’t follow your knitting needles to the poorhouse.

photo credit: nicasaurusrex

Tip #3: Don’t be afraid to try new things. Maybe you’ve been selling on eBay for a while now, and you’re reading to expand, but the idea of opening your own eBay store terrifies you.  Bite the bullet and give it a try – the key is to start small, and enlist help.  The wonderful thing about e-commerce is the plethora of information you can find online and the like-minded individuals you can connect with.  Arm yourself with knowledge and advice by doing your online research, then take baby steps.  Don’t overinvest – see below.

Tip #4: Experiment before you lay out cash. Never sink a large amount of money into website design or marketing until you’ve done a test run.  For instance, let’s say you want to sell your handmade earrings from a website.  Before you pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to have one made, try selling a few earrings on Etsy or eBay.  You’ll get a pretty good idea of the demand and the price you can sell them for.  Once you know your earrings are a hot ticket, you can invest in the website.  This is even more true for advertising.  Test a particular promotion or pay-per-click advertising for a particular keyword on a small scale.  If it’s successful, then you can invest some real money into it.

make money online, online business, selling products online

photo credit: Cliff Beckwith

Here at Wholesale Match we are dedicated to providing our customers with the absolute best service.  Besides our comprehensive database of dropshippers and wholesalers, we offer individualized attention, including doing the research for our members, providing educational materials, and having a customer service team on hand to answer any and all questions via phone, email, or livechat.  We will do whatever it takes to help our members be successful.  Because we have a 100% money-back guarantee for our services, it’s really in our own best interest   The following are testimonials from Wholesale Match members we have found quality dropshippers and wholesalers for, and otherwise helped them get their online businesses up and running.  (For privacy reasons I have omitted last names.)

“Hello, a big thanks!  Every request I sent was promptly replied to.  I am very happy with your services, the choice of suppliers, etc. Bravo!”
-Nadine S.

“Hi,
“Wholesale Match sent me 5 possible dropshippers for products I was looking for…They have lots of products that match what I was looking for.  I sold one of the products just days afterwards.  Thanks.”
-Judy D.

“I always dreamed of finding suppliers online who would be above board and those who won’t strike fear into your heart when considering using them.  Wholesale Match was the friend in time of need who provided the right suppliers at the right time.  Now I am on my way in my business, working with suppliers who are great to say the least.  Thank you Wholesale Match!  You saved the day!”
-David A.

“Hi, I just launched my website last week.  Thanks to Wholesale Match I found a great supplier that I think will work out beautifully.  Your support group was very helpful during my research for a supplier and pointed me in the right direction.  Thanks for all your support.”
-Barbara S.

“Wholesale Match is great!!!  I am new at starting an online business and found Wholesale Match.  It was the best thing I could have found!!!  Just about anything you can think of they have the leads you need and the tech support is fantastic.  From simple questions to confusing information they figure it out.  What a great team to work with!!! I’m now on my way to making a living at this.  Thank you Wholesale Match!!!”
-Deborah B.

“I’m just beginning the journey of starting an internet business.  Wholesale Match has been a tremendous help.  I called today and talked to the kindest lady who took time with me as a beginner and encouraged me along the way after a very discouraging day.  I’m so happy to know there is someone to contact with my most basic questions to get me over the hump and on my way.  She encouraged me to take advantage of your services and make my questions and requests known.  She also encouraged me to call when I need extra help.  It was very positive as I struggle to grow and learn.  Thank you.”

-Sandy K.

photo credit: Muneef Hameed

Yes, we’re tooting our own horn a little re-printing these positive comments.  But the reason is that we have a genuine desire to help our members be successful.  We want every online entrepreneur’s experience to be like the ones above.  We know we have great suppliers, great educational materials, and fantastic customer service and research teams.  If you are not currently a member, or are not taking advantage of the full range of Wholesale Match’s services, I urge you to do so.  Your success is our goal.

dropshipping, finding suppliers, make money online, online business

If you’ve ever tried to sell something on eBay, you may have felt like you had to speak a foreign language just to read the instructions.  To help you take advantage of eBay’s many features, I’ve included a kind of Cliff’s Notes or Vocab Page.  This is Part One, and in subsequent posts we should be able to work our way through the rest of the eBay alphabet.

photo credit: bagaball

About Me: This is an eBay page you can create to inform your customers of your products and selling terms and conditions.  Make sure you have a comprehensive About Me page, because most people who bother to look here are probably shy buyers, and need the security and encouragement your profile can convey.

Advanced Search: This is an important search function you should use every time before you list a product. It allows you to search for items by seller, item number, and title and description, but most importantly it allows you to search completed listings.  By seeing what your particular product has sold for recently, you can make sure that you are likely to get a similar price.  For instance, if you’re planning to dropship an electric train set that will cost you $138, but you see similar sets are only selling for around $90, you know not to waste your $2 posting fee.

Announcements Board: This is an online bulletin board where eBay posts information and updates including policy changes.  Check this board regularly to make sure you’re not missing crucial information.

Apps: EBay recently added a number of apps or programs that you can use in conjunction with your eBay account.  Some are free and others have monthly, annual, or one-time fees.  They include accounting, shipping and packaging, and marketing software.  For more information, check out the blog “Overview of the New EBay Apps”.

Auction-Style Listing: This is a listing where the seller offers an item for customers to bid on.  The seller sets the starting price, and then potential buyers bid, just like at a regular auction.  There is a set time-period when bidding will end, and whoever has the highest bid at that point gets the item.  (You can set a reserve price to make sure you get at least a minimum amount for your item – though you will have to pay eBay a percentage of your reserve.)

Average Selling Price (ASP): This is the average price for all items in a particular category sold during a particular time-frame.  This is what you’ll be checking with an advanced search before you post any products.

Best Offer: If you are listing products in the Fixed-Price format, you can add the Best Offer feature.  It allows bidders to submit a Best Offer price, and if the seller accepts it within 48 hours, the listing immediately closes.  A Best Offer is binding, just like a bid (meaning once it is made, the buyer has to follow through if it’s accepted.)

Buy It Now (BIN): Whether you are selling your item auction-style or in a Fixed-Price listing, you can offer a Buy It Now option.  This allows customers to purchase the product immediately for a set price without waiting for the auction to end.  Adding a Buy It Now price can help you get more sales quickly, but it puts a cap on how much your product will sell for.  Thus, if you are selling an item that may be bid up very high, it’s probably not a good idea.

Certified Solution Provider: This term refers to third-party software developers who offer programs to use in conjunction with eBay.  They are bound by criteria and compliance standards set by eBay, and their programs are often quite useful.  The eBay Apps would be an example of this kind of software.

Closed Item Listing: This indicates that a listing that has ended. If the item sold, there will be information provided about payments, shipping and the buyer.  If it’s your closed item listing, you can also find the info in My EBay.

Completed Listings Search: This is what you’ll be doing on the “Advanced Search” page to research the closing sale prices of products similar to yours.

Confirmed Address: This is an address considered safe and reliable by PayPal (usually confirmed by something like a credit card billing address match).  You should know that the only sales protected from chargebacks by PayPal are those sent by confirmed mail to a confirmed address.  If you ship to anyone else, you do so at your own risk (they could easily claim they never received the package and even if you have the delivery confirmation, PayPal will probably charge it back – even if the money is already in your bank account.)

Dropshipping: You can dropship on eBay just like you can from a personal website.  You simply post the item on eBay, and once it sells, you order it from your wholesaler / manufacturer / distributor and have it mailed directly to your customer.  You keep the difference in the price.

Dutch Auction: Synonymous with a Multiple Item Auction, this means a seller has two or more identical items offered in the same auction-style listing.

EBay Shipping Calculator: This is something you insert into your listing so buyers can tell how much shipping is going to cost them.

EBay Store: Once you’ve gotten a minimum feedback rating of 20 and you are ready to handle multiple listings, you may want to switch to an eBay store.  This will allow you to sell add-ons and show inventory.  You’ll also have more customizable pages and banner ads that will help bring business your way.

EBay Toolbar: This is a tool you can download to your web browser to help you keep track of your items and protect your account even when you’re not on eBay’s site.

Featured Listing: You have the option to pay more to have your listings showcased in the “Featured” sections at the top of the listings pages.

Feedback: After every sale, your buyer has the option of rating you positively, negatively or neutrally.  (They give a numerical rating and can leave a short comment).  Likewise, you the seller can leave feedback on your buyer.  Feeback ratings are checked by other potential buyers judging whether they want to do business with you, so make sure you do whatever it takes to keep your customers happy and avoid negative feedback.

Final Value Fee (FVF): This is the percentage of your product’s selling price that will be paid to eBay.

Final Value Fee Credit: Sometimes you can request a Final Value Fee Credit, like if your buyer backs out and doesn’t buy the item after all.

Fixed Price: A set price for selling items immediately without bidding.

Flat Shipping Rate: When you post your shipping costs, you can either offer a shipping cost calculated according to where the buyer lives, or a flat rate that is the same no matter where your buyer lives. If you go with flat shipping rates, you can offer promotions like discounted or free shipping with a certain volume sale (these kinds of marketing techniques work much better when you’re selling from an eBay store, not single items).

photo credit: Doctor Yuri

Keep an eye out tomorrow for the next installment of eBay terms.

dropshipping, eBay, make money online

Affiliate marketing is a system where you post links to products or websites on your site, and receive money when people click on those links and purchase products.  Affiliate marketing is extremely easy to get into: you can apply for hundreds of affiliate programs in a day, post the links on your site, and wait for the money to roll in.  Except you might be waiting a long time.  As anyone who has rashly built an affiliate site can tell you, you could wait months and end up making about $6.  Why?  What goes wrong?  Well, affiliate marketing isn’t as easy as you think.
The problem is, while you can post the links on your website, you only make money if people click on those links and purchase products.  So you have to do two things in order to be successful: you have to bring traffic into your website, and you have to convince that traffic to click on your links and make purchases.

How do you bring traffic into your site? SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is imperative.  People have to be able to find your website on the SERPs (Search Engine Response Pages).  SEO can be a full-time job: among other things, you will need to write fresh content and solicit inbound links on a regular basis to keep your website visible.  But this is only the first step.

Once you’ve brought traffic into your website, you need to promote your links, and this is actually the most difficult part.  Just because I find your website doesn’t mean I’m going to click on your links and buy products.  In fact, when I land on your website, I’m probably going to navigate away from it immediately because it will be obvious it’s only an affiliate website.  Most people who build affiliate sites don’t bother to put up anything of value, so there’s no reason for me to stick around and click on anything.

How do you get people to click your links? The first and most important thing is to put valuable content on your site.  This can take a number of forms.  You can write an amusing or informative blog, you can post educational articles or product reviews, you can make a “Tip of the Day” section…  All this content will be related to your affiliate links (i.e. if your links are to gourmet coffee websites, your tips/articles/blog will  be about coffee.)  Your content serves two purposes.  First, it helps with SEO, and second, it gives people a reason to navigate around your site.  If your site is just a blank page covered in links, it has no value.  It’s not even useful as a place to find websites with a particular theme, because there are hundreds of directories that fulfill that function far more efficiently.

photo credit: surlygirl

The second thing you can do to get people to click on your links is to provide a “call to action” or endorsement of the link. You don’t want to be cheesy about this: putting some text that says “Hey click this link!” or “This product is awesome!” isn’t going to work.  However, if you write an informative and extensive review of the product, and then have your affiliate link at the bottom, your chances of getting clicks are pretty good.  Or you could write an entire blog on “The Best Mother’s Day Presents” and then put four or five affiliate links below that (for the products you referenced in your blog).

Another way you can get people to click your links is to sell products related to your affiliate links. You have to be careful with this, because the last thing you want is to post links that are in direct competition with your products.  But say you have a dance-apparel website: you’re selling dance shoes and leotards and tutus, but you don’t have any music.  You could post affiliate links to websites that have ballet CDs or hip-hop MP3s.  Just make sure that the affiliate sites don’t ALSO sell dance sneakers or anything else that you supply.

photo credit: Megyarsh

Affiliate marketing is a legitimate way to make money.  Some people use affiliate links to supplement the income they make off their website selling products.  Other people have enough valuable informative content and efficient enough SEO that they make the entirety of their income off affiliate links and maybe a few ads.  You can experiment and see what works for you.  Just be aware that affiliate marketing isn’t a cash cow you can milk at your convenience.  It requires as much work as other kinds of e-business to be successful.

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