Affiliate Marketing For Dummies

Ted Sudol is a longtime affiliate marketer who has developed and sold several affiliate marketing websites over the years. His current sites focus on affiliate marketing and precious metals investing.Paul Mladjenovic is the bestselling author of Stock Investing For Dummies. He’s a Certified Financial Planner as well as a national speaker and home business specialist.

• Introduction 1About This Book   1Foolish Assumptions   2Icons Used in This Book   2Beyond the Book   3Where to Go from Here   3Part 1: Getting Started with Affiliate Marketing 5Chapter 1: What Is Affiliate Marketing?   7Getting a Handle on How Affiliate Marketing Works   7Profiting from Internet Promotion   8Multiplying opportunities   9Automating the money flow 9Distinguishing affiliate marketing from other internet businesses   11Preparing to Start Your Affiliate Marketing Business   12Setting expectations   12Laying the groundwork   13Walking through the process   14Chapter 2: Why Should You Be an Affiliate?   17Surveying the Requirements of Starting a Traditional Business 18Assessing the Advantages of Affiliate Marketing   19You can start your business instantly   20You can choose your own path and lifestyle   20You can offer a diverse range of products   21You have no product development and fulfillment   21You don’t have to be a technical genius   22Payment and accounting are automated 23You get company-supplied marketing materials   24You can take advantage of tax deductions   24Setting Expectations   24Chapter 3: Pitfalls and Risks for Beginners   27Looking Out for Personal Pitfalls   27Lacking focus   28Managing time poorly   29Making few (if any) content updates 32Avoiding Internet Risks   32Stay away from instant businesses   33Don’t fall for the next bright shiny object 34Don’t follow others too closely 34Chapter 4: Steps to Take Before Becoming an Affiliate   37Setting Your Goals   38Assessing the Skills You Have and Need   38Where are you now?   39How do you move ahead?   40Strengthening Your Ability to Focus   40Deciding what is (and isn’t) important   40Setting your priorities   41Seeing the magic of massive action   43Making time to play   43Ridding yourself of time wasters   44Chapter 5: Surveying the Affiliate Landscape: Programs and Networks   49Digging into Affiliate Programs   49Assessing the advantages of affiliate programs   50Finding and evaluating affiliate programs   51Joining an affiliate program   54Looking at Affiliate Networks   56Checking out the advantages of affiliate networks 56Finding and evaluating affiliate networks   57Joining an affiliate network 58Understanding the Dangers of Getting Banned   59Part 2: Building on the Basics 61Chapter 6: Keyword Research and Product Selection 63Combining Passion and Profit   64Analyzing Product Keywords   65Looking at long tail keywords 66Golden keywords   70Sifting through Keyword Analysis Tools   71Market Samurai   72KeywordRevealer   74Google Keyword Planner   75Examining Markets   76Focusing on evergreen markets   77Sizing up seasonal markets   77Chapter 7: Using a Website for Affiliate Marketing   79Beginning with the Benefits of a Website for the Affiliate Marketer   80Establishing a Domain Name for Your Website   81Choosing a name   81Using a registrar 82Checking out the aftermarket   83Comparing Self-Hosting to Free Hosting   84Self-hosting   85Free hosting   87Going with WordPress Software   88Installation   89Themes   90Plug-ins   91Monitoring Your Website   94Totaling the Costs of Starting and Running an Affiliate Marketing Website 95Asking a Few Important Questions about Websites 96Chapter 8: Niche Marketing   97Understanding the Basics of Niche Marketing   97Finding Your Niche 99Following the head and the heart   100Considering market size and competition   100Reviewing Keyword Analysis Tools for Niche Marketing   101Market Samurai   102KeywordRevealer   103Google tools   104Keywords Everywhere   104Spying on the Competition 105Surveying Seasonal Niches 107Chapter 9: Affiliate Marketing Without a Website   109Getting Started When You Have Followers (And When You Don’t)   110Leveraging the followers you already have   110Taking action when you have no social media presence 112Surveying Strategies for Different Social Media Platforms   113Facebook   114LinkedIn 115YouTube   115Instagram   116Reddit 117Quora 117Guest blogs   118Checking Out the Cons of Affiliate Marketing Without a Website   119Your web presence is limited   119You’re not building asset value   120You don’t own the ground you’re building your business on   120Your content doesn’t last long in front of your followers   121You’re always fighting the competition 121You have to adjust your approach for a different audience   122You must keep on top of social media limitations and restrictions   122Social media isn’t necessarily less complicated than having a website 123Having a website isn’t as expensive as you may think   124Chapter 10: SEO: Search Engine Optimization   125Taking Care of Some Issues Before You Focus on SEO   126Selecting the right niche   126Understanding the elephant in the room: Google   127Distinguishing On-Page and Off-Page SEO Factors 130On-page SEO factors   131Off-page SEO factors   138Setting Up Your Site to Be SEO Friendly   139Tags and categories 140Posts and pages   140Building a silo   143Trying Out SEO Tools 144Yoast   144Market Samurai   144Google Webmasters   145Chapter 11: Email Marketing   147Assessing the Advantages of Email Marketing   148Building Your List with Different Types of Email   149Marketing emails   149Autoresponders   149Transactional emails   150Email campaigns   151Hosting Your Own Emails   152The pros of hosting   152The cons of hosting   154Playing by the Rules 156Can-spam 156The opt-in   158The double opt-in 158Unsubscribing 159Understanding Email Screening   159Soft bounces and hard bounces   161Beware of buying a list of emails 161A risk of probation if email addresses aren’t checked   161Email throttling 163Considering Different Email Senders   163Sendinblue   164Amazon SES   164SendGrid   165Mailchimp   165Constant Contact   166Part 3: Advanced Affiliate Strategies   167Chapter 12: Multitier, Passive, and Other Offbeat Commissions   169Getting a Handle on Multitier Affiliate Marketing   170Trying two-tier marketing   170Watching out for the third tier and beyond   171Finding affiliates for your multitier program   172Picking Out Passive Income Opportunities   174Profiting Even When No Sale Is Made 175Cost per action/pay per lead   175Cost per click 176Cost per view   177Chapter 13: Affiliate Platforms, Directories, and More   179Assessing Affiliate Platforms   179JVZoo   180ClickBank   181CJ Affiliate   183Amazon Associates   184Digging into Affiliate Directories   185Checking Out CPA Networks   186Looking at Advertising Networks 187Chapter 14: Opt-In and Landing Pages   189Examining the Elements of an Opt-In Page   190Videos versus text   190The layout   192Other considerations for success   192Checking Out the Elements of a Landing Page   193The visuals: Colors and images   193The headline and the subheadline   193Ad/sales copy   194Testimonials   196Bonuses 197The “what’s inside” element   197The bio 198Payment buttons   198Guarantees   198Frequently asked questions (FAQs) 199Legal notices and disclaimers   200Focusing on Other Factors for Success 200Testing with the A-B split   200Considering SEO 201Using an exit pop-up   201Benefiting from others’ wisdom   202Trying landing page templates and software   202Judging results   202Chapter 15: Sales Funnel Strategies   203Selling Your Prospect on Multiple Offers   203Starting with the front end   204Moving to the main or core offer 206Continuing with the back-end offer 207Using upsells and downsells   207Putting everything together   208Setting Up Your Sequence of Offers   210Looking at the tools you need   210Modeling a merchant funnel   211Assessing an affiliate funnel 212Building a structure for passive income   213Part 4: Going Professional 217Chapter 16: The Legal Stuff 219Following the Federal Trade Commission   220Knowing the main guideline 220Avoiding unrealistic claims   220Retaining records about testimonials 221Watching your language   222Keeping your pricing consistent   222Having a clear refund policy 222Being aware of the rules about business opportunities   223Getting the Scoop on the General Data Protection Regulation   224Safely Using Images and Other Content 225Getting permission in writing 225Understanding special content rights 226Addressing Legal Matters on Websites 227A privacy policy 227Disclaimers   228Terms of service   228Other sites’ rules   229Chapter 17: The Merchant Side of Affiliate Marketing   231Knowing Whether You’re Ready to Be a Merchant   232Is your product conducive to an affiliate marketing program?   233Is your compensation plan attractive?   235Can you service affiliates? 236Becoming an “undercover affiliate” 236Choosing Your Technology 237Considering an in-house affiliate program   237Using an external affiliate platform 238Outsourcing   239Recruiting and Working with Affiliates   239Knowing where to find affiliates   239Making offers they can’t resist   240Providing affiliate tools   240Chapter 18: Taxes for the Affiliate Marketer   245Setting Up Your Business for Taxes   245The simplest business structure: You!   246The second simplest business structure: The DBA 246The next level: LLCs, corporations, and partnerships 247Handling Taxes on Affiliate Marketing Commissions   247Federal income taxes   248Federal self-employment taxes   248State and local taxes   249Sales tax 249Digging into Powerful Tax Deductions   250Deducting home office expenses   250Looking at the most common affiliate deductions   251Checking out other common business deductions   252Keeping Good Records   253Researching Pension Tax Benefits 253Reviewing Resources to Help You with Your Taxes   254Part 5: the Part of Tens   255Chapter 19: Ten (Or So) of the Biggest Pitfalls for Affiliate Marketers   257Looking to the Next Bright Shiny Object   257Battling a Lack of Focus 258Not Investing in Yourself and Your Education   259Making the Transition from Content Consumer to Content Producer   260Having Unrealistic Expectations   260Spreading Yourself Too Thin   261Not Sticking It Out Until You Achieve Success   261Not Spending Money to Save Time   262Not Protecting Your Trust Flow and Reputation   262Chapter 20: The Ten Best Free Tools for Affiliate Marketers   267WordPress 268Elementor   268Yoast   269Keywords Everywhere 270SpyFu   270Blog Ideas Generator 270Market Samurai   271GTmetrix   271SimilarWeb   272Buffer 273Chapter 21: The Ten Best Paid Tools for Affiliate Marketers   275Market Samurai   276Keyword Revealer   276SpyFu   277Elementor, Astra Pro Theme, and Ultimate Addons 277Content Samurai   278WP Robot 280CleanTalk 280Sendinblue   281Amazon SES   281Mailster   282Chapter 22: The Ten Best Marketing Strategies for Affiliates   285Guest Blogging   285SEO Strategies   286Social Media Marketing 286YouTube Marketing   287Email Marketing   288Content Marketing 289E-book Publishing   289Joint Ventures   290Media Interviews   290Smartphone Apps   291Appendix: Tools and Resources for Affiliates   293Index   307