Choosing an affiliate product can be a tough decision for the new affiliate marketer. Many don’t know where to start looking while others are paralyzed by the overwhelming number of affiliate products on the market or the fear of choosing the wrong affiliate product and being unsuccessful in their promotions. Fortunately, there are several things that you can do to ensure that you choose the right affiliate product and promote it successfully. Here they are:

1. Follow Your Passion. You know the old saying, “do what you love and the money will follow”? Nowhere is that more true than in the field of affiliate marketing. Wherever possible, choose an affiliate product that relates to a personal hobby or passion. You’ll have a better chance of success if you are motivated and have knowledge of the market that you are targeting. One word of caution, however – DON’T follow your passion blindly if there is no market for it. For example, you might think building sculptures out of popsicle sticks is the coolest thing since acid wash jeans. If no one else does, you don’t have a market. And you won’t create one no matter how hard you try. 

Now, having said all of this, maybe there’s nothing in particular that you feel passionate about or have any special knowledge of.  That’s fine too!  We’ll show you how to find a product even if you have no idea where to start.

2. Target a Hot “Niche”. A “niche” is a smaller sub-segment of a broader group of consumers. For example, let’s say you love basketball and want to focus your affiliate marketing efforts around that topic. You would face an uphill struggle if you simply targeted the entire market (which is too vast and poorly defined). Instead, you would want to drill down into the “basketball” market to find a sub-market or “niche” of basketball related consumers with a specific problem or need. If you were to do this, you might discover a “niche” consisting of casual basketball players who want to increase their vertical jump. You would then find an affiliate product (like an Ebook) addressing this need and market it directly to that niche. Although a niche is relatively small in relation to the entire market, it is very targeted and you will have much greater success with your marketing efforts.

We’ll break down the specifics of finding niches a little bit later in the instructional videos.

3. Look for a Compelling Sales Pitch. Once you have located a potential affiliate product, take time to study the sales copy on the merchant’s web site. Does the headline draw you in and compel you to keep reading? If you were the consumer, would you be convinced of the product’s ability to address your need even before you finished reading the sales page? Does the sales page clearly define the benefits that the consumer will gain by purchasing the product as well as the features of the product itself? Does it contain a powerful offer and call to action that gives the purchaser a reason to purchase immediately rather than waiting until later?

This might sound complicated now, but you’ll soon discover that it’s really not too hard to spot the difference between a professional website that sells and an amateur one tht doesn’t.  Besides, we’ll show you how to look at the statistics for the affiliate products you are marketing and you’ll be able to see at a glance which ones sell and which ones don’t.  (See the next point on this.)

4. Review Commissions and Sales Stats. If possible, check to see how other affiliates are performing with the product. If you are promoting a product that is sold through a large affiliate network like ClickBank or Commission Junction, you can view statistics such as the average number of sales per affiliate and profit on each sale. This will also allow you to determine the product’s refund rate. Also, look to choose a product that has a good commission rate (50% or higher is ideal) and pays at least $18 per sale. Products that pay “lifetime” commissions (common with products like paid memberships or web hosting where the consumer is billed on a recurring basis) can also be an attractive choice because they provide for an ongoing income.

5. Buy the Product First. If you can afford to, purchase the affiliate product before promoting it. Is it of high quality and does it deliver on the promises made in the sales pitch or does it fail to live up to the sales hype? Remember, you don’t get paid commissions on refunded sales so it’s important to know that the product is of good quality before choosing to promote it.

Also, being knowledgeable about what you are promoting will make you much more effective at marketing it. Aim to turn yourself into the number one expert on the affiliate products that you promote so that your offers will be compelling.

Choosing the right affiliate product will be a key foundation of your success as an internet marketer. Taking some time to evaluate your interests, the market and the available products based on these 5 key points will greatly increase your rate of success.

Up Next: You’ll learn about ClickBank.com, the web’s most popular source of affiliate products.

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