Affiliate marketing is the ideal starting point for new marketers to get their feet wet. It allows them to use other people's time, effort, and resources for their own gain while further educating themselves for future successes.

It is the ultimate "earn as you learn" strategy.

Although affiliate marketing is the quickest way to start making money online, the MYTH is that all you have to do is sign up for free, and .......cha ching! money in the bank.

This is simply not true.

The key to becoming a successful affiliate marketer is to stack the deck in your favor by building an OPT-IN EMAIL LIST and then promoting one affiliate product after another to your list. Remember to create and use your blog to build your list, and NOT a separate website to promote an affiliate.

The whole purpose of your Blog is to grow your list. A separate website would merely promote the AFFILIATE and not YOU. Focus on building your list AND THEN selling the products you affiliate with. This way you brand yourself and become the leader. It's YOUR list.

People do business with people, not businesses.

You need to establish yourself as an expert in your industry and as the type of person that people want to do business with. This can be done effectively through list building.

STRATEGY is the whole purpose of your email program. Why? Well, there can be a number of reasons:

• Acquisition

• Conversion

• Loyalty

• Retention

• Up-Sell

• Cross-Sell

• Viral

• Service

• Transactional

• Invites

All of these marketing elements can be included as a part of your program to lead to a greater cause, usually being some type of monetary gain.

It is estimated that at least fifty percent of consumers online in the United States report having made at least one offline purchase based upon a promotional email they received. This ultimate company goal is 100 percent the guiding principle of your email marketing strategy.

YOUR TARGET MARKET

Incorporating your email marketing strategy, you need to target your niche market. These are the consumers that are most interested in what you have to sell or service. When you are dripping them with email messages that are informational as well as relevant to your business, they become highly targeted to you as an individual.

Your secondary goal is building relationships - lists are a great way to build lasting relationships. People do business with people, not businesses. You need to establish yourself as an expert in your industry and as the type of person that people want to do business with. As each reader receives your email with valuable information that will help them, you are building trust and making a name for yourself. It is through this loyalty that readers become your customers or business associates.

Never forget that your subscribers are in it for what they want, not what you want. Make sure your messaging strategy matches your marketing target.