Most affiliate marketers have a goal to become known as super affiliates. But what does the term mean, and what characteristics does a person have to exhibit in order to reach this lofty status? Here is some background on the super affiliate and what it takes to become one of the exalted few who can rightfully claim this title.
Essentially, a super affiliate is a marketing affiliate that has created a network that provides a high volume of traffic to affiliate products and a high percentage of completed sales from that traffic. The super affiliate is not one who reaches this level once, or even once in a great while.
Instead, the super affiliate reaches high sales volumes consistently over a long period of time, resulting in a steady flow of completed sales that never seems to drop off.
Being able to recognize a super affiliate from the rest of the pack may not be easy at first. After all, there are a number of affiliates who generate some steady income from one or a combination of affiliate programs, and in fact have some excellent skills.
However, there are attributes that will set the super affiliate apart from most other marketing people.
One of the most important attributes of a super affiliate is a capacity for recognizing opportunities that others can’t or won’t see. Super affiliates have to be visionaries, in that they often come up with new ways and places online to generate revenue opportunities for the products they wish to move.
Not content with going down tried and true paths, the super affiliate will brainstorm new variations on old themes, even while thinking in terms of some new territory that is ripe for the introduction of affiliate marketing. You will never hear a super affiliate say that everything has been done.
More About Super Affiliate Marketing
The super affiliate knows there is one more road to travel; all it takes is the vision to find the road and start walking.
Creativity is another hallmark of a super affiliate. The ability to present the same old information is new ways will keep people interested. Super affiliates know how to look at products from a variety of different angles, determine a series of ways to present the product, and then go out and find an audience to match up with each one of those ways.
For the super affiliate, there is always one more way to draw attention to a product, and find a larger audience than ever before.
A third characteristic of a super affiliate is the desire and ability to master technology. This does not necessarily involve becoming an expert in information technology. But it does involve learning enough about existing technology to make good use of avenues already open on the Internet to promote products.
Not being scared off by having to submit reports, articles, and classified ads in different formats to different sites leads to a greater ability to spread the word about all the good things that can be obtained through those links and ads.
Super affiliates do not shrink back because it may take a little while to learn something new. Instead, they will relish the challenge and look forward to the day when they have mastered one more new bit of Internet savvy.
Last, the super affiliate often exhibits a large amount of patience. Using a logical thought process, the super affiliate is able to push aside the desire for instant results and do what it takes to create and nurture a secure affiliate network that will pick up steam and then never slow down again.
This does not mean that the super affiliate is against earning a quick dollar. What it does mean is that when a super affiliate sees an opportunity that may take a few weeks or months to fully develop and bear fruit, they will not pass it over.
Instead, the super affiliate will diversify their operating strategies to include affiliate opportunities that provide a quick turnaround while still devoting time to nurturing one that will require more time but will ultimately yield big results.
Super affiliates may be few in numbers, but the fact is that they can teach the rest of us a lot of things if we will listen. In the end, they may trigger something that allows us to get on the path to super affiliate status, and become known by that title someday.
How to Build Influence in the Shoes of a Super Affiliate
One of the things about being a super affiliate is that your status allows you to gain a lot of recognition among other marketers, and sometimes will allow you to capture the attention of companies or individuals that would love to have you take part in their affiliate marketing programs.
Here are some tips on how your status as a super affiliate can be utilized to build your influence as well as bring you ever-greater profits.
Getting the most out of your status as a super affiliate can often begin with a very simple decision on your part to share the wealth of your experience. Because of your success with affiliate marketing, you can easily help persons that are new to the business avoid some of the more common mistakes.
With your guidance, they will not get caught up in some of the side roads that all too often are part of the learning process when it comes to becoming a competent affiliate marketer.
Having that bank of knowledge at your fingertips and being willing to share it with others will do nothing but enhance your reputation in the industry.
You can also help to improve the image of the affiliate marketer since way too many people still associate affiliate marketing with email spam. By pointing out ethical ways to market products and promote yourself, up to and including opt-in mailing lists that are qualified, you do the business, in general, a service, even as you make your presence even more visible.
Another advantage of your status as a super affiliate has to do with the ability to pick and choose various affiliate programs. As is true with any business community, word about success travels fast among marketers.
Once your name or the name of your affiliate marketing entity begins to make the rounds of the business world as a heavy hitter, you may find that your days of looking for affiliate marketing opportunities is over. Instead, companies come to you with solid offers and perks in an effort to entice you to represent them through an affiliate program.
This sort of recognition can be personally as well as professionally rewarding. It is one thing to be able to secure work whenever you go looking for it. It is quite another to have the work come looking for you.
For super affiliates that like to meet and greet people, you may find that you can pick up some additional income hitting the speaking circuit.
With the name value that your status as a super affiliate has generated, it is not outside the realm of possibility that you could make a handsome amount of money by making yourself available to speak at conferences and other gatherings devoted to affiliate marketers.
Holding workshops at these sorts of events is another way you could earn some extra cash. Because you would basically be helping to motivate other people to do what you have done so well, it would not take a great deal to prepare the materials and be ready to deliver a keynote speech at such an event.
As another perk, you may be able to have all the expenses paid, so you have no out-of-pocket expense.
Making the most of your status as a super affiliate means enjoying the opportunities that come to you through word of mouth; additionally, it means taking matters into your own hands and promoting your status in such a way that you increase your visibility.
Keep in mind that anything you do to promote yourself will not only open doors to new means of generating revenue, but it will probably also create additional traffic to those places that made you a super affiliate in the first place.
By maximizing your options, you can rest assured of having an excellent revenue stream for many years to come.
The Reason Why Super Affiliate Marketers Make so Much More Than Others
Affiliate marketing isn’t a job. It’s a business opportunity. That means that there is unlimited moneymaking potential. But it also means that how much you make is proportional to how much work you put into it. That doesn’t mean that you have to make it a full-time effort, but it does mean that you have to keep working at it.
It’s easy money, relatively speaking, but just signing up for a program and putting up a link or two doesn’t guarantee instant income.
Whether you want to make a living doing nothing but affiliate marketing or are looking to generate a steady supplemental income, you must be willing to dedicate a certain amount of your time to it.
And this is a big part of the reason why income varies so significantly between affiliates. Some believe that if they choose a program that performs well for others that the products will sell themselves, but it just doesn’t work that way.
If you understand that being a successful affiliate requires commitment, you’re ahead of the game. But it’s still quite possible that you’re not making as much as you’d like to, despite your best efforts. There are certain traits that so-called super affiliates possess that allow them greater earning potential. Some of these are:
They include affiliate marketing activities in their schedule.
Telling yourself that you’ll spend a certain number of hours a week working on it is nice, but if you don’t set aside time specifically for that purpose, there’s a good chance that you won’t get around to it. Whether they decide to spend 2 or 20 hours a week on affiliate marketing, super-affiliates pencil it in on their calendars and stick to it.
They’re not afraid to spend some money.
You can become an affiliate for free, but if you’re serious about bringing in regular income, you’ll probably need to invest a little cash into it. Super affiliates realize this, and they have no qualms about spending on site-building.
Pay Per click campaigns and other promotional efforts.
They understand the importance of keeping an eye on their stats. Knowing how many visitors your sites are getting, how many people are clicking on your affiliate links, and how many are buying is crucial to your success as an affiliate.
It will alert you to strategies that aren’t working so that you can replace them with strategies that do. Super affiliates check their stats often and use that information to fine-tune their efforts.
They are eager to learn.
As the Internet evolves, so does affiliate marketing. New techniques and applications are coming out all the time, and if you ignore them, you could be left behind. Super affiliates understand that you can’t learn it all in one sitting. Even if you were to learn everything there is to know about affiliate marketing today, there will be something new to learn tomorrow.
They don’t mind taking risks.
Just because the tried and true stuff is working, that doesn’t mean that they won’t attempt something new. It might work out and it might not, but super affiliates are willing to take a chance if there’s the possibility of greater profits.
If you possess these traits, there’s not much standing in the way of you making a nice passive income. If you don’t, work on them. Without them, all the tips and techniques in the world won’t be much help. The good news is that it’s primarily a matter of attitude, and that’s something you can always change if you want to badly enough.
How to Become a Super Affiliate
You can go to an individual merchant’s site, or an affiliate program network, like Commission Junction, and fill out an online application.
The application will ask for some personal information about you, including your name, address, and preferred payment method. You will also be asked for information about your site, such as its URL, name, and a description of the type of content you offer.
You will also probably be asked to confirm your acceptances with the terms of agreement posted on the site. Approval into a program may or may not be immediate.
Some affiliate program managers will want to review your site prior to accepting you into their program. Once your application is approved, you are ready to start marketing and become a super affiliate.
Many merchants will supply you with all you need in terms of marketing material, such as text and graphic links.
Overview of the Business-Building Process
It’s always easier to tackle a big project when you break it down into manageable chunks.
Here are the 10 ‘chunks’ involved in building an affiliate business. Each chunk is comprised of
several smaller steps.
Chunk by chunk and step-by-step, you’ll soon find that you’re making money on the Web!
Let’s look at a brief description of each ‘chunk’ in the process of building an affiliate business.
Choose a Topic or Two
What will your site be about? The best way to choose a topic is to pick something that interests you. Spending hours and hours every day working on a topic you have no interest in or that bores you is hard to do.
Choose something that excites you and the work will be fun. Write down a list of potential topics in a notebook or MSWord.
Assess Demand, Supply & Profitability
The basic rule for determining profitability is to see whether your chosen topic has an audience and how crowded the market is. This is a 2-step process. The first step is to see how many people search on the keywords applicable to your topic.
The second step is to visit Google or AltaVista and determine how many sites relating to that topic are already online. With this knowledge, and a formula given later in the Handbook, we will determine the potential for profit in your chosen market.
Find Related Products and Services with Affiliate Programs
Once you know that your idea is potentially profitable, you need to find out whether there are merchants offering products and services of interest to your customers through affiliate programs. We research the programs we locate to determine product quality.
Choose Your Domain Name and Web Host
Now that we know your topic idea is potentially profitable and supported by affiliate programs, it’s time to register a domain name
and web hosting for your site.
Create Site Outline
This is an essential step that many people forget. An outline gives you a plan to work from and makes the project proceed quickly and easily.
Write Product Endorsements
Using word-processing software like Microsoft Word, write product endorsements for two or three of the products and services you plan to sell. Although it may seem strange to write a product endorsement before you’ve joined the corresponding affiliate program, this is one thing that sets super affiliates apart from other affiliates.
Affiliate managers will see the work you’ve done and are more likely to accept your program application.
Build and Upload WebSite to the Hosting Service
Either design a site yourself or input the sales copy into a purchased template, then place it on the web for all to see and enjoy.
Sign up for Affiliate Programs
Only now do we apply to join affiliate programs.
Promote Site
Get the word out and draw huge numbers of surfers to your site. Have them sign up for your newsletter and build a huge opt-in list. Watch your visitors buy copious amounts of your affiliate products and services.
Deposit numerous checks in large amounts into your checking account. Contact newsletter subscribers with new offers and deposit more checks into your bank account.
Repeat Steps 1 through 9
In Step 1 above we talked about coming up with multiple ideas for site topics. After your first site is online and making money, you will repeat the process all over again with Topic Number 2.