I’d like to take the opportunity to berate Matt of Affiliates4U for his new site format. Their failure to add an affiliate health warning to their new offering resulted in me wasting a good 3 or 4 hours fiddling around with all the wonderful new toys they have added.

So if you are in danger of becoming an affiliate-o-holic, and are of the disposition for procrastination (as I am), you may have to watch your addiction levels with this great new site.

I was a bit disorientated at first (Scottish people respond poorly to change), but was soon immersed in their new social networking options and blog section complete with digg and bumpzee-like tags which let people show their appreciation for posts they have enjoyed.

I’m really pleased with the new look, and think its a great contribution and resource for the future of UK affiliate marketing. Lets not make the mistake of taking Matt and team’s investment in this for granted.

Affiliates4U

PS – Hey, how about some blog widgets guys? I imagine you’re already on the case there!

Ah, come on now. You surely didn’t fall for that did you?

And yet people do. Every day.

To be honest, it irritates me that people fall for straplines like that. Now, I’m not saying that the people selling affiliate marketing books / online income books are all fraudsters preying on desperate newbies who want to make quick money. But the ones who offer “iron clad” earnings guarantees most definately are. To my mind, this does two things. First, it gives the whole affiliate marketing industry a spammy sheen that it most definately does not deserve. Second, it disappoints people and adds a burden of failure to their aspirations to improve their financial situation.

So. What I’m trying to say is that if you’re someone looking for more information on affiliate marketing remember this: – If it sounds easy or too good to be true… it is. Save your money. Here’s what I think the biggest secret to success in affiliate marketing: Its hard bloody work, a lot of research, and a few failures before you get that first golden paycheque.

Another secret: – All the information you need to succeed is available for free on the internet.

So with that in mind, I’m going to chuck up a handful of places you can get good free information. If anyone has any additions to my list, drop me a line in the comment field and I’ll get them added. Purveyors of spam need not apply

I absolutely do not make any kind of guarantee as to your earning potential once you have read these information sources. That’s entirely up to you and your own entrepreurial flair… which is something no crappy e-book can give you (and something nobody else can copy from you and resell either).

This is intended as a starting point, not a comprehensive list. Good luck!

Affiliate Marketing Forums: –

There’s also a great series of podcasts for newbies over at Frasers Affiliate Blog.

Oh, and lets not forget my very own beginners guide to adwords PPC and the Setting up your first affiliate site guide by Steven Marwick of Virtual Cards!

Both of these have newbie sections, and seem to be pretty friendly places. Any question you might have is likely to have been asked already, so there’s great information in forum archives.

SEO: –

I love affiliate marketing. I eat, sleep, and breathe it. Why? I could go on forever, but here are my main reasons.

Every day I wake up, and it feels a bit like Christmas. I have a funny little feeling of excitement in the pit of my stomach and a great feeling of optimism. The cause? My one true passion in life, affiliate marketing. As soon as I open my eyes, that’s me… I have to get up, grab a quick tea and get straight onto the internet to assess what happened yesterday and plan my day ahead.

The other great thing about affiliate marketing, is that you don’t need to stay in one place to do it. You can take time off whenever you like and generally your earnings don’t suffer from it (within reason!). I’ve been travelling for the last 7 months and running my affiliate business on the road. So far I’ve been to Thailand, New Zealand, and half way round Australia whilst still earning 5 times my salary when I worked for an online marketing agency.

I feel blessed each and every day. Whenever I’m doing something amazing on my trip like swimming on a beautiful reef in Thailand, or sitting on an impossibly beautiful beach, I think about affiliate marketing… because it’s the real vehicle that has brought me to all the wonderful places I’m seeing right now. I do have to work part time on my trip… here’s a picture of me in my mobile office complete with internet connection from a 3G datacard.

Finally, I love affiliate marketing for its wonderful economy of scale. One person can run a business with virtually limitless turnover and profit. Once you have something set up and bringing in an income stream, you can move onto your next project again, and again, and again, and watch the turnover slowly build into something truly special. This is a simplification; but if I really told you guys how I do things, this post would be encyclopaedic in nature!

Affiliate marketing… I love you!!

Tradedoubler’s track record on communication with affiliates has come in for heavy criticism for quite some time now. Many affiliates have complained the network simply does not respond at all to e-mail communications. Tradedoubler themselves have previously admitted that they have a problem answering e-mails, with many genuine queries being sent to junk e-mail folders.

This week Tradedoubler have announced they will now guarantee a same day response to queries submitted via the online support form before 4pm.

This is pretty brave considering the criticism that has been levelled at them by affiliates. Their system had better be absolutely bullet proof otherwise the A4UForum will be echoing with the sound of their long-suffering affiliates complaining once more about a lack of servce.

Time will tell Tradedoubler, but we’ll be watching you….

An online survey of affiliates was taken at the end of 2006 by e-consultancy.com in association with affiliateprogramadvice.com

The survey was jam packed full of interesting information regarding affiliate demographics. For me, one of the most interesting facts the survey dug up was the fact that just 17% of UK affiliates are female. I knew from the various affiliate marketing events that I’ve attended that there aren’t as many women in the industry as men, but I found the low percentage intriguing.

So what is it about affiliate marketing that creates this demographic? Read the rest of this entry »