Affiliate Marketing - How College Students Can Make Money With Affiliate Programs

Ever wondered how musicians you've never heard of or electronics you've never seen before seemed to be Amazon's hottest selling items? Well, this is due in part to the magic of Affiliate Marketing. Every day, people like you and me, are mass-marketing these products in chat rooms, on forums, in articles, and on search engines. They all do it for one purpose, one goal: commissions. Although affiliate marketing takes a bit of trial and error at first, it can be very lucrative and a great way for college students to make money.

How do you get started?

Well, first you need to find something that is currently popular; a product or a topic people are really into. Try MySpace, FaceBook, or your favorite forum to gauge what people need or have questions about. Check out current events in the media or in the sporting world. Find out what is hot on Ebay, Amazon, or even Google. Google Labs has a great tool which gives their top ten most searched items. Think the obvious: college campuses. These are great places to find out what people are into. Once you have a general idea of what people in the world want, you will have a better understanding of what to sell.

Next, you will need to find some good keywords that relate to your idea. Choosing the right keyword is essential, because it will determine the success of your product campaign. Keyword search tools, such as Google Keywords & Overture, are great utilities to give you a head start on finding the right keywords for your campaign. Make sure to look for long tail keywords (3-5 words in length) which are high in searches but low in competition.

How to find the right product?

Once you've found your topic and keyword, the next step is to locate a product. The key in finding successful products to advertise is to make sure it is something you believe will help solve a problem and is relevant to your chosen audience. If you are looking to help someone lose weight before a wedding, it is important not to try to sell money making products. Make sure the product connects with your chosen audience.

How to sign up for an affiliate program?

Most often, every product will have some type of affiliate program associated with it. Probably, the best place to find affiliate programs for physical products is Amazon. They have a great commission program. Amazon definitely caters to their affiliates and offers endless assistance to get you started. If you plan to sell an e-product, ClickBank is the best by far. Although, I've found a few bad apples on this site. Overall, their affiliate programs are unmatched - usually 50-75% commissions.

Article Marketing vs. Pay-Per-Click?

Once you have the topic, the keywords, the product, and the affiliate program, you will need to find the method. If you are starting out, article marketing is the way to go. Simply, create a relevant squidoo lens or landing site, and submit some articles relevant to your product. This affiliate marketing method can be slow and time-consuming, but is free and is definitely worth it, if you are starting out.

If you think you are a bit more advanced than the rest, you can try Pay-Per-Click advertising from sites such as Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, or MSN AdCenter. If you set up your campaigns correctly, you can achieve rewards much quicker. However, the risk is much greater and can be very costly if you don't know what you are doing.

Where to learn more about Affiliate Marketing?

Whether it be via article marketing or pay-per-click advertising, affiliate marketing can be a very rewarding experience, if done correctly. The best way to make any money in affiliate marketing is to find sites that will teach you the business behind it. Sites such as Wealthy Affiliate or Bum Marketing Methods are great resources, if you want to learns the in's and out's of the business. So, whether you are a college student or someone looking to make some extra cash, Affiliate Marketing is definitely a business to find more information on.

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Reprinting Articles - 10 Smart Strategies to Sidestep the Duplicate Content Debate

The popularity of writing articles to market everything and anything online has never been greater -- and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Some article marketers throw caution to the wind and blast their articles out to hundreds of article directory sites using article submission software. Other article marketers manually submit articles to just one or a few article directory sites out of fear of triggering search engine duplicate content filters. The majority of article marketers fall somewhere in between.

As article marketers and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experts debate the merit of submitting articles to multiple article directories, webmasters continue to pick up reprintable articles and content for use on their sites. These free reprint articles give webmasters the opportunity to keep their sites fresh and provide their visitors with quality content.

The paradox of article marketing is that this viral spread of articles through the process of making them available for free reprinting is precisely the objective of most article marketers.

Certainly, for standard article directories that lack customization and use identical content management systems, and for those sites created using automatically scraped content, the devaluing of duplicate content by search engines can be a genuine concern.

Smart webmasters, however, who use reprint content recognize that SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages) rank pages, not articles. With that in mind, here are 10 smart strategies savvy webmasters can adopt when using free reprint articles to create a win-win for everyone.

Reprint Strategy #1: Be selective and choose quality articles for reprinting.

Become familiar with authors who produce quality content. Avoid PLR (Private Label Rights) articles submitted by multiple authors, with or without rewriting. Also, avoid articles produced by article spinner software that generates multiple variations of a single article.

Behind the Page -- Customizing Reprint Content

Having selected appropriate quality content, webmasters can move on to make changes behind the scenes, in the source code of the page the article will appear on. Taking charge of the content of the metatags of the page can help to make the presentation of the article unique.

Reprint Strategy #2: Change up the keywords listed in the keyword metatag.

Reduce or increase the number of keywords used, or select different, relevant keywords to highlight.

Reprint Strategy #3: Use a unique page title.

Do not use either the page title used by the article directory or the article's title as the title for the page where the article is to be reprinted.

Giving the article page a distinctive title gives the page a chance to stand out on those SERPS that display the page title as the heading for the search result. More importantly, using a different title will help the page to appear unique rather than as yet another reprint.

Reprint Strategy #4: Write a custom description for the page.

Avoid using either the summary provided by the author or the first sentences of the article for the page meta-description. Like the article title, using the existing summary simply announces that the article is reprinted content. Writing a new description for the page provides added control over the keywords the page competes to rank for. Also, for the search engines that use the page description in their SERPS, the new description can be written to persuade searchers to click to the article page.

On the Page -- Custom Reprint Content Presentation

Smart webmasters go farther and customize the presentation of the reprint article on the page by adopting style and layout tactics used by print magazines for decades.

Strategy #5: Write an original introduction or summary to place before the article on the page.

Not only can an original introductory text box lure a reader into the article, just as in print publications, it can also provide another opportunity to control the specific keywords that the article page targets, partly by pushing the reprinted article farther down the page.

Strategy #6: Add original page headlines and/or subheads.

Webmasters can add original headlines and sub-headings to direct the visitor's eye path and experience on the article page and to control on-page keyword targeting.

Strategy #7: Use call-outs.

Do as print magazines and newspapers do, and pick out a memorable or intriguing quote from the article itself. Copy that quote into a text box in a larger font to emphasize it. This can be a powerful tactic both to draw readers into the article and to emphasize target keywords.

Strategy #8: Add sidebars with short fillers of original content.

Like print magazines, webmasters can use this technique to add value to the reader experience by adding tips, short lists, product information, quick statistics, or any other relevant information. It is also another opportunity to add keywords.

Strategy #9: Interrupt articles, breaking them up into sections.

Add text boxes with related content or relevant advertising part way into the article. Print magazines regularly use this "continued on" technique. On a web page, such text blocks can break up a single page into sections. The can provide the opportunity to highlight other information or advertising while providing yet another opportunity to target desired keywords.

Strategy #10: Add related content below the article.

Added content could be as simple as a short list of links to related pages or articles. It can be visitor comments. It can also be a spotlight on a relevant product. Anything that follows naturally from the content of the article and adds value to the visitor is a good candidate. This kind of material can lead visitors to the next destination and provides even more keyword content for search engine optimization.

Winning the Reprint Game

Putting a bit of effort into customizing the presentation of reprinted articles multiplies the benefit of using them and creates a win for everyone. The author/article marketer wins when the article is picked up by a webmaster who presents the article effectively to readers and search engines. The article directory wins when their crediting link is found on a well-presented page. The webmaster who reprints the article wins by offering quality content to visitors and by using articles for more effective SEO.

Finally, the visitor wins by finding quality content presented in a meaningful way. Even if a visitor discovers that they have encountered the article before, on another website, the custom elements of the presentation can still provide new value to their surfing experience.

(c)2007 Wendy Maki May be reprinted in email newsletters and on web sites. Must be unedited and include the resource box. All other rights reserved.

Find article directories at YClepen.com: The Directory of Article Directories http://www.YClepen.com

Bum Marketing - An Easy Article Marketing Strategy

Many people come onto the Internet, looking for a marketing advantage and a way to make some easy money. The fact of the matter is, there really isn't such a thing as easy money and there certainly isn't a free lunch when it comes to marketing on the Internet. However...

That doesn't mean that you aren't able to make money with a little bit of effort. As a matter of fact, if you know a few methods, you can begin making money in a short period of time, provided you are willing to put in some sweat time.

One of the easiest ways that there is for you to make money on the Internet, especially if you're starting out is through a process that is popularly known as bum marketing. Many people consider this to be a new and innovative way to make money on the Internet but the fact of the matter is, it has actually been around for a very long time.

The good news about this is that it is easy for a beginner to pick up and it will work for a very long time into the future. That is because it is based on some very solid internet marketing tactics.

Bum marketing is actually just a catchphrase for article marketing but it is supposed to be so easy that even a bum off of the street will be able to do it for themselves. There are three parts to bum marketing that you need to know. Aside from those three things, you can learn as much as you want but if you take care of the first three things, you will be successful with your marketing efforts.

The first thing that you need to understand is keyword selection. There are plenty of places on the Internet where you can find out what people are typing into the search engines whenever they do their research. By choosing keywords that are specifically related to the offer that you choose, you can drive some very targeted traffic to your website. Trying to choose keyword phrases that are three or more words long, otherwise known as longtail phrases and you will have less difficulty in ranking well for these keywords.

The second thing that you need to know is how to check for competition. Although there are many different ways that you can do this, one of the easiest is by going to Google and typing in the keyword phrase inside quotes. This will give you a fairly accurate picture of how many pages you are competing against. Most people will use a keyword phrase if it has less than 50,000 competing web pages.

Finally, you need to write the article and use this keyword phrase in both the title and the body of the article. Don't over do it or you will be penalized for keyword stuffing. Submit the article along with a link back to your website to the article directories, including EzineArticles.com. Within a short period of time, you will start to get traffic to your website. If you did things properly, the sales will follow.

If you're serious about making money online with article marketing or bum marketing, you need to study more on the subject as there's more to it than writing articles. It involves marketing strategies as well since you need to market those articles so that many people will read them. The good news is, the strategies are easy to grasp once you know how and it's relatively quick to make a profit.

Download your free 50 page ebook on how to use article marketing to drive traffic to your website at http://www.trafficbeast.com/?5 ... By Alan Cheng - Owner of Traffic Beast

Five Things To Look For In An Article Directory

If you're interested in article marketing, it's not enough to write great articles. You also need to get them accepted at the right directories. But not all article directories are created equal. Here are five things to look for when submitting your articles to online directories.

High rankings. There's no point in submitting articles to a directory that won't get you traffic. One of the benefits of publishing on article directories involves attracting traffic to your website through the links in your author resource box.

Do a search for keywords in your niche. Chances are at least a few of the results are from article directories. Which directories tend to come up the most? The highest-ranking article directories will get you the most visibility possible for your time. If the directory you consider doesn't come up in search engine queries, it's probably not worth submitting to.

Page rank. Another benefit of article directories is the inbound link from the author resource box. For best effect, you should link to your site using a keyword you want to rank for as the link text-not something generic like "my site." Search engines notice the words used to link to your site, and a link from a highly ranked site carries more weight than one from a site with a low page rank. The site with the higher page rank can offer more valuable links.

Standards. Does the article directory have an editorial policy? If it does, that's both good and bad news. It's bad, because it means your articles won't be seen immediately after you submit them-there will be a delay period while the editors approve your writing. It's also good, because it means the directory pays attention to what's being submitted and doesn't allow itself to degenerate into a spam-promotion site.

Recommendations. What are other people saying about the article directories you're considering? Visit a few search marketing forums and ask for recommendations. If your directory is highly regarded by people who have some experience in article marketing, you're probably safe publishing there.

Statistics. Check to see what sort of features the directory offers to authors. Do they let you track your traffic and click-through rate with detailed statistics? Do they let publishers publish your site as long as they include your links and byline? Do they offer article syndication? It's hard to believe, but some directories don't offer any of these perks. Before publishing, see what extras are available.

Article marketing is all about volume. The more articles you publish, the more successful you'll be. And the better the directory you choose, the harder your articles will work for you. Use these tips, and you should be able to choose the right directory for your article marketing campaign.

Jennifer Williamson runs a successful business writing articles in southern Pennsylvania for clients all over the world. For flawless writing at affordable prices, check out her freelance writing website. For more of her advice on writing and article marketing, visit her freelance writing blog.

Lucrative Article Marketing - Announcing 4 Best Ways to Impact Your Article Marketing

Do you often wonder why you are not generating traffic when you are promoting your website? Do you wish you can uncover the secrets of successful webmasters? Oftentimes, the difference lies on the type of traffic-generating techniques that you are using. Most successful webmasters are utilizing article marketing as their main tool in generating traffic for their sites. If you are not using this yet, you better join the bandwagon to drive quality traffic to your site.

Here are the 4 best ways to succeed in article marketing:

1. Be familiar with article marketing. Know how it works and how you can use it to get ahead of the pack. Read tutorials, eBooks, and guides so you can get acquainted with various important elements that will make your articles shine and your strategies successful.

2. Be direct. Eliminate lengthy introductions and go straight to the point. Online users will appreciate if you can provide the information they need in as little time as possible. So, stop beating around the bush, strike out fillers and unnecessary words and get your message across as quick as possible.

3. Write quality articles. The quality of your articles can either make or break your marketing campaign. Thus, it would pay if you can exert extra effort to make sure that your articles read well, contains relevant information, easy to understand, and flows well.

4. Submit your articles to paid submission sites. There are publishing sites that charge $24-$50 for unlimited submission. These sites provides their members with jaw-dropping benefits like inserting URL on the body of the articles, 24-48 hours review and posting time, etc. If you would like to get these benefits, it wouldn't hurt to shell out small amount of money to get the traffic you need.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, 'Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide'

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

Building A Powerful and Profitable Opt-In List Today

There are so many obvious reasons for building an opt-in list. All businesses can benefit from maintaining a list of their customers and of potential customers that have "opted in." Imagine having the power to send emails to your customer list and make sales every single time. That is the power of opt-in lists.

Unfortunately, building an opt-in list does not happen overnight. You will not be able to push a button and instantly have access to hundreds and thousands of email subscribers. But building your list properly will pay off. And as your list grows, so will your profits.

So what can you offer your customers through email? Just about anything. You can convince people to opt-in to your list by offering a free email course on a topic they would find interesting. For instance, if you own a dog website, you could offer a 5 week course on potty training your new puppy. Information like this is valuable to your customers.

But how do you make money with these emails? The answer is in offering great solutions to your customer's problems. Here's an example. If your customer has opted in to receive your doggy potty training course, they will probably be interested in other material about the same subject. Suggest that your email recipients check out a great potty training book at Amazon.com, and then provide them with an affiliate link to the book. Many of your customers will click the link, purchase the book, and you make a commission. Can you see how easy it can be to make money with a list like this?

Want to learn more about profiting with opt-in lists? Visit http://www.buildoptinlists.com to get all the tools you need to starting building your list today.