1. Start your own affiliate program directory. Join a large number of affiliate programs that go with the theme of your web site and list them all in a directory format on your web site. Then just advertise your free affiliate program directory. You will earn commissions and gain sub-affiliates. Plus you could start an affiliate-related e-zine too.
2. Do not drive all your visitors directly to affiliate website, instead send your visitors to your opt-in page mechanism first before going to your main affiliate website. That way, you can make follow-up later on and build your own list so that you can offer another related products or services another day.
3. Sell to the people who join your affiliate program. They are more likely to buy your products because they are interested in selling them for the commission. It's important to train and support your affiliates so they will know you will be there to help them. Tell them it's good to write ads about their personal experiences with your product so that it will persuade customers to buy.
4. Participate on web discussion boards. Post your comments, answer other people's questions, and ask your own questions. Include your affiliate text link under each message you post. If they read your message and like it, they may click to see what else you have to offer them.
5. Recruit lots of sub-affiliates and make it easy for your them to make sales. Give them proven ads to use, make it easy for prospects to order, provide helpful affiliate statistics, notification of sales, lifetime income, residual income, add their commission by giving part of your commission to them, provide a good tracking system and professional training.
6. Persuade e-zine publishers or webmasters to run your ad for free. Just allow them to join your affiliate program and earn commission on the sales. You could also offer them a freebie, such as the product you're selling for free, an advertisement in your e-zine in return, etc. It also helps to compliment the publishers as well as praising their e-zines.
7. Use referral strategies to get lots of order yourself or sub-affiliates order. Referral system can also be a good way to increase your affiliate commissions if you can give incentives to motivate people to refer and tap deep into people's network of friends, family, and associates. They don't just stop at the occasional, one-off referral.
8. Write your own affiliate program ads. If all the other affiliates use the same ads you do, that does not give you an edge over your competition. Use a different ad to give yourself an advantage over all the other affiliates.
9. Give free e-mail consultations or services to your customers who buy or will buy the product or services through your affiliate link. When you e-mail them back your advice include a small ad or distribute branded affiliates viral marketing tools to use like e-books or articles for the affiliate products your are selling. Just include your ad somewhere inside them.
10. E-mail targeted e-zines and ask them to do a joint venture with you. Ask them to run your ad and in exchange they would get a percentage of the profits. You would just have to get them to join your affiliate program to be your sub-affiliates. To give them better incentive, you could offer them a higher commission than the rest of your normal affiliates by giving part of your affiliate commissions for 2 years.
11. Tell your customers if they refer four customers to your affiliate web site, they will receive a full rebate of their purchase price, cut from your own commission. This will turn one sale into three sales. You could also offer them other things in return for referrals like free e-books, free software, coupons, discounts, etc.
