Twitter has revolutionized the way people communicate on the internet.  In just 140 characters or less, you can really pass along a lot of information.  People Tweeters are finding better ways to pack more information in those 140 characters than ever before.

In short order, companies can send new coupon codes, product specials and new products becoming available and hundreds, even thousands of potential customers flock to the company’s website for a look and to possible purchase something.

With affiliate marketing becoming a largely common thing online, Twitter just opened a new avenue for marketers to reach their audience faster and in a more popular way.  Like the same companies sending out coupon codes, affiliates get to use short url services to hide affiliate links in their tweets in hopes of making a quick buck, or two.

Sending a tweet is not only seen by your followers, Twitter search has made it possible to find tweets about specific things.  Maybe you want to see a review for a new digital camera or ebook, you can easily go to Twitter and search there.  Links, comments and tweets are all available in this way and make it easier to find information you might have not seen.

The other side of Twitter is simple.  You just want to keep up with friends, meet up somewhere for dinner or just send a quick note to your sister.  In the same ways that texting from your cell phone has “quickened” communication, Twitter has become a common form of communication via cell phones.  Being able to update Facebook and Myspace from your Twitter account has basically tied all the large social networks together.

If you use your Twitter account to keep tabs on your friends, that is one thing and you most likely do NOT have a website attached to said account.  On the other hand you could be using Twitter to post your latest thoughts from your blog in hopes that “followers” come to read it.

In my niche I post to my followers in hopes they will read my post, find something to comment on while hear or sign up for my newsletter.  I do run niche sites that have Twitter accounts that I hope to make money with selling products related to that niche.

So, what is the reason you use Twitter that is NOT about making money?

One option, that I use to check the areas of the USA that I want to target an offer, is Google Trends.  If you don’t know, Google Trends shows the amount of activity of a search term used in Google Search.  By typing in a search term, you will see how many searches are done and even from what locations throughout a selectable region.

You might be asking how Google Trends can help.  I really didn’t get it 100% until I read a post that Shoemoney did about promoting locally.  If you are going to advertise on Facebook, for instance, you are going to have a better CTR if you can target a certain group.  Of course, it helps if the group is associated, in some way, with your affiliate offer.

Take all the weight loss offers on the web today.  You can try about 100 different products, JUST PAY SHIPPING!  The offers are everywhere and if you really want to promote one, you are going to want to see what region is searching for “weight loss”, right?  By searching Google Trends for that term, searched in the US in the last 12 months, you get the results shown below.

It would appear that for that search term, Charlotte, NC has the most activity, followed by big cities from two other states.  With this information you can go to Facebook and target these areas.  Of course, there is no guarantee the users will click your ads, or even care, but at least you did a little extra research before throwing your hat in the ring.  By targeting these cities and certain keywords, you will narrow the group of users down that will see your ad and your CTR should be higher because of that.

Without this information, you might be inclined to just target a wide range of users by keywords, and you will see a poor CTR for sure.  Your ad will be shown so many times that a couple of clicks will look like nothing to you.  Keep your ads targeted, at least until you find what demographic works for you, and I am sure your CTR will increase over time.

Do you use Facebook to promote any offers?  If so, have you had any luck?

Income Flucuates During Peak Seasons

I have an automated website that uses the ebay affiliate system to display auctions.  That website should do pretty good for me this holiday season considering it’s related to Iron Man Collectibles.  The key with that site is the keywords that I have used throughout the site related to iron man and collectibles.  You can really get the search engines to bite when you use keywords in the titles of your posts or in the header of the pages you are promoting.  When the shopping seasons are slow, the income from this site is low, but as soon as people are looking for collectibles from the movie as gifts, the income rises significantly.  Try not to promote any hot offers when there won’t be people looking for that product.

Playing the Search Engine Market

If you plan to promote offers through PPC, I must say that you are more brave than I am at this point.  The competition is tough and unless you have a tight niche, you are going to find yourself up against many more promoting the same offer.  One tip that I can give, and I have talked about it before, is using the advertising platform that Myspace has launched recently.

Myspace will be extremely busy with kids out of school for a couple of days this coming week and again in December AND January.  I have had some success with advertising on Myspace, I would recommend taking a look at their platform if you haven’t already.  It is quick and easy to setup an ad and with a minimum of $25 you can get a decent amount of clicks.  Using the demographic and interest filters they offer, you can really get your ad into a more targeted market.

Places Offering Free, Valuable Information

Events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are also busy days of the year that have people flocking to the internet to find the best deal on everything.  You can check out websites like Amazon.com, pulse.ebay.com or consumerreports.com for products that will be searched for and purchased in mass quanities this shopping season.  Using the internet as a search tool to find this information is the first step.  There is plenty of free information available, so search long and hard before spending money on guides or software to help in the search.

I don’t make $10,000 a month, yet, but I do have the knowledge needed to gain each month.  I have been slowly working on my website portfolio and each one is really considered it’s own “business”, at least by me.  I read blogs, forums and guides every week that teach me something that I can apply to these “businesses”.  I encourage you to do the same.  In the meantime I am going to work on posts for future publishing, regarding results and affiliate network howto’s.  Stay tuned.

Why Not?

I really can’t see the problem with it.  If I want to buy ad space for a couple pennies a day and push the latest affiliate offer, why the hell can’t I?  It’s my money, right?  Then I started to think that maybe they are just trying to keep the “trash” off their network.  But still, I cannot figure out what is the big deal with me placing an affiliate offer on another persons website or blog and making money with it?

What’s the Big Deal?

Maybe they are just bummed that I am making $30 per sale on Amazon Profits and only paying like .10-.20 per DAY to get that return!  Who knows, people get jealous and you can read all day long about how the “big boys” figure out a way to make more money than the little guy and networks start slapping people around with restrictions and things like that.

Not Through with PW

Although my ads were deleted, I am not going to end my account or anything like that.  The network is still cheap and effective enough that I can use it for my BANS sites.  The traffic is good and the cost per click stays low enough that I don’t have to drain my paypal account to purchase the ads.

So, if you haven’t thought about promoting affiliate offers on PW and want to now, I would advise against it.  I am sure they are going to be keeping an eye out.  Maybe in about one month I will give it a try again, but I really don’t want to get banned, because, like I said, the traffic is cheap for my BANS sites.

Have you had affiliate ads deleted from your account?

What is Adbrite?

Adbrite allows you to reach a targeted audience with your ads.  Whether you want to sell a product to a large audience or if you want to find a specific niche and pound the network with an affiliate offer, Adbrite can help you.  Serving your ad to a possible 80,000+ sites, you are sure to find the customers you are looking for.

Adbrite has some of the largest sites in their network, including;

• Digg.com
• Neopets.com
• Yahoo.com
• Lycos.com
• Vh1.com

So, if you really want to reach a large audience, you certainly have that option with Adbrite.

What does Adbrite offer?

The ad types include CPC, CPM, Banners, Text, Full Page Ads and Video Ads.  This allows you to target even a smaller audience, because some of these types of ads will work best on specific sites.  With a nicely targeted banner ad, or full page ad, you should be able to convert a sale.

So I have been playing around with affiliate offers on the network recently.  You can get some nice CPC rates if you do your homework.  My latest ad cost me about $10 and I made over $30 with it in just one day.  That was my first test, but from now on, it’s full on campaign time.

Do you use Adbrite.com to promote affiliate offers?

Choosing a Domain Name for Your Affiliate Site

So you want to make money in the affiliate marketing business, do you? Well, it’s a very lucrative business and there’s a ton of cash to be made but there are a few things one have to take care of before getting close to that money. One of the first to do is to choose a domain name for your affiliate site. This might sound like an easy thing to do but it can be a bit tricky if you want it to be a top name that will generate more visitors.

To help you out we’ve listed some tips and tricks when picking a domain name. Read this article and you’ll be able to set up your affiliate business much quicker and easier than your competitors. It really doesn’t have to be that hard of a work – who knows, maybe you’ll like it as it takes some creativity.

Keywords in the Domain Name

If you want to get a high rank on search engines then it’s of great importance that you include at least your single most important keyword in the domain name. If you should use two keywords in the domain name then it’s important that they are written in the same manner that people type in their searches on the web. Try to keep them consistent and informative as well.

So, how does one know what keyword to use for the affiliate business? First of all, think about what segment you’re active in. What would people trying to find information about this segment normally search for on the Internet? When you’ve figured this out – use keywords related to this topic!

Keep it Short

Some people think that they can cram their domain name with every single keyword that they think is of relevance and that it’s a good idea to do that. False… If your domain name gets too long you’ll risk the chance of losing visitors. In keeping the name short it will be more memorable and your visitors will find it easier to remember how to spell it as well. A long domain name is a dangerous way to go if you want returning visitors.

With the above said it’s important that you don’t keep your domain name short at any cost. You should never risk the chance of losing your branding as this states who you are and what your business is all about. We’ll discuss more about brand names on the next point.

The Advantages of a Brand Name

In choosing a brand name comes several advantages for you and your affiliate business. For example, it will be much easier for your readers/visitors to remember and recognize your site. The name doesn’t have to reveal all too much what the website contains which makes it easier to pick a name. If you just keep it short and catchy chances are that people will come back for another visit.

In the best of two worlds you’ll combine your brand name with your keyword. Of course, this won’t be the easiest thing to do but should you come up with one – grab it at once!

DealDotCom is a site that posts ONE deal per day, or until it is sold out, and usually the cost savings is around 50% or more!  It is free to join and you can sign up for updates so that you don’t miss any of the deals.  They also have an affiliate program that is two-tier!  You can read more about that here.  Every single member is also registered for the give away of the day, so sign up today!

Let’s take a look at what you get:

Fluff Free, Right To The Point Info
Results Based Information Only
Easy, Plug and Play Application
The Exact Services to Make This All Work
Easily Understandable Instructions (even for the not so computer
savvy user.)
After Sale Support

The main thing is the price!  Regular price is $37 so you already saving over 50%right off the top.  That helps your numbers look even better at the end of your first ClickBank campaign.  If you are new to ClickBank and haven’t quite figured it out, like me about one year ago, then you might as well get some reading material to get you started.

Can it be done?

The answer, in short, is yes.  Monetizing traffic can be done whether it’s traffic from a high ranking post in search engine or if it’s a post that ranked high on a social media website.  The tricky part is that it’s not exactly the same traffic, but it’s a boat load of traffic, nonetheless.

How can it be done?

This question is the real deal.  How can you monetize traffic that isn’t going to be around on your site that long?  We all know from experience that social media sites send traffic, but the traffic comes, checks out what the “big deal” is and they are on their way.  Users of Digg.com will NOT be clicking on ads because they know better than that.  StumbleUpon.com traffic is another story.  If you are getting mega traffic from SU or you just created a post that you think will hit “popular” status on SU, then put an add or two on the post that is relevant to the information.  It’s always worth a try as long as it doesn’t get in the way of what the user wants to read or see when they arrive.

Promoting affiliate products, offers or even a top ten list of your posts.  Either way you get paid.  If someone clicks out of your blog from an affiliate offer you can get paid, but if you have a list of posts for them to click, to go deeper in your blog, you might gain a reader that subscribes later.  It is a win/win, but you have to do something!

Have I done it?

Yes I have.  I have traffic to 2 posts that ranked high on StumbleUpon at one point.  Since they have been on SU, they are now ranking a bit higher in the search engines for keywords and the ads are paying off better.  It has been a longer process than it should be, but the traffic is there, and so are the ads.

I also have 2 posts (here and here), for now, that are cruising up the ranks of Yahoo and Google search everyday.  Those are really paying off with adsense and simple text links.  These posts are just regular posts that I did NOT send to social media to get traffic.  Simple posts with keyword related to the topic and over the first month started gaining traffic.  Now I rank #1 and #2 for web address search terms on those posts and they get 200-300 uniques per day.

Summary

Affiliate marketing or promotion can work when you know how to monetize traffic you have coming in.  Social media traffic is HERE, right now!, then gone just like that.  Search engine traffic should be more targeted because they are searching for keywords.  If you have information regarding those terms you will see the traffic.  At least that way you know what they are on your blog to see.  Keep an eye on your blog stats, the answers are all there, you just have to be able to find them.  Once you do, it gets even easier to monetize that traffic!  Good luck!

The first thing that I wanted to do was actually visit some of the websites in the ads.  Websites with names like “MakeAMillionDollarsPerDayForFree.com” really sound like a site that will redirect me to an offer for an ebook or something similar.  I didn’t want to judge, so I just chose a couple of them and went to them.

The first one I visited was GetWebHits.com.  They advertise that you can get your ad on 42,000 websites in 87 seconds!  Well, I was not redirected at this site, but I did see a “landing page” with a bunch of information claiming excellent results.  5,000 targeted visitors for only $149!  They also offer a reseller program so that you can maybe recoup some of the cost.

Summary:  Seems like a legit ad, but I am not going to try the service at this time.  I get most of my visits from search engine traffic and so far that has been free

The next ad was for ThousandDollarProfits.com/60602.  This address had affiliate written all over it.  Well, it didn’t redirect me at all, instead, I found myself at another landing page.  The “60602″ at the end of the address was most likely an affiliate code.  I was basically being referred to this landing page by member 60602.  On the page they are pushing the reverse funnel system which we have all heard so much about.

Summary:  Catchy domain name and easy affiliate or referral code that was added, but it’s still a landing page that’s normal like the rest.  Still no redirects and NO I will not be joining that email list

I was thinking about putting an ad up for some affiliate product that I have.  I can simply get a domain on Godaddy or redirect them through this blog.  I am not sure what I am going to do, but I would bet that it would work better if I bought my own domain and redirected (301 permanent) the readers to my affiliate product.

The classified ads in the magazine are expensive, about $11 per word, but I am sure they results are targeted and the reach (over 2.4 million per issue) is insane.  In the meantime, I am going to work on getting an ad setup and I will post about my progress as it comes.

Have you placed any ads like this to promote an affiliate product?  What website do you use, if any and how much money have you made?

If you remember my Mother’s Day Affiliate Experiment, I used an offer for a website that sells flowers and promoted it on Ask.com.  As you can read, it didn’t go like I thought it would, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t give it a try on Father’s Day.  I am going to keep going until I find something that does work for me.  What does work?  Well, it would be nice to get my initial investment in PPC back, at least.

For Father’s Day I was thinking more along the lines of promoting Home Depot gift cards, gas cards or even some kind of tool offer.  All of these types of offers or products should convert, in theory.  Do people shop online for fathers gifts?  When you buy tools, and the like, you want to be around to examine the tool, feel it, read about it.  Unless you know what you are buying, it’s always nicer to see the item in person.

For gift cards to places your father would shop, it’s easy to shop for those online.  Online offers for gift cards and things like that are easy to promote, but still take a little creativeness to completely draw the user into the deal.  When I setup www.mothers-day-specials.com, I just forwarded the domain right to the place they would be buying from.  It might have been a mistake to do that, but I didn’t have much time to create a simple landing page for the PPC campaign.

If I would have created that landing page, I could have gotten the user totally excited about buying flowers for mom, etc. then sent them to the website.  Would the offer have converted better?  I will never know, but I am willing to try that for Father’s Day.

If you watched how my Mother’s Day experiment went and you want to keep up with my Father’s Day experiment, go ahead and subscribe to email updates, that way you won’t miss anything I post about.

Wish me luck, I will keep you informed.  In the meantime, what offers are you going to promote for Father’s Day?