There are two hidden pitfalls to CPA marketing that you really have to be wary about. One that may surprise you occurs as a result of your CPA network itself. (Yes. You would really think they’d know better!) I’m talking about pop-ups…

The problem arises because many CPA networks use a specific set up that automatically generates pop-ups. The only problem is, if you’re using Google PPC ads, you’ll run into a conflict, as pop-up windows are not allowed as a promotion tool by Google PPC.

There’s a simple fix: Log into your account and disable the pop-ups, using the “Tools” tab.

But what do you do when the pop-up window is right on the Advertiser’s actual landing page itself?

That’s when the good relationship you’re going to have with your CPA Network rep comes in handy. Simply contact her, explain your monetizing your promotion with PPC, and ask for a link without the pop-up box. Usually, this does the trick

And Speaking of Landing Pages…

When you check out an advertiser’s landing page, look hard to see if he has properly targeted for his topic and keywords. After all, there is absolutely no point in you sending him a flood of great, targeted traffic from your end if each and every one of them bails when they hit his poorly-targeted and market-researched landing page.

In fact, this can actually backfire on you. Even if you’re only driving traffic as lead generation, and not actual sales conversions, the advertiser may be likely to blame your promotion for his lack of conversions. And if he isn’t expert enough to target properly for the right traffic, that amateur attitude is going to carry through to not accepting responsibility for his own shortcomings.

The bad part about this? Not only have you invested a lot of time in setting up your perfectly-targeted promotion, but the people you send there will be left feeling anything from vaguely disappointed to irritated. They’re less likely to visit your site again.

Worse, if the advertiser doesn’t realize the lack of actual conversions is his fault – or if he’s busy blaming you – he can request that you be “fired” by your CPA network from his particular campaign. Since CPA networks literally reward affiliates who drive a lot of traffic and achieve lots of great results – with anything from prizes to allowing you to negotiate a higher commission rate – negative feedback from an advertiser may affect you adversely, as far as your worth to the CPA network.

So always check out those advertiser landing pages thoroughly, and watch out for pop-ups, if you’re driving traffic to your carefully-planned promotions with PPC… and you’ll short-circuit and avert two common CPA dangers that many marketers simply don’t know about.

If you’re just getting started with affiliate programs, these affiliate marketing tips will help you get more commissions from your efforts.  While some of these ideas might seem obvious, they’re important enough to make sure that new marketers don’t overlook some of the more simple concepts in order to succeed with affiliate marketing.

Just because other top marketers are promoting Program X, doesn’t mean you should. If you see advertisements and articles all over the Internet promoting a program that teaches people how to make money, for instance, and they’re carrying on about how great it is and how much money you could make, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have the same success.  Many of these ‘top’ Internet marketers had extensive mailings lists and a network of promotional websites (and many have their own affiliate marketers) when they began promoting the product, so naturally their sales will be outstanding. They’ll offer you lots of affiliate marketing tips about how to promote that one product (maybe even making a profit when YOU do so, if you click to the program through their site).  But, if everyone and his yellow dog are promoting product X, then it’s already a very saturated market.

Market products that interest you.  This is one of the most valuable and often overlooked affiliate marketing tips out there.  The best way to enjoy and profit from affiliate marketing is to concentrate in an area that you know and like.  Niche affiliate marketing is the technical term for choosing a niche (parenting, skateboarding, model airplanes, even money-making programs) and concentrating your efforts in that area.  If you try to make money by building websites and promoting products you have no interest in, it’s possible for you to make money, but you’ll get no joy from the act.  You’ll put more time and effort into something you enjoy, and it will show in your profits.
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Diversify.  This is another of the top affiliate marketing tips.  Within your niche, promote several related merchants instead of just one.  Choose at least 3 or 4.  You can monitor your progress with each individual program and better tailor your efforts, and choose future merchants based on that information.

Finally, offer good content on your website.  If people arrive at your sight by some miracle and find that it’s clearly only there as a gateway to several other programs, chances are they’ll go and never come back.  Anyone who’s been on the Internet for a while can recognize when someone is selling something.  And there’s nothing wrong with selling, but when it comes to affiliate marketing, there’s a right way to do it.  Fill your site with content that will interest your visitors, surprise them, delight them, or teach them something new.  If they get more than just a sales pitch when they browse your sight, they’re more likely to click that affiliate link and earn you a commission.  Good contentthis is probably one of the most important affiliate marketing tips out there.

If you’d like to make money online, one of the easiest ways to do so is with affiliate marketing companies.  While affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make profits online, that can seem overwhelming, especially for a beginner.  Even though it offers all the advantages of e commerce, with none of the drawbacks of running a traditional store, or selling your own goods online, people new to affiliate marketing sometimes feel that there’s a ton of information to digest and it’s hard to get started.  Even after they understand the concepts and feel ready to begin, the thought of searching through thousands of affiliate programs to find the ones they want to promote can seem daunting.

But affiliate marketing companies make this easy for you.  They’re companies in which hundreds of merchants who offer affiliate programs are gathered together in one place.  Once you sign up with the company, you can promote any of the products of any of the companies in that network.

You may have to fill out agreements with each individual company you want to promote, but there’s a central place to get your affiliate links, and the entire process is streamlined and uniform.  Once you start the process to become an affiliate marketer for one company, you know that each one will be similar.  This shortens the learning curve and lets you get going very quickly.

Affiliate marketing companies make it easy to find the type of merchant you’re looking for.  Once you sign up with them, you can search for certain types of products or services, and find the list of those types of merchants associated with that company.  Then you can review the terms of each one’s agreement, like whether you get paid per click, lead or sale, and how much your commission will be, before making decisions on which product or products to promote.

Another advantage of affiliate marketing companies is that the technical work of tracking which of your links are clicked on most often and how many result in sales is monitored by the company.  Your records are online where you can easily see how much you’re earning with each individual affiliate account, and all of your click through statistics, all in one place.  You don’t have to go to each merchant’s account for that information and keep track of everything yourself. Payment is also through the affiliate marketing companies, instead of the individual merchants, so you’ll be paid one time for all of your efforts, making bookkeeping more simple.

These companies also typically offer ready-made banners and links to give the new affiliate marketer a starting place.  And great information about how to grow your affiliate business, draw customers and make more profits are readily available for you.  Anyone with Internet access can get started this way and start making money.  So if you’re interested in affiliate marketing but need a little help getting started, look into one or several of the online affiliate marketing companies.

If you are looking to advertise your business or want advertising programs for your blogs Microsoft Advertising is a good choice. Check out their web site for more details.

The Easy Store have a online tool that will lookup the ASIN of any Amazon product. This is especially useful for those who are running an Amazon affiliate site.

You just need to enter a keyword and a category.

Tweexchange is an online tool that will search for available Twitter usernames and domain names at the same time!

[picappgallerysingle id="289739"]Wishing all my friends and readers

A Happy and Prosperous New Year