How To Monetize Your Website
Finding The Best Affiliate Programs
Summary - One of the big decisions you'll want to make is how you are going to monetize your online efforts. Whether you focus on money making websites, video marketing, email marketing, or all of the above, you need to know about the many options that are available. The DonRobertsOrg.com website focuses on building affiliate marketing websites. Affiliate programs vary greatly from generic to very niche specific. Some will accept virtually any application, while others are very picky about online presence, reputation, and/or the extent of previous commissioned sales before accepting an application. This website focuses on building affiliate marketing websites. Keep reading to find out how it all works...
How The General Process Works
In monetizing a website, the first step is understanding how the general process works. Every affiliate marketing partner will follow this process to some extent, but each will have their own little rules that alter things slightly. Starting out, you need to do the research to identify the programs that are going to work best to partner up with for your affiliate niche selection.
The flow of the affiliate marketing process
Once you have a short list look for the affiliate program each one has. This is as simple as using Google and looking at some websites. Terms are always easy to find so you know how each program deals with payments. Most will have a delay of 1-2 months before pay out. This gives time to process all the orders, look for refunds, and confirm correct payments to the affiliates. There is often a minimum pay-off amount, as well ($10 for Amazon, $50 for CJ, $100 for AdSense, etc.). Once the minimum is met the clock starts ticking at the end of the month towards you getting your payment.
As an important final note before really diving into many of the specific programs that are available - whether you're selling an informational product or a physical product, take a hard look at evergreen niches. An evergreen niche is one that is always going to have attention. For example, surfboards might sell great at the height of summer, but what about when snow is falling? Same thing with reverse seasons when it comes to skiing or snowboarding.
Seasonal interest (and demand) for baseball gloves over time
Your online efforts to make money will be much more stable if you're not grabbing a lot of income during one season and virtually none during another. Evergreen products help smooth that out so your long time build isn't so tumultuous.
Let's take a look at some of the some of the programs for making money with a website - including for how to make money off a blog.
Google Adsense
Many people start with Google AdSense, and it's not a bad plan if you're completely new. One of the reasons is that starting with AdSense as easy.
As long as you have even the most basic website set up in a non-adult category, you're likely to be approved and get the ability to set up ads. This comes with a large number of useful tools, as well as Google's famed analytics.
As long as you have an online property that passes so you get an account, you will be able to put up ads in no time.
The minimum payout threshold is $100 for AdSense, and payments are given the 20th of the month after the account exceeds $100. So if you get to that point sometime in April, you can expect payment around May 20.
Adsense enables publishers to earn revenue from your online content
Pros:
- One of the easiest programs to get into
- Very easy to get set up and used to
- Advertisers in about every niche imaginable
Cons:
- One of the lowest paying options ($ per traffic)
- Takes a lot of traffic to become noticeably profitable
- No transparent customer support or help if there's a penalty or account issue
Amazon Associates
The Amazon Associates program has quickly become the largest affiliate program in the world. Amazon has a strong reputation for having about every type of physical product under the sun in addition to being very affiliate friendly. Amazon.com has thrived off of affiliates selling their products and make it easy by providing pictures and links that go right to their website with your "cookie" to give you credit.
You'll want at least one basic website set up with 3-4 posts before applying. They're willing to work with starters, but you need something. Once you're accepted you have the ability to grab links and start making sales. You need to make at least one sale in 90 days to avoid the account being suspended (you can always re-apply later), and $10 to hit the payment threshold. Payments are made at the end of the month, and are staggered by 2 months. (January earnings get paid in March, February earnings in April, etc.).
Earn income from the well respected Amazon Associates program
If you're selling physical products, the generous "24 hour anything they buy counts" setup and authority/trust are hard to beat.
Pros:
- Very interactive support for affiliates
- Amazing "24 hour cookie" terms
- Get to use their enormous trust
Cons:
- New tier systems aren't the best for many niches
- Long detailed TOS that you absolutely need to be on top of to avoid being suspended
CJ Affiliate by Conversant
Formerly known as Commission Junction, CJ Affiliate by Conversant is an alternative to Amazon.
It brings together a marketplace of thousands of businesses, big name and small, who work with this program and give you a chance to get links for their products and earn affiliate commission this way.
You want to be fairly established before applying here.
Make money blogging with the CJ Affiliate by Conversant program
Pros:
- Generally pay next month
- Wide variety of big name brands that are trusted
Cons:
- In my opinion, second tier to Amazon in many niches
- Need more technical savvy to get the most out of their affiliate links
Clickbank
Clickbank specializes in digital products. They have long been a marketplace for digital products like e-books, e-courses, online paid video courses, and other materials that teach a wide variety of different skills and abilities. This has worked for big marketers as well as niche marketers who had their very specific item.
Clickbank is extremely easy to sign up for as an affiliate and even a minimal web presence will help you get signed up. They also offer ClickBank University for teaching how do do affiliate marketing, and they offer ClickBank Builder - that allows you to easily build landing pages for opt-ins, sales letters, video sales sales letters, webinar registrations, and bonus product downloads (ethical bribes you offer in-exchange for someone providing their email address to you).
While they may not sell the way Amazon products do, digital products in Clickbank often over 50-75% commission and even have some recurring memberships that keep paying off. $50 is the minimum for payout.
Earn money online with Clickbank's affiliate program
Pros:
- Huge commissions
- Unique array of digital resources
- Potential for recurring payments
Cons:
- Digital courses can be harder to sell
- No obvious pictures/marketing materials, unless provided by end merchant
Other Affiliate Marketing Programs
There are many other affiliate programs out there, and just because they're not on this list doesn't mean they're not worth a search.
Wrapping It Up...
Focus on the few providers who will cover different types of products and links, avoid doubling up, and work for your specific niche and you'll be happy with the results that come after some time and hard work!
Now, with a niche in mind - and affiliate products to pre-sell, you'll want to find out how to build a solid WordPress affiliate website for your marketing efforts.
ClickBank Veteran Reveals His Step by Step Process to Getting Your Product in Front of Millions of Brand New Affiliates in Minutes
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