Here are the steps:

1.  Choose a niche that has affiliate potential (lots of ways to monetize, lots of available affiliate programs).

insurance, finance, health, relationships, electronics, services

Get ideas by browsing the CPAs– Commission Junction, Hydra, AzoogleAds; and ClickBank
Also Google “[niche] affiliate programs”
You can also browse Amazon, eBay categories; bookstore/magazine racks

Take notes of potential niches to pursue.

2. Evaluate potential of each niche by turning to keyword research.

Find sub-niche keyphrases that:

#1 have between 500-1,000 searches per month
#2 have less than 6,000 competing web pages for the phrase match

3.  Once you have selected one, register a domain name with it.

4.  Start a blog site with this domain name.

5.  Build traffic to it using:

a.  On site SEO – keyword integration in copy and links
b.  Getting inbound links:
1) content syndication
2) article marketing, blog posting, forum posting
3) backlinks from other sites

6.  Once you get good traffic stats, monetize it w/ affiliate links.

7.  Incorporate an Opt In form + Autoresponder.  Populate the AR with messages that have good content and links to other affiliate offers.  Give away things.

RINSE AND REPEAT.

Shoot for one blog website per week.

1.  Start with what’s hot.  Find affiliate program that matches the subject, then market.  Technorati.com/tag — tags popular for the day.  See what people are tagging; mention on your blog/site.

delicious/tag/(topic)  — related tags.

2.  Interest vs. pursuit:  type in search for keyword in DIGG, find storylines– that’s what people are interested in– take the tiltes of these stories; add them to blog posts, email subjects lines.

3.  Use keywords in your link tags  — website, blogs

4.  Google News.  News stories on a subject; use Google Alerts for that topic; write about it– articles, blog posts, etc.

5.  Body text need to match link tags– mean what you say!

6. Blog– put it “on your site”.  Go to rentacoder.com– $25.

7. Use rel= no follow to prevent loss of PR

8.  Write a blog post, hubpage, squidoo, or othe content sharing site that contains a link to an affiliate site using your affililiate ID in the link.  Commission Junction, ClickBank.  (_product_) Affilate- google search.

9.  Avoid linkfarms.

10.  Get pinged.  ping-o-matic.  Type in your blog, post, RSS url,

11.  Know if your keywords CONVERT (make money) before putting time into it.  Run ad campaigns using the keywords, use Google conversion tracker.

12.  Get bookmarked.  Go to delicious, bookmark your posts.

13.  Google Webmaster tools– use it!  Look for warnings on your site.  Stale cache problem (nothing changing on your SERP description).

14.  DIGG effect.  Digg works even if only one person Diggs you!  Don’t worry about making first page on DIGG.

15.  Don’t compete w/ the big guys.  Understand your market.  Longer tail keywords of the big market– means searcher in buying mode.  Nichewatch.com– where is all the competition ranking.

16.  Keyword research tool– some keywords are better in anchor text, some for content, some in H1 tags, etc.

17.  Use PR sites.  PRWeb.  Passes anchor text links.   Put anchor text in first 40 words– sploggers use …

18.  Shorten your title tags.

19.  Use Google AdWords to test ads, keywords, see how much traffic, how much click costs.  Use this approach in your meta tags.– description tag, abstract.  Make them condensed– not too long.

20.  Just go do this stuff!

MORE:

1.  Find high-viewed Google videos on a partcular topic that could be related to yours.  Copy and paste that video’s tags in Notepad; use the same tags on your promo YouTube video, and you’ll be listed as a “Related Video” and ride on some of the traffic generated by the big video.

2.  If you have less than 1,000 friends on MySpace, post a video on your bulletin board and set to autoplay when page loads.  When your friends open their page, it will count as a YouTube view and will drive your video ranking higher.

People, stop the insanity!  Stop buying ebook after ebook; course after course; jumping from one to another and GETTING NOWHERE.  NO, that new, over-hyped, gotta-have-it-at-all-cost product is NOT the system that is finally going to make you rich.  You are chasing yet another quick little fish while the other fish you had an opportunity to eat are getting away, and as a result you are still STARVING (not making any money).

People who tend to be more analytical, more impulsive, or lazy (want to get rich quick with little effort) are the ones who suffer from this affliction the most.   If you find yourself frustrated after months or even years of tinkering in internet marketing because you only made enough money to buy a nice shirt, time to rehabilitate yourself.

Here’s the GOLDEN RULE to internet marketing success:

You are much more likely to have success working on just one internet marketing campaign at a time, and engaging in no more than three (3) different internet marketing vehicles.

What I mean here is  once you start on a particular campaign, FINISH it before you start on the next one.  In this context, “finish” means to the point where you are making steady income from the campaign.

Limit yourself to no more than three (3)  internet marketing vehicles.  This is huge.  A vehicle, or ”specialty” takes a lot of time to master, especially with the constantly changing nature of the internet.  Examples of internet marketing strategies:

• PPC-ClickBank
• PPC-CPA Offers
• Blogging
• Social Media Marketing
• List Building and Marketing
• Membership Sites
• Website Flipping

Now, if your thing is affiliate marketing using Wordpress blogs, pick one niche (like Persian rugs) and focus on that.  That one niche is enough to keep you busy all day:  setting up your blog(s), adding content, adding to directories, tweeting about it, FaceBooking about it, forum posting, finding good affiliate programs for it, contacting other sites to link to you, setting up your PPC campaigns and tweaking them… and so on.

If you get tempted to start ANOTHER campaign at the same time, well, your chances of generating revenue just dropped 50%.   What winds up happening is both of these campaigns are done half-assed because you spread yourself too thin.  Your site’s content will suck because you won”t have time to write frequent, good content, and as a result your sites won’t make it to the first page of Google, and/or they won’t convert.

The only way around this is to leverage your time by OUTSOURCING the SEO.  There are content writers in India and the Philippines who can crank out content for you at reasonable prices, but you need to get over the urge of doing everything yourself.

Example 1. If your main strategy is selling ClickBank products, do ONE PRODUCT AT A TIME.  What I mean by this is, do everything you need to do to get your campaign producing a steady stream of income before you even think about starting a second one.  If you are driving traffic through PPC and direct linking, well, make sure your campaign is tweaked and making you money before you abandon it and jump to another product.  Otherwise you’ll be like a dog chasing its tail.

Example 2.  If you plan to create a comparison site for several Clickbank products and don’t plan to use PPC, then put all your energy in making the best site you can in terms of keyword targeting and search engine optimization.  Then, hit the off-site SEO hard.  Stay focused until you see the dollars rolling in.

A third guideline can be to limit yourself to no more than 2 or 3 niches; two preferably.  Remember, as you take on more niches, you are diluting yourself.  It’s like biting off more than you can chew, and you will LOSE.

Ok, here’s a simple task you can do as part of you rehabilitation.  When you are in the mood to take a stab making money online, write down your niche, campaign, and vehicle.  Turn off all other distractions (email, forums, blogs, web surfing) and implement the Golden Rule.  Examples below:

Niche:  Persian Rugs

Campaign: Persian Rug CPA Offers in CJ and PepperJam

Vehicle:  WordPress SEO optimized blog

————————-

Niche:  Weight Loss

Campaign:  ClickBank product FatLoss4 Idiots

Vehicle:  PPC

Remember, DO NOT change or start a new niche, campaign or vehicle until you FINISH what you started by seeing the MONEY rolling in.  Be disciplined!  Do whatever it takes to keep you focused.

Now, go for it.

Commission Blueprint is an affiliate marketing course comprised of video lessons, pdf files, and website templates.  It also includes the use of various keyword research tools.  At $497 it isn’t cheap, but at least it’s not one of those recurring monthly membership sites that can cost a lot more over time.

I’ll explain their approach, and inject my experience and analysis.  Here goes:

As an affiliate marketer, what you’re doing is promoting other people’s products/services online and getting a commission for all sales you are responsible for.   Your sales are tracked by specially coded links that identify you as the referrer, and the retailer or affiliate program intermediate cuts you a commission check every two weeks or every month for the sales your links generated.

Here’s the challenge.  Most of the affiliate offers are in high-demand, high competition consumer goods and services categories, such as car insurance, bags and accessories, online dating, kitchen appliances, and so on.  Google any one of these keywords and you’ll see over 10 million competing pages.  If that wasn’t enough, the retailer itself that has the affiliate program  is going full-throttle online, promoting its products.  So you basically are competing with the product owner, who owns an authority site that you are not going to be able to outrank because it has an aged domain and hundreds if not thousands of indexed pages.  Give up yet?

So, how can you be successful in affiliate marketing, given this scenario?  In the past, it was easier because the big companies didn’t know how to do SEO for their sites.  Now in 2009, with all the SEO consultants and in-house SEO experts, the WalMarts and small-to-medium sized retailers are on par and even better at SEO and IM than your average, solo internet marketer who has bought 50 courses and ebooks and is on multiple email lists.   Yes, the picture turns more gloomy– the retailers have the resources and know-how to bury you in the SEO game now.

BREAKING UPDATE:   The internet marketing community is abuzz about a recent FTC (Federal Trade Commission) rule that is going to make the affiliate marketing game even more difficult.  Basically, the FTC is going to crack down on false and misleading claims in advertising.  No longer can you cloak an affiliate link and leave it at that.  You are going to have to place a statement on your webpage that has the links that specifically mentions that you get commissions if the visitor buys something through your link.  And you can no longer state “results are not typical” if you promote any kind of money making product; you must state something more realistic.  However, since this is a new regulation, there is going to be a time lag on enforcement/ penalties.  We’ll have to see how this rule pans out in the next couple of months, and adjust our marketing accordingly.

But, alas, some persistent IMs have found windows of opportunity.  Like a small group of wildebeests finding a small pocket of water in a parched desert.  Here’s the angle:

It’s all about KEYWORD research.  Apparently, it is possible to outrank the big guys in natural search if you create your landing page/ website around a long-tail keyword that gets a decent amount of clicks (500 or so a month) and a smaller number of competing pages (6,000 -10,000).

Secondly, it’s about analyzing your competition.  After you find a decent keyword that meets these requirements, you analyze the top natural ranking websites for this keyword.  You try to spot weaknesses in these websites that you can exploit, which will make it easier for you to outrank them.  Things like having the keyword in the URL, the Title, and in h1 tags; the number of inbound links, whether it’s in Yahoo Directory, and so on.   If you find a long tail keyword that matches the search and competition criteria, and find that three or more of the top websites have weaknesses that you can exploit, you’ve found your window to success.

The next step is to create a website around the keyword, find relevant affiliate offers (ClickBank, Commission Junction, Pepperjam, Shareasale, Hydra, AzoogleAds, etc.) and employ relentless SEO into it.  Watch it climb in natural search, and you’ll start seeing clicks on your affiliate links.

You will also need to work on your site’s conversion rate.  Do A/B split testing on its headlines, fine tune your copy, experiment with graphics and position of graphics, and so on.  Check your server logs to see where your traffic is coming from, and use this info to “work it” more.

That’s basically it.  To recap, CB2.0 says to focus on long-tail keywords associated with a monetizeable sector (one that has a decent number of potential affiliate offers) that have low competition and decent amount of searches each month.  Create a website/blog around said keyword; preferably using it in your URL.  Embed it with affiliate offers.  Then, pour on the SEO– article marketing, blog posting, getting inbound links, etc.  Play around with headlines, graphics, and copy to get the highest conversion rate possible.  Rinse and Repeat– create one of these sites a month, and wind up with an empire of sites that collectively bring in $thousands a month for you on autopilot.  Best thing about it– NO PAY PER CLICK COSTS.  Just the cost of your time.

By the way, the software the CB2.0 system highly recommends is Market Samurai.  It does all the keyword analysis I mentioned here.

So, what are you waiting for– get to work!

I canceled my Affiliate Classroom 2.0 membership because I felt that I already knew most of what its courses teach.  They are really into “over delivering” at AC2.0 (Lurn, Inc.) but for seasoned internet marketers like me, who get blasted with free reports, free courses, webinars, free software, free trials, etc. every day of the week it becomes more of a distraction than a benefit.   My opinion is that the AC2.0 format doesn’t have enough direction.  It’s got a lot of great content scattered throughout the site (self-paced courses, previously recorded webinars featuring successful IMs, videos, etc.) but it’s so voluminous that it’s easy for one to get “paralysis from analysis.”  At $97 a month, I couldn’t see myself sticking with it.

I may still get Commission Blueprint 2.0.  This course is a one time payment of $497, but in reading their website, it seems very structured and directional.  It has video lessons, pdf files, and resources to help you create a professional looking website.  It’s affiliate marketing all under one roof.  I like that.  The free report they gave out prior to the launch encapsulates the CB2.0 strategy.   It’s one of those “keeper” free reports.  The guys at CB2.0 are known for bypassing the hype and getting down to business, so this free report contains some real, “actionable” information to help you make money in affiliate marketing.  Send me a Reply if you want a copy.

I’ll post the CB2.0 method next (just finishing 10 straight hours of IM today… very tired).

Here are the major launches in recent weeks.  All except the last are being promoted as re-vamped versions of current courses:

• Affiliate Classroom 2.0
• Commission Blueprint 2.0
• StomperNet
• Jeff Johnson’s Underground Training Lab
• Internet Marketing Masterminds

As I keep mentioning on this blog, internet marketing can be like getting caught in a spiderweb:  you’re hit with so many professionally copyrighted sales pages (mind you, from internet marketing experts) and emails that offer hard to resist incentives to purchase the product.  As if this weren’t enough, you get hit with a slew of emails from joint venture partners offering juicy bribes to get you to order through their link.*

*the gurus usually have contests for their affiliates/JV partners to see who can get the most sales and commissions, and pay handsome rewards.

Here’s an email from StomperNet announcing their launch:

We have what we think is the coolest launch ever starting today.

And you should be here, not because it’s cool, but because of
what it’s going to mean for you.

If you’ve wanted to join StomperNet, today’s the day
you’ve been waiting for.

And it’s going to cost you a LOT less to be a part of the
MotherShip of Internet Marketing.

Online Success for Less.

It’s got a nice ring to it.

But that’s not all: when you join, you’ll get more than
10 World Class internet marketing tools – some of
which have never even been introduced to the public
- for Free as part of your membership.

Let’s face it: for 3 years, at StomperNet we have given
our Members a pretty serious leg up on their competitors.
Now, with everything we have to offer in the New StomperNet,
you’ll CRUSH your competitors.

It’s more for less – we call it a Mafia Offer.

And today – at 9:09 am – we’re making you an offer you can’t refuse.

See you then.
Brad Fallon
CEO
StomperNet

And one from Commission Blueprint:

Hi Dan,

There has been so much buzz about this over the past
week or so, the likelihood is that you will have heard
about the imminent launch of our ‘Commission Blueprint 2.0′
this coming Wednesday…

When it goes live, you are going to have to act FAST
and we will let you know as soon as the doors open in
a couple of days time.

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out
the videos that have been posted up on the site so far.

There’s an introduction to the course which also
includes two AMAZING free reports you can get your
hands on, which are already making people money as
you can see on our forum:

http://www.blueprintcentral.com/forum/index.php?topic=5925.msg46278#new

Then there’s the ‘exposee’ revealing our brand new
keyword tool, ‘Keyword Blueprint’ in action.
(this is guaranteed to blow you away)

…and now we have literally just uploaded a third
and final video answering ALL the questions that
they’ve been received about Commission Blueprint 2.0
over the past 7 days… Plus we give you a sneak
peak inside the course so you can see what you’re
going to get and how everything is laid out to help
you create a massively successful affiliate marketing
business in as short a time as possible.

I highly recommend you watch everything right now
and as I say, as soon at the doors open, we will let
you know. Here’s the link:

==> http://www.CommissionBlueprintTwo.com/video.html

Remember, we go live at 9am Eastern Time on Wednesday
9th September

thanks!

Tim & Steve

And here’s an email from a Commission Blueprint Joint Venture partner, Kabita Kalita (she’s pretty good):

Hi Dan ,

Here I have got another good IM product which i will recommend to you guys with confidence. Tim Godfrey and Steven Clayton have launched 5 products till now and none have even a single negative feedback.These two guys have launched commission blueprint 2.0 the 2nd version of their successful past product commission blueprint.

I was invited and authorized access to the product and I was thrilled to see the softwares and contents inside. These guys are well equipped and over smart. I can ensure you that your money will not be wasted and you will be in really good hands.

* SPECIAL ‘SHORTCUT SUPER AFFILIATE’ BONUS.WILL BE DELIVERED WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF YOUR PURCHASE*

* The Top 50 Super-Affiliates from CJ: Every product they promote, every keyword they spend money on, what their PPC ads say, how much they spend, every URL they advertise – as well as the organic competition level for each keyword.

* The Top 50 Super-Affiliates from ClickBank: (Same data as CJ…)

* The Top 50 Super-Affiliates from LinkShare: Ditto above

* The Top 50 Super-Affiliates from ShareASale: Ditto

* The Top 50 Super-Affiliates from MaxBounty: Ditto

In total, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of keywords – and thousands of different products – that the TOP GUNS on every major network are actively promoting.

And in addition to this, EACH keyword in every affiliate’s marketing campaign displays its organic competition level (keyword or keyphrase searched in quotations) – which is a gold mine for article marketers, conduit affiliates, SEOers, etc.

So, here is the bonus details.

[1] 5 Affiliate networks clickbank, shareasale, Maxbounty, commission junction and linkshare.

[2] 50 top affiliates of all the 5 above networks.

[3] Over 400 niches these affiliates are promoting successfully for more than 6 months.

[4] Their landing pages and keywords and yes…

[5] Ads and ad groups as well as traffic sources [mainly PPC]

[6] Plug and play.

[7] No more niche research.

[8] No more keyword brainstorming and PPC testing spending thousands of dollars.

[9] Great time saver and reverse engineering of profitable PPC campaigns at its best.

Read details here: http://commissionblueprint2-review.com

Thanking you,

To your success,

Kabita Kalita

If you’re new to this and are interested in signing up for formal training in affiliate marketing, you’re going to have to do your homework on these course offerings. Each has its own approach; most of them include having access to cool tools like keyword mining, spying, and testing tools. I believe that all of them offer a good product, as long as you actually put it to use.

Good Luck!

Affiliate Classroom is the premier, all-in-one “learning platform” on affiliate marketing.  Members enjoy access to a comprehensive library of training modules, case studies, special tools, videos, and webinars that cover every aspect of affiliate marketing.  You’ll learn things like:

• how to do research to find a good niche
• how to build a website optimized for affiliate marketing
• how to drive traffic to your website:  free and paid (PPC)
• how to get into CPA networks
• monetization models
• and much, much more

Affiliate Classroom has three levels of courses, designated Level 100, Level 200 and Level 300.  As of the writing of this post, Levels 100 and 200 have 29 courses each on various topics; and Level 300 has seven (7) courses.    Members are free to go through as many as they like.  Since Affiliate Classroom members have varying levels of expertise in affiliate marketing, some may choose to skip certain lessons that they are already proficient in.  The most basic beginners should go through all the courses.  As members go through the training, they attain an affiliate marketing proficiency rating between 1 – 10.

The Affiliate Classroom Rating is based on successfully completing courses and reaching set milestones.  You move from one class to the next by completing three courses for each level (Levels 100, 200, and 300) and achieving certain success milestones as an affiliate:

AC members can reference their Affiliate Classroom rating on applications to affiliate programs, with a link to the AC site.  This tells the affiliate manager that you are serious about your business as you are undertaking formal training in affiliate marketing, and may be helpful in getting accepted into the program.

There are other online affiliate marketing courses out there, but I believe that this is the one you want to go with.   The material is well written, it is presented in a logical sequence; “learning reinforcement” elements such as quizzes, case studies, and related articles are available to ensure students master the concepts; members can participate in a user forum to get more insight into affiliate marketing from their peers, and the customer support is great.

One word of caution; though:  when you sign up for the free trial, be prepared for a series of upsells during the checkout process.  Live bootcamps and mentorships are offered at extra cost.  It’s up to you if you want to buy in; they do seem like great value.