The merchant would handle the product development, fulfillment, payment processing and customer support. All you have to do is just send visitors to their website.

However, with so many affiliate programs out there, choosing a great program can be a challenge.

So here are five elements to look for when choosing an affiliate program:

1. Conversion rate

The first and most important element in an affiliate program is the conversion rate. You need to know how successful is the merchant’s sales page in converting visitors to customers.

This metric is critical especially if you’re advertising the affiliate product. You must be able to calculate whether you’ll be profitable with your advertising campaign.

2. Commission

Affiliate commissions can range from 5% to 100%. But the best programs offer recurring monthly commissions.

Instead of just getting commission for a single sale, you can earn monthly passive income from a program with recurring commissions.

3. Promotional tools

A good program should provide lots of tools and more importantly, the merchant should have tested the tools before offering them to their affiliates.

You don’t want to waste time and money with unproven and untested tools.

4. Tracking

Some programs only track sales for up to a month. If your referral buys after 30 days, you won’t get credit for the sale.

So, look for programs that offer extended tracking, e.g. 1 to 5 years. Be sure to read their tracking policy before you sign up.

5. Minimum payment

Many programs have a minimum payment policy. For instance, you may have to earn at least $50 in commissions before you get paid.

I prefer programs that don’t have any minimum payment policy. Nowadays, with Paypal, a merchant can pay their affiliates every month instantly and easily without incurring any expensive bank charges.

And that’s it. Five elements to look for when choosing an affiliate program.

By the way, we have just launched our own Startup Rebel Affiliate Program. If you want to earn monthly recurring commissions from our flagship product, the Startup Rebel Alliance, do check it out here.

Free blog providers can be a great way to introduce yourself to blogging and to learn a little bit about the process. However, they are a poor choice if you’re hoping to generate significant blogging profits. There are simply too many pitfalls associated with their use.

1. Advertising revenue

Firstly, many free blogs hamstring your ability to utilize one of the most effective ways of generating a profit via blogging, Adsense. Some free blog providers offer the free blog and server space in exchange for the right to display their own Adsense ads.

The terms of service directly prohibit you from displaying any additional contextual advertising. This is how the free services generate their revenue and the prohibition makes perfect sense. However, it takes the most powerful revenue stream away from you.

2. Control

Second, whenever you use a free service, you lack control over your site. This is not simply a matter of advertising or content restrictions. The lack of control is far more serious.

Blogger.com, for instance, is known to regularly freeze and/or delete blogs outright for unexplained reasons. Those blogs simply disappear and a great deal of work vanishes with them. Other lesser-known services may be undercapitalized or lack profitability and may simply go under – taking the blogs right down the drain with them.

3. Credibility

Third, there is the issue of credibility. Whether it’s right or wrong, surfers tend to bestow a greater degree of credibility to (and are thus more likely to visit) sites that have their own URLs. A blog that is an obvious sub domain at a free host can make potential visitors and customers wary of a blog’s legitimacy and can have a negative impact on profitability.

4. Flexibility

Finally, there is the matter of flexibility. Some free blog services limit your options in terms of appearance and may use platforms that lack some features that can really aid in profitability.

For instance, the blogs at Blogger.com lack the categories found in their Wordpress counterparts. Other free services may offer only a few templates that can only be tweaked ever so slightly. In order to perform optimally, you should be able to make any and all desired changes to your blog.

You can find a variety of powerful blogging platforms that won’t cost you a dime. The competitive fields of hosting and domain registration make owning your own chunk of cyberspace surprisingly affordable.

So, using a free blogging service as a means to launch part of your online business simply does not make sense. The minimal capital required to own and control your own site is a definite bargain when you consider the pitfalls associated with the alternative.

To make blogging profitable, you must select a good topic to focus on.

Topic selection is the key to blogging success. You must choose a topic in which you can be competitive.

Ideally, you should find a blogging niche that is underserved yet has a high level of interest. This will allow you to attract a great deal of visitors more easily which will translate to higher profits.

Here are three tips to help you choose a profitable topic:

1. Find a topic in which you have a personal interest.

This is especially important if you plan on writing your own content. Successful blogs require regular updates and it can become difficult to regularly produce quality information if you have zero interest in the topic. If you choose to hire a writer to produce your blog posts, then this is a far less important factor.

2. Find a topic in which interest is relatively high.

You may be able to rule the search engines on the topic of 17th century wooden paperweights but there are so few, if any, people with an interest in the subject. So, that number one ranking in Google will not produce the kind of traffic stream you will need to turn a healthy profit.

It may be more difficult to enter a highly competitive marketplace but the potential rewards are far greater too. The key to topic selection, however, is not just writing a blog on a hot topic. It is finding a field from which a healthy number of visitors can be culled.

3. Find a market that is underserved.

Basically, you are looking for a strong disparity in the number of interested parties and the amount of readily available information. If you can find a topic in which many people are interested but is not well-covered online, you are sitting on a potential blogging gold mine.

It is perfectly acceptable to build a wonderful blog and to expend the effort to compete in a more crowded area but this does require much more work. Finding an underserved niche and filling a hole in the marketplace is a much easier way to produce blogging revenue.

Choosing a topic for your blog can be a challenging process. However, this first step is probably the most critical. The choice of a topic not only establishes the nature of the blog, it also determines its potential for success.

They are sometimes called “marketing solutions provider,” “pay-for-performance network,” “cost-per-action advertising network” or “performance-based online marketing services company.”

Most affiliate networks allow anyone to join. However, some networks require your website to achieve a certain amount of traffic before they welcome you.

The following are the biggest and most popular affiliate networks:

1. Commission Junction

The largest affiliate network in America, Commission Junction’s clients include almost half of the top 500 internet retailers. It has over 1500 clients such as Yahoo!, Home Depot and Buy.com.

2. LinkShare

LinkShare has over 600 merchants in its network which includes Dell, Nordstrom, Target, Disney and American Express.

3. Performics

Performics has over 300 clients which include America Online, Blair Corp., Bose, CompUSA, Eddie Bauer, HP Shopping, Kohl’s, L.L.Bean, PC Connection, RedEnvelope and Verizon Wireless.

4. ClickBank

Clickbank offers a wide range of digital products, primarily ebooks. They have over 10,000 product publishers and 100,000 affiliates.

How Affiliate Networks Can Help You Make Money

Affiliate networks are great places for market research as they will list the bestselling products on their site.

As an affiliate, you can easily find products that are already selling well. You needn’t waste time and money guessing which product will be profitable.

If you sell your own products, affiliate networks are also a great place to spy on your competition. You can:

• Discover their conversion rates by promoting their products.
• Access all the marketing tools they provide to their affiliates.
• Observe how they motivate their affiliates.

So, be sure to join the four biggest affiliate networks to acquire valuable market intelligence.

Most internet merchants (e.g. Amazon, eBay, Yahoo) have an affiliate program that you can join and earn commission for referring people to their website.

In a way, it’s a partnership between you and the merchant. The merchant will handle the product development, fulfillment, customer support and payment collection. All you have to do is refer people to the merchant’s website.

It’s very easy to get started. Here’s a somewhat oversimplification of the process:

Step 1: You join a merchant’s affiliate program.

It’s usually free to join. You just submit your contact information and you’re in.

There are affiliate programs that require you to buy a product from the merchant first before you can join but these programs are quite rare.

Step 2: You obtain your unique affiliate link from the merchant.

Upon joining, you’ll be given a link that is unique only to you. This link helps the merchant track your referrals.

Step 3: You send people to the merchant’s website by getting them to click on your affiliate link.

Here is where the “marketing” aspect comes in. To get people to click on your affiliate link, you’ll have to promote the link. Here are a few common ways affiliates promote their link:

• Advertise on Google, Yahoo and MSN.
• Build a website and optimize it for search engine traffic.
• Distribute a viral ebook that contains their affiliate link.
• Post on forums with their affiliate link displayed in their signatures.

Step 4: Your referrals buy something or register at the merchant’s website.

When your referral buys a product or registers at the merchant’s website, you’ll be credited for the sale or registration. Your account at the merchant’s affiliate program will display the sale or registration so that you can keep track of your earnings.

Step 5: The merchant pays you a commission for every sale or registration.

Once your earnings reach the merchant’s payment threshold (usually $50 or $100), the merchant will pay you with a check, a wire transfer or PayPal.

And that’s affiliate marketing in a nutshell.

Conformity is fine… if you’re in high school. Back then, if you deviate from the norm, you’ll will be ostracized and ridiculed by your peers and teachers.

But in the business world, conformity is the kiss of death. If your business, websites and products are just copycat versions of your competition, it’s game over. You won’t be able to stand out in a crowded market and you’ll struggle to generate long-term profits.

So, here are 10 strategies you can use to differentiate your affiliate business and crush your competition:

1. The All-in-one Strategy

This is the Amazon.com strategy. You offer the largest or most comprehensive selection of products/services in your niche. For instance, if you’re an affiliate marketer in the golf market, you could create a portal site that covers every aspect of golf, from product reviews to training articles. Your site can also offer daily news and a forum for golfers.

The goal of this strategy is to become the toll gate in your chosen market. Any merchant or advertiser that wants to reach your market will have to pay a toll to you, so to speak.

The downside to this strategy is you may end up being a jack of all trades and master of none. So, use this strategy only if you believe that you can develop an all-round website that’s superior to your competition.

2. The Independent Verification Strategy

Submit your affiliate website for awards or certifications. This is an opportunity to prove to your visitors that you’re the best in your market. It also builds your credibility if your website is selected as the best by independent publications.

So, look for magazines in your niche that give out the “Best Online Resource” award. If you win an award for your website, you’ll have an edge over your competition and you’ll be getting free publicity as well.

3. The Specialist Strategy

You can specialize your affiliate business in two ways:

1. A specific niche market.
2. A specific type of product/service.

Interestingly, you can combine the All-in-one strategy with the Specialist strategy. For example, you can build a portal in the dog market that offers product reviews, health and training tips, and a forum for just one specific dog breed.

4. The Celebrity Endorsement Strategy

Get celebrity and/or expert endorsement for your website. It doesn’t have to be expensive if you ask local or retired celebrities. You can offer free publicity to the celebrity in exchange for her endorsement.

For example, if you own a golf website, find a celebrity who plays golf and interview him. Then, ask him to check out your site and if he likes it, request a testimonial from him.

5. The New Category Strategy

One effective way to claim the No. 1 position in a market segment is to create a totally new category for your affiliate business.

For example, if your affiliate website reviews and promotes comics and action figures and you’re having difficulty in becoming the No. 1 comic book site or the No.1 action figure site, why not create a new category, i.e. comics AND action figure site?

Then, you can claim that you’re the No.1 comics and action figure authority on the internet. You’re No.1 because you’re the only one in the category.

6. The Value Added Strategy

This strategy involves offering free unique, valuable services or products to entice your visitors to buy through your affiliate link.

For instance, you could add information products as free premiums to entice your referrals. Information products like ebooks, audios and videos are cheap and easy to produce. You could just interview an expert via Skype and record the interview.

Another great value added product is software. Just hire a freelance programmer to develop a simple software that will save time or money for your referrals.

7. The Controversy Strategy

Controversy sells. Just ask Madonna. A controversial affiliate website will generate publicity and word-of mouth traffic easily and quickly.

To create controversy, look for accepted norms in your market or industry. And then, brainstorm ways on how you can break the norms and yet still give your market what they want.

8. The Design Strategy

All things being equal, the affiliate website with the more attractive design will win repeat visitors. Humans are naturally attracted to beauty. So, having a visually attractive website will generate more repeat visitors and hence, more revenue for you.

Unfortunately, most affiliate sites look amateurish and boring. So, hire a professional designer to create an attractive and unique web template for your site. It’s a one-time expense that will have a lasting and positive impact on your business.

9. The Squeezer Strategy

A company that uses this strategy all the time is Wal-Mart as they use their size to squeeze their vendors for maximum profits. You can use this strategy if you’re one of the top affiliates for a merchant.

Just negotiate a higher commission with the merchant. In most cases, they will agree to your request if they don’t want to lose you as an affiliate.

When you earn a commission higher than the average affiliate, you’ll have more ammunition for your marketing expenses.

10. The Membership Strategy

One of the best strategies to generate repeat traffic and recurring revenue is to develop an exclusive membership site. Even if you want to promote affiliate products only and have no desire to sell your own products, you can build a free membership site that contains frequently updated content.

A free membership site with great content will generate more repeat traffic and loyalty than the usual content site. You should also set the bar really high in your market by offering more than just articles. You should offer unique content in ebook, audio and video format that your competition doesn’t offer.

And there you have it, 10 strategies to differentiate your business and crush the competition. There are many more strategies available but if you implement just a few of the aforementioned strategies, you will see a positive effect on your affiliate business.

Just think big and do more than your competition. Be the 900 pound gorilla in your market and your business will still be standing once the dust has finally settled.

If you want to learn more strategies on differentiating your affiliate business and crushing your competition, check out the Startup Rebel Competitive Magic course now.