I've Tried That - We lose money so you don't have to!

99% of the scammy programs we have warned you about have something to do with affiliate marketing.

For example, we learned that rebate processing isn’t processing rebates at all the way a normal person would understand that term. It’s putting up ads and hoping someone clicks on them and then makes a purchase.

Same with “data entry jobs.” You fill out forms, yes, but they’re forms that create ads and more forms to post the ads on various sites. Then, if someone makes a purchase after clicking on your ad, you get paid.

And in fact, the sales pages and tactics we have warned you about (the pictures of yachts, shiny [invariably white] people holding wads of cash) are very often selling something as an affiliate.

So we’ve touched on different aspects of affiliate marketing indirectly, but have never given a clear picture of what it is and whether you can make money doing it.

This post changes that. It is written for people who are new to the make-money-online scene. In other words, if you’re looking for a way to make some $$ from the Internet and don’t know what affiliate marketing is, this post is for you.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

It’s very simple: you own a web site (or maybe just an ad on a site) where you sell other people’s or companies’ products and make a commission on each sale.

It’s not exactly like an online store, though you could set up something like that.

It’s more like you telling a friend about something, and then, if she buys it, you get a little bonus.

How Does It Work?

The selling is done through affiliate links—little bits of Web language that contain a code linking the sale to you.

When someone clicks on your link and then makes a purchase, the original seller or clearing house gives you credit for the sale and you receive money.

For example, this post about Scott Ritter’s recruitment training program contains an I’ve Tried That affiliate link. (If you’re really curious, the link looks like this: http://manthem.aecorp.hop.clickbank.net/ )

Now click on the link right above this line (it will open in a new tab or window). The I’ve Tried That affiliate link takes you to Scott’s sales page where he tries to convince you to buy his product. Pretend that you do. How does Scott say thanks to I’ve Tried That for sending you his way? He pays us a commission.

Slick, huh?

The Slick About Affiliate Marketing

Here is some of what makes it an attractive way to generate income:

• You have no inventory to manage.
• You don’t have to deal with customer service or handle refunds or exchanges.
• You have an unlimited supply of products to promote.
• Your web sites (containing your affiliate links) work 24×7.

The Gritty About Affiliate Marketing

Don’t believe anyone who tells you it’s super fast or super easy. It takes consistent work and there is a lot to learn.

• You have to have a web site, and preferably several.
• Your web site has to attract a lot of visitors.
• You have to get those visitors to click your affiliate links.
• They then have to buy something.

If you spend any time at all looking at the list above, you’ll soon see that each step involves a lot of potential for problems. It’s kind of like marriage. There’s a lot more to it than (1) Finding your soul mate, (2) Tying the knot, and (3) Living happily ever after. Every one of those seemingly simple steps is in reality very difficult.

That’s why I laugh in the face of those scammy programs that say you can make money within minutes of signing up for Affiliate Millions or whatever the program calls itself.

Affiliate marketing just doesn’t work that way.

Can You Make Money with Affiliate Marketing?

Probably. A lot of people do. Some make gobs and gobs of money, while some just supplement their household income.

The trick is learning how to do it well. And the truth is, you can learn everything you need to know about it by searching online for free information and just jumping in.

But you would need half a lifetime to learn what you need to know to do it well enough to make real money. That’s why we believe it is better to pay an expert for that training. With the right program, you can learn what you need in a fraction of the time and have access to those who have already done what you want to do.

We’ve been looking for some time for an affiliate marketing training program that we like. Millions of them are available. Okay, maybe not millions, but a LOT. We were just about to create one ourselves when we found one that we like.

I’ll tell you about it in upcoming posts.