Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to get started making money online. It requires very little money, no product to develop and no inventory to keep. You can operate your business from just about anywhere in the world. So if it is so easy to get started, why isn’t everyone successful at creating a long term profitable Affiliate Marketing business? The internet is loaded with information on just about every topic imaginable. With all this information just a click away, it’s easy to get side-tracked and lose your focus. Everyone has the latest and greatest way to make money online and it is easy to get caught up in all the hype. The next thing you know is you are going from one business plan to another and never following through to the end on any of them. The bottom line is that it all boils down to 3 keys to success.

The first key is to find a good proven product to sell. There are many ways to accomplish this task but one of the more popular ways is to use the Clickbank Marketplace. You must first find a market that people are spending money on. Preferably this market is something that you are personally interested in or have considerable knowledge about. Once you have found a popular market that people are willing to spend money on, you must then find a product or products that are currently “hot” sellers. Using Clickbank’s gravity numbers and % referred numbers can help you determine which products are hot. Take a look at the sales page of the product. Would you buy it? If not, you need to move on to another product.

Once you find your market and product to offer you must then create an opt in list to promote your product. Most unsuccessful marketers will run an ad or publish an article or two and send the people directly to the product’s sales page. The problem with this is that it usually takes about 7-9 contacts or visits before the average person purchases the product. The worst case scenario is they never purchase the product and you never come in contact with that person again. The best case scenario is the person does purchase the product, you make a commission, and you never come in contact with that person again. The only person that benefits in the long run is the product creator. Their product has sold and they have added the person to their list. In order for you to benefit, YOU must capture the person’s name and email address. This will allow YOU to build a long term relationship with that person and in turn build a long term stable business.

Lastly, you must then drive targeted traffic to your list so you can grow that list and have a large base of people that will know you and trust you and follow your recommendations. You can drive traffic to your website by paying for it, (like Google Ads), or free (like Ezine Articles). The quickest way to get targeted traffic to your list is to use a pay per click search engine like Google or Yahoo. However, you must use caution when using this method because if you don’t do it correctly, it can cost you a lot of money quickly and with minimal result. You must decide what is best for you which will depend on your available budget and time to devote to your business. Usually a combination of both free and paid sources to drive targeted traffic to your list is the best.

So that’s it. If you spend your efforts on these 3 keys to making money with affiliate marketing you will be successful. It’s not necessarily easy but it is simple. Do Not Make It Complicated. The most difficult part is getting started. Once you get started and are seeing results, you will be on your way to creating a strong and profitable business. You can do it. You must be committed to doing it. Then, you must take action. You do not need to do it alone. In fact if you do try to do it alone your chances of success are very slim. However, with a proven business model to follow, a mentor or two to provide guidance, and taking consistent action you can and you will succeed.

OK. Now is the time to take action. Go find a product in a market that people are spending money in. Then create a simple opt in list for people to sign up and start promoting that list every chance you get. Remember to stay focused on your business model and take action every day. You will be successful.