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by Gail Buckley

You know that old cliché, "Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees."

It seems to me that it could well be applied to the state of affiliate marketing these days.

I mean here we have a prime money making opportunity - the perfect internet business opportunity - both for affiliates and affiliate sponsors. Actually, this model is ideal for just about anyone who wants to earn a steady living online... or at least it should be.

Affiliate program sponsors or business owners make out big time because they only pay for the performance of their affiliates. If their affiliates refer prospects who purchase their products or services, they must cut them in for a share of their profits. But plenty of the prospects their affiliates refer don't purchase - at least not right away - and these translate into leads they can add to their sizeable lists, without having to do a lick of work to recruit them.

As for affiliates, they have no cause for complaint as they are spared all the day to day calamities and dreary chores of actually running a business online. All they have to do is simply refer prospects, spread the word about this product or that service, and if they are lucky enough to hit the mark with a prospect, so that he or she actually visits a site and makes a purchase, they get paid a commission of anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of the sale price.

Not bad for a product or service they, as affiliates, have absolutely no part in creating or developing, much less actually selling or delivering.

This being the case it is mystifying, really, why so few affiliates are actually succeeding at affiliate marketing. I'm not sure exactly what the latest statistics are, but I think its safe to say that only about 8 to 10% (and this is probably on the high side) of affiliates make any real money for the programs they represent.

Want to know why?

It actually has very little to do dedication, motivation, determination or the amount of effort put in. I hate to put a damper on the zeal of some real affiliate troopers out there, but I've stood back for some time now and observed, and I can clearly see the forest for the trees.

The real key to selling any internet product lies in the quality of your affiliate sponsors' sales presentation - period. Yes, you have to get prospects to a site. But if the sales letter doesn't captivate and convert them once you get them there, what's the point of it all?

Of course, all the top marketers know this, which is why they pour all their best efforts into churning out sales copy that grabs prospects by the jugular and doesn't release them until they have performed their MWR (most wanted response - usually by clicking on the "Order Here" button.)

These marketers also recognize that they have to attract prospects to their captivating sales copy, so they dutifully post their ads. But I have to tell you - I've actually kept track - and the sad fact of the matter is that over the course of the past year there have only been a handful of email ads that have actually convinced me to go ahead and click. And believe me, I am on all the prime lists - so we're talking thousands of ads. (Perhaps that's the problem?)

Now, I may be a hard sell, but I suspect I am not alone in noting the reduced responsiveness of email ad campaigns, be they solo or in ezines. And, if I cannot be convinced to click by the ad copy of some of the leading marketers online today, imagine the difficulty the average affiliate is going to have in getting a prospect to click on their links to get to the glorious customer converting - commission earning web page sales copy.

So what's the answer? Lord knows, everybody seems to have one. I've sat back and watched as one Super Affiliate course has come out after another - all touting a surefire, step-by-step formula for success. And, don't get me wrong here, some of these courses are truly excellent.

But so what?

Looking at the vast landscape of affiliate marketing, what percentage of those who sign up for affiliate programs are actually going to purchase the top courses... and follow through with everything they say?

A dismally small percentage I'm afraid, so we're pretty much left with our initial bleak assessment of the sorry state of affiliate marketing.

So what's the solution?

What's it going to take to really even the playing field so that ALL AFFILIATES get an equal chance to share in the wealth these programs promise - and ALL BUSINESS OWNERS get to enjoy the true benefits of PEAK AFFILIATE PERFORMANCE?

Before I reveal the solution, let's take a minute to review what we know for sure:

1. We know that marketers pull out all the stops for their sales copy at their websites. This is where they either make or break a sale.

2. We have been told that an affiliates' job is merely to warm a prospect up, to get them in a receptive mood so that when they hit the affiliate marketer's website they are receptive to the sales copy.

I agree with this as far as it goes. IF YOU HAVE AN OPT-IN LIST YOU HAVE CAREFULLY NURTURED and CULTIVATED, your personal recommendations and testimonials should carry substantial weight and translate into higher than average conversions.

However, the REAL FACT of the matter is that the majority of those that sign up for affiliate programs do not have their own lists, and many of those that do... REALLY DON'T (by which I mean that they either went out and purchased leads or used some other dime a dozen opt-in gimmick, so these leads have "No Relationship" with them whatsoever and therefore are virtually useless).

So, let's just say that #2 really applies only to established marketers and super affiliates with existing, genuine opt-in lists and leave it at that.

3. We know that many affiliate programs have Affiliate Resource Centers for their affiliates, where affiliates have access to text links, ad copy, articles and assorted graphics to use to promote their affiliate programs.

However, the real fact of the matter is that most affiliates simply make do with the links that are sent them in their "Welcome" emails, failing to take the time to visit a program's Affiliate Center. And those affiliates that do take advantage of the "prefab" promotional material in an Affiliate Center may not realize much of a return for their efforts unless they are tapping into a totally new or underexposed market.

4. We know that if you happen to have some knowledge and experience with keywords and meta tags, search engines and pay per clicks - or are willing to put in the time it takes to learn and keep up with their ever changing algorithms - you might have a shot at making some decent affiliate profits.

But lets face it, anyone with this kind of knowledge or expertise already falls into that elusive Super Affiliate 10%. For the average Joe, going the search engine route is no longer an economically feasible option... unless it comes with an overall web business package, such as Ken Evoy's SiteBuild-It!

5. We know that, as a general rule, people like TO LEARN. They do not like TO BE SOLD TO. This is why affiliate marketers are increasingly fighting an uphill battle with their email ads. Not only are they constantly running the risk of being accused of spam, but an ad... is an ad... is an ad. And most people recognize it as such. Therefore, a far more effective, less offensive, way to sell affiliate products is simply... to teach prospects about them.

6. We know that PDF eBooks offer a great means of teaching. They are as universally accessible as email, but because people must sign up or opt-in to receive or download them, they are far less offensive and therefore, far more effective as selling tools. With PDF eBooks you can combine educational content with selected affiliate program recommendations. Prospects can download these documents, read about a subject and then click onto a recommended program.

7. We know that eBooks are brandable nowadays, so that any links within their content can be "customized" or coded with different affiliate IDs. This makes them a "super affiliate" marketing tool available to everybody!

8. We know that the real money to be made on the Internet is in Opt-in List ownership. When you own your own sizeable list you become a person to be reckoned with in the elite Internet Marketing circles, because suddenly you come to represent a mini-market all by yourself. You become "Mr./Ms. Popularity" -everyone wants to be your joint venture partner. They'll cut you in for half the profits on their product if you'll just mail out their sample promotion to your list.

No question about it, if you're going to succeed on the Internet long term you are going to have to build your own list of dedicated subscribers - a.k.a. potential customers - you can tantalize with offers again and again.

9. We know that the perfect tool for building your list, the tool that most master marketers use is front-end offers or hand-raisers, most often free info-products (i.e. PDF eBooks) that provide solid, usable valuable information that solves peoples problems and/or addresses their needs.

10. We know that if "regular affiliates" had an EASIER, INEXPENSIVE way of reaching more people with more EFFECTIVE, EDUCATIONAL promotion, not only would they be far happier with the returns of their efforts but their affiliate program sponsors would be far happier with their performance. It would be a WIN WIN SITUATION all the way around.

We know all of the above. So, the answer would seem obvious enough at first glance.

All affiliate program sponsors simply have to supply all their affiliates with customizable eBooks for their programs.

WRONG.

For one thing, this isn't going to happen any time soon (although a smattering of savvy marketers have already turned out a few short promotional productions, many still in the old.exe format)

And for another, if it did, the resulting glut would spoil the whole business for everybody.

Just imagine if Corey Rudl of The Internet Marketing Center gave every one of his thousands of affiliates their own individual IMC eBook, and they all started passing these around. And Marlon Sanders gave each of his thousands of affiliates their own Hits'NCash eBook, and they all began passing these around. And Ken Evoy released thousands of coded 5 Pillar eBooks to all his affiliates, and Yanik Silver did the same with his SurefireMarketing affiliates... well, you get the drift.

Besides which, it's really not that great an idea for these marketers to be seen as tooting their own horns. Far better for the horn tooting to be genuinely coming from their affiliates.

But how many "average affiliates" know HOW to put together an eBook?

More to the point how many "average affiliates" are MOTIVATED enough to put together an eBook, much less a high quality, information packed eBook in the universally accepted PDF format?

Well... maybe this isn't such a good solution after all...

But wait...

What if the average affiliate could get these high quality, information packed PDF eBooks already made up? What if all he or she had to do was choose an "in demand" topic and voila... there would be a 500 - 1500 page portfolio all made up and ready to go, chock full of hard hitting tutorials, masterful articles, discriminating reviews and eye opening resource collections of top selling products, complete with mini-versions of their sales pages or presentations.

And what if, in addition to their excellent, high interest content, each and every one of these portfolios also contained dozens of top-of-the-line affiliate programs, all professionally presented, all with links that could be easily customized with the simple click of a single branding tool that everybody would be given along with each portfolio.

As for joining the programs, that could all be done by visiting a single page and clicking on a limited number of links.

Simple process. Click to preview your choice of a dozen full versions of these easy profit portfolios for FREE. When you find one or more you like, click to get the customizable version. Click to sign up for the programs. Click to instantly brand your own portfolio(s) with hundreds of profit generating affiliate links.

And then the real magic would begin as, in a single stroke, you would be able to place all these profit generating programs -complete with their sales converting professionally crafted mini-site presentations - right smack dab in the middle of every one of your prospects' desktops!

No longer would you have to attract prospects to websites, you would bring the websites right to them - and in an organized and user friendly fashion, so that even if prospects have no immediate need of a resource, they will have your portfolio(s) handy for easy reference when they do. I'd like to see any Super Affiliate top that!

Sure, Super Affiliates have the advantage of huge lists - and beginning affiliates cannot possibly compete with this right out of the starting gate - but the beauty of this system is that YOU wouldn't have to! You would be offering something completely different.

In fact, you wouldn't be trying to get people to buy anything. You would instead become bearers of free gifts. Your job would merely be to "give away" top quality, high interest info-products, jam-packed with solid, usable, valuable information.

AND... in so doing, you would be effortlessly BUILDING VALUABLE OPT-IN LISTS OF YOUR OWN, simply by hooking the dispersal of your customized eBooks up to an email list handling system before you begin spreading the word around about them. In this way you could begin collecting the email addresses of everyone who accepted your largesse.

Of course, if you're going to hook your portfolios up to an autoresponder or list handling system, you're probably going to need something to send subscribers to keep them subscribed.

Customizable email eCourses tailored to the content of each portfolio would certainly do the trick. And how about a couple of brandable PDF reports and a delightfully original eGazette series.

Heck, why stop there. If you are going to build a solid, bankable relationship with your opt-in subscribers, you are going to need an ongoing source of eagerly anticipated, top-notch content to send out on a regular basis.

Wouldn't it be terrific if you never had to write a word of it yourself? If you could just snap your fingers, and voila, every other week, a professionally written newsletter would appear like magic. One that you could pack with your ads and mail out to your list and earn full credit for just as if you had written it yourself?

Sounding better and better, isn't it?

Let's make the ENTIRE SYSTEM TOTALLY VIRAL and DUPLICABLE! The free pdf portfolios, eCourses, reports would all serve as your own traveling sales team as they are repeatedly downloaded, circulated and duplicated by others on a multitude of levels.

Well, let's make it better still. Let's make the ENTIRE SYSTEM TOTALLY VIRAL and DUPLICABLE! That's right. The free pdf portfolios, eCourses, reports... even the newsletters with your customized links and ads, would all serve as your own traveling sales team as they are repeatedly downloaded, circulated and duplicated by others on a multitude of levels.

Your initial prospects would pass them on to others, who would pass them on to others, who would pass them on to others and so on and so forth. And all of those others represent potential purchasers of the affiliate products listed in the documents, as well as visitors to the sites or subscribers to the lists to which your portfolios, courses and reports and are linked!

Here's the real clincher, THE SYSTEM ITSELF IS ALSO SELF-MULTIPLYING. The more customized perpetual profit portfolios you get in circulation, the more lists you can be building - and the more profits you can be generating through those all important, informative, "in context" links. And all without you're having to lift a finger - beyond setting the initial process in motion.

All this sounds positively too good to be true, doesn't it?

I'd wager if there were such a remarkable system in place it would go a long way toward leveling the playing field and upping the number of productive affiliates.

It would also go a long way toward bringing new internet adventurers, who have perhaps been toying with the idea of getting involved with internet marketing, into the game, especially as these eBooks also happen to be master courses, and there are 12 of them, covering every aspect of starting, setting up and successfully running a business online.

Such a system would also be a real boon to affiliate sponsors, whose programs would suddenly spring to life with a rebirth of old and an influx of new and active resellers, and whose businesses would benefit tremendously from a huge surge in traffic and sales.

If only there were such a system in place, the whole landscape of affiliate marketing as we know it could be transformed into something wondrous, something that really would work wonders for everyone...

Great News!! There is in fact such as system and you can get all the details right now by clicking here.