8 Reasons Why Affiliate Marketing Is the Holy Grail Of E-Commerce

by Richard Adams
 

For too long affiliate marketing has been seen as the "poor brother" of other popular online businesses such as online auctions, ebooks, software or membership sites.

But to someone who earns a large percentage of my online income as an affiliate, I'm constantly amazed at what a great business this is.

Here, then, are just eight of the reasons why I believe affiliate marketing is the *best* way to start off online; indeed why in my eyes it's the Holy Grail of e-commerce.

1) No Need To Create A Product To Sell:
Most people start off in e-commerce by creating their own product. However, this route can involve investing a lot of time and money. On the other hand, I have set up affiliate sites in a matter of weeks for under $100 that now greatly exceed that initial set-up cost every single month - on autopilot. So it's a quick, easy, and cost effective market to get into.

2) Create Money Out Of Thin Air:
As it's possible to set up an affiliate site with a tiny sum ($50-100) and let this multiply numerous times, you can then go on and invest in bigger projects in the future.

3) No Customer Service:
Depending on how you set up your affiliate business it *is* possible to completely dispense with customer service enquiries. Indeed, I am now setting up simple minisites with *no* email address and no contact details at all. This saves me a huge amount of time each day answering questions and so allows me to concentrate on building more sites for greater profits.

4) Automatic Money - And Free Time!
Using the right model, you can simply set up an affiliate site and move onto your next project. I sincerely believe that it is possible as you gain experience to launch a site per month and, since you're not selling anything yourself or answering customer's enquiries, your site can run virtually on autopilot.

An occasional check is all that is necessary and my mini sites take me less than 30 minutes a month to run.

It's like automatic money each month!

More impressively, the sites you built months, even years
ago, continue to bring in sales meaning you're having to
work less and less to achieve the results you desire. You
control your day - and you do what you like with it.

5) Thinking Outside The Box

So many e-commerce businesses depend hugely on their own
affiliate network to drive traffic and sales. It's a
reasonably easy and hassle-free way to make profits.

Unfortunately as an affiliate marketer you don't have that
luxury.

But it's actually to your advantage.

You see without that fallback you are forced to think
outside the box to generate traffic.

Instead you need to find, test and develop other
techniques which stand you in good stead for the future.

Not only does it make you more creative and resourceful in
general, but if and when you eventually launch a non-
affiliate marketing site you'll already know how to
generate an avalanche of traffic *ontop* of what your
affiliates bring you.

And more traffic equals more sales.

6) He Who Has The Traffic Has The Power

Once you develop your traffic streams and your subscriber
list you become a very sought after commodity.

Other businesses seek you out, eager to sign you up as an
affiliate of theirs.

And as your success grows, you develop the ability to
cherry pick only the most profitable deals for yourself -
and often command higher commission rates than others get.

Do *not* underestimate what it can be like to be in this
situation. An example is that one of my merchant partners
sent me an extra $250 last Christmas just to say thanks for
sending them so many sales that year!

7) You're The Perfect Affiliate Manager

If and when you decide to create your own product and set
up your own affiliate program as part of your marketing
strategy you have a distinct advantage over your
competitors - you'll already know the best affiliate
marketing techniques.

And this knowledge will prove priceless in terms of
helping your own affiliates promote you effectively.

8) Great Community
By becoming an affiliate marketer you will be joining a
great community of like-minded individuals from around the
world. A combination of quality newsletters and discussion forums run by real pros means it's a great community to be a part of. So there you have it - my eight reasons to become an affiliate marketer today - so what are you waiting for?!