1. The Monetization Equation

2. Does Affiliate Marketing Really Work? "It" Does Not Work... “You” Do!
Get rich quick? No. You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for that.
So is it worth your time and investment? YES!
Is it as easy as most make it sound? NO. While we do all we can to make it as easy as possible by removing as many of the technical barriers as possible (HTML, FTP, site building, Search Engine mastery, etc.), please remember... you are, after all, building a business. Building a business is not "quick and easy" or "get rich quick" or "guaranteed to make you $1,000,000 in 6 months or less while setting around in your underwear on the couch eating Bon-Bons." Sorry.
However...
Are you a person that is motivated? Are you a person that is willing and ready to work to build your Affiliate Marketing business? Are you a person that is ready to develop a whole new mindset towards Affiliate Marketing, and develop a new way of thinking?
If so, Affiliate Marketing delivers. Actually it OVER-delivers success...

3. Because... You are either doing it wrong, or your not doing it at all.
Why Do The Vast Majority Of Affiliates Fail? Why Do The Majority Of Affiliates Never Even Make A Single Check?
Because... You are either doing it wrong, or your not doing it at all.

4. The Big Problem?
First we need to understand that all do not fail and you do not need to be one that falls into the failure statistics. You can succeed!
You will find a very small number of affiliates which we identify as("super-affiliates") that are really making some very healthy Affiliate incomes ($150,000+ per year).
You also will find a significantly larger minority, roughly the top 2-3%, of all Affiliates earning a lower, but still fairly substantial Affiliate income.
But unfortunately the “BIG” and very “Real” truth remains... the vast majority of all Affiliates will fail to earn a single dime for their efforts
So What's the Big Problem?
Actually there is a series of problems that contribute to Affiliate Marketing Failure!
Fortunately all are avoidable and very beatable… But only with the appropriate strategies and tools, and guidance from the very beginning of your efforts.

5. Problem-- Failure To Prepare
Just know this one thing… If you are going to go into Affiliate Marketing unprepared you are setting yourself up for failure.
I believe it is the same reason most deer hunters miss the deer on opening day! In the excitement of seeing that Big Buck we shoot without the necessary preparation!
Most people fail at the things we try because we get so excited and caught up in the hype and the possibilities of making money that we would rather just jump in and FIRE!
We jump the gun and FIRE First, rather than invest the appropriate time to get READY for our shot and we certainly never even think about our AIM! On a positive note: If you aim for nothing there is a good chance you will hit it
The preparation time needed feels "unproductive“ also we want or need money or results right now! Sometimes the circumstance we live in demands this.
But understand this one thing right now…, Proper Preperation is the only way your going to become one of the successful!

6. The solution?
Nothing more than proper Upfront thinking and Planning, and Preparation...
Imagine for a minute, you're broke and in front of you, you have this huge debt, Lets make it simple to figure… $50k debt to be exact. But wait it gets worse yet… if you don't repay this within 12 months, your home will be repossessed...
Episode of Mission Impossible, right? Maybe not… Usually first step is PANICK! Before panicking let’s do some upfront thinking and recognize that most BIG problems are often, if not always, made up of smaller problems. So why don't we break this BIG $50k problem down into smaller problems?
What if we take the big bad pay off $50, in a year problem and break it down into 12 individual months, $4,166.66, or better yet 52 weeks which makes it roughly $ a week. Problem is still huge but the mind is tricked into seeing a little light and possibility of handling the huge $50K problem.
Stop Panicking… Start planning and preparing

7. Setting Proper Goals both Short and Long Term
State your goal clearly and always use positives. Your brain craves CLARITY...
The absence of clarity is going to give you that 'bury your head in the sands' feeling. When that feeling sets in, it's hard to snap out of it, unless... You set your goals to achieve CLARITY! Tale a second and really think about the pitch debt consolidation companies use - Small, Manageable, Monthly, Repayments!
Identify all resources available. (essential to reach your goals) . Identify all of essential resources and check if you have them. For example, you’ll need a certain amount of money, time, health, interest etc. Be honest about what you need to do and what you can and can’t do yourself. In order to get where you want to go, you have to know how to get there.
Determine and list (write out) your strengths and weaknesses.

8. Formulate a daily improvement plan This is the most important step of the goal setting process. Ask yourself, “What is it that I can do on a daily basis to work towards reaching my goal?” What are the essential? That will vary depending on your situation, of course, but the key question is: what part of my plan has the most long-term benefit for me?
Make and work on short-term goals Your long term goal may take a long time to reach, perhaps months or even years. (That is not a positive) You need to stay both positive and motivated so set short-term goals to reach for throughout this time. Achieving short term goals will give you feedback and show you actually making progression towards your Long term goal.
Your short term goals of course should be action oriented. It takes action to achieve anything worth pursuing. Make them Achievable, but not so easy that you do not feel any sense of accomplishment when it is achieved.
Commitment to your goals…You must commit! (Also be Consistent)
It is easy to say you’re going to do something- actually doing it is another story. How many times have you made New Years Resolutions? How many times do you actually go through with it. Keep reminding yourself to enjoy your journey along the way!

9. Continually be monitoring your progress (Get a White Board…Dry Erase)
Each day do you see yourself getting closer to your ultimate goal? Are your plans and goals actually working or do they need some adjustments? Continually be WRITING down each of your small success and lessons that you will be learning along the way. Chart your progress; you need to be able to visually see how far you have come, and how much closer you are to your goal In times when it seems like your not getting anywhere. REMAIN POSITIVE!
Find an accountability partner!
If you still having problems with Goal setting and want to learn more go to ehow.com and type in, “How do I set goals for success.”
2. Proper Research: Brainstorm most profitable topics and finding a Good and Profitable Targeted Niche With A Hungry Audience looking for your solution to their problem.
3. Develop best site concept/theme
4. Select best Niche related affiliate programs.

10. Problem – Placing to Much Dependency on Owner of Affiliate Products
We rely way to much on the product owner for our success!
When you are first starting out we are very excited about finding an Affiliate Product to promote and it is very easy to choose the wrong programs, you will also find that it is easy to fail with the right ones.
You will find that one of a kind awesome product to promote but you also may have found a company that simply doesn’t have the time or the knowhow to train their affiliates properly...
No startup manual.
No learning and coaching environment provided
No Webinar Training
No creative new ideas ever sent out to affiliates...
No tools on the Affiliate tools page to help you do your job.
No Affiliate support systems!
No wonder people fail!

11. The Solution?
Successful affiliates select the best products with the best Affiliate programs!
Successful Affiliates test out the Affiliate programs they are considering.
Successful Affiliates know how to go out and do it right, on their own!
Successful Affiliates learn and prepare and eliminate the dependency totally...
Example… Jeff Mills Outsourcing Webinar
Successful Affiliates have support systems in place

12. Problem -- No Website or Poor looking Site
This is a problem that kills Affiliates and most never even come to an understanding as to why!
Lack of technical skills keep you from developing a site altogether. YOU NEED A SITE!
Have a site with one or more of the following mistakes…
Site is hosted using a FREE web hosting service (BIG credibility destroyer)
Poor design, Website has a newbie look and feel
Site contains low value or irrelevant content that does not solve the problem the visitor is looking to solve. Content not Niche related to the site.
Build poor site navigation
Site not search engine friendly
If you really want to succeed the best place to start is right where you are, with what you have. (Your Website and Content)

13. Design and Navigation
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," Take a look at your site and eliminate unnecessary design items and graphics and get somebody else to look at your web site that will give you good constructive criticism.
A good site will be designed to help the visitor easily find the information they need. The content will make them want to return again and again and, most importantly, great design lends or gives credibility to you!
One of the most important element of great website design is navigation. If your visitors can't figure out where they need to go, they'll just plain and simple go to another web site.
Navigation must be simple and consistent on every page of your website.

14. Think Contrast…
According to Wikipedia: "Contrast is the difference in visual properties that makes an object (or its representation in an image) distinguishable from other objects and the background.
look at the contrast or the lack of contrast between the text and the background.
How hard is it to tell you can’t read your content?
If your visitors to your site can't read the text they will leave it."

15. The Solution?
Top Super Affiliates all… Develop a web site. Your Web presence is crucial.
Top Super Affiliates all… have clean and easy to navigate sites.
Solution to no tech skills. (OUTSOURCE) O-Desk.com, Guru.com, Warrior Forum, other students, tech schools in your community.
Top Super Affiliates all…position themselves properly to meet their targeted audience at the search bar, providing excellent relevant content to provide best solutions to the targeted audiences problems. (Write it yourself or Outsource)
Top Super Affiliates all… Attract highly targeted, interested leads to their site
Top Super Affiliates all… use their site to List Build
Top Super affiliates all… use their sites to gain credibility and build relationships
Top Super Affiliates all… continue to provide solid value by providing other sources of great content such as through Affiliate Products and services

16. Problem -- Little or No Traffic
Build your website and they will come right? “NOT!”
Affiliate Marketers have one more really big challenge... building traffic. (The key word here is BUILDING) Again, also think consistency!
Most new Affiliates never seem to realize they have the power to attract tens of thousands of interested, motivated visitors every day
Bigger problem still is getting the right traffic! It takes more than just getting traffic to your site. It needs to be the best targeted traffic you can get or it will be difficult to convert to sales.
If you want to sell on the Internet, whether it is your own product, advertising affiliate program, Internet marketing, or just want to increase Blog traffic you must learn how to get website traffic that works.

17. What’s The Solution?
Top Super Affiliates all... make the content of their Web pages "attractive" to Search Engines. (SEO Friendly)
Top Super Affiliates all... Will have methods in place that will allow them to track how each site and page performs. They will continue to test and tweak to improve performance. (Google Analytics)
Top Super Affiliates all... develop more than one way to generate drive traffic. (continued process) Every successful marketer opens up all the doors and windows they can to let in as much traffic as possible.
When first starting out focus on one or two traffic methods at a time.
Consistency is vital to your success

18. The Big Picture Solution!
Some of these solutions may sound totally out of reach for you? They used to seem out of reach for me as well, not any more...
Salvage the one thing that you are in control of and no one else – Your will to succeed.
Daily Routine of POSITIVE Self-Talk: You likely will feel very frustrated trying to make everything work. Be aware of your self-talk… get rid of the negativity. Positive self-talk can help you maintain your will to overcome the small, small obstacle of overcoming the 4 problems we just discussed. You can do it!
Understand that in the big picture of things these problems are considerably small to the overall picture. Each has a solution… you just need to learn how to do better overall. Master the things you enjoy and can do. The rest needs to leave YOUR list of things to do and put it on the list for others to do.
You may be looked at as the most unlikely to succeed, but that is not who you are. You need to right now focus your eyes on the biggest path of success and set out to succeed in the biggest way possible. READY…AIM…FIRE!

19. Monetization Equation Problem Solving Content
Traffic generation
Pre-Sell
(warming up)
Monetization
It all starts with “YOU” You providing a solution to a problem through Great Content…
Your content is found by those searching on the web for the solution to the problem you have found them having through your proper research. This is know as your traffic. Once your traffic runs into you because of you being well positioned to meet them, you begin the Pre-sell process which is created through the relationship and more good solid content that you over-deliver to the visitor. Then and only then, comes monetization.

20. Content
Online visitors look for Content. They are not looking for you! (at least they don’t know they are yet)
Visitors do not know you, and most do not even care about you. They are focused on solutions to their problems or needs first and foremost. You need to stand out above the crowd and be the one they find! If you don’t… you fail!
Positioning yourself correctly in front of your visitors over your competition.
Differentiate yourself from your competition.
Do your very best to deliver great content first and foremost that helps solve your visitors problems., By doing so you will build Great Traffic, which gives you the opportunity to be Pre-sold. Then and only then, are you ready to Monetize.
You need to start from the very beginning not at the desired end result.
Do not be like so many people that first spend time and energy setting up a shopping cart and a merchant account or some other way of "collecting the money."

21. Turn knowledge into content. Then convert that content into income.
Your great looking website is set up
Add high value Niche related content
visitor shows up to Google Search bar searching for a solution for their problems
Visitor runs right into your amazing content through your high rankings in the Search Engines
Visitor reads content realizes they found solution to their problem which Pre-sells them
Find and click on your Affiliate links or links to your own products that you specifically positioned throughout your content
Product owners pay you commissions generated from Affiliate Links you strategically placed throughout your Content Site
Your visitors are delighted with the products and convenience... All are happy…WIN-WIN-WIN.

22. Traffic A growing Affiliate Business must have Traffic . Articles
Videos
A growing Affiliate Business must have Traffic .
Press releases
Your good relevant keyword rich content ranks high with the Search Engines (ex., Google, Yahoo! MSN),
Your content is found by, targeted visitors that are both interested and open to what you have to say and have to offer.
These future customers are now ready to "meet you" at your site. These visitors are known as "Traffic.”
Continue to infuse your business by adding several streams of traffic through many sources of content
Blogs
Ebooks

23. Pre-Sell
Pre-Selling is positioning your offer in the mind of the visitor so that it makes sense to buy!
Your dealing with a complete stranger and you are a complete stranger to your new visitor. They do not Know you, Like you, or Trust you YET!
Time to build visitor confidence in you… (the trust factor)
How? By Over-delivering… Over-delivering is when you go beyond what your customer was promised or ever expected... your visitors will “LOVE” you.
(Unless you already have a big brand name like Amazon, Immediate "selling" on Web sites is ineffective.)
List build for effective Pre-sell. This offers you more pre-selling opportunities
Follow Up
Webinars, Teleseminars, Broadcast messages,

24. Monetization MONETIZATION, The final step.
Monetization is the easy part.
Your Affiliate product recommendations (if well-chosen and positioned) should provide an additional service and provide appreciated value for your visitors who will in turn reward you when they open their wallet and give back to you! (You have now monetized)
The affiliate model is an excellent revenue source. (It always make sense and I recommend that you always diversify your income sources)
Monetization is where you now have some control. Up until this point the visitor was in complete control. They could leave and you would never see or hear from them again and loose the opportunity to provide more value and make further sales.
Most of all have fun being an Affiliate Marketer. It's one of the best “business models" in the world.

25. Starting with the monetization first will lead to discouragement and failure.
What to focus on and where to place your emphasis!
Always focus on and place a strong emphasis on your content and the quality of your content! Your content is going to be a huge determining factor to the size and the quality of your readership and affiliate sales. “ Also think over-delivering at all times”
Place strong focus on the importance of your visitor’s satisfaction. There is no reward from an unsatisfied visitor.
Increase your Incoming link potential. Visitors and other Bloggers are usually less inclined to link to a website that’s plastered with junk, banners, and adds that are screaming “BUY NOW!” and that are not found to be content rich.
Place a strong focus on getting repeat traffic. Appealing, relevant, content rich, problem solving websites will attract repeat visitors and will have increased Affiliate Earning potential

26. Content Blog Affiliate Marketing
Creating niche sites and/or blogs can be a great option for affiliates who have more time and creativity than money.
Instant Results? This is not for you! Like article marketing, this technique can take time before you start seeing results, so it’s not something you should expect to show immediate returns, but it can be a great way to create sustainable long-term profits, and a credibility builder with a minimum of money spent. Think consistency!
Cost for creating your own self-hosted blog;
Domain name and hosting, but these are typically pretty small. $20-$50 to get started.
Small monthly for hosting. Generally under $20 a month.
Although I do not recommend the free option for your professional blog, there are many options to get your own site or blog that is hosted for free. Drawbacks are you may be more limited on options like, the look and feel of the site, how many pages your site can have, your monetization may be limited if at all, and control of content, and a big Credibility destroyer!
Be very careful buying ready made sites… may have limited functions such as SEO!

27. Plan Well and Stick to the plan!
Plans for monetization require you to plan well and stick to your plan.
The hardest work is at the start. The first sale is always the hardest and most costly to get!
Blogging gets easier once you have built momentum. Be Consistent!
Once you have momentum it is hard to change directions
Think about your current readership… Will they accept the change?
Generally changing your mind means starting over and re-building from scratch, which means a lot of lost time and pain!

28. First Impressions Are Important
New visitors arrive at your blog everyday as more content is developed and optimized. What is the visitors very important First Impression?
Right now they are nothing more than a visitor that is a potential customer. They are not familiarized with you or with the advertising, or content on your blog, and further more they do not care about you. (YET)
Its not time for flashy banners and buy now buttons. It is all about building a relationship with people through your content and your brand. Once you gain visitor trust & love in what you give them you can slowly begin to monetize them.
Takes time and dedication, and consistency, but if you create great content which people want to read then multiple revenue streams open up
Keep your site simple and clean!
Provide good relevant Niche specific, problem solving content. Remember that the purpose of content is to provide value to others.  Do you provide genuine value, and is it the best you’re capable of providing?

29. Never believe that your website visitors care about you or your web site.
Your visitor takes one look at your website and turns around and leaves…. Why? You designed your web site for your needs, not their needs. Here is something even worse to think about; After they leave they're going to one of your competitors' sites and buy something.
What visitors care about when they show up to your site is, does the content solve their problem.
A couple things to write down and place where you can see them as your building your website:
The only reason my web site exists is to solve my customers' problems.
What problems does the page and the content I'm creating solve?

30. Make it clear to your visitors what your blog/site is about
Make it clear to your visitors what your blog/site is about.  Do not mislead them! 
If you want better results stop all of the cleaver little tricks. You want your visitor to find exactly what they came searching for. Don’t use clever little title and taglines just to generate interest to your blog that have no relevance to what your website is about and reveal nothing about the site’s contents.
Don’t use little disposable content just to increase page views and ad impressions. 
Your goal should be to truly help you visitor that shows up to your blog, and my personal opinion is that anything else is wasting their time as well as the time you spent adding it to your site.
I find that content rich articles that really give some meat to the visitor are better at generating links and referrals and building traffic. 
Make first impressions count. You want the visitor to feel like the visit to your site was time well spent, and that the visitor leaves feeling they enjoyed some serious take-away from the content you provided.

31. Your Writing Style Matters
The style in which you write your blog posts can greatly affect the readership of your blog. Write as if you personally know each person who is reading your blog.
My suggestion is to always be working towards building a relationship with your readers so they feel they "know" you.
By taking this time for them to get to know you, and by you getting to know your readers, you will develop a loyal reader base for your blog.
Be careful… Think Credible Expert VS Friendships
Show that you care, and are interested in your readers. This will develop loyalty and even help your blog go viral as your loyal readers point others toward This not only brings you more readers it ultimately gives more Affiliate Link Click-through.
Look at your Blog Posts from the perspective of your readers. Read them!

32. 4 Ways to Create Content
1. Write it yourself- Best method… after all you are the expert…Your personality is a good thing to be seen in your work. Drawback is that it is time consuming on your part.
Outsourcing- You can outsource pretty much all your content. You can get short blog posts done for about $2-10 at , ODesk.com, Warrior Forum, etc…
Look for writers who have a strong portfolio. Ask for relevant writing samples similar to the type of article writing you need done. Read them… If you want your Blog posts to rank well, make sure they will be written for readers first and foremost..
Always check the content to assure it is what you want and that it is good solid content. Don’t accept crap.
Ask for articles not blog posts. Most will charge more if you say you need a blog post written.

33. Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Content Writing
Advantages (Pros):
You don't have to spend time doing the research
The time you save in having someone else do your writing is time you can spend marketing
The cost is minimal
It's usually efficient and amazingly fast
You usually can pay only after you approve the work, depending on the business model. ELance uses an escrow system.
Disadvantages (Cons) :
The writer might not agree to your terms (Keep looking)
The writer or writing team may take longer than they or you anticipated
The writer may not write English fluently,
If you're not savvy, you may end up with an amateur instead of professional writer.
The writer may not be as experienced in SEO as you need
The writer may be excellent at SEO, but not be very good at writing for human beings

34. Guest Blogging
Look for Blogs that do not directly compete with each other for readers, when you do you can become an added service to each other and to our respective readers.
My Blog is pretty much on work at home opportunities and making money online.
I could find another Blog that has to do with something similar or with a target audience that would like to hear about home money making opportunities like A Blog that deals with Stay at home parents.
We swap "guest" posts… I write content on that Blog with a byline and link (back-link) back to my own Blog
The owner of the Stay at home parents blog writes content on my Blog with a byline and link (back-link) back to their own Blog
You now have access to the loyal readers of another blog and they will have access to your blog..
Trade posting blog content with another blogger. This is called "guest blogging. " The better your blog, the better guest opportunities you will have!

35. Private label rights (PLR) content
Benefits of PLR
Time Saver – Who wouldn’t want more time in their day? Writing, even though very worth it, can take a ton of time. That time could be better spent elsewhere.
Inexpensive – PLR is easier on the wallet. Who doesn’t like that! 
Flexibility – Rewrite it, add your own spin and personality
Profitable – Turn into Blog Posts with your Affiliate Links
Focus on PLR reports and Ebooks in particular.
Unlike PLR articles, private label rights reports make repurposing your content even easier. Get the most bang for your buck

36. Affiliate Links in Blog Post
One of the most effective monetization methods is to add strategically placed and relevant affiliate links to your sites.
One of the most effective affiliate links can be found within the text of your blog post.
With the increased use of blogs you will find that blog readers are used to seeing links in blog posts. As long as the link has relevance for being there, leads to a relevant benefit for the reader, and offers a solution to their problem or need, you will find yourself with a higher click through… a click through will often lead to a sale.
Very important; pre-sell the click through on your Affiliate Link through your content;
Show empathy (understanding and entering into another's feelings) with your readers situation or problem.
Offer an Affiliate product or service that will provide them with a suitable solution to their problem.
Don’t underestimate the power of affiliate links when your recommendation reaches thousands daily.

37. Monetization Equation Problem Solving Content
Traffic generation
Pre-Sell
(warming up)
Monetization
Remember: It all starts with “YOU” You providing a solution to a problem through Great Content…
Your content is found by those searching on the web for the solution to the problem you have found them having through your proper research. This is know as your traffic. Once your traffic runs into you because of you being well positioned to meet them, you begin the Pre-sell process which is created through the relationship and more good solid content that you over-deliver to the visitor. Then and only then, comes monetization.