you've found the perfect affiliate
program, you've signed up and they
gave you a website .... now what?
"They" say that "all you have to do" is
drive traffic to your site ... but you
don't have a clue where to
begin ...Never fear, Affiliate 101 is
here ... here's a list of a few simple, free
or inexpensive tasks you can
accomplish today.Detailsfollow, first
just the list:1. Send emails to friends
and family;2. Make new friends on the
internet;3. Print out and distribute
posters, business cards, and/or
postcards;4. Write articles and post
free ads.First of all, don't panic. You
don't have to do ALL of these, just
whatever you feel comfortable with.
But I do heartily suggest that you
push the envelope a little on your
comfort level...Email Friends and
FamilyIf you're uncomfortable with
contacting family members (they CAN
be your sharpest critics) first scan the
options, maybe one of the less
obtrusive ones would work.Be sure to
write onLY to friends. Anything else
will be considered spam; any worthy
company will drop you like a hot
potato when they receive legitimate
spam complaints.Consider the friends
and family you might write to and
decide the best approach for each:1.
The Second Opinion Approach: save
this for the hard nuts to crack, flatter
them with "I've signed up for this
opportunity and would really like to
hear your opinion..."2. The Beating
Around the Bush Approach: "I'm
making some extra money doing this
biz, do you know anyone who might
need a few extra dollars?"3. The Direct
Approach: for those close friends that
you KNOW could use some financial
miracles in their lives ... you can lead
with the business opportunity or with
the products. I think it's Avon that has
a nice promo these days, "products
you can buy and sell". Simple and to
the point...4. The Chummy Letter
Approach: just write a letter to a friend
as you usually would and casually
mention what you are doing, that it's o­
n "wait and see", or already is making
you a little money, or whatever.5. The
No-Mention Approach: just add a
signature to all your emails that
includes your website's URL and your
email address, maybe the name of
your company. Subtle, let's them
explore if they want.Getting to Know
You...How do you currently meet
people on the internet? Game chat
rooms, forums, opt-in email lists,
Yahoo groups, messenger
services...these are only a few ways to
meet people. Many sites such as
Yahoo, AOL, or ICQ let you create a
profile including favorite websites, etc.
While direct advertising is often
frowned upon or prohibited, usually
signatures at the bottom of posts is
allowed. Many friendships formed in
forums and chat rooms lead to email
and website exchanges.Stuffing
Envelopes...Printed fliers can be
distributed everywhere you go,
posted on your car...be creative.
Include a business card or flier in
every piece of mail you send including
bills, on tables in restaurants, in phone
booths, stick them in business books
in the library. Make it fun! If you have
mailing addresses rather than email
addresses of anyone who might be
interested, send them a flier or
postcard.Become a Famous
AuthorAnyone can write an article,
everyone is good at something or has
an experience that would help
someone else out. Article writing
helpsbuild trust and over time will
brand your name and drive traffic to
your website. And it's free.Submit your
articles to individual webmasters and
editors as well as article
directories.Banner Swapping and Text
LinkingSome say that banners are not
very effective in getting traffic to your
website, but hey, it's free and it doesn't
hurt to try. It's best to spend some
time finding a high traffic site or two
and not fill your site with banners.
Text links are still your best bet.