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Why that affiliate product isn’t right for you

There are many people earning a living today on the Internet through various methods. One of the most popular ways people are doing this is through affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is a method of Internet marketing where someone promotes another person’s product or service with a product review or by text linking to a product in a blog post.
Unfortunately, many people think that affiliate marketing is a holy grail; that it’s a simple matter of selecting a product to promote and people will just start purchasing the affiliate product that they are hawking on their blog or website.

This couldn’t be further from the truth and there are a few things that every affiliate marketer should do to ensure they’re promoting a product that’s a good fit for them.
First things first, there are many affiliate networks on the web today offering products ranging from mediocre to top of the line. Every network is different in regard to the products they have to promote and how they pay their affiliates, so here are a few things to look for in an affiliate network and in their product selection.

Turn to the Experts

Affiliate marketing has been around for many years now. Many bloggers use more than one network, so the first step is exploring the web and finding a few respected bloggers and find out which networks they recommend.

John Chow has been involved with blogging and affiliate networks for a few years now. Go to his website and click on his “Make Money” link, there he has a list of some of the affiliate networks that he uses.
Do a search on the web for affiliate networks and some of the networks you’ll find will include:

So how do you choose which is the best affiliate to work with?

Do Your Affiliate Homework

The only way you’re going to know which affiliate network is the right one for you is by doing your homework. Go to each affiliate’s website and gather as much information as you can about the site itself, how long it’s been in business and explore their product offerings.

The most important aspect in affiliate marketing is selecting a product that’s a proper fit for your specific nice market. Here are a few things to look for when selecting a product to promote:
Product Relevance – This is where many new affiliates make their biggest mistake. Why promote an eBook on repairing a race engine when your blog is about destination weddings.

Product Statistics
Get pertinent sales information about the product, including what your compensation is for each sale as well as information about the product’s popularity.

Review the Product Before You Promote It
Building trust with your audience is very important, so make sure you take the time to actually review the product you’re promoting.

Talk With Your Readers
The easiest way to get information about what your readers are looking for in a product is to simply ask them.

Making Contact
Getting in touch with the affiliate company is advisable. Talking with a company representative and getting answers to your questions about their products and the support that they provide to their affiliates certainly helps in the vetting process.

Affiliate marketing isn’t a get-rich scheme, so make sure that the product you decide to promote is the right one for you.

California Studies New Affiliate Tax

The state of California is again studying the implementation of a tax on sales of goods or services at Amazon.com and other affiliate programs. A similar measure passed by the state house and senate was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the autumn of 2009.

As it stands today, California residents are supposed to declare the value of all online purchases. The effect of this legislation transfers responsibility for paying taxes on online purchases from consumer to seller. Naturally, online merchants are reluctant to visibly increase prices by 8.25%. Affiliate programs are also reluctant to assume the costs of calculating, tracing and paying sales taxes in differing jurisdictions.

Facing an estimated $20Billion budgetary deficit, the state government is believes it can reap over $175million from a California affiliate tax. Unfortunately, the state legislators might not have thought this plan fully through.

The introduction of similar taxation programs by other state governments have resulted in affiliate networks abandoning those states. When affiliate programs leave a state, they also leave all affiliate marketers in that state. Ultimately, the effect of affiliate taxation tends to be a reduction of realized revenues as the state loses taxes on the incomes of those affiliates.

Recently, a coordinated effort in Colorado led to the alteration of a tax on online sales to exempt affiliates. WebmasterRadio.FM will watch the California situation and inform readers and listeners on how they can participate in opposing California’s latest efforts to impose such a tax.