So you’ve decided to get started as an affiliate, so what tools will you need? Probably first and foremost: an autoresponder.
Autoresponders
The #1 most important piece of advice I can give anyone that is promoting anything online…, offline…, or anywhere is that you MUST start growing your email list. If you have been around for a while or even if you are new you will hear the quote “the money is in the list.” And this is true to a point… I tend to stray from that philosophy as I think there is more to just having a list. For me, the money is in the relationship and the follow-up you build with your list.
YOUR LIST IS YOUR BUSINESS!!!
The program that is used to maintain your list is called an autoresponder.
Why do you need an autoresponder?
What’s happening these days when you shop at most national businesses, even your local CVS stores? Don’t they ask you if you’d like to provide an email address for additional savings and offers? Think of some other big business names like Amazon and Wal-Mart. Or what about McDonald’s or Coca-Cola? Matter of fact, think of any business. They want to capture your email so that they can contact you again in the future. Special sales, a new product, and email is simply just the way of the world now. They all use some sort of email marketing program. Having this tool is simply vital to communicating.
There are two types of autoresponders(AR) you can use. There are AR services like Aweber, GetResponse, TrafficWave, MailChimp, and others (and I have used many of them in the past). There are self-hosted solutions like the MailIt WP Plugin, myMailIt SaaS, and Rapid Mailer.
Using an AR service is a monthly subscription service that can and usually does go up in cost as your list grows. They can also have restrictions on how you build your list and what can be done with it. On the other hand, self-hosted solutions generally are one-time costs and give you more freedom with your list(s).
Page Builders
A Page Builder is a software that allows you to easily create lead capture pages that show your offer and ask for the email address of the visitor. Once it has the email address, it then places it in the autoresponder whereby you can stay in contact with your visitor until they unsubscribe.
Like autoresponders, they can operate as a service (think LeadPages, ClickFunnels) or self-hosted and/or SaaS solutions (ProfitBuilder, Profit Canvas).
With these two pieces of software, you have the basic tools for getting started in affiliate marketing.
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Reg Ervin
