THE AFFILIATE MARKETING PRIMER

FOR BOTH AFFILIATES & MERCHANTS

These are affiliate marketer tools that might be made good use of by both affiliate program merchants and their affiliate partners.

Where there is more than one of a type in the list, look for contrasts in the notes.

AUTORESPONDERS:
[NOTE:  many webhosting services offer free one-off autoresponders... but you'll probably be more interested in the far more useful sequential autoresponder options mentioned below]

If you aren't familiar with autoresponder, I highly recommend the free 7-day e-course from Simon Grabowski of GetResponse, an excellent overview with very useful tips on creating and using autoresponders:

	Would you like to receive a FREE, seven-lesson email course that will power up your email marketing and profits? Learn more or sign up NOW Your Name: Your E-Mail: Remember, your privacy is safe!

Autopilot Income Streams - Easily learn how to design and write autoresponder e-courses and use them to generate profits online (by Jimmy D. Brown)  single-tier affiliate program

GetResponse.com - a very professional and easy to use unlimited autoresponder service with 2 options, free (one ad at the top - maximum of 5 followups) or with a reasonable monthly charge (no ads, unlimited number of followup messages) - and everything is automated from their servers  two-tier affiliate program, residual

Postmaster Express - automated follow-up email (and more) software (i.e., you pay only once, it resides on your computer), to make life online so much easier; unlimited autoresponders with mail merge (your computer must be on 24/7 to respond instantly to requests for information, but you can always batch the outgoing emails), sophisticated filtering/sorting of incoming emails, bulk emailing, contact database management; similar to Mailloop, but more powerful, easier to learn, guaranteed, supported, and $100+ cheaper!  two-tier affiliate program  

  
BUSINESS EFFECTIVENESS TOOLS:

FranklinCovey Franklin Planner Products  - the best day planner, period (I’ve used it for a few years after failing with others), very popular with busy people in all types of professions, paper and digital versions  single-tier affiliate program

InnerTalk.com - the most effective (clinically researched) subliminal tape technology - and a large catalog of economical tapes to choose from, including many that are specifically business- and success-related; highly recommended - this catalog could change your life!  two-tier affiliate program

Webdecal.com - this is a wonderful way to market one's website!... on your car window, door, or bumper - they make inexpensive and good-looking "decals" (sturdy and removable) with one or more lines of text... including your easy-to-remember URL (they also have personalized "just married" decals for newlyweds)  two-tier affiliate program
  

(E)BOOKS & EBOOK COVERS:

Instant eBook Websites - very useful software that (easily) creates an unlimited number of handsome customized mini-sites expressly for ebook sales (you just arrange for the webhosting); automatically links to ClickBank and/or PayPal services for order-taking; good if you plan to specialize  two-tier affiliate program

Make Your Knowledge Sell! - an exceptional set of manuals, showing how anyone can create and profit from a great ebook, in many different ways (by Monique Harris and Ken Evoy)  two-tier affiliate program

The Ultimate Information Entrepreneur's Success Package - if you don't have an idea for your own e-book, this is the book you need... how to get and work up successful ideas (even if you aren't a "writer" yourself)  two-tier affiliate program

WriteABookNow - a complete "kit" on producing your own fiction or non-fiction book in only 14 days - and this is actually guaranteed!; designed for the absolute beginner but also used by many published authors to dramatically improve their output - includes "blueprinting" an entire book in 2 hours, getting an agent, creating demand for the book, and free editing (by experienced writer Steve Manning - who even personally interacts with readers of his unique free autoresponder course)  two-tier affiliate program: here

--- EBOOK COMPILING:
Activ EBook Compiler Create your own E-Books - try it free! - this is an exceptionally well-designed product with a great tutorial - makes .exe ebooks from HTML files; there's a free version that works very well (and is a great way to get experience with a compiler)... but the inexpensive for-pay version allows one to create much larger ebooks (AEC-advertising cover page-free) and offers an easy way to link password-protected pages to a sales mechanism; works for Windows users with Internet Explorer (the vast majority - the downside, as opposed to .pdf ebooks, being that the output can only be read by people with IE on their computers... though they don't need to use IE as their browser); the products look wonderful, HTML links can be added (even active banners can be viewed offline), multimedia is supported, the software provides good ebook security measures, and you can allow your downloaders to customize ("rebrand") portions of the book with their own information (so that they're more likely to pass free ebooks on); allows forms included in your ebook to be processed without going to the web - super-interactivity!; the software even comes in several foreign language translations  single-tier affiliate program

Adobe Acrobat - the standard (and moderately costly) .pdf-producing tool (and .pdf files can be read by any type of computer, via the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software); works well compiling from .rtf files (especially Word documents)

eBookGold - very fine software that produces .exe ebooks (i.e., work only on Windows machines) from HTML files; the security features are outstanding:  you can choose to disable copying and/or printing, you can opt to password-protect certain pages, it will actually lock an ebook to one person's computer (so that it can't be spread around without your permission), and when someone asks for a refund of a for-sale ebook, you can disable the book on their computer (fair enough!); supports advanced multimedia content (like Flash, Shockwave, Java Applets, and sound files), with no special coding  two-tier affiliate program

HTMLdoc - pretty darned good software that produces .pdf ebooks, compiled from HTML files (an easy way to turn your website into an ebook!); not as flexible as Acrobat... but it's way cheaper - and fairly easy to get the hang of; produces smooth-functioning books

ViralPDF - if you use Adobe Acrobat to create popular .pdf ebooks (and do this on a Windows computer), this software allows you to "rebrand" them (make it possible for others to customize them - e.g., with their own affiliate links) - at last!  single-tier affiliate program

--- EBOOK COVERS:
[NOTE:  ebook covers have been proven to boost sales 3 times over! - they plain old make your digital product look "real"]

3dCovers.com E-book Cover Templates - by far the best collection of e-book cover templates I've found... and it's huge!; if you're going to do your own covers, this is an excellent way to save time and get creative; free e-book cover tutorial included in lifetime membership  single-tier affiliate program  

CompactDraw - make your own ebook covers with this very inexpensive (shareware) software and the tutorial that comes with it; not as powerful as the way more expensive possibilities (Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro), but it turns out good-looking graphics

DynamiteCovers - if you don't want to make your own covers, this is by far the best place to go for cover graphics customized for your own purposes - very professional, and from a very reputable company (others have come and gone over the years - very frustrating); you can purchase one cover, or 2 or 3 at a time for big savings (in any case, you get 2 sizes of each cover made for you); you have a choice of several versions:  ebook, ezine, report, CD, box, wide box, even a membership card (they thought of everything!) - all very handsome looking  two-tier affiliate program  
      

EZINES & EMAIL/SUBSCRIBER MARKETING:

Email Traffic Tactics - Super-effective strategies for building opt-in email marketing lists, and utilizing them to their fullest capacity - while making the recipients of your messages happy (by super-effective email marketer Jimmy D. Brown)  single-tier affiliate program

EzineAnnouncer - this fabulous software program allows you to announce the existence of your ezine (and articles) to a vast array of directories, lists, and free ad sources... and select individual listings for which to track results!; submissions are fully automated where possible, but sets aside those sources requiring email submissions (and mail-merges them)  two-tier affiliate program

E-zine Launch - an excellent step-by-step e-book on how to set up one's own ezine, critical in attracting people and keeping people coming back to one's website (by Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian)

Ezine Profit Producer - Learn about how to profit from writing articles and submitting them (via several means) to others' ezines.  Includes excellent advice on what and how to write (by Jimmy D. Brown)  single-tier affiliate program

LeadFactory - (formerly called "Opt-In List Builder"...) a powerful, targeted way to build an ezine or autoresponder subscriber base for very little expense per new opt-in subscriber  two-tier affiliate program, residual
  

WEBSITES & WEBMARKETING BASICS:

Eye-Popping Popups - this ebook is about unobjectionable pop-unders too... and a highly effective marketing technique they are - when used judiciously, of course; includes a whole slew of ready-to-go, editable templates, plus full instruction on how (and how best) to use them (by experienced and successful popup user Jimmy D. Brown)  single-tier affiliate program

Make Your Links Work! (and "Value Exchange" service) - the ebook is free, the service is free (no strings attached), and both are dedicated to helping webmasters develop high-value link strategies (as opposed to wasting time and "weakening your case" with the search engines by exchanging links with any old site); I highly recommend reading this book! - the service itself is a useful shortcut, too, if you wish to go that route (by Ken Evoy)

Make Your Site Sell! - the MYSS! book - greatly updated and expanded (and incredibly cheap!) - is for anyone interested in marketing, on the web or not; a superb introduction to the ins and outs of webmarketing, it's also an excellent review "bible" for the more knowledgeable (by Ken Evoy)  two-tier affiliate program

Make Your Words Sell! - wonderful, in-depth instruction on how to write great copy specifically for the internet (websites, email, ezines), by two experts (Joe Robson and Ken Evoy)  two-tier affiliate program

[SEE ALSO "Instant eBook Websites" under (E)BOOKS & EBOOK COVERS]

--- WEBHOSTING:

BargainVault.com - super-cheap webhosting (because there's no affiliate program), especially for the amazingly powerful basic package (but please see Site Build It! and WebsiteWizard below if you're a beginner - value isn't just in up-front cost!; not to mention that to use this service, you already have to know how to set up a site, and make it attract the search engines... and forego the business-building benefits of the SBI! system)

Search It! - an extremely useful compilation of free web business tools, all in once place... many options for keyword brainstorming, researching one's competition, finding link opportunities, etcetera (from Site Build It! - and one of the cleverest, "neededest" offerings that inevitably draws in sales as well... just because the material is all great)

Site Build It! - inexpensive web hosting… but with all the expensive trimmings! (really, it's more like totally free webhosting with a super-inexpensive package of woven-in programs that immeasurably help boost webpage ranking, among other useful things...) - statistics especially for affiliates, by-the-hand set-up of pages (or use HTML, as preferred), free domain registration, invaluable help with pay-per-click SEs and Google AdWords, automatic major SE submission, automatic RSS-feeds, and more… all of which would cost over $1000/year separately!; see the Quick Tour Slide Show for a nice overview, or peruse this cost comparison with other options [...and check out the monthly SBI sweepstakes!]; paid by the year; an excellent place to begin, if you're serious about building a successful business  two-tier affiliate program, residual

WebsiteWizard - also inexpensive, lead-you-through-it web hosting - a choice of 3 packages (and the low-cost version - under $10 a month, for up to 15 pages - has good features like form-, survey-, popup-, and logo-creators, site templates, 100s of stock photos to choose from, a discussion forum option, even a built-in PayPal shopping cart; #3 allows you to offer your own 2-tier affiliate program); you can pay by the month, or pay yearly for big savings; this is also a good place to begin, especially if you aren't sure webmarketing is for you and want to try it out on a pay-as-you-go basis - there are lots of possibilities to play around with!  two-tier affiliate program, residual

--- WEBSITE ADVERTISING:
[Text-based ads handled by others - one of the easiest ways to add further money-making income streams to your website.  Banners are options too, but you've got to do it tastefully. These are also excellent targeted advertising routes for the merchant, or for the affiliate webmaster seeking traffic...]
AdBrite: CLICK >   - AdBrite offers some automatically served ads, but it also allows you to sell specific spaces to specific advertisers, who you approve individually (and it's up to you what you charge)... like selling your own ad space yourself, but someone else collects the money and serves the ads to your site - and draws advertisers to you via the AdBrite Marketplace; as with AdSense, you can place these ads (textual or banner) anywhere on any page, as you prefer - and you can have both AdBrite and Google on the same page (and many people do)  single-tier affiliate program (see "Referrals Program")

AdSense (by Google): CLICK >   - Google's automatically served contextual ads (i.e., linked to the specific content of your pages) are about the least obnoxious form of advertising you can weave into your webpages, barring that which you devise yourself - and you can place them anywhere on each page (or not) as you like; they also allow banners, again contextually served (the big strength of this program)  single-tier affiliate program (see "Referrals" option)

AND OF COURSE...
  

Wondering what to try next in your marketing arsenal?...  ThinkJointVenture.com