Blogging started as an electronic model for keeping and online journals that the public could read. But is has grown by leaps and bounds into a much more diversified outlet for sharing information to many people at once, and as an affiliate, it’s a great way to turn your promotions viral.

You can use a blog to network with your niche, interact with them in an exchange where you post content and allow them to comment on it, and convince them that the recommendations they’re reading are coming from a trusted source.

As an affiliate marketer, your primary goal is to immerse yourself in a niche and make solid recommendations of the products for which you’re an affiliate. As your expertise grows and is recognized by more people, your sales will increase as well.

Blogs are easy to set up and maintain. Most blogging sites have a simple wizard that walks you through the setup process, allowing you to click and choose templates, enter a little keyword-relevant text, and publish your presence in mere minutes.

Then, all you have to do is log on frequently and update your blog so that others continue their interest in your blog and ultimately follow through on the recommendations of products that you expose them to in your posts.

Many affiliate marketers never have a domain of their own. Instead, they rely on blogs to be their home on the ‘net because search engine spiders love blog content, and so does any target audience!

Not only will you be blogging as the go-to person in your niche, but you can spy on the blogs of the very people you’re trying to target and determine what their needs are by the posts they create and then choose products to promote as an affiliate based on your undercover research techniques.

Blogging has become one of the most dynamic and free strategies for driving traffic to affiliate promotions. Start one free today at www.WordPress.com or www.Blogger.com and position yourself as an expert today!

Social networking sites are also referred to as Web 2.0 sites. These are simply an extension of the community based websites you probably already use. Forum, discussion boards, and active blogs for instance, are all a form of social networking. They contain groups of people who are all interested in the same or similar topics.

The social networking sites which have become popular lately, tend to integrate a little more interactivity into the mix though. Some of them allow members to broadcast messages to each other; some allow uploading of pictures, videos, or audio files; some have hundreds of different discussion boards for members to talk on; some allow you to save and share your bookmarks with friends; and some even allow you to earn additional advertising or affiliate revenue from the content pages you add to their network.

One of the most important things you need to know about social networking though, is that each site has it’s own individual rules. In some places you might be allowed to link directly to an affiliate product or program for instance, while in others you may be restricted to links which lead to your own blogs or websites only. And there are some places which say you’re not supposed to link to anyplace where you’re trying to sell stuff.

By using social networking sites which allow you to link to an affiliate sales page, your own website, or a blog you run, you can dramatically increase the amount of income you’re making as an affiliate though. As long as you play by the specific rules for the sites you’re using, and you do your promotions consistently and well.

On forums and discussion boards for instance, you can’t usually just go in and post an advertisement. Instead, you need to join the discussions which are already in progress. Try your best to provide helpful and useful content to other members of the board, and be sure to post as often as possible too. In each post, you should have a forum signature which contains a small ad for what you’re offering. Link that signature to your website, blog or affiliate sales page. Then the more you post, the more that signature will be seen. And the more helpful and useful your posts are, the more other members will be inclined to click your links.

If you use a social networking site which allows you to create and share your website bookmark links, then you’ll want to link to your website, blog, and affiliate sales pages of course. Be sure to put a brief description on the links if you’re able to, because this can help entice other members to see what you’re linking to.

1. Pay Per Sale (PPS) - This is the most common type of affiliate program. When promoting programs, products or services on a pay per sale basis, the affiliate only earns money when a sale is made through their affiliate link. Usually the money earned is a percentage of the total sale, and this is called the affiliate commission.

With a Pay Per Sale type of affiliate program, it’s important for the affiliate marketer to select programs and products which will sell well in their chosen niche. Otherwise you’ll be wasting a lot of time and effort and getting very little in terms of sales results.

In order for sales to be made consistently in a Pay Per Sale program, the products must be very good, the sales letter must be very good, and the merchant must also be very good. Then of course, the affiliate must be able to send enough targeted traffic to those sales pages, so that sales can actually be made.

2. Pay Per Click (PPC) - A pay per click affiliate program usually involves some sort of advertising. Instead of the affiliate marketer recommending specific products and services, they simply put advertisements on their website or in their email newsletters. When visitors or readers click an ad, the affiliate earns a small amount of money.

The most popular PPC affiliate program online today is the Google AdSense program. There are many others though, and each has different criteria for joining, as well as earning money and being paid.

PPC affiliate programs are popular with many affiliate marketers, because they feel like they don’t have to actually try and sell anything. Instead, they can provide great content on a blog or website, and the visitors click ads passively.

3. Pay Per Lead (PPL) - Pay Per Lead affiliate programs are popular because an affiliate can make money just by giving away something free. There is no sale involved, and the affiliate referral commissions are often quite lucrative.

With PPL affiliate programs, the affiliate usually just needs to get their visitor to fill out a form requesting more information, or fill out a survey or opinion poll. In some cases, all the affiliate has to do is get the visitors to sign up to an email list, and they’ll earn money from these actions.

4. Pay Per Action (PPA) - This term is often used synonymously with either any or all of the above. With a pay per action affiliate program, the affiliate’s job is to get their targeted visitors to take a specific action. Sometimes that action is to buy something, sometimes it’s just requesting free information. Other times the visitors have to take a survey or sign up for an email list. The types of actions vary from one affiliate program offer to another, but just like the other affiliate payment types above, once the action is performed, the affiliate earns a commission.

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