What can Michael Jordan, Ed McMahon and hundreds of other high profile product endorsers teach you about cashing in on Affiliate sales? Tons! In effect, they're "Super Affiliates".

After all, what is the role of an Affiliate? It's to gain sales by endorsing a product.

Would Nike have sold as many sneakers without Mike? Or, would The Publishers Clearing House have sold all those magazines without Ed? Not a chance.

Why are companies willing to pay their endorsers such big bucks? Simple. They know all too well that "trust and credibility" sells like hotcakes.

Let's put it this way: What if Nike had hired me, Joshua Rose, to endorse their products? Pretty ridiculous, huh? Why in the world would someone buy some Nike's if I told them to? They wouldn't.

It's exactly the same in the online world. Why should someone buy a product you're endorsing as an Affiliate? Who are you? Why should I listen to you? I don't know you. Your endorsement is next to meaningless, sorry.

If you want my business, you must first convince me that you're worth listening to in the first place. But gain my respect and trust, and the opportunities are endless.

The key to Affiliate success is to at first focus your efforts away from your products and towards marketing vehicles that give you the opportunity to win trust. In other words, the first essential step to Affiliate success is TO SELL YOURSELF.

For example:


    ***** Write a 3-10 part Free Report brimming with insightful and useful information and I'll start paying attention to you.

    ***** Publish a newsletter with more of the same. And let me get a sense of who you are as a person. I like what I see. Now I'll think more seriously about your endorsements.

    ***** Write a Free E-book that's going to help me. It can be in your own words or a compilation of the work of others. Help me to learn and you'll gain my respect ... and my ear.

    ***** Let me see your articles in respected newsletters and references from relevant web sites. The more I see your name, the more credibility I'll associate with you. I'll sign-up for your newsletter to learn what else you have to say.

    ***** Show me that you've used the products you're suggesting. How, exactly did you benefit? What were the results? Is there any downside at all? (You see? Now you've got me paying attention and asking for more information).


Get the idea? Affiliate sales are all about building relationships, not promoting products. You can promote until you're green in the face, but if you haven't developed a personal relationship with your prospects, and earned their respect and trust, it's unlikely you'll ever get more than a handful of sales.

And please remember this, Affiliate success does not come overnight. Like anything worthwhile, it takes effort and commitment.

The good news is that once you establish who you are and win the respect of your leads, it does indeed become easier. After successfully crossing the trust and credibility threshold, it's much easier to transfer this influence to additional top-notch products and opportunities.


Joshua Rose shares more affiliate marketing and internet marketing tips at Internet Profit Wizards. His e-commerce site, where he puts his tips into practice, can be seen at Auto Broker Magic.