Every thirsty affiliate marketer keeps asking the same question:

“What do you need to get started in Affiliate Marketing?”

Well, we’ve developed a definitive shortlist, whereby if you just take the time to gather the below items and follow our cue, you’ll be well on your way to a consistent second income. To conquer affiliate marketing and make it’s a successful venture, you’ll need a few things before you begin.

Here’s your Affiliate Marketing shortlist:

- Join an Affiliate Program
- Set up an autoresponder
- Research and Acquire a keyword-rich domain name
- Purchase web space from a reputable web host or hosting service
- Build a blog or website using a CMS
- Develop your creative brain and unique voice

(1) Join an affiliate program — If you’re still unsure of what an affiliate program is check out our post, “Choosing an Affiliate Program.” There we explain in detail what the ‘ins and outs’ are of affiliate marketing.

Once you have strong understanding of what you want in an affiliate program, then choose a market (and an affiliate program) that you are passionate about and motivated to stay with and work on until you start to generate a side income. (Plan on 3 – 6 months to see a small return.)

Or better yet, if you have *your own product* in mind that you would like to test out, then try promoting the affiliate product first and switch your product in once you have all the marketing, promotion, and traffic driving tactics in place.

(2) Set up an autoresponder - If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “the money is in the list,” then you must be aware of the importance of list-building and the immediacy of money that comes from communicating with your list.

What is an autoresponder?

It’s a method for businesses, webmasters, companies, etc. to handle their email marketing. With an autoresponder you can collect email addresses and send out information to that list of emails at any point in time. Most autoresponders cost something to run.

You can have the hi-end expensive ones that do all sorts of tracking and testing (even showing you if a member of your list opened your email, whether or not they clicked on a link, and tracking what their actions are afterward.)

Email Marketing and Autoresponder System

Or you can have a low end one that will simply handle the basics. We chose a mid-range one, called Aweber. It’s pretty much the industry standard in autoresponders and it will give you a good starting point for getting a handle on email marketing. Click here to set up your autoresponder.

(3) Research and Acquire a keyword-rich domain name

This step will take some thought and pre-planning. However, take the time to research what specific words people will be searching for when looking for your product. What words do people use in your market? Are there keywords? Buzz words? Is there a specific vocabulary? Also be sure to choose buying phrases like, “how to” or “[keyword]+training.” Then review the traffic on that keyword. You can check the traffic by typing in the word or phrase into Google’s Keyword Tool. Get an idea of how many searches are done it on per day or per month. You will want to aim for anywhere between 80 – 100 searches a day for free traffic (traffic you’re not paying for.) If you are paying for your traffic, you’ll want to aim for 100+ searches a day.

Go Daddy Domain Registrar

Once you have chosen your keyword, purchase it through a domain registrar. The most popular place to order domains you’ll see throughout the net is GoDaddy.com. We recommend GoDaddy because they offer one of the lowest priced places to acquire domains, their customer service is great (you can always get someone on the phone), and they offer a lot of promo codes to discount prices on domains.  We DO NOT recommend you host through GoDaddy. We recommend a different hosting service (see below.)

(4) Purchase web space from a reputable web host

Choosing a web host is a very important decision that you don’t want to take lightly. If your site goes down for any amount of time, you’re subject to the whims of your webhost’s customer service. And trust us, that can be a nightmare.

Echoing our advice stated above, you need a web hosting service that is reputable and has fabulous uptime. Ideally, you can get a low price for all of this. Believe it or not, we’ve found such a service. And that service is Host Gator!

HostGator web hosting service

They have a month-to-month service, which is great if you don’t want to commit to an entire year. We’ve had nothing but positive things to say about Host Gator and highly recommend them. If you’re ready to take the plunge,  purchase your hosting account through Host Gator here.

(5) Build a blog or website using a CMS

Now you’re probably asking yourself, “What is a CMS?” CMS is a fancy word for saying “All-in-One” website / blogging software. Basically, in one-shot you can build the skeleton of a blog, manage your posts, and deliver great content to your visitors.

The best service, and more search-engine friendly, is Wordpress.org. You can use Hostgator’s cPanel (short for control panel) and they can. Plus, Hostgator’s customer service will walk you through the entire process of setting it up, if you don’t feel confident doing it by yourself.

Now the big thing about Wordpress is choosing a “theme.” A theme is basically the raw appearance of your website. Themes give your blog a rough outline whereby you can add, your personal touch. The best themes are the ones that give you full-control with little coding and hassle.

Thesis Theme for Wordpress CMS

We recommend The Thesis Theme. It’s a paid theme, but it’s worth it! It’s super-super search-engine friendly (which helps get you more visitors than your competitor’s who are too cheap to purchase it.) This blog runs on Thesis, if you haven’t noticed. Once you have your Thesis theme running, don’t forget to add the Aweber web form (to capture emails). Then you can move on to the last step.

(6) Activate your creative brain and unique

The best way to gain visitors is to create content and draw in visitors (and potential customers.) Remember to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Always be thinking, “What can you offer that your competitor’s can’t?” If you can’t answer that question, then just be you. People are attracted to personalities — all kinds. You’ll end up bringing people to your blog that are like you. Keep the lines open, make sure you keep an open mind as to the opportunities, and don’t stop. Don’t give up. Keep writing. Keep promoting. You’ll see some movement. Just keep doing what you know you should be doing.

And once you’re ready to take the plunge, then be sure to get your hands on the latest product by affiliate marketing expert, Andrew Fox. His product, Affiliate Millionaire, will be released February 23rd, 2010. It will help you skyrocket your affiliate marketing. If you made it this far in the post, then you know you’re in it for the money, right? Don’t stop short, but be sure to go full force. Click here to purchase Affiliate Millionaire here!

Before you purchase Affiliate Millionaire and before it is released, now would be the best time to start investigating and doing research on the industries and markets to enter, affiliate programs, as well as specific products.

The Basics

What is an affiliate program?

An affiliate program is any referral program where you receive a commission for leading a customer to a purchase of a product or service. The commission you receive is tracked by your “affiliate link” given to you by the company or publisher. Commissions can also be tracked via placing cookies on the customer’s computer.

How do I find an affiliate program?

There are several affiliate programs out there. It is easier to find programs from companies that operate and do business exclusively on the internet (i.e. Amazon.com, Bluefly.com, Zappos.com, Zippo Lighters) because they rely on internet traffic to generate revenue (as opposed to a brick and mortar business.)

Key terms you can use to find the perfect affiliate program: associate program, affiliate program, referral program, JV program,  partner program

• [market] + associate program
• [industry] + affiliate program
• [hobby] + referral program

Ask yourself what your key interests and hobbies are. Also ask if you can offer new insight, new advice, and new perspective in the market. Can you find and say what other people aren’t saying? What can you contribute to the industry?

Below is a shortlist of items you should think about before hitting the ground running when you purchase Andrew Fox’s Affiliate Millionaire due out Tuesday, February 23, 2010.

(1) The quality of the affiliate program

Make sure to read up on affiliate programs that interest you and make your shortlist. Often if you investigate in forums or do further research on the programs, you’ll be guaranteed to see a review or two from people who have tried the very same program you are interested in. The more promising programs are most likely going to be the more popular programs, and hence are more likely to be tested and tried out by other marketers. Reading up on the program ahead of time will give you a better perspective of what to expect when signing up.

Make sure to ask a few key questions:

1. How do you get paid? Do they offer EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer / direct deposit)? Or do they write you a check? Also, how often do they send out checks? Every 15 or 30 days?
2. How many sales do you need to make before you get paid?
3. What percentage of the sale do you make from the product (or service)?

(2) The quality of the product

The main question to ask yourself about the product is, “Would you purchase this product if you weren’t going to make a commission on it?”  Obviously, the higher quality the product, the easier it will be to promote, and the more likely you are going to make a sale. However, you can make these distinctions much easier if it’s a market you have deep interest in and an above average knowledge of.

Also consider the packaging of the product (encasing) as well as the sales page that presents the product. Do they do a good job of promoting on the main sales page or does it need work? Is the copywriting impeccable or will it need a sprucing up? Often times you’ll have to consider the entire sales funnel: from the squeeze page (opt-in page) to the product page to the order page. Is it easy to navigate? Is the sales process simple and user-friendly? Is it easy to understand even for the newbie computer-user?

(3) Location: Worldwide or US-specific?

Do you need to be a US-national or citizen to promote the program or product? Do you need to provide a US Tax ID # or a US Social Security # in order to receive payment?

Is it okay to live in Canada or Mexico and still get paid?

What about the UK or Australia?

What about if you live any other foreign country not listed above? Does the program deny any countries? And if so, then see about receiving payment while residing in your country.

(4) What questions is the Company owner or Publisher going to ask of you?

Every affiliate program has a approval process. Sometimes it’s immediate: you can sign up directly on the site and receive confirmation as soon as you press enter.  Sometimes there’s a review process, which can take up to 30 days. So beware.

During that reviewing process they might want to check out your website (domain) and see what type of traffic you are receiving. They might reject your application because of low traffic. They might dismiss your application because of “brand fit,” meaning your website and their product might not match (in their eyes.) Understand a lot of companies are worried about brand and reputation management. They don’t want to invite an affiliate that will lower their image (the same image they worked so hard to build up.)

So remember to conduct all correspondence with the utmost care and act in the most professional manner when promoting their products.

The publisher might also ask you how are you going to promote them:

• Blogging / Blog or website
• Email Marketing
• PPC Marketing

These are all probable questions you should think about ahead before you get distracted with your new purchase, Affiliate Millionaire. If you come across any other important questions during your search, be sure to drop us a line or send us an email and we’ll add it to the above list.

Affiliate Marketing can be a daunting activity if you’ve never done it before. It’s a lot to think about and it will take a lot of your time and resources before you event get started. But in preparation, you’ll need to think about these (3) three major concepts before beginning an affiliate marketing campaign?

(1) What market are you entering?
- This is a fairly straight forward question, but often overlooked. Is it a market you’re familiar with? Or are you entering this market brand new and green? Either way, the one rule you should follow is that you have a deep fervor and interest in the market. Choose a market that will hold your attention — a market you will be able to remain focused on.

(2) What product or products are you going to promote?
- When you begin a business, the product you choose will have a major impact upon the image of your business. Make sure it’s a reputable product and a product you believe in. In fact, ask yourself, “Would I buy this product?” Sometimes the product is fabulous, but the sales page and the pages leading up to the sale are shoddy. In which case, you may have to manipulate the sales funnel to your liking. Food for thought.

(3) How are you going to promote your products?
- There are many ways offered in the internet marketing space to promote your products. But the two main categories they are divided into are a) the Free Methods and b) the Paid Methods

It is recommended that you choose the paid methods to *test* your market. This way you can see if there are any potential holes in your marketing. If your affiliate marketing is working and creating a profit, then (and here’s a big secret) you may want to switch out your affiliate product and place an original product that you’ve created instead. This way you’d be earning 100% of your profits, rather than working for a percentage. Think about it.

Make sure to give some true thought to the above 3 concepts before you get your affiliate marketing business underway. In fact, write down your answers and explore the above ideas. You’ll be far ahead of others who try to approach affiliate marketing without these crucial questions answered.

However, you’re in luck!

Andrew Fox’s Affiliate Millionaire addresses all of the above. But at Affiliate-Millionaire-Review.org we like to give you a solid head’s up before the February 23rd release. Make sure to sign up for more updates to stay ‘in the know’ about the Affiliate Millionaire launch!