Successful Affiliate Marketing Through Newsletters

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by Ryan Lee

There's gold in those affiliate links!

As many webmasters are now discovering, making money with affiliate programs can be hard work. It is not as simple as uploading some banners then sitting back and collecting commission checks. I have seen many sites fail miserably that rely solely on featuring generic affiliate banners without integrating merchant products into their content. A more effective way to distribute this content is through newsletters.

As a more creative approach, Web savvy marketers are finding that creating a "niche specific" email newsletter is one of the most effective ways to boost profits with affiliate programs.

Email newsletters (i.e.; e-newsletters, electronic newsletters, ezines) are gaining in popularity on the Web. Typically free and distributed via email, they contain articles, news and Web site updates.

An electronic newsletter for your Web site is an easy concept to grasp. For example, a Web site about Pets could offer a free newsletter about caring for a pet. The newsletter could include informative articles such as "How to exercise with your dog" and "10 tips on keeping your fishbowl clean", etc. Pet products such as a dog leash, bowl, and toy should then be included with an affiliate link to encourage a purchase.

BabyLounge.com, which is a site geared towards moms, seamlessly integrates affiliate programs throughout the BabyLounge newsletter. Affiliate links to products such as children's books and grocery coupons are featured in each issue. Click here for a sample issue.

DomainRepo.com, a newsletter geared towards webmasters looking to acquire domain names, is another example of a newsletter integrating affiliate links into each issue. The newsletter includes affiliate links to domain registration companies next to the expired domain names. When a subscriber purchases the name from the merchant link, DomainRepo receives a commission. Click here for a sample issue.

Why are e-newsletters quickly becoming the preferred choice for marketing affiliate programs?

1. Results, Results, Results.
   
   Clickthrough rates for a targeted newsletter can reach anywhere from 10 to 15%. This can be significantly higher than banners and buttons. Obviously if you receive more clickthroughs, you will have a better chance of success.

2. It's inexpensive!
   
   The cost is minimal to send a message to thousands of subscribers. List management and hosting is the most costly expense. There are now dozens of free list hosts available on the Internet: egroups.com, listbot.com, etc. Since the service is free, list hosts usually include a small house advertisement in each message. To produce a newsletter without these advertisements, expect to pay between $20-$75/month for a small to medium size list and more than $100 for larger lists. A program with competitive prices and excellent features such as web-based management, subscriber welcome messages and more is Lyris:
   http://www.refer-it.com/countprograms.cfm?id=2876&type=2
   (notice how I inserted an affiliate link).

3. It's efficient.
   
   Promoting affiliate programs through email allows for the removal of some of those slow loading banners from a web site. Instead, web sites can be filled with much stickier content such as interactive bulletin boards, exclusive articles, chat rooms, and voting booths.

Common sense dictates that featured affiliate products should be related to a newsletter's target market. If a newsletter is geared towards senior citizens, this market is probably not interested in the latest skateboard gear. Instead, a better fit would be to feature an online greeting card service that pays a commission for each free registration.

Be warned; as email boxes continue to get more and more crowded, a newsletter must strive to provide valuable information in order to gain attention. By featuring exclusive articles, special product discounts, and even contests, the newsletter becomes so irresistible that your visitors are eager to subscribe. Just make sure to create a high quality publication. To guarantee a high quality publication avoid including recycled articles and broken links by keeping the content fresh.

Moreover, a newsletter should always be opt-in/opt-out. A potential subscriber must request to be on the list and be given instructions on how to unsubscribe. Benefits of an opt-in newsletter include: higher response rates, fewer undeliverable emails, and time saved on list management.

The most important reason to make the list opt-in/opt-out is to avoid complaints and being labeled a "SPAMMER". Not only will a SPAMMER receive many complaints, but there are legal and ethical liabilities as well. Affiliate agreements should be reviewed before placing product links within a newsletter. Here is an example from the LendingTree.com Affiliate Agreement that discusses the issue of unsolicited mailings:

"You may not use any computer or other electronic device to send an unsolicited advertisement (also known as "spamming") to an electronic mail address of an individual with whom you lack a preexisting and ongoing business or personal relationship unless you have received an express invitation or consent/permission from that individual."

If still unsure, contact the affiliate manager before publishing the newsletter. Many times, affiliate managers are happy to provide additional tips or promotional copy to help entice more subscribers to click on your affiliate links.

So get creative and cash-in on the effectiveness of an email newsletter. The result will be a boost in affiliate sales and profits.