"Show me the money!" -- Jerry Maguire (1996)
Goal-of-the-DAY... The overall goal is to expand your site's blueprint by planning
how you could potentially monetize visitors interested in your niche (i.e., Site
Concept), starting with the affiliate monetization model.
Your specific goal will be to choose 3 affiliate programs that fit with each of your
3 Site Concepts/5 HIGH-PROFITABILITY KEYWORDS (per concept) that you
developed in DAYS 2 and 3. You must rate these merchants as excellent, and
you must feel good about representing them. Do not associate yourself with
those merchants who could adversely affect your credibility.
You will also consider appropriate secondary monetization models to diversify
your Web income and give your business stability.
It's time for a quick check-up. So far you have...
- examined PREselling and its effect on Conversion Rates (DAY 1)
- identified a potential topic for your Theme-Based Content Site (DAY 2)
- brainstormed a list of profitable keywords (DAY 3)
DAY 4 continues your excellent preparation efforts. The finish line is in sight
where you will register your domain name, confidently knowing that you have not
missed a step along the track. That's why you will be "thinking" about "M"
now , and "doing" it after you have C -> T -> P well in control.
The ideal Site Concept should give you enough flexibility to generate income
through two or three or more different streams. Why is this important?
Two valid reasons come to mind quickly...
- Ideally, you don't want to leave any money on the table. Your visitor may not
respond to your primary MWR, but she may be attracted to one of your
secondary offerings.
- The key is to never be dependent on any one income source -- "all your eggs
in one basket" is a high-risk strategy. By diversifying, you increase your revenue,
stabilize your business, and take charge of your own business destiny.
DAY 4 is all about getting a feel for possible monetization models before you go
on to create your domain name. For example, if you narrow your niche/Site
Concept too much, or position your business wrongly, you might limit your
opportunities unnecessarily... profitable opportunities, that is.
With monetizing in mind, let's look first at the affiliate model. I am assuming that
this will be your primary model -- after all, you are "doing" The Affiliate Masters
Course! So get ready to...
Grow a list of good merchants with affiliate programs that have product lines that
fit. Then choose the best ones and group them according to HIGHPROFITABILITY
keywords.
Yes, you have already started this process on DAY 3 by using Search It! to
build groups of POSSIBLE PARTNERS for each keyword in your MASTER
KEYWORD LIST. However, DAY 3 was more focused upon getting good ideas
for content and a feel for your market space (DEMAND, SUPPLY, SUPPLY SITE
INFO).
Now it's time to grow your list of POSSIBLE PARTNERS...
4.1. Grow A List Of Possible Affiliate Partners
Remember how we brainstormed the list of KEYWORDS and then chose the
best? We're going to choose affiliate partners in the same way. And, of course,
Search It! will be our super-efficient assistant as per usual.
Solid research sets a solid foundation. That's why the strategies below try to
cover almost every angle for choosing POSSIBLE PARTNERS. However, being
this thorough can be overwhelming, especially if you are already time-crunched.
So pick and choose the strategies that you know you can realistically execute.
And then do them!
I highly recommend that you do at least four types of searches if at all possible.
You want to increase your chances of finding quality affiliate programs that fit
best with your business blueprint. But more importantly, you want to be confident
about the merchants that you represent!
4.1.1. Grow Through Search Engines...
I guess a good place to start your search for merchants would be, of course, at
the Search Engines! Do a search for one of your keywords, plus the word
"affiliate." Let's use this example...
+fashion design +affiliate
(The "+" sign means that both words must appear on the Web page returned by
the search.)
Now open Search It! and do this search...
Search It! > Straight up Search (STEP 1) > Google, no quotes (STEP 2) >
+fashion design +affiliate (STEP 3)
Your Search It! window will look like this...
Here are the top results from our search...
modaitalia.zanigni·com/search/Shopping/Accessories/
modaitalia.zanigni·com/search/ Designers/Italy/Roberto_Cavalli/
www·newschool·edu/html/
www·infurmation·com/
www·stylecareer·com/fashion_designer·shtml
www·fashionfabricsclub·com/affiliateprogram·cfm
If you have time, try a second search for the same term and compare...
Search It! > Straight up Search (STEP 1) > Yahoo, no quotes (STEP 2) >
+fashion design +affiliate (STEP 3)