Written by: Steven Clayton, Guest Author

When I first started out in Internet marketing, my focus was on affiliate marketing. Specifically, I was really concentrating on marketing ClickBank products. I was able to make a wonderful income doing this, and became one of the top affiliates for one of ClickBank’s best sellers. At that time, I was making this product owner approximately $1 million dollars per year.

That was wonderful, as I was making that too (with a 50% commission split), but as I found out that I was only the 4th (!) largest affiliate for this product owner, something occurred to me. I was working VERY hard, and wouldn’t it be nice to be the product OWNER and have 100’s or 1000’s of “me’s” running around and promoting my product instead of just benefiting from my efforts ? How about if I just had the top 4 affiliates of this vendor? It was a pretty compelling question, and one that set me out on a journey to become a vendor as well as an affiliate.

Fast forward to the present, and my company has sold 10s of millions of dollars of our own information products over the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE affiliate marketing and I do it every single day… but having your own products is a very special feeling and a nice distraction and diversification from the “daily grind”! The information product market is enormous (by many counts approximately $4 billion dollars) and ClickBank themselves have a healthy 10% or so of that market. This makes them the ideal place to launch your information product business.

We teach a lot of folks how to build information products, and when people are just starting out they seem to share a lot of the same challenges:

• What topic or niche do I pick?
• Don’t I have to be an “Expert” ?
• Can I outsource this so I don’t have to do it all myself? How do I outsource?
• How do I attract affiliates to market my product for me?

I think giving advice on these four large “problem” areas is a great way to help you start to move from affiliate to vendor.

What topic or niche do I pick?

Information products are pretty simple. First, you identify a market or a niche. These are groups of people who share a common interest. For example, organic gardening. That’s a group of folks who are all interested in a very specific activity. The goal of a marketable information product is to simply find out what that group “needs” and deliver it in the form of an ebook, videos, software, or some combination of these digital products.

So, in my organic gardening example, perhaps we could create an information product that educates and makes recommendations with regard to the proper fertilization techniques for organic gardening. The idea is that you find a market, you find out what the market wants or needs, and then you deliver it in the form of an information product.

So what constitutes a great market? In a perfect world, I would say it’s three things (you don’t always have to meet ALL of these conditions to have a successful information product).

First, you want an “evergreen” market.  An evergreen market means that it won’t be going away anytime soon. The classic example of that is weight loss. For the foreseeable future, everyone will want to continue to try to lose weight.

Second, you want a market where there are searchers online looking for information. This can be determined by looking at Google’s external keyword tool and the volume of searches for the main and related keywords. In our example, we could input “organic gardening” into the tool and see that there are plenty of people looking for information out there.

Finally, we’d like to see a market where there is the potential for people to buy multiple products or multiple related products. This means that as you continue to build your list of customers, it is more valuable as you could sell them more items over time. People interested in losing weight is the perfect example market. It’s evergreen, there are plenty of searches, and people will typically invest in multiple products and related products.

We know what a perfect market looks like, but where do we find ideas? I’ll tell you my biggest “secret source” for finding ideas . The “Dummies” books and the “Idiot’s Guides” books. There are THOUSANDS of titles that have been created for these two franchises. Each of these thousands of books cater to a market that is perfect for an information product.

These companies have already done the market research and the analysis to determine that there’s a great market for  these kinds of products. All you have to do is find one that interests you, and then decide on your particular “slant” on how to enter that market. For example, perhaps you found organic gardening (that’s a great market and there are Dummies books for that), and after some brainstorming and checking existing material and online search volume, your topic will be “organic gardening to feed a family of 4,” or you could go with our fertilizer example from earlier. That’s the way to use these resources for ideas that can blossom into a great information product.

In the next part of this series, I’ll answer the common question “Don’t I have to be an expert?” and talk about how and why you should outsource. Be sure to check back tomorrow for much more info!

Update: Parts 2 and 3 are now available!

About the Author

Steven Clayton and his partner Tim Godfrey are the creators of a number of best selling information products in the Internet marketing niche, along with many other markets. Their Info Prodigy course (teaching how to create and market information products) is currently closed to new members, but you can get on the waiting list and get a free and very detailed 26 page report that gives away even more secrets right here. In addition, don’t forget to sign up at www.blueprintaffiliates.com to see excellent examples of affiliate resource pages.

Take a look at these related posts:

1. Making the Profitable Move From Affiliate to Vendor: Part 3
2. Making the Profitable Move From Affiliate to Vendor: Part 2
3. 5 Steps to Making Your First Sale as an Affiliate Marketer

Written by: Chris Jones, Guest Blogger

Over the 4 years that I have been involved with ClickBank, I have seen countless products, niches, and services all trying to compete for market share.

If I could give you one piece of advice to maximize your affiliate marketing efforts, it would be this:

Stand out from the crowd, be unique, and the profits will follow.

This has never been more vital than it is today. Over the past 3 years the Internet has changed substantially—“Web 2.0” sites have become very popular, YouTube has become a major player both for entertainment and for Internet marketing, and there are more people online than ever before. To get people’s attention these days, your affiliate marketing efforts have to be truly special.

Here are 3 things that can help you stand out from the crowd with your product or service:

Design:

As mentioned above, the days where you can just have a blank page of text, a few pictures and a Buy Now button are over. Focus on making your site design fit the niche you are in, and work on making the design look really professional so potential customers trust you.

A good way to ensure your design will resonate with your audience is to learn from the best in your niche. If it is a gaming site, for instance, then check out some of the biggest game companies on the web and follow suit. Make sure your images, colors, and even fonts are in line with what visitors to gaming sites would expect.

Video:

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, many of the most successful ClickBank vendors and affiliates have started using video on their site, and there’s a good reason for it.

Video can improve conversions ten-fold if executed properly, so make sure you have a professional video made that focuses on the benefits of your products.

Some of the most profitable sites on ClickBank now use a simple video on their main sales page. If you’re not taking advantage of video yet, you’re missing out.

Product/Service:

Even though there is a lot of competition in any given ClickBank category, and especially the largest ones, the top products find a unique angle or selling point that helps them stand out. Make sure that you put some thought into what makes your product or service different from all the others in your niche.

Is it a totally new technique? Do you provide better support resources? Really cool tools or bonuses? Make sure you’ve got something unique that will resonate with buyers. If your product has a unique selling point, it can do very well!

Conclusion:

The final point that I wanted to recommend in this blog post is to be yourself! There is no one like you in the whole world and your product/website should reflect that.

Of course, don’t ignore learning the basics of skills like copywriting, web design, and video creation, but when you are using them, make sure to add a little bit of your personality so you stand out, and you’ll see your conversions improve.

About the Author

Chris Jones has been a Clickbank Vendor for 4 years and co-owns DUBTurbo with NC Media. For in-depth tutorials on how to get started with ClickBank, visit the NicheChoppers Forum.

Take a look at these related posts:

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2. Maximize on Market Trends to Increase Your Profits
3. 7 Keys to Big Video Profits

Written by: Beau Blackwell, Community Manager

We have a new episode of Affiliate Marketing Today for your listening pleasure! In this episode, Dush Ramachandran and I discuss the benefits and challenges of going international with your affiliate marketing efforts, and give lots of advice on how to get started in the process.

We discuss things like how to find partners to work with, licensing English products for translation into foreign versions, the differences between translation and localization, and much more!

Listen now

Take a look at these related posts:

1. New Episode of ClickBank’s Affiliate Marketing Today Show: Secrets from a ClickBank Super Affiliate
2. New Affiliate Marketing Today Episode: Building Relationships in Affiliate Marketing
3. Online Retail Giant ClickBank Expands Services to International Markets

Written by: Beau Blackwell, Community Manager

We’ve talked a lot recently about the emergence of online video in affiliate marketing, and how powerful it can be for selling or promoting digital products. It seems like everyone’s using it and having great success, but we’re aware that a lot of people still don’t know where to get started with creating, filming, editing, and uploading online video to their Pitch Page or affiliate page.

To help make online video marketing easy and accessible for everyone, we asked long-time ClickBank vendor and web video expert Gideon Shalwick to make a series of videos for ClickBank affiliates and vendors who need help getting started, or want to make their videos more professional and effective.

He created 3 easy-to-follow videos, each under 10 minutes, that cover extremely important topics like what camera, software, and equipment to use, how to plan and write the content for your video, how to make it look professional, and much more! If you’ve wanted to get into the profitable world of online video but don’t know where to start, these videos will show you exactly what you need to know.

Video 1 – Equipment you need for creating high quality online videos quickly

Video 2 – Preparing for the recording and planning out your content

Video 3 – Recording & editing your video, and uploading it to your site or Pitch Page

These videos contain lots of great information and detail, so be sure to check them out! Gideon regularly updates his online video marketing blog with the tips, tricks, and techniques he’s used to succeed in Internet marketing, so it’s a great resource for anyone looking to make a splash with online video. He also encouraged anyone who still has questions to leave comments on the videos and he’ll help answer them. You can also leave comments here with any additional video-related topics you’d like to see in the future.

Thanks Gideon!

Take a look at these related posts:

1. 7 Keys to Big Video Profits
2. First Official ClickBank Video
3. ClickBank Video: Create a Customer-Facing Ad

Written by: Beau Blackwell, Community Manager

The latest episode of Affiliate Marketing Today, hosted by Dush Ramachandran and yours truly, is now available for download or streaming. It’s called Building Relationships in Affiliate Marketing, and talks about how important it is to establish and grow strong relationships with your customers, partners, and even your competitors.

Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think!

Take a look at these related posts:

1. The Importance of Relationships in Affiliate Marketing
2. New Affiliate Marketing Today Episode: Going International with Your Affiliate Marketing
3. New Episode of ClickBank’s Affiliate Marketing Today Show: Secrets from a ClickBank Super Affiliate

The second episode of the Affiliate Marketing Today show, hosted by Beau Blackwell and Dush Ramachandran of ClickBank, is now available.

In this episode, we interview Kyle Wakefield, long-time ClickBank super affiliate and creator of The A to Z Guide, and get some great tips from him on how to be successful as an affiliate. He shares some powerful and unconventional wisdom that you don’t usually hear from affiliate marketers.

Check out the episode now!

Take a look at these related posts:

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2. Tune Into the Affiliate Marketing Today Radio Show, Hosted by ClickBank!
3. New Affiliate Marketing Today Episode: Building Relationships in Affiliate Marketing

Written by: Beau Blackwell

Last week, ClickBank sponsored and exhibited at AffCon 2010, a premier affiliate marketing conference held in Denver, CO, a short distance from ClickBank’s Colorado offices.

The show was jam-packed with great opportunities for networking and learning, including many great panels and sessions run by industry veterans. ClickBank’s VP of Business Development Dush Ramachandran participated in a panel on working with affiliate networks, as well as hosting a workshop entitled “Secrets for Affiliate Marketing Success” alongside ClickBank superaffiliate and vendor Kyle Wakefield, creator of The A to Z Guide. They gave audience members some great tips on getting started and succeeding in the affiliate marketing business.

Throughout the show, we raffled off thousands of dollars worth of affiliate marketing-related products from some of our top vendors. A few of the prizes we gave away included memberships to IMeye and The A to Z Guide, copies of CPA Arbitrage, Affiliate Silver Bullet, Niche Blueprint, CB Pirate, Cash Making Power Sites, Banner Ad Blueprint, and much more.

In addition to all of the great prizes, everyone who entered our raffle got access to a free Lite version of The A to Z Guide, which includes several chapters on a variety of Internet Marketing topics. Since we know not everyone who wanted to could make it to Denver for the show, we’re giving all of our clients a chance to get the Lite version, too!

To get access, just fill out this quick form letting us know a bit about your affiliate marketing efforts, and you’ll be able to access the guide for free.

Take a look at these related posts:

1. a4uexpo Twitter Competition Giving Away Some Great Prizes
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Written by: Beau Blackwell, Community Manager

We’re very proud to announce that starting today, June 17, at 1pm ET, ClickBank will begin hosting the Affiliate Marketing Today show on WebmasterRadio.FM.

The bi-weekly show, which I’ll be co-hosting with our VP of Business Development, Dush Ramachandran, will cover affiliate marketing trends, advice, opportunities, and risks for affiliate marketers.

We’ll have frequent guests, including top Internet marketers and affiliate industry insiders. We’re looking forward to sharing our knowledge and experience with you, and helping you get the most out of your affiliate marketing efforts.

For more info on the show, check out this WebmasterRadio press release.

Please leave a comment with any topics you’d like us to cover, as we’re always looking for great show ideas. Be sure to tune in later today to hear the first episode!

Take a look at these related posts:

1. New Episode of ClickBank’s Affiliate Marketing Today Show: Secrets from a ClickBank Super Affiliate
2. ClickBank VP Appointed to Advisory Board of European Affiliate Marketing Conference a4uexpo
3. New Affiliate Marketing Today Episode: Building Relationships in Affiliate Marketing

Written by: Beau Blackwell, Community Manager

In the ultra-competitive affiliate marketing landscape, it’s a good idea to always be on the lookout for new and innovative ways to promote products. Somewhat ironically, a great new space for affiliate promotions is actually an advertising medium that’s been around a long time: television.

Up to now, advertising on TV was far too expensive and complicated for the average marketer. However, Google recently introduced Google TV, which allows practically anyone to create TV spots within their AdWords account and run them on national cable TV. One of the most amazing parts is the low cost- as low as $20 for an ad spot!

Considering the huge potential reach of television, this can be a great way to advertise your own product or separate yourself from other affiliates who are promoting the same product. And considering how powerful and relatively inexpensive video creation tools and software packages are today, it’s reasonable for almost anyone to create a simple TV ad they can test out.

If you’re not sure you’re capable of creating an effective TV ad, check out this Copyblogger post on the topic. It’s written from the perspective of promoting a blog, but the same idea applies to ClickBank products or affiliate websites. It has some great advice on making your ad compelling to viewers.

One important thing to remember is that if you’re an affiliate who’s using this service, you shouldn’t try to promote a basic HopLink, since advertising on TV requires that viewers be able to remember the website so they can type it in. HopLink URLs are too complicated for this purpose, so your best bet is to send traffic to an affiliate landing page, such as a review site, blog, or other content-based site, where you then recommend one or more ClickBank products to your visitors. Try to keep the URL of your site as simple and memorable as possible. If you’re a vendor and want to send traffic to your own site, you can just send people directly to your Pitch Page URL.

If you’ve been struggling to make AdWords work for you due to the level of competition or pricing, it’s worth checking out Google TV to see if it could be an effective new way to promote products. Some of the best strategies for affiliate marketing success are testing out new promotional techniques and being an early entrant into new marketing spaces before they get overcrowded and too competitive. Who knows- you could end up being the next advertising mogul!

Do you think TV ads could work for your promotional efforts? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Take a look at these related posts:

1. Advertising Strategy: Daypart Bidding
2. New Advertising Opportunities for Publishers
3. The Low-Cost Guide to Getting Started in PPC Marketing

If you’re a European affiliate marketer, be sure to check out the Twitter Competition that a4uexpo, one of Europe’s premier affiliate marketing conferences, is currently running. Every weekday from now until the show on May 18, they’ll be giving away great prizes like hotel stays, free show passes, Xing memberships, and much more. For example, today’s prize was a free pass to the show, worth 395 euro!

Check out their site for details on how to enter:

http://www.a4uexpo.com/europe/twitter-competition/

Take a look at these related posts:

1. ClickBank Sponsoring a4uexpo in Germany & Offering Discount Code
2. ClickBank Giving Away 5 Gold Passes to Affiliate Summit East!
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