Issue #1 October, 2002
Editor: Kenneth Doyle, MA Comm.

Finding/ Creating Products or Services To Sell

*All that glitters is not gold. So, where's the gold?*

There are numerous products and services to sell on the web.  We all know this.  This is not the issue here.

The better questions are "which products and services fit well with my site theme (focus)... and which of these will provide the expertise, support and  financial return for my effort as an affiliate?"

The key elements of an excellent affiliate program

Before you select any products [or affiliate programs] to align yourself with ensure it has the following features.

• It's an appropriate match for the content and theme of your site

• It adds value, or solves a specific problem in a superior way

• It's worth paying at least twice its price... and you know this  because you personally use it

• It pays you no less than a 33% return on a two tier system, a 50% return on a single tier system OR it has a residual payment system

• It's run by professionals who have integrity, and you know this because you've communicated with them by email before you signed onto their affiliate program

• It has a comprehensive, real time accounting and stats system, so you can not only see what money you're owed, but also you're able to track the results of your promotional efforts

• The company has a reputation, and has been on the web for some time

• They pay their affiliates on time

• There are ample promotional resources available to you, which have been created by the company for its affiliates

• The company treats its affiliates with respect, because they're fully aware that affiliates play a major role in their financial success.

Now, the fact of the (web) matter is that the major players on the Internet have become successful because they've done three critically important things;

1. They created their own quality products which satisfied needs

2. They created a generous affiliate program to generate sales for their products

3. They support their affiliates to the hilt 

Now, you can make excellent money as a "Super Affiliate"... but the truth of the matter is that the BIG money being on the web is reserved for those who are at the top of the food chain (the product owners).

Think about it... getting 50% of many thousands of $sales (from an active affiliate sales force) is much more $rewarding than getting 50% of hundreds of sales as an affiliate of multiple programs.

So, where is all this leading?  

Well, let's go back to Site Build It! Sitesell has all of the key elements of an excellent affiliate program, but more importantly it's about to release an e-commerce module for its SBI system, which will have its own integrated 2 Tier affiliate system + additional mail-out modules to service affiliates. 

What this means is that an SBI site owner will soon have EVERY functionality needed for success on the web integrated into their SBI system... and the only technical knowledge you'll need to operate this techno machine is the ability to click a mouse button. 

SBI owners can move to the top of the (web) food chain very quickly now.

KJ Doyle - e*Analyst
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