No Budget Advertising

Old-school advertisers accepted the fact that successful campaigns cost millions. If a company wanted to reach customers, it had to shell out for print and broadcast ads it hoped would reach the right ears and eyes.

But with the choose-your-pleasure possibilities of the Internet, marketing is changing fast. Instead of hoping that customers will come to you, why not go to them? Lex Sisney, head of the explosively- growing affiliate network Commission Junction, believes that the broadcast-style era of Net marketing is on its way out. Affiliates are the answer, says Sisney. Companies that set up revenue-sharing bargains with sites that bring in the right kind of customer can get a lot of exposure - and revenue - for an extremely minimal investment.

Realize the Potential of Affiliation

Affiliation is a simple idea that yields big profits, Sisney said. "An affiliate allows online merchants like Amazon.com to advertise their site. The merchant only pays for that advertising when it results in a qualified lead or a sale," Sisney said. "It's like free exposure!" Affiliation programs can negotiate compensation based on pay-per- click, pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale programs, but any way you slice it, affiliations equal cut-rate advertising for companies. "It's kind of a one-two punch," said Sisney. "It's the most cost effective way to advertise online, but it's also the most effective in terms of driving sales and revenues to the bottom line." And it's not just limited to big corporations. "Hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized businesses are setting up shop online," Sisney said. "Every one of them is going to need an affiliate program to be competitive."

Dump Ad Banners

Millions are still being spent on banner ads - why? The click-through rate on ad banners used to be about three and a half percent. That number has now dropped to a half percent and it's still falling. Why? Because, as Sisney points out, most ad banners don't take advantage of one-to-one marketing.

"Think about what sites out there are attracting similar demographics to those that you're going after," Sisney advised. "Approach those sites, engage in an online partnership, engage in a revenue sharing affiliate partnership. If you simply duplicate that on 10 or 20 different sites, you will see your sales dramatically increase. That's because you know that the visitors to those other sites are highly likely to be the same demographics that you're going after in your selling." Web users don't want to be taken to commercial come- ons, Sisney said. What they want is information. And that information should lead them to companies who can sell them the products or services they want. "People surf online for information, for content that's of interest to them at any given moment," Sisney said. "One way or another I'm going to find content and information that's related to my interest at any particular time. Through affiliate programs I can place advertisements into the content of those Web sites and that's a very, very powerful advertising strategy."

Hit That Target

The Web makes it possible for companies to target customers very precisely, Sisney said. It's just that precision that drives a good affiliate program. "A successful affiliate really provides one thing - - original content that's of interest to some demographic group," Sisney said.

"If you are, for instance, an avid gourmet cook you might post recipes on your web site. People who are looking for recipes will find your site. And on that site you could recommend cookbooks, you could recommend cookware. Because you provide original content that's of interest to people who like to cook, they trust you and they take your references for books or certain cookware very, very seriously." That kind of insider's recommendation is exactly what makes an affiliate program successful. Readers grow to trust a webmaster and take their recommendations into account. And quite often they may actually buy these products through your site, leading to monetary opportunities for both the webmaster and companies targeting the site's demographic. Nice, huh?

So instead of hemorrhaging money on ad campaigns that don't work, why not look into the power of Web affiliations? You could have a lot to gain. And after all, what do you have to lose?