Even if you have been at it a while and had a lot of successes, you’re bound to eventually encounter a failed start. Even though you’ve spent all kinds of time and energy during research and development, you sell a dud. Every so often, duds waiting to happen will get through. As long as it wasn’t such a spectacular failure that you’re off to the poor house, you can get something from it.

An Example:  A Blocked Affiliate Link

Let’s say, for example, that you create an affiliate link that a person can post in their blog. During the testing phase, it makes bank. Everyone gets excited about the idea, and you decide to sell this product. At first, everything goes well. The next thing you know, your customer support desk starts sending up complaints that the program doesn’t work. Eventually, you find out that the blog server is blocking your software.

Now, since you promised a money back guarantee, you find yourself having to pay everyone back. You try to save the project, but nothing seems to work. Eventually, the whole project closes down. What have you learned from this incident?

Dealing with a Failed Affiliate Campaign

First, you will have to be completely honest with yourself. Be impartial, and closely look into the various elements of the affiliate campaign to find out where the problem happened. Then you need to find out if the problem can be fixed.

What exactly went wrong with this example project? In this particular scenario, it wasn’t taken into account during planning that the blog server was going to shut you out. It’s definitely a situation that is easily unforeseen. You can hardly ever guess how another company is going to react to your project, especially if it doesn’t negatively affect them.

Recovering from a Bad Project Launch

Now, you need to see if you can fix the problem. Of course, this should have happened before your project launch was shut down. In this particular example, changes in the software could have been made, or the linking URL could have been changed. If you had to shut down everything, then there’s nothing that could have been done.

If this is the case, if you can’t save your project, it’s time to draw a lesson from this failure. For most people, this is the hardest part. In the example I made, the obvious lesson is that eventually a blog will block affiliate links. That’s useful information to use for future projects.

By learning from flopped projects this way, you can improve your chances in the future for continued success. Of course, if you don’t learn from these events, you run a risk of making the same mistake. By recognizing and applying the newfound knowledge for the future, you become empowered for greater things.

The First Thing You See In the Bing Search

Once you’ve done this Bing search, what’s the first thing you see?  You see Tweets given by Twitter.  What’s more, you may get to see mentions of other Twitter members and hyperlinks to Twitter Tools and exterior websites.

Interested yet?  Now do a Bing search on Ashton Kutcher.  Now you’re seeing pictures along with his Tweets.  Now, are you excited?  Hang on a minute, there’s one more thing you should do.  Bing search yourself and see what happens.

Wait…I’m not On Top of the Search Page

You’ll see one of two things.  Either your Tweets are at the top of the search page, or they aren’t.  More than likely right now, they aren’t.  I know mine aren’t.  So, what gives?

It’s a matter of three things.  First, it’s about your branding and your authority.  Secondly, it’s about your Twitter influence.  It’s also quite possible that since this technology is new that only a few Twitter users are in this elite club.

Beefing Up Branding and Twitter Influence

Now’s the time to act to gain top Twitter influence.  I’d start by beefing up my branding and authority.  Consider this point:  You have to be well-known enough for someone to plug your name in a search engine.  Without that, they aren’t going to think about finding out if you’re on Twitter, either.

Meanwhile, you should be hard at work on Twitter building your influence.  Let’s face it, Ashton Kutcher is the top Tweeter, so he gets a spot in the Twitter results.  We Internet marketers haven’t quite made it there, yet.  That’s right, I checked several top marketing gurus, and none of them have this lucrative position yet.

The Future of Twitter Results

As it would appear, Twitter Results is essentially in beta form.  Like so many beta runs, it’s limited to a select few people overall.  However, based on what we’re seeing with top Twitter users, its potential for marketing is something worth planning for.

By itself, it also doesn’t seem to account for topic searches.  This is why it’s essential to make your name well-known in your niche.  It may come about in the future that Twitter Results will be fully integrated into Bing by having topic searches, but it’s all about celebrities for now.

For now, I highly recommend vying for that top position on Twitter in your niche.  Without being sure about when it’s more commonly available, all I can say is do everything you can to make sure that you’re the first marketer to make the cut.

The word spam, itself, in terms of electronic interfacing, refers to bulk or excessive stuff. In video gaming, the word spam is used to refer to performing repetitive actions, i.e. “I spammed my heavy attacks on the boss until it was dead.” While this has virtually little to do with Internet Marketing, perhaps it will serve to illustrate that in the world of interactive electronics in general, spam is not just a four-letter word.

Is Spam Electronic Messaging Junk Mail?

Typically, most people see spam as being essentially the electronic messaging equivalent of junk mail. It’s unsolicited, it’s unwanted, and nowadays can sometimes be malicious and dangerous. Most people are familiar with the e-mail version, but there are many other types of media that you can get spammed (or do the spamming) in. These include mobile phones where you have text message advertisements; forum spam where advertisements are posted on an Internet forum; spamdexing where you manipulate a search engine to make your webpage look more popular; blog spamming where advice and links to other websites are placed in comments; newsgroup spams; and IM spamming.

Looking at this list, and ask yourself how many of these things do you actually do? As it turns out, many of us in Internet Marketing spam without quite realizing it. The real trick to this situation is not so much what is ethical spam, but what is effective spam?

Ineffective Spam Lands in the Bulk Mail Boxes

Ineffective spam is, obviously, the stuff that makes it to people’s bulk mail boxes and the websites that cram as many keywords into them as they possibly can, raising a red flag with the search engines. Also, those blog accounts that are configured badly enough that the blog community administrators kick them off for pretty much the same reason that search engines block out some web sites. The point is that no one responds to it.

Effective Spam is Your Mailing List—What People Want

Effective spam is well crafted, and it’s what people on your mailing list are expecting. Far more likely than the ineffective type, there is usually a human behind it instead of some robot that can hardly generate a coherent sentence. It’s also the helpful or insightful person on a forum or blog who just so happens to have a website in his or her signature line or suggests a website for a solution.

In a nutshell, some spam is junk mail.  It’s not wanted and is very imposing.  This is what you should avoid doing.  The spam you want to put out is just the kind people ask for.  My final word of advice is don’t buy mailing lists!

Technorati Is a Blog Search Engine

Technorati.com’s original intent was to be a search engine for blogs. It competes with Google.com and Yahoo.com’s search engines in this specific area. The way it has classically worked is that it searches blog tags and keywords and ranks the most recent ones first. This, as you may see, can make Technorati an invaluable tool. By this, it can essentially be a gauge to see how quickly your blog posts are going in relation to the competition. From a single search on Technorati, you can see if you need to increase your blogging frequency or if you’re doing just fine that way.

Keep On Top of Page Ranking Criteria

As with any search engine, it is best to keep abreast of the news on how page ranking is done. Technorati has made several changes throughout the years, and it’s good to know what’s going on so that you can be a step ahead in using this tool. In 2007, they had made a very controversial move towards listing thumbnail images, leading some to say that the company was departing from its original mission. Being on top of this information, some companies were able to adapt and optimize their thumbnail images and their usage accordingly, while others got left in the dust. It’s definitely good to keep in mind that the opposition is in all likelihood using this tool and keeping up-to-date as well. Vigilance is a key element whenever you play this kind of hardball.

Not only do your competitors use Technorati, but let’s also keep in mind that many average users are using it too. Otherwise, why would you particularly care where you rank in regard to your competition here? What you are ultimately striving for is that ever-coveted front page. Be the first in line.  Post daily. Outsource it if you have to.

Technorati—Useful Beyond Searching Blogs

Technorati isn’t just useful for searching blogs, either. It uses and contributes to open source software. It’s a place where you can find public developers and programmers to collaborate on certain aspects of your business, as well as finding free software to use for your business. I know some people cringe at the word free when it comes to getting business software. However, quite often, open source is comparable and sometimes superior to premium software. Open Office vs. Microsoft Office is such an example. Both are considered to be the industry standards in that kind of software.

To wrap it all up, Technorati.com is a useful tool in multiple ways. It can show you how your blogging relates to your competitors and whether or not you need to up the pace on your blogging. It can also network you with open source software developers and provide you with open source software. It’s a keeper.

This is especially pertinent in social media like Facebook.  How many times do you think that people “like” something just because their friends do?  By and large, as social animals, many people just like the same things out of habit.

Great, but Does Conformity Do Anything for Converting Traffic?

Yes, in fact, it does.  If you play your cards right, the same reason people do what their friends do can apply to converting traffic.  You just have to convey somehow that these followers’ friends are clicking through to your sales page.

Let’s say, for instance, that you’ve put out a message on Facebook that “This website has the greatest stuff ever!” and provide the link.  People click on the link and see a phrase like “This is what they’re all talking about!” pointing to the link to your opt-in page.  A small little phrase like that will suck them into your list and sales page.

This Thinking Increases Upselling

One of the trickier parts of Internet marketing is upselling.  Most people don’t want to spend more than they absolutely have to for a product.  Sometimes, merely informing them of the benefits of buying the “platinum package” isn’t nearly enough.  A lot of people will just think, “That’s great, but the standard package does all I need.”

Now, try upselling to the platinum package by saying in so many words that “everyone is doing it!”  Even better, say, “Don’t miss out on the great stuff your friends (or competitors) are getting!”  Chances are, with a little bit of social pressuring, more people will cave in to the upsell than without it.

To a lot of people, 15 extra features simply aren’t worth the extra ten dollars to buy the larger packages.  Most people will simply settle for “good enough.”  However, with just a little peer pressure, the upsell is worth the extra 50 dollars as long as everyone else is doing it.

This is quite often how television ads work.  McDonald’s emphasizes that people all over the world are “lovin’ it” with the Big Mac.  7-Up shows how their soda makes a cranky celebrity “bubbly.”  You, too, can capitalize on this in 420 characters or less.

Building a List Opens the Door for Repeat Customers

The great benefit of building a list is that it makes having repeat customers easier.  When a client has bought the product that you’re promoting and opted into your list, it means that they’re interested in what else you have to offer.  By all means, you should let them know when and if you have other products to offer.

Having them in your mailing list is the easiest way to do this.  It also saves you a ton of sweat in attracting new traffic to your websites.  Naturally, you will want to keep drawing traffic, but at least you don’t have to rely as much on new clients.  This will save you a great deal of nail-biting when you check your traffic reports.

Mailing Your List Shouldn’t Be “Just” Marketing

With it said that mailing your list should involve updates on new products and services, that shouldn’t be all you’re mailing them.  One of the key elements in keeping your list vibrant and growing is to not always be a marketer.  People will think that you’re a spammer if that’s all you’re doing, and they’ll drop you like a hot rock.

Instead, you should mix in some informative messages with the new product alerts.  Send them the latest news in your niche.  Crack a joke or two.  Give them tips on improving the traffic to their sites.  Do things like that, and you’ll keep your list interested.

Another Important Thing:  Don’t Spam Mail Your List

One of the quickest ways to get people tired of you is to spam mail them.  They don’t need to hear from you every day, and they don’t want to.  Most people don’t even talk to their extended family and real life friends that frequently.  Don’t intrude too much in their lives.

Besides that, it’s expensive and time-consuming for you to stay on top of your list like that.  You don’t want to tell them the same things over and over again, and it would be all too easy to run out of stuff to say, even if you’re outsourcing, if you’re mailing them daily.

A good rule to observe is that people don’t mind hearing from their marketers once or twice a month.  You’re still in their lives enough that they don’t forget who you are.  On the flip side, you’re not the unwelcome guest.

That perhaps brings up a different way of thinking about listbuilding.  Instead of thinking of it as the clients being members of your list, think of yourself as a guest in their lives.  This one change of perspective can change the tone of your messages and make them more receptive to what you have to say.

Having this quasi-humanitarian streak may seem refreshing, but it will never make you money. Customers, being what they are, will automatically make choices that aren’t in your best interest if given the chance. When you’re in business, the only place for humanitarian gestures is in the charities that you choose to give to.

Soft Selling Affiliate Marketers Let Money Go

The weaknesses that these soft affiliate marketers have are various. The most common one is that their webpages leave the viewers with too many options. When people shop, they’re looking for the cheapest options available. If the business owner gives too many choices between similar products, the customer will naturally choose the cheapest one. The business owner will lose money from this. It’s not that this principle is necessarily a bad idea, that having similar products with varying prices is non-profitable. However, varying the price too much without giving them a reason to buy the more expensive product will definitely decrease your profit.

Letting People Leave Your Affiliate Page—Bad Call

Another mistake that some new affiliates make is that they allow people to leave their affiliate page too easily. On one hand, this is fine if you’re not selling anything, but if you are selling something, it’s practically an invitation not to spend money at your site. The only links that should be on any page from seeing the products on to the confirmation page should only lead inevitably to the confirmation page. You should not have any other links, period. Keep their paths away from buying your product to a minimum. It’s all just a waste of time and bandwidth otherwise.

Be Careful Who You Do Affiliate Marketing With

Affiliate marketing can be a money waster, also, if you’re not careful. Some people don’t actually pay attention with whom they’re affiliating and advertising on their page. You may wind up advertising for your competition if you’re not careful. That, or you may wind up advertising for something that would actually be an embarrassment for you or make your viewers uneasy.

When all is said and done, it’s amazing how easily people just throw away money that could be theirs. It isn’t about being agreeable, just coming to an agreement. You want your way and they want theirs. Just don’t let them know that they could have what they actually want in this transaction.

I’m Talking about Niche Research Here

If you aren’t doing niche research, you’re really not going to get very far in a campaign. This has to be done before page building, before marketing, before anything. You have to be able to point out what people need. If you don’t, you’re just wasting time and money.

Think of it this way. It’s around December 10. You know that people are shopping for Christmas presents at this time. You decide to affiliate with a Christmas-based product or made a special Christmas sale. You realize that there are people on the Net with this need and money to spend. You point to the needed item and make money. That’s the essence of how to go about finding a need.

Getting the Targeted Traffic on Your List and Link

It’s all about targeted traffic. As I’ve said before, you have people trafficking the Net and “just browsing,” and then you have people that are actually shopping. Obviously, you want the ones who are spending money. Finding a need is the first part of targeting your traffic. Obviously, you don’t care about the guy sitting at his kitchen table drinking his coffee, just browsing for the sake of it.

Of course, the process of finding a need is a bit more complicated than just knowing that Christmas is coming up, so you should develop a Christmas line. It takes a bit of market analysis. Let’s say that you have this brilliant idea for a launch. Let’s say that it’s a line of instruction manuals on how to do underwater basket weaving.

Draw Them in With Keyword Research

The first thing you do in finding a need is condense this whole idea into as few words as possible and do some keyword research. Now you can take this to Wordtracker or some similar program. Plug your words into the keyword search tool, and let’s see what happens. Wordtracker will kick out every current permutation of your keyword and how often it got hit.

Based on this analysis, can you say that by doing this search you’re finding a need? If you’re not, perhaps there’s some variation on your keywords that will actually hit higher than your original version. It can be quite a boring process, but sticking through with it will pay off in the end.

For instance, let’s say with this example that you plugged in “underwater basket weaving Alaska.”  Let’s say that in this example, you see that there’s actually more interest in underwater basket weaving in Outer Mongolia than in Alaska. I know, you had your heart set on Alaskan techniques of underwater basket weaving, but there was more demand for Outer Mongolian methods. Finding a need doesn’t always mean that you get your way.

Now that you’ve found a need, you can begin making your instruction manuals for underwater basket weaving in Outer Mongolia. You can then move on to pricing and marketing and everything else. But this is where it starts.

You’re Outsourcing the Wrong Stuff to a Foreign Country

Outsourcing to countries like India and Pakistan is okay for some tasks in affiliate marketing, but you CANNOT do it with everything.  They can effectively upload videos, bookmark, and many other elements of marketing for pennies on the dollar.  It’s when they’re in a position of being your voice that things can get problematic.

I’m not one to disparage outsourcing your written content in general.  Many people do it and it works well.  The thing of it is that you will want to outsource your written content to people who speak your language as their first one.

You Haven’t Done Your Niche Research Correctly

Doing proper niche research is the very first rule of launching a successful marketing campaign.  If your niche isn’t going to take off, you’re not going to be successful, and there’s nothing you can do about it but get out.  It doesn’t matter if the niche looks interesting to you; you have to research it.

Let’s say that you see that there’s a lot of money being made in a niche for robotics.  You’re a fan of robotics, so you think this niche would be perfect to start in.  Did you take into account that there are a lot of marketers working the niche already?  How about if these marketers have been working the niche a long time?  Starting off in a marketer-saturated niche is never a good way to start.

You Didn’t Get Your Keyword Research Right

Okay, while it’s true that most vendors will supply you with keywords, you still have to do keyword research.  What you’re missing out on if you just use their keywords is getting an edge over every other affiliate marketer they gave keywords to.  You’ll have to fight harder to rank over the other affiliates if you miss this step.

Think of it this way, especially if you’re new in the business.  Other, more experienced marketers have already started working with this vendor.  They’re already miles ahead of you when it comes to the keyword list you were given.  If you find other keywords, not only will you have a side angle at competing, you may find better keywords than you were given.

You’re not getting Your Listbuilding Right

Listbuilding is a super important part of an affiliate marketer’s career.  Your first few affiliate campaigns may not make you much money, but they can definitely get you a list, which you can use to make more money later.  Your list consists of people that are already interested in your stuff, so they’re the ones most likely to buy from you.  Take them from one campaign to another and the money WILL come.

These are just a few of the problems you might encounter in affiliate marketing.  There are many more, but these are the major ones.

Multiple Traffic Streams Increase Your Footprint

Think of multiple traffic streams this way:  Imagine your website being the hub at the center of a wheel.  Each traffic stream—that is, each link—is a spoke in this wheel.  The more spokes you have, the more it accurately resembles a wheel.

The more traffic streams you have, the more chances a surfer has of finding your website.  Outside of the search engine results page, wherever you have a presence is an opportunity for a viewer to find you by you placing a link there.  While it’s certainly great getting a backlink off of a “relevant” website, it’s much easier to put them up yourself on social networks.

Why Social Media Networks are Great for Backlinking

There are several opportunities for backlinking on social media networks.  You can make a link in your profile, you can post it in a blog entry, and you can create fan groups for your business.  The backlinking doesn’t end there, though.

You can create multiple profiles to backlink to your website.  You can also make links to your other social media accounts to generate more interest in your products.  Also, once you start getting a solid reputation, other members of the social media platform may start backlinking to your site.  That’s when you know you’ve hit a goldmine.

Getting Traffic This Way Increases Your Search Engine Ranking

The effect that multiple traffic streams have on your search engine ranking cannot be understated.  The simple fact of the backlinks to your website looks good to the search engines.  This alone has a positive effect on your search engine ranking.

Let’s also add that the increased traffic that you will get from the multiple traffic streams will dramatically increase your search engine ranking.  Search engines rank websites significantly based on how much traffic they get, as well as by how many backlinks they get.

This, in turn, will increase the traffic to your website.  The relationship between your website and the search engines takes on a feedback loop that will continue to increase the traffic to your website.

Ultimately, the more places that you can be found on the Internet or in the real world, there are more ways people can find your site.  The more people find your site, the more people will be able to find your site.  This ultimately is the goal of every marketer, to get the search engines to favor your site over the others.