If you're trying to make money online with the help of affiliate marketing, there are certain "time-limited" situations you need to be aware of. Sometimes, we rapidly promote this or that new program, membership site, or ebook, and become too busy to revisit those sites. In the process, we unwittingly build the business of online merchants without earning anything in the process.

And yes, some big-time internet marketing gurus are guilty of this, to the detriment of their affiliates...

You've probably seen those offers which will close once there are X number of sign-ups. You know, those which say that they can only support 1,000 members and will close the doors forever once they reach that membership level.

What happens when they have 1000 members? Some merchants will edit the sales letter and ask the reader to sign-up to their mailing list so that they will know if the doors open again in the future. Afterall, some members might choose to stop subscribing. The number of members drops to below 1000 and slots are re-opened.

Do you, however, get credit for the visitor you referred to the merchant's site? If you analyze the opt-in form, you will not see your affiliate ID. In other words, you helped build the merchant's mailing list without getting any credit for it.

When the membership site reopens and the visitor you referred receives an email notifying him or her of the re-opened site, they will sign up using the merchant's direct link. As far as your affiliate URL is concerned, however, it's as if it never existed.

In other cases, people who sign-up for the mailing list are then sent to another product page of the merchant. Once again, using a direct, non-affiliate link. And once those people buy, the merchant earns the full amount (less transaction fees, of course), while you, the affiliate, end up with mere how to make money online dreams.

How do you achieve affiliate marketing success? Closely monitor the programs you promote, particularly those which will be "taken off the market" soon, or which will be closed once their membership fills up. Keep notes about these various IM gurus, and you will see a recurring pattern.

You'll also find wonderful and fair merchants or online marketers who know how to take care of their affiliates. That doesn't mean, however, that you can relax. The key is to monitor regularly, or become a product owner/creator yourself so you can focus on marketing your own infoproducts.

The wonderful thing about starting off as an affiliate marketer is that you can see things from the "other side", so to speak. Once you experience what it's like to be an affiliate, you can then move on to building your own product as well as your own affiliate network, and transform yourself into an internet entrepreneur that people will want to work and joint venture with.

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"Affiliate Marketing Caveats"
First Posted: March 29, 2009 | Filed in: Make Money Online

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