What Mailorder Publishing Can Teach You About Selling Online!

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...
... as they've been dubbed on ...
have actually been around for quite some time. ...
... we just called them ...
butthey worked the same way. Someone "Affiliate Programs," as they've been dubbed on theInternet, have actually been around for quite some time.
Inmailorder publishing we just called them dealerships, butthey worked the same way. Someone would self publish a bookor report, sell it through ads or by direct mail, and oftenallow others to sell it, for a commission, too.
Becoming adealer for a product sometimes required its purchase at fullprice, sometimes a fee, or sometimes it was just given awayfree. All three methods are used online, as well.Today, those books and reports of by-mail selling havebecome eBooks and websites, the camera-ready flyers thedealers had printed to promote them have became computergenerated affiliate sites, and automatic tracking of creditcard payments has replaced the cash, checks, and moneyorders that were sent through the mail.
But the storyremains the same...By having many dealers selling his product, a successfulmailorder publisher was able to make a lot of money. As forthe dealers, they were lucky if they could make enoughselling it to cover the costs of their mailings!What mailorder dealers needed were products they couldsell for the small cost of having them printed, because 50%just wasn't enough.
But unless a dealer could produce aproduct of his own, what he had available to him were thesame schlock reports to which anyone could have reproductionrights by simply purchasing the report. Much of thismarginally useful material has found its way onto theinternet where it is given away by the diskful, oftenthrough affiliate programs!In the make-money-by-mail circle, most of which is now inthe past, it was the "prime source" or publisher who won.
Inthe make money-money-online circle, it's still the primesource who wins, though he isn't called that, anymore. Themore things change, the more they stay the same!One thing electronic publishing has made possible is theease with which it can be done -- for practically nothing.A mailorder publisher had to be willing to take a sizeablerisk to get his work into the market.
Typesetting, printing,and binding cost money. So did print advertising, directmail, and shipping.
But electronically, most anyone can nowput together and promote a publication for little or nothingand deliver it free. And most everyone is!Who fared best as a dealer, offline?It was the dealer with his own products who could offersomeone else's products to his customers in what was calleda "bounceback" or "back-end" offer.
Any sales made this waydidn't cost much because the sales materials for the offer"rode along" in the fulfillment package to a highlyqualified lead. Bounceback orders were almost entirelyprofit, since the dealer simply forwarded the order to the"prime source" of the product along with his distributorcost, generally 50%, and a shipping label.
The prime source,"drop-shipped" his product to the customer, and everyone washappy.Today, if you're dealing in online affiliate programs, youprobably know they're tough to sell as stand-alones. Why?Because there are many such "opportunities" from whichanyone can choose and because there are a lot of peopletrying to sell the very same things to the same market.In plain English, the competition is fierce!But that doesn't mean that quality affiliate programs can'tmake money for you.
They can, if they are used properly.As in mailorder, the best possible use you can make ofonline affiliate programs, not your own, is to tie them intowhatever it is that you're doing, as ride-alongs, whether onyour web site, in your eZine, or through an eBook youpublish. By finding the programs that mesh with your ownbusiness, you set them up to generate added revenue for you,much like a bounceback in mailorder.
These select programscan be things that tie into your product or service directlyor indirectly.What's the difference?Let me give you an example.I've recently completed an eBook called "Build It Online!- How to Find, Sponsor & Duplicate MLM Success Over theInternet." The book is a product, my product. But I've beenable to use it to introduce some things that I can recommendto readers who may need them.
These include a lead programthat's directly tied to Multi-Level Marketing, and a veryhelpful piece of software that is indirectly related, sinceit can benefit anyone doing business online including thosewho are involved in MLM or Network Marketing. What'simportant is that both are products I can feel good aboutshowing my readers.
Take the lead program. When searchingthese out, I came across one that I wouldn't use myself.
Sowhy offer it to others? I believe in being able to standbehind my recommendations, so should you.It's easy to find products that you can tie into yourown online business. But take care that you only "affiliate"yourself with things of value.
Just because you joined aprogram is no reason to promote it, especially if you'relinking it to your products and your reputation.In my "studies" in online marketing -- why not call themthat! -- I've bought into far more things than I've everpromoted, but there are only two business angles I want towork online, anymore.The first is to continue to develop and sell my ownproducts. I'm working a couple of niche markets now, andknow it's easier to sell what I produce than it is to marketsomeone else's product.The second is to continue to promote the select MLM companies I can believe in.In fact, if you don't have the interest in creating yourown products, to which affiliate programs can be tied, I'durge you to get yourself into a good MLM company and workthat instead of an affiliate program.Why?Because working an affiliate program is self-limiting.You make a sale, you get a cut.
But the program owner getsthe customer!With MLM it's a little different. When you make a sale, yourcustomer, in a sense, becomes an affiliate or associate ofyours! And you earn on his sales and on the sales of thoseto whom he sells.
This can go "multi-levels" deep, so thateventually, you can be earning bonuses and commissions onthe sales of 100's or 1000's of people, not just your own.It's called leveraging, and it's something else being an affiliate dealer won't give you. Why not check it out?Much success! Article Tags: Affiliate Programs Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .