What do you think are the best advertising methods?

[Ziggy-Zoo]

Hi there all

I am in affiliate marketing myself and used MOIS to get started.

It would be interesting to see which advertising method people used to promote their online business came up on top.

So, which one do you prefer : article submission to ezine etc, blogging, free ads?

I am keen to know what gives you the best results.

:o

[Forum Admin 2]

I use them all with quite a few articles to them. Articles is a great way to get the word out :)

[Ziggy-Zoo]

Dont you find that EzineArticles is a bit restricting though. I mean you can't put your clickbank link in there ... only a blog, squidoo lens or another article link.

Bit frustrating for a person if they read your EzineArticle, then get refered to just another article which is merely about the same thing and then only can they access the website to buy it. Buy then the urge to buy it disappears so you kind of loose the click through theory, yes?

[Moderator 1]

Ezine Articles is an authority site with Google and the other search engines. It is highly recommended. Even though that have pretty strict editorial guidelines, it is worth it. Using blogs is a good way too. Using them both and linking to one from the other is as good way to get back links and page rank. :)

[Forum Admin 2]

With ezine you can send them to your squidoo lens and also if you have an ad out you can place it in there also. I normally put two different links in my authors box providing information on the product. This too provides you with added backlinks.

Your article is just a teaser. Then you send them to your lens or blog for extra information. From there they can click to vendor. If you add an ad, this can either be set up to go straight to the vendor or to another website for more information also.

The choice is yours in how you want to direct your traffic. Just remember not to have customers go in circles :)

[volybal3]

I also use a combination of all. Once I choose a product, I write about 20-30 articles, do a few videos, ads, blogs, and I spread the words through forums like this one, as well as twitter, myspace, digg, youtube, and facebook.

[Ziggy-Zoo]

Ok I dont want to act too blonde here, but how do you do this????? >

If you add an ad, this can either be set up to go straight to the vendor

It peeves me that Ezine won't let you put clickbank links in and I think sending them to a blog or lens or even an add that just kind of repeats the info.

I use USfreeads. Are there better ones.

Like the idea that you can set up an add to go straight to the vendor .. now i need to know how!

Thanks

:)

[Forum Admin 2]

Are you using just the free UsFreeAds Ziggy? If so you will not be able to add links into the body. The most profitable is investing in the premium. This way you can add links plus pictures :)

[Pilgrim]

I also use a combination of all. Once I choose a product, I write about 20-30 articles, do a few videos, ads, blogs, and I spread the words through forums like this one, as well as twitter, myspace, digg, youtube, and facebook.
volybal3, thx for the info. Actually we all should be doing what you have been doing to get exposure. After all, that is what we want and need...a strong net presence ubiquitous in nature, right?

Thx and God blesss,
-Pilgrim

[KitKat]

It's actually better not to send directly to the affiliate link. I know this sounds strange, but really it is. You want your visitors to get to know you and "brand" yourself. The only way to do this is to have them go and read more of what you have to say about the product(s) and even including an opt-in is GREAT if you can. That way you capture the visitors attention and are building your list and a rapport with them at the same time! That way YOU will have a growing list that will give these people more chances to buy a product through you or send them free information from time to time.

Otherwise you may forever be putting money just into someone else's pockets.... does this make sense? Not saying you can't do this, but I would limit the number of links directly to them....

Hope this helps! :D

[gowriter]

Many article directories are strict for a specific reason and that is to get you to write articles in a professional manner.

Article directories are designed so that your content can be copied and pasted (with your link) to other people's websites to get you more exposure and to draw readers to the publisher's site. That way you both win.

That affiliate link looks really ugly in your resource box and is a dead give away that you're trying to sell to someone. No one likes being sold to. They read articles to gleen useful informative tips, and because they like your article, they want to know more. This is where your top level domain (TLD) comes in.

You can cloak your clickbank hoplink buy purchasing a .info domain name for as little as $1.07 per year from Go Daddy then forward and mask your affiliate link to this domain name. Check out You Tube to see how this is done.

You need to get into the habit of cloaking your link, most especially if you have a Clickbank hop link which is the easiest to hijack. Many people have lost commissions because other Clickbank affiliates would take out your affiliate ID and insert their own.

So protect yourself.

[JoyBringsWealth]

Wow, I knew this could happen but now that you explained how it happens it makes so much more sense. Thanks for this information, it really sucks that their are people out there who would steal someone else's hard work. Great tip regarding cloaking links...

[Forum Admin 2]

This is very important to do. I like how clickbank has added the new shield with their hoplinks, but they sure are not something you would want a customer to look at. The great thing about cloaking is you can also make it look more appealing to the reader. :)

[Ziggy-Zoo]

Are you using just the free UsFreeAds Ziggy? If so you will not be able to add links into the body. The most profitable is investing in the premium. This way you can add links plus pictures :)

I have got the premium option and do quite a bit of promoting there. Its quick and you can get out quite a few in one go. Whats really nice is that the are automatically renewed as well so I dont have to worry about them.

I am not sure how this social bookmarking works though. Guess that will have to be my next lesson :)

[TshirtFrank]

You need to get into the habit of cloaking your link, most especially if you have a Clickbank hop link which is the easiest to hijack. Many people have lost commissions because other Clickbank affiliates would take out your affiliate ID and insert their own.

So protect yourself.

Hi All,

I don't know a whole lot about cloaking links or how people steal them, but I normally use bit.ly to shorten my links and I believe that cloaks them also? Anyone?

Another question, Clickbank's hops no longer have the affiliate Id in the link- is this a sufficient link cloak?

Thanks in advance,

TSF

[Forum Admin 2]

It is suppose to be TSF with the shield. But I would still cloak it again. I have not heard of the cloak you are using so thank you for sharing that information. There are some really good ones out these days to make your links look more presentable. You can never be to safe. Its hard enough learning affiliate marketing and all the hard work one puts into their business to have someone steal your links. :)

[port8894]

Some things that I like to use are Usads, blogs, articles, and forums. some things that I plan on trying next is twitter, you tube, and myspace.

[Andy3568]

I see that Clickbank creates "encrypted" links. I wasn't aware people could hijack links. I have never cloaked them. Every once in awhile I go back and check my affiliate links. If they still go to my affiliate link, does that mean they have not been hijacked?

[Forum Admin 2]

Andy,

If you are tracking them, you should be fine. It is always best to keep checking your links to make sure that they are directing traffic to where you want them to go :)

[Moderator 1]

It is possible, but less likely with the new cloaker that Clickbank is using.

You can cloak those links again to look a little better by using services like tinyurl.com or offto.net just to name a couple. :)

[Andy3568]

I was familiar with tinyurl.com before I got into Internet Marketing as a means to make long urls show up on one line in emails. Here (http://www.see-and-buy.com/TrafficBlaster.html) is a report that lists a whole bunch of sites like tinyurl.com. Page down to the end of the report to see the list. I never knew there were so many.

[Moderator 1]

That is a really good list, Andy - thanks for sharing with us. It will give our members a wide variety to choose from if they would like. :)

[Forum Admin 2]

Thank you for sharing this with us Andy. There are quite a few on the list that I have never even heard of before. :)

[Andy3568]

I had a link of mine changed... I used tighturl.com, and later on they deleted my link saying I had violated their Terms of Use. Apprently, they don't want anyone using their service to cloak affiliate links. It sounds like they think it's dishonest or something.

[Forum Admin 2]

Who was this for Andy that deleted your link?:)