If you’re an affiliate marketer making small to sub-standard commissions, here are 5 ways to maximize your affiliate commissions almost immediately…
1. Limit the number of affiliate programs you join
If you’re involved with more that 4-6 affiliate programs per website, think about narrowing that down. Sites that tend to earn the most affiliate commissions are those that promote just a few quality affiliate programs.
You don’t want to confuse your visitors with a lot of choices. By only promoting one or two affiliates you provide greater buying confidence in your audience which can mean greater commissions for you.
Promoting too many affiliate programs dilutes your earning power and your relationship with each affiliate program. The more concentration you can devote to each affiliate program the better off you are. So concentrate on finding the top affiliate programs and stick to promoting only those programs.
2. Limit The Use of Distracting Graphics
Use large, dramatic or animated graphics sparingly. Make sure that all the graphics that appear throughout your pages have a clear purpose. Graphics scream advertising and most people simply ignore them. You are far better off with text links that are embedded into your page’s content. That’s not to say you can’t use graphics, just keep them to a minimum and place them in locations where they are likely to get the most attention.
For example, place leader board ads directly above the start of your content. If you are using sidebar ads place them to the left towards the top. You can place banners on the right-hand side of your website however studies show they are not as successful as placing them on the right-hand side.
3. Maximize your Affiliate Commissions by Familiarizing yourself with the products you Promote
If I use a product before I promote it I’m always in a better position to help others understand how effective the product is. I’m also in a far better position to tell them about my experiences with the company which is something I like to include when writing a product review.
Your personal experiences will come across in your writing. But don’t just talk about the products, familiarize yourself with the company and their commitment to their customers and be sure to talk about that. Emphasize company values and commitment to quality. The more personal and first hand information you can provide your viewers the more incentive your visitors will have to click on your affiliate link.
4. Get to know your affiliate manager
I always strive to get to know my affiliate manager. The more popular an affiliate program is the more affiliates an affiliate manager has to keep track of so a phone call or even a personal email will help them get to know and remember YOU.
Don’t be shy about asking your affiliate manager to do things like make personal banners for me, provide useful content for my site pages or create text links that would work well on my site. A good affiliate manager has no problem doing these things for you, so don’t be afraid to ask. Also if there are special promotions, classes or training, they will think of you first.
Remember if you succeed, they succeed. The more they understand about your goals and needs the better off you both are, so use your affiliate manager to help you.
5. Monitor your site visitors
Review your website’s traffic statistics. These are the stats that your hosting service provides you. If you have CPanel hosting you’ll find your stats under the ‘logs’ section or ‘awstats’. If for some reason you don’t have access to these statistics sign up for a free service such as:
Google Analytics: http://www.google.com/analytics/
Quantcast.com http://www.Quantcast.com
Using traffic statistics helps you learn things about your website like:
The pages your visitors are going to – If you know what pages your visitors go to the most then you can find ways to monetize or focus more on those pages.
Visitor gender – If your visitors are more male than female you can take a more masculine approach to your advertising or vice versa.
The keywords they use to find your site – Knowing what keywords visitors typed in to find your site clues you in on what your visitors want to know most. Once you know that you can tailor pages to those specific keywords and topics.
By monitoring your website’s traffic on a regular basis you can better identify ways to consistently increase the number of visitors coming to your site.
None of these are things that require major changes, just more focus and more interaction. Put these strategies in place and you’ll see how powerful they are for generating more consistent affiliate commissions. 
If maximizing your affiliate commissions is a priority, and it should be, get a hold of the Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner. She’s turned my average affiliate sales into monthly income that allowed me to quit my job.
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