Pinterest Bans Affiliate Marketing Links!

On February 12, 2015, Pinterest announced that it would “automatically remove all affiliate links, redirects and trackers on Pins.” This is important news because merchants with affiliate marketing programs could see a drop in revenue from that channel, depending on how many affiliates use Pinterest to drive traffic.

…merchants with affiliate marketing programs could see a drop in revenue from that channel, depending on how many affiliates use Pinterest to drive traffic.

Pinterest is a social media platform that enables users to curate collections of most any online content. For example, a fashion blogger can create a collection of links to her favorite denim jeans. These collections are known as “boards,” and each link is called a “pin.”

The fashion blogger has fans that she built up via her blog. Those fans could follow her to various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. 

And whenever those fans see a product recommendation from her, no matter what platform it’s on, they may be inclined to click through and complete a purchase. Pinterest is simply another way for bloggers to interact with their followers.

So how is this related to affiliate marketing? Say that the fashion blogger monetizes her content through affiliate marketing. She has a blog post on her site that features a review of various denim jeans, and that post contains affiliate links that her followers can click through to purchase the jeans. This is traditional affiliate marketing.

Pinterest vs. Affiliate Marketing

However, with the advent of social media, the blogger can now post those same affiliate links on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social sites. She is simply communicating her product recommendations across multiple channels in the hopes that her followers will click her affiliate link and complete a purchase, thus generating a commission to her.

But now, Pinterest is blocking all those affiliate links. The pins remain, but the links are blocked — the pin still appears on boards, and can be shared, but click-through functionality is removed. 

This is not a surprise to affiliate marketers, as Pinterest has blocked isolated affiliate links in the past. But this is the first time that the website has issued a comprehensive ban on all types of affiliate marketing.

Revenue for Pinterest

The ban comes at a time when four-year-old Pinterest is considering how to generate revenue from its 70 million users. In April 2014, Pinterest launched a test for “Promoted Pins” that enabled brand advertisers to pay for promotion on a cost-per-click basis. 

There is also industry speculation about Pinterest partnering with payments company Stripe to add its own “buy” button to user-generated content within the next three to four months. This move could place Pinterest in the role of the affiliate.

In fact, Pinterest experimented with the affiliate role in 2012, when it partnered up with Skimlinks (an affiliate marketing tool) to auto-convert pins into affiliate links. But the Pinterest abandoned that practice after it came under fire for not disclosing the practice to its users.

By banning affiliate links, Pinterest could be paving the way for another attempt at affiliate marketing, perhaps a transparent attempt at monetization.

Reliance on Pinterest? 

There are still methods for affiliates to benefit from Pinterest. For example, the fashion blogger who curated a board featuring her top denim picks could link each pin to her own blog post, which could link to the retailer’s e-commerce site for affiliate commissions. 

While this approach could work in the interim, affiliates should not depend on Pinterest for that traffic. If Pinterest implements a “buy” button, the blogger’s traffic from Pinterest would likely reduce.

If a retailer wants to benefit from a blogger’s Pinterest following, the retailer would likely need to work directly with the blogger, outside of an affiliate relationship. The retailer could compensate the blogger for curating a board, paying her a fixed amount instead of a commission.

In short, if a retailer’s affiliates use Pinterest as part of their marketing mix, that retailer will likely see a decline in affiliate revenue based on these changes. However, affiliates that depend mainly on Pinterest for their revenue may not be adding any value to your affiliate program anyway. 

These affiliate are building their success off a single site, instead of creating unique value — the heart of true affiliate marketing.

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/81802-Pinterest-Bans-Affiliate-Marketing-Links 

What is Affiliate Marketing & How You can Make Money!

You've probably heard of money making opportunities with Affiliate Marketing but you are not quite for sure what it is, how it works or how to get started. 

In this article I would like to share with you what affiliate marketing is, how it works and point you in the right direction in getting started with generating passive income through Affiliate Marketing.

What is Affiliate Marketing?
It is a type of marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought to them by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. There are primarily 4 core players in affiliate marketing and they are as follows:

1.The Merchant(also known as "retailer or brand")
2.The Network(that contains offers for the affiliate to choose from and also takes care of the payments)
3.The Affiliate
4.The Customer

The Merchant: 

The Merchant is relatively easy to understand. The merchant can be Amazon, Best buy, Target, etc. Not every company has an affiliate program though. 

One way to see if a company has an affiliate program is to type in the Merchant's name into a search engine like Google, followed by the phrase affiliate program, for instance you would type in amazon affiliate program. 

The search engine should list a link to Amazon's affiliate program. Follow this same procedure for any merchant in which you would like to see if they have an affiliate program.
 

The Network: 

An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between affiliates and merchant affiliate programs.
 

The Affiliate: 

You would be the affiliate, the person who would promote and advertise for the Merchant, thereby, you will receive some type of commission for recommending their products and services. 

In order to know what you can expect, for as compensation, you must read through the affiliate program for the merchant you would like to be an affiliate with. Some affiliate programs pay more than others. 

One very important key in deciding which affiliate program you would like to join, is to let it be relative to the content on your website. For example if your website is dedicated to electronic products then try to find affiliate programs that deal in electronic products and services. 

The Customer: 

The customer is the one who will click on the affiliate link you posted on your website and hopefully make a purchase from a particular merchant.

The Benefits of Generating Passive Income as an Affiliate!
•You can potentially generate many passive income streams through joining several affiliate programs, just ensure the affiliate programs are relative to your content.
•Affiliate programs are legitimate and not scams.
•Joining an affiliate program is absolutely free.
•It is a very low maintenance way of generating passive income.
•You don't have to be present to make money.


wealthyaffiliate.com/ccj/blog/what-is-affiliate-marketing-and-how-you-can-make-money

Taking Your Business To The Next Level With Affiliate Marketing!

TIP! To turn a potential buyer into an actual buyer, guide them to a page that features the product. For example, a video page with a helpful demonstration of the product in action.

Many more people are recognizing the benefits of Affiliate marketing and how it can help people become successful. With choices ranging from static web sites to electronic newsletters, marketing your business via online channels is easier than ever. 

Continue on to the article below for some helpful information on how to use electronic communication to help your web marketing efforts.

TIP! It’s a simple equation: more subscribers equals more money. A split test can help you determine which methods earn you more subscribers.
You need a mailing list or a newsletter of every single client. Ask users to sign up on your site or require them to submit an email address before making a purchase. This information can be used to solicit customer feedback or contact customers with sales and special offers.

TIP! Find your niche. If you can offer a unique, exclusive product, it can make a dramatic difference in the amount of traffic you receive.
If you get disheartened with affiliate marketing, do not throw in the towel. For all you know, you will give up when you might’ve been on the brink of success. To be successful with an online business, you have to pay attention to details and take the task very seriously.

Success in any pursuit requires dedication and work and Web marketing is no exception. No matter how arduous this journey may be, always keep in mind that your efforts will pay off.

Always stay on top of what your web marketing competition is doing. It does not matter what your niche is, you will have competition at all times.

TIP! When you are creating and designing your website, attempt a comprehensive focus on content-orientation. Your main goal is to educate your audience about your product or service in a limited amount of time.

Attaching your keyword to internal links is very useful. The longer people stay on your website, the more likely they are to buy something, so make sure interesting, older content is easy to find. Internal linking to previous articles will keep visitors on your site which will increase your ranking on a search engine.

TIP! When you do not regularly update or revamp your website, consider keeping things fresh with a company blog. New content gets the attention of the search engines which will increase your ranking in their listings and lead to more traffic for your site.

There are many techniques that can be employed when using internet promotion. Use the tips laid out here to help you get your name out on the Internet and market your company to the people in your target market in an efficient and quick way. 

More and more people want to be contacted online, so marketing via the Internet is a great way to boost your sales.

http://strongurgetofly.com/taking-your-business-to-the-next-level-with-affiliate-marketing/

Pinterest Kills Affiliate Links As It Readies A Buy Button!

Social networking site Pinterest is banning the use of affiliate links and redirects according to VentureBeat, which broke the story on Thursday. 

The news came as rumors surfaced that Pinterest was planning to launch a buy button later this year, possibly in partnership with payment service Stripe. But the company denied it was blocking affiliates due to monetization purposes.

"This is 100% about the Pinner experience and ensuring relevant content on Pinterest," a spokesperson told Mediapost, which pointed out that Pinterest was, nevertheless, "aggressively pursuing various monetization opportunities."

In 2013, for example, Pinterest launched an ad format called Promoted pins.

Pinterest issued a statement to reporters saying it had observed affiliate links and redirects causing irrelevant posts (Pins) to show in feeds as well as broken links "and other spammy behavior." 

The company said, "We believe this change will enable us to keep the high bar of relevancy and quality Pinners expect from Pinterest."

The Wall Street Journal said Pinterest claimed it had been automatically removing affiliate links for years but had allowed some exceptions that were "maintaining good quality."

"RewardStyle, an affiliate network that caters to the fashion industry and works with 9,000 bloggers, websites and other publishers, was among those that had been allowed to link, until yesterday," the Wall Street Journal wrote on Friday. 

It quoted a Pinterest spokesperson who said, "We have noticed their Pinner behavior going downhill. This has caused slower delivery of Pins and less relevant Pins in people's home feeds."

VentureBeat said Hello Society, a company billing itself as a "Pinterest marketing agency," was also affected by the new policy.

Online sellers are using Pinterest, but as a marketing tool rather than an ecommerce platform, according to Ecommerce Bytes readers participating in the annual Sellers Choice Awards in January.


http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y15/m02/i16/s03

Tips For Success In Affiliate Marketing!

Your internet marketing program’s offline tracking system is vital to your success. Get details on the methods the company uses to track phone and mail orders before you sign up. 

If you bring the company customers that choose to order via mail or phone, you can lose out on commissions unless those orders are somehow linked back your current affiliate ID.

Shop for Affiliates
Put out feelers with a lot of different affiliates to start out. Going through many sites with similar affiliate programs gives visitors many links to select from.

Before you select any affiliate marketing program, you should investigate exactly how each company credits sales that are made outside the confines of the website. 

If your referrals lead to an order placed by phone or mail, you must ensure that you are given credit for these sales. Otherwise, you may not be paid for your efforts.

Sign up with an internet marketing company which always adds new products to it’s lineup. For repeat business with a reputable company, try to locate one that has several products which will keep your commissions going. 

Stay away from products that are the current rage, fad, or fashion. These products tend to have a short-lived period of successful profit.

Each affiliate program is unique. Some differences include the products offered and the flexibility afforded you.

TIP! Try not to market only extremely popular products. While emphasizing quality is considered a best practice for affiliate marketing, you want to make sure that you do not mix quality up with popularity.

Be Selective With Products You Promote
Many affiliate marketers diligently work towards success using the wrong style. Generally speaking, they attempt to sell more products than they can effectively promote, and ended dropping the ball on all of them. 

Do not have the mindset that you need to maximize everything. It’s more important to find out what works best for you and your business.

TIP! Affiliate programs vary greatly. They vary in their product offerings and flexibility.

Promote Through Advertising
Paid advertising, such as Google Ads, is a good way to make money from affiliate promotion programs. It is important to consider the use of keyword related ads and if they will be beneficial to your internet marketing plan.

These methods are greatly used, because they help bring customers in. If you can apply those strategies to your business, you are golden.

http://jvmarketinggroup.com/tips-success-affiliate-marketing/ 

 

Why Is Affiliate Marketing The Quickest Home Based Business To Start?

With all the many Internet-based businesses out there many people are skeptical about the possiblity to earn with affiliate marketing online. 

Those who are new to the and are managing the struggles that a majority of beginner Internet marketers go through are thinking about this question numerous times a day. 

While you may doubt the ability to earn a good living you possibly can make money using internet affiliate marketing strategies.

When compared to traditional advertising methods, online programs tend to be more cost-efficient and effective. However, there's still a substantial number of individuals who fail when they try their hand at affiliate marketing. 

Sometimes the reason being they do not know that it will take time and energy to be successful. Other times, it's as a result of poor planning. Failing to plan is a recipe profit academy review for failure regardless of the type of business the first is pursuing.

The easy part is pulling up the search results hard part is choosing the best guide and you will have to complete your homework about this one. 

The best results will likely be for the first two pages with the most well ranked on top of page 1. This is where an individual will need to start their research in looking for the product which will profit academy bonus suit their particular personal needs.

I do a little bit of affiliate marketing, however it isn't my main business. However, my buddy Florian is really a fulltime marketer and makes a very nice income from it. 

He runs Keyfox.de, a gaming related site. No matter what you have in mind, there's probably a joint venture partner program correctly! If you like basketball, there are plenty of basketball training affiliate programs. If you love music, you can find affiliate programs for guitar, piano etc.

Joining affiliate products is simple and fast, in most cases requires accessing the web page, signing up, and waiting for the webmaster's approval. The webmaster provides internet marketer which has a unique affiliate ID to use for the links that directing traffic for the merchant's website. 

The challenge however lies in identifying suitable online programs, and separating genuine opportunities from scams.

http://www.bafe.it/details-affiliate-marketing-clarified

Increase Your Affiliate Marketing Success With These Easy Tips!

Online marketing is, by the speedy standards of the online world, a venerable marketing strategy. People doing business online have been using it to earn profits for years. 

Affiliate marketing programs are well ingrained into the historical and current usage of the Internet. You can find a wealth of information about internet marketing programs and techniques. These tips might be useful, no matter how experienced you are with internet marketing.

When getting involved in affiliate marketing, it’s important to work with an affiliate company that has products you truly believe in and would be happy to promote and sell. Having a broad base of affiliates will generate more income than having just a few. Don’t work with just anybody; make sure that you do thorough research so you know that you are with the right people.

In order to make the internet marketing programs work for you, only keep the ones that are the most profitable. Make sure you thoroughly review your affiliates performance. By getting rid of affiliates who perform poorly, you can replace them with those will bring in more revenue.

Choosing the hottest products to promote as an affiliate may mean thinner profits. Quality is always something you want to market, but quality products are not always popular products. In fact, choosing a highly popular product will mean that the competition will be extremely high as well. Profit may not be a possibility.

As far as getting your hands on the money is concerned, it is best to select an affiliate company which offers multiple payment options. Most companies offer mailed checks when you achieve a certain amount, while others offer bank withdrawal options through PayPal and AlertPay.

Take a closer look at secret links, and utilize them if necessary. There are several techniques of including affiliate links so that they are not obvious to your viewers. Put them to use, though do not try to hide the fact. Inform your site visitors what will happen if they click on a link.

Never do business with disreputable companies that do not offer you a reasonable commission. Companies should offer you a profit of at least 20% for every sale. The best companies know they should take care of their affiliates, which means they’ll offer a good commission.

When doing internet marketing you should never be deceptive about what business you are in. Describe to your users the purpose of your site and reveal all affiliations. If people who visit your site have any inclination that you aren’t being 100% honest about who you are affiliated with, they know how to go around your site and to the merchant directly instead.

Affiliate Programs
Affiliate programs are a great way to promote your business. Affiliate programs typically drive higher levels of traffic compared with other tactics like banner ads and networking. When you are trying to decide on an affiliate program you should consider the payment you will receive, ease of navigation and the directory’s popularity.

Online marketing offers a great way to draw in extra revenue. Just like any other business endeavor, knowledge is what you need in order to earn your own slice of the pie.

http://www.mlspro-onlinemarketing.com/increase-your-affiliate-marketing-success-with-these-easy-tips-2/

The Truth About Affiliate Marketing!

For those of you who are not familiar with it, affiliate marketing is simply the use of third-party individuals to market a company’s product to potential customers. Generally, the marketer, also known as an affiliate, is given a link to put on his or her website. 

When readers click on that link and purchase the product being marketed, the affiliate receives a portion of the sale as a commission. In this manner, a website that promotes a product can earn its owner a certain amount of passive income. 

The problem, however, becomes that many people represent this very simple business concept as a way to get rich quickly. The truth is that it is anything but a fast path to easy wealth.

There are more myths than real facts floating around the internet about affiliate marketing. Many marketers claim to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year with little to no work. These claims are, of course, simply not true. 

One massively common myth is that affiliate links will perform well on pages that are dedicated to nothing but selling affiliate products. The reality is that, just like normal advertising, a website must offer value to its readers in order for affiliate campaigns to succeed. 

Affiliate marketing should be thought of as a way to monetize and enhance an already successful website, rather than being the principal focus of that site.

Probably the most common myth, however, is that anyone can begin making money with affiliate marketing almost overnight. The sad truth is that affiliate links still need to be seen in order to generate income. 

This means that they must be put on a website with a good amount of traffic. In other words, a website cannot be thrown together one day with a few affiliate links and become a gold mine by the middle of next week. 

Like any income stream, an affiliate marketing business requires growth planning, work, and careful cultivation in order to be successful.

By now, the affiliate marketing business model probably doesn’t look so appealing. However, it should not be written off. It can still be a very profitable source of passive income, provided you are willing to go about it the right way. 

While it can be a matter of trial and error, there are some good general ground rules that can help you succeed

http://supportz.com/the-truth-about-affiliate-marketing/

Essential Components For Online Affiliate Marketing!

Making money with online affiliate marketing is incredibly easy to do if you have the right parts. If you want to bake a cake but didn’t have all the right ingredients it isn’t going to turn out right. 

The same is true with online affiliate marketing. It needs to be focused on the niche, providing quality content, driven with keywords, able to drive traffic, and able to convert.

Choosing the right niche is crucial for your success. You have to be able to find a good niche that has a large enough market with enough demand that you can make a decent profit. 

Make sure, though, that the competition isn’t too thick. Do your best research on the niche and make sure that you have a legitimate shot at getting your piece of the pie. Find out what they want, find what they want, and find a way to connect them with what they want.

Make sure that you are providing the niche quality products or services. Every person you help to make a purchase is a potential future customer for you. 

If you provide them with good answers to their problems and are making your lists and communicating with them, they very well may be future customers of yours. 

Find the information they want and find the best way to communicate that information to them. The better the content you provide the more likely they are going to want to do what you tell them to do.

The best information on the best products will not sell if they aren’t in places where people can see them. Search engines have certain keywords they like that relate to your product and service. 

Find out what those keywords are that search engines love and use them responsibly throughout your content. 

Do continual research as trends will change and people will type in something different tomorrow than they would have last week for the same thing. Good keywords used correctly will help bring success to your online affiliate marketing.

You have to bring in as much traffic as possible of you are going to be successful with online affiliate marketing. 

The best way to do this is to make use of all the social networks related to your products and use a multi-pronged approach to reach as many people as possible. Use videos, articles, blogging, audio, and other avenues to attract traffic. Don’t focus on just one method.

An owner of a famous American football team gave a talk once about the 5 things that made him a successful salesperson. The first is ask for the check and he forgot what the other four are. 

When you are creating content, writing an article, making a video, writing a blog, or anything else make sure you tell them what you want them to do. 

When you get them to your site, tell them what you want them to click or buy and ask for their business. Failing to do that may just result in the failure of your online affiliate marketing efforts.

http://buildingabrandonline.com/theyakisback/essential-components-for-online-affiliate-marketing/