last updated 4/27/10
Welcome to the epiphany in your affiliate marketing career. What I’m going to present here is a constantly updating mega affiliate marketing guide. It will be article links from blogs and forum posts. You will find everything you need to get you started with affiliate marketing, which means never again will you PAY FOR ANY AFFILIATE MARKETING INFORMATION. There’s too much quality free stuff out there for you to waste time and money buying something else. I’ve sifted through blogs to find the top informational posts that covers most topics of affiliate marketing. If you read every article in this guide and still go out and buy an affiliate marketing eBook without putting what you just learned to good use, you’re stupid. These articles will give you a very solid background into affiliate marketing and all the different techniques you can use. All you have to do is go out there and test what you learned. Keep what’s converting, and drop what isn’t. As I’m completely positive I haven’t covered every good article out there, make sure to contact me and hit me up with some links to add.
My CPA Networks and Tools
I’m just going to list out the affiliate networks I use, as well as the tools (paid and unpaid) I use when starting up a campaign. I recommend signing up for every affiliate network out there (even the ones I don’t mention), as each network has different offers with different payouts. You can be doing sweet on a niche, sign up with another network, and find out that they have a higher converting offer that pays out more. None of the paid tools are necessary, but each of them has their own special use to me and that’s why I use them.
My Networks
CX Digital
CPA Empire
Neverblue Ads
Azoogle
Copeac
Keyword Research Tools
Keyword Discovery
WordTracker
Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion
SEO Book Keyword Tool
Tracking Tools
Prosper202 Self-Hosted Tracking
Other Tools
Facebook Ads Manager
Plenty of Fish Ads Uploader
Keyword Companion
Complete N00bies
If you just heard from the grapevine that affiliate marketing is cool, but have no idea what it is, here are some background articles for you to gobble up.
Nickycakes Newbie Guide
Affiliate Marketing – Wikipedia
8 Beginner Questions and Answers
General Guides
Some general all around guides on affiliate marketing, and getting an affiliate campaign up and profiting as fast as possible. Good overall reads.
Free Affiliate Marketing Guide
Launching a Campaign From 0 to Profitibility
Launching a Campaign From 0 to Profitibility – Part II
The Super Affiliate’s Guide to PPC Marketing
Choosing a Niche
Thoughts on ways to select a niche that will be profitable for you.
How & What To Promote
Using Brute Force to Find Profits
Picking a Niche is Everything in Affiliate Marketing
Strategy
Different affiliate marketing strategies and things to think about.
How to Build a Profitable Campaign on a Limited Budget
Landing Page or Redirect?
Diversification or Domination?
What PPC Engine to Start With
Affiliate Marketing On A Low Budget
Picking a Domain Name
Picking the right domain name for your web/product site.
9 Tips For Choosing A Great Domain Name
Tips for Selection a Domain Name
Landing Pages
What the user sees after they click on your ad. The landing page game is changing now, read up and get ahead of the crowd.
Landing Pages And The Urgency Of Time
Mad lib form style testing results
Impress Your Visitors with a Graphically Dynamic Landing Page
Creating an Adwords-Ready Landing Page
Landing Page Quality Score
Cloaking Affiliate Links
Landing Page Keys to Success
Design/Photoshop
What the user sees after they click on your ad. The landing page game is changing now, read up and get ahead of the crowd.
Photoshop Guide For Affiliates
Keyword Research
Researching keywords is something most people complain about, hopefully you’ll get some good tips and shut your yap.
Uber Keyword Research
Keyword Research Secrets
Tracking
Any good affiliate will tell you: track, track, and track. Testing and tracking are so important if you want to really take your campaigns to the next level.
Landing Page Rotation Script
PHP Keyword Tracking How-To
Keyword Tracking with Encryption
Split Testing Affiliate URLs
Advanced Tracking with DirectTrack
Writing Ads
How to write compelling ads that users want to click on.
18 Tips For Writing Better Pay-Per Click Ads
Creating PPC Ads That Stand Out From the Crowd
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Getting that CTR up in your ads.
6 Seductive CTR Tips
Tuesday Tips – Improving Landing Page CTR
Conversion Rates
Getting the user to convert once they make it to the landing page.
11 Ways to Improve Landing Pages
How To Build Landing Pages That Convert
CPC/CPM Advertising
How to advertise smart in search engines and on web/social sites.
The 1 Penny Tip
How Super Affiliate Set Their Bids
How to Increase CTR of Your Facebook Ads
PPV Advertising
Those annoying popunders you get when browsing your favorite sites. Yeah…that could be you.
Top 100 TrafficVance Targets
TrafficVance – Demographics & Tips
PPV Network Reviews
A Simple Way to Split Test PPV Landing Pages Without a Rotator
3 Ways to Increase Your PPV Landing Page CTR
Laser Targeting Your PPV Campaigns
Media Buying
Ready to play with the big boys?
Media Buying 101: Introduction To Inventory (A Step-By-Step Guide) – Part 1
Tips on Media Buying
Google Adwords
So annoying that it gets it’s own category.
Optimizing Google Content Campaigns
Google content network basic strategy
Conquering The Google Content Network
10 Adwords Mistakes
14 Adwords Tips for Beginners
49 Tips on Adwords
Traffic Guides
Guides written about utilizing specific traffic sources.
The Beginners Guide To Advertising On Facebook
Plenty of Fish. Plenty of Money.
PHP Codes/Tools
Write your own tools instead of paying for a programmer.
Free Geo IP Javascript To Increase Conversions On Your Campaigns
Noobies Guide on How to Scrape: Part 1 – Intro & Tools
Noobies Guide on How to Scrape: Part 2 – URLs, URL Variables, and using Live HTTP Headers
Noobies Guide on How to Scrape: Part 3 – Basics of Assessing Your Target
Noobies Guide on How to Scrape: Part 4 – cURL
Noobies Guide on How to Scrape: Part 5 – A Basic Scraper
Monetizing International Traffic
Tricks
Misc. tricks that may give a small boost to some of your campaigns.
Increase Landing Page Relevance with Domain Aliasing
Advanced Tactics
Once you’re a beast at your niche, some super affiliate tactics.
Becoming An Advertiser : Part 1 (Overview)
How To Scale A Campaign
Case Studies
My favorite way to learn is by reading other people’s experiences and experiments that they post to the public.
CS1.1 – Pay Per Click Case Study Part 1
CS1.2 – Pay Per Click Case Study Part 2 – Keyword Research
CS1.3 – Pay Per Click Case Study Part 3 – Landing Pages and Tracking
CS1.4 – PPC Case Study Part 4 – Advice, Tips and Campaign Structure
CS1.5 – PPC Case Study Part 5 – Campaign Update and a Top Secret Tool
CS1.6 – Pay Per Click Case Study Part 6 – Stats Recap and Going Forward
How I Generated $1,700,000 in Auto Sales Despite a Weak Economy
Plenty of Fish Case Study – CPM Bid Effects – Results
How I made $7,144.00 using TrafficVance.
$10k PPC Experiment
$10k PPC Experiment Part II
Facebook Experiment
Case Study : Diet Pills – How I Ran It
Pay Per Click Network Challenge
Information-Packed Forum Threads
Threads that are packed with good conversation about affiliate marketing. You may find one or two gems.
NEW Facebook Ads
Plentyoffish Self Serve Advertising.
UKoffer Question Thread
Super Affiliate Mindsets
Popularity: 100% [?]
I have no idea how I came across your blog and who you are but your blog is fast becoming my favorite read. Excellent advice and a great post, thanks a million for spending the time to write it up mate.
All the best,
Keith
Impressive list.
I am going to post this one for sure…
Thanks!
Hey, thanks for adding links to some of my articles! Your blog is great, I’ve been subscribed ever since I read your post on Shoemoney.com
Awesome list of resources! It’s really true, if you do your research you can find a TON of great free info on how to do affiliate marketing.
Great list, I am going to bookmark this one! Thanks
Likewise, I have no idea how this got in my feedreader, but great list. Diorex is a great blog, and he started posting again as well. Look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
Great blog post. Going to be a good reference!
Excellent stuff,
Only link I’d question is Wordtracker paid as I find their keyword search volume reports can be way off. Spyfu.com imho completes the Keyword Research list.
Kieran
for the keyword lists I would say KeywordSpy is the best, but wordze should be in there too.
http://www.keywordspy.com/
http://www.wordze.com/
Nice list though, a lot of stuff to sift through that’s for sure.
Keep it up SUP3RNOVA
Great stuff…I love that you are giving away alot of the same info that other IM are charging for..
Your blog has become my favorite discovery of the year.
Looking forward to yoir future posts..
Cheers,
Darren
Great list of resources. I wish I’d had these when I started!
Stumbled, Dugg, and subscribed. Keep up the awesome work. =D
-OOE
Ok. Time to start reading. There is a lot of reading to do to get through all of it.
This is the post I’ve been waiting for Paul. This ought to keep me busy for the next several days.
Cheers.
Two quick questions. I am trying to sign up for an affiliate. What do most people do, enter an SS# or get a tax ID? Also the site I plan to advertise on is like what you had done on facebook, what do I enter for my “website URL/Traffic/Etc…”? I am very new to this.
I want to turn $80 into $200 if possible… Then see how far this can go.
Unless you’re running it under a corporation, just use your SSN.
For your website, just put “affiliate landing pages”.
Hey Nova, if we ever get to go snowboarding together, i’ll buy you a lift ticket for putting together this list. That is a super cool move. – OFF TOPIC QUESTION – What is your favorite place to ride?
Now i’m off to read all these articles…
~rideswitch
I just board around where I live in Southern NY.
Ever been to Hunter Mtn? I drove up there once b/c they open the earliest in the season w/in driving distance of me in Central PA, Lancaster County. For some reason I thought you were in the midwest. I’m going to Rochester NY to the Higher Education Web Developer Conference in Mid Oct. I know it’s not Affiliate Marketing but it’s what i’m into to pay the bills for my family while I work at Elizabethtown College and build my Affiliate Business.
Hey Paul,
your link to the free wordtracker keyword tool is incorrect, it is freekeywords.wordtracker.com now
Hey great information. i just subscribed to your blog. i’m a struggling affiliate. hope to turn that around. thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
This is a great list! Do you think you’ll be publishing a guide that’s more kinda ‘step by step’ or is there an assumption that people already know some of the basics?
SUP3RNOVA, i know you from digitalpoint forums. You’re a helpful guy. I have a question. Hopefully other can benefit for it as well.
As an affiliate do you encourage newbies to test water with ppc promoting clickbank products or promoting lead (zip, email and name) offers from networks like copeac and CPA Empire. I have seen zip and email offer on both networks with payout of $1-$5. Which network do you recommend?
I have had okay experience with promoting clickbank products. However, the conversion rate is really low. I have never tested promoting small zip and email offers. I imagine, the conversion rate is probably really high with these? What’s yout experience is been like with these offers?
Please share.
Yes, I agree to Daniel saying “for the keyword lists I would say KeywordSpy is the best, but wordze should be in there too.”
I used keywordspy too and it gives me an opportunity to immediately track down competitors and gather keywords for the promotional campaign of my online business.
KeywordSpy is keyword research technology where you can also earn and even surpass what your competitors are making with Google Adwords and Overture. KeywordSpy gives you the key to their success: a good ad-campaign with the right keywords.
This guide is awesome. I’ve been wanting to crack the lead/landing page game, and found some incredibly useful info.
I also linked you off of my website.. You got yourself another loyal reader!
Thanks!
hanji
Hi,
I have be in few affiliate network but due to incentive traffic and cause my account suspended. I am not sure what kind of traffic is allowed. Not even allowed to drive traffic from forum. Hope some one can give some guide. I will also do my best to read the recommended article at here. Thanks
Thanks Paul for the link ;)
No prob :).
Bookmarked…..now I just need some time to read it :P
Splendid. This is a great list of advice. I am very keen in affiliate marketing but pretty slow in the progress. Had subscribe to your RSS and you had been a great help.
I guess this beats asking you questions on IM or email like
how to make tons of cash?
how to start making money?
how to advertise…
blablabla
Nice stuff.. subscribed to your feed.. this is gold
can’t seem to read the article
White Websites Convert
I am sent to a wordpress login
I logged in now I’m redirected
to my landing page…
was the article interesting???
Adminx,
If you refer to Diorex blog, it’s offline for a while now!
You still able to read his great posts by using:
http://www.archive.org/web/web.php
Just copy the url mentioned here and pasted it at Archive.org!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
Michel
Hello UberAffiliate,
Great blog! Please keep’em coming and expanding.
BTW, your link for Hydra is not working? (I got your nice 404 message) ;-)
Thanks again man, you’re an inspiration to us all.
Hi there, I know you don’t need my traffic sent your way, but this is just about the best guide I’ve seen on the topic and I’m including it (and your blog) in this week’s Sunday Seven, so stop by if you like!
This is a really great list of resourceful links. I have always wanted to delve deeper into affiliate marketing, I think if done right, it is highly profitable. Now I know where to come for all my affiliate marketing information.
Thanks for the great article!
Kind Regards,
Teen Blogger Fabien
This is a great guide, but it all seems to be about PPC marketing and google adwords. Do you have any guides on other affiliate marketing strategies like bum marketing? Or ways to make money with very little to no investment just to get some start up capital?
This guide is gravy! Gravy I say!
diorex’s “What Would You Do If You Were First Starting Out?” is inaccesible, not at google cache nor web archive
anyone has a copy of this?
Brilliant post. I use a lot of the same resources as you and i adore CXDigital/Incentaclick! I discovered a few gems though. Thanks for posting this man.
-Dave
Excellent stuff – wish you have it in an ebook so I can read it printed LOL
None of the diorex.wordpress links work.
wow, it is a complete guide, i learn all of this a year, but it can see in here completely, great jobs.
i like this, got to bookmark,
thanks for sharing
This is a great source for everyone, especially for the new people here. It’s a pity that we can’t access Diorex blog anymore. I loved to read his posts!
You gotta be kidding me! How I have been looking for a killer guide like this! This will be a great read and thank you so much, I appreciate the effort.
The link of Hydramedia isn’t working. Could you check it out?
Great stuff, as usual.
Wickedfire Forums has a thread dedicated to Diorex’s old posts. Go find it under Industry News (i believe)
Great List of resources
It’s interesting how the business of affiliate marketing has caught the imagination of so many
For the newbie the above list may appear intimidating at first. What you need to do is take one item, understand it, implement it and make it work for you before going on to the next
I’ve tried out AzoogleAds and they are amazing people. Their tech support rocks and the affiliate manager will give out their AIM usernames so that you can have them to chat to about anything most of the time. They have amazing offers which yall should check out. WTW
Hey, I just got bumped here through Gyutae winning the website..
Though I came here just for the contest, my mind has changed..
Recently I was brainstorming about making money over the web, where in I had lots of knowledge but lacked execution.. and I saw a great list of sites in your post.. Now I do not care if I win the contest or not.. I am glad that you sponsered the contest, got exposure and I am your potential loyal reader :)
Keep going.. Would be good, if you can write something about affliate marketing for newbies. The hurdles they come accross. Major factor is fear that many are going blind towards affliate links, and many already existing big players. Which also means a newbie would have no traffic to his/her website.. one might click with a certain keyword, and earn a hill with his affliate and few might not earn even if they rank #1.
asking people to do a keyword research is easy, but in reality compeating with already existing heavily backlinked sites is a real difficult job and discouraging if not fruitful soon..
Wish you can throw some light over an email or a comment here.. :)
WTW