Resource assessment
Are you familiar with the phrase “multiple streams of income”? Do you know what this phrase means? For many business persons, creating multiple streams of income online or offline is one way to financially secure themselves and their businesses for the future, while simultaneously avoiding (dodging?) the so-called famine effect dreaded by many in the business industry. As a practical and protective step those engaged in the affiliate marketing business should pursue multiple streams of affiliate marketing income since relying on one stream could prove detrimental if it ceases.
If you were to ask any of the more successful online entrepreneurs about the wisdom of establishing multiple streams of online income, they would tell you it is highly recommended. That is not to say, however, that doing so is easy since such a strategy involves careful planning, goal-setting and commitment, as well as a healthy dose of persistence and hard work. That having been said, the very first step an affiliate marketer must take in creating multiple streams of income is to assess/evaluate his/her resources.
Use the skills of others
So if you are an affiliate marketer who wish to establish multiple streams of income and you are at the assessment/evaluation stage, you must first assess yourself and evaluate your resources. Also, you might want to Jot down your own answers to these questions:
- What are the talents, abilities and strengths you possess?
- Are you gifted with excellent and creative writing skills?
- Can you do well at sales?
- Are you good in communicating with people?
- Are you born with an artistic skill?
- Do you possess a unique ability that others do not have?
Through this exercise you can determine the type of business in which you can excel. Next step would be to look around and write down your assets and physical resources such as computer, color printer, scanner, digital camera, cell phone, CD or DVD burner and any other equipment/tools that can be used in your efforts.
This list becomes your resources! Consider also to ask your friends and family if they possess any skills or resources that you can have access to. Remember that no man is an island so you should try to use talents, skills, knowledge and resources of everyone you know.
Research & training
Those are basically the essential first steps you must take if you want to create multiple income streams; and if you’re already a webmaster or a website owner you definitely have an edge in the sense that you may be able and ready to simply join an affiliate marketing program and generate some extra income out your own website that will go a long way in helping you achieve your overall objective.
Being involved in affiliate marketing is one of the most desirable ways to create multiple sources of income, because affiliate marketing programs come in various shapes and forms and there are large numbers of affiliate marketing programs that you can research, compare and sign on with a few to start generating income right away. Affiliate marketing lets you to make money by promoting, selling and reselling affiliate products/services (‘products’) as well as by recruiting new affiliates and sub-affiliates.
What is also good about this business is that you can find a wide array of training materials which can be used to enhance your marketing abilities which in turn helps you to identify genuine products to promote and sell where the end result is generating real income, but also putting you on a solid footing to establish multiple streams of income.
It’s a business!
Whether you start out as a part time or full time affiliate marketer, it is important that you approach affiliate marketing as a business to which you are committed (devoted?) and responsible for its management, reputation and profitability. Simply acknowledging that it is an excellent way to create multiple income streams by means of promoting products from web merchants is not enough. You must work hard to make it successful, otherwise you may as well be engaged in affiliate marketing as a game, hobby or other kind of exercise for fun.
Consider this for a moment: Where else can you get affiliate commissions without investing big bucks to make your own product? And how many other businesses can you go into without worrying about book keeping, customer support and ecommerce? Not many! As an affiliate marketer, all you have to do is promote and resell the products on your website and refer potential customers to merchants’ sites and product pages where, if/when purchases are mde by these customers, you get paid.
When attempting to create multiple streams of income in affiliate marketing, it is advisable to promote promote products from different merchants so that your visitors will have variety of destinations to choose from. Using multiple merchants from the same site or niche is really the only practical way to create multiple streams of affiliate income. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this business strategy because it is one of the best ways to protect your business and expand your horizons.
Know your product
This strategy is almost a guarantee against you experiencing a crisis if ever one of your web merchants closes his/her program. However, you should choose only those affiliate programs that interest you so that you can effectively advertise and promote them. Don’t ever be tempted to sign up for numerous affiliate programs in the hope that one of them will bring income. Select wisely and don’t be engaged in selling products you know nothing about. Go with the stuff that jives with your enthusiasm and your passion will help capture visitors’ attention and guide them to your affiliate link.
As was mentioned earlier, you work hard to make your multiple streams of income more stable; and you can do this by embracing certain strategies and tactics; but also by developing within yourself, the traits that can help you become successful in any kind of business. Such traits might be described as patience, persistence and thirst for knowledge.
Just remember the adage about putting “all your eggs in one basket.” Avoid putting all your affiliate marketing eggs (in this case, your hard work, hopes and aspirations) in one basket (one affiliate merchant) because if that one goes down there’s a strong possibility that you’ll go down with it; but if you have several, losing one will not have as devestated an effect on your affiliate marketing business; you will still have a steady flow of income to rely on.