Creating your first affiliate link is very simple. First, you’ll want to register for a free affiliate (or associate) ID. On ClickBank, they call it a nickname. On Amazon, it’s an associate ID, and on PayDotCom, it’s your affiliate member username.
On ClickBank.com, you’ll go to the marketplace, which is the link at the top of the page. Enter some keywords to find a product you want to promote. You can select the option to view the pitch page if you want to review the sales letter, and then select the option to create a “hoplink” when you’re ready to get your link.
Enter your ClickBank nickname and click, “Create.” You’ll see two options, as shown below:
http://Nickname.Publisher.hop.clickbank.net/
and
<a href=”http://Nickname.Publisher.hop.clickbank.net/” target=”_top”>Click Here!</a>
The first one is your direct link, and instead of nickname and publisher, you’ll see your personal nickname and the publisher’s ID. The second one is ready for insertion into a web page. This makes the words, Click Here hyperlinked to the site via your own personal affiliate link.
If you choose to use PayDotCom, you’ll log into your affiliate account and click on Promote Products at the top of the screen. Next you’ll click on the option that says, “Create a new campaign…from marketplace.”
Search the marketplace to find a product you wish to promote. When you find a product you’d like to promote as an affiliate, click the Promote link. Here, you’ll see your raw affiliate link that you can use – as well as any other tools the product owner provides, such as banner ads, email announcements, etc.
In Amazon, you’ll log into your associate membership and then on the left sidebar, click “Build Links.” You can choose which types of links you wish to build, such as a text link.
Here, you’ll enter the full URL of the product or search results page you want to promote and enter the words you want to be hyperlinked. You’ll be able to quickly cut and paste the HTML code into your website or blog.
Although they may look very different, each affiliate program has a similar system in place to help you create viable links, so don’t let the technology differences confuse you. Basically, for each one, you’ll log in, enter your username, and generate a link to copy and use online. It’s easy, but if you get stuck somewhere, check out the support tutorials or email the product owner and ask for assistance.
Stay tuned for another marketing tip real soon, and good luck with your online marketing efforts!
To your online success,
Bill Brine
P.S. Here’s another great resource I created to help you build your business: