6) TRAFFIC: You don't have time to create all the traffic you
need, so it makes sense to tap into other people's traffic. Look
for ways to get your site mentioned on other people's sites in
your niche, and in popular newsletters.

Ways to tap into other people's traffic include writing articles
for other sites, submitting tips to sites and newsletters, making
posts on forums, and perhaps buying links.

Some serious affiliates do research carefully and write really
good, exclusive articles, a different one for each target site.
They make sure the topic they choose hasn't been covered already.
This takes time and effort but the benefits can last for years.

Does this sound like too much work? You can outsource this task.

4) KNOWLEDGE: On the fast-changing Internet, it's impossible to
do all the necessary testing and experimenting yourself, so we
harness other other people's knowledge by buying information. A
modestly priced ebook which teaches you how to earn thousands of
dollars is a classic example.

Another way to harness other people's knowledge is to interview
experts and publish the interviews on your site - or sell them.

5) TOOLS: Just as farmers progressed to using tractors and
combine harvesters, super affiliates have progressed to using
sophisticated tools to speed up the creation of websites and
blogs.

As the Internet becomes more clogged with junk, for long-term
success, the "trick" is to use labor-saving tools intelligently,
to create sites which are genuinely useful, add value to the
Internet, and will still be here years from now.

3) LABOUR: You can use other people's labour by outsourcing tasks.
Some affiliates are prepared to spend several days - or even
weeks - struggling to learn how to do a little bit of programming
when they could have gone to Rentacoder or Scriptlance and hired
a programmer to do the job for $20. Outsourcing tasks allows you
to concentrate on doing the things you enjoy and the things you
do best.

Outsourcing also gets things done faster, allowing you to reach
your goals faster.

Buying private label rights (PLR) articles is another form of
applying leverage. It would be impossible to write all the
articles yourself that you can get by joining a few PLR
membership sites. You can also outsource the rewriting of those
articles.

Encouraging user-generated content is another way of applying
leverage. Your website visitors can create content in various
ways, such as forums, tips, recipes, vacation ideas, photos,
videos, reviews and classified ads.

Publishing RSS feeds is another way of harnessing other people's
labor.

2) TIME: You can leverage your time by using content you create
more than once.

For example, you can write articles for distribution on other
websites AND use those articles in a mini-course. This way, your
articles keep working for you, over and over again.

You can gather a collection of articles you've written and re-use
them in an ebook.

Putting your articles in a brandable ebook and getting other
people to give away the book is another effective way of using
leverage.

Even the act of creating a blog or website applies leverage
because you write each article once but it continues
working for you, attracting visitors to your site, for years.

Publishing a newsletter gives you leverage because you use those
email addresses over and over again, every time you publish your
newsletter.

If you simply send traffic directly to the affiliate merchant,
you're doing things backwards. Instead of using leverage, you're
helping the merchant leverage your time and skills.

Article from AssociatePrograms Newsletter #292

How to use leverage to ramp up your affiliate marketing.

Eight ways to apply affiliate leverage ...saving the best one for last
=========================================

Leverage is all about using a little bit of energy to accomplish a lot.

It means harnessing other people's time, energy, skills and resources to multiply your efforts.

Leverage is all about working smarter instead of harder.

Big businesses use leverage all the time. As an affiliate - or an affiliate merchant - you can, too.

How many of the following types of affiliate leverage are you using?

1) MONEY: In business, using other people's money - borrowing - is one of the most common forms of applying leverage. In affiliate marketing, if you're broke and in a hurry, you can use a credit card to buy your first marketing manual. I wouldn't usually recommend this. If you're desperate for cash, you can probably mow lawns or wash windows or give up a luxury so you can save for your first purchase.

Article from AssociatePrograms Newsletter #292

Affiliate Programs.

I recently came across this web-site, http://www.5staraffiliateprograms.com and I thought it would be a good reference site for anyone who is new.

Top affiliate programs are listed and reviewed, so you can pick and choose the one that will pays more or you're more comfortable with. For example, The TradePub.com Affiliate Program pays a commission for every qualified FREE magazine subscription you generate from your site.

So, to summarize, there are two main steps for reaching affiliate gold.

1. Build a site whereby your visitors are already planning on joining something or making a purchase before they ever visit your site (ie make your site a normal step on the path towards completing the transaction).

2. Get your site to the top of the search engines, possibly by cross promoting with a popular free content site.