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Marketing Through CraigslistAn on-line service called Craigslist is an extensive network of websites. Users and visitors to this community have a wealth of information and services from which to choose. The site records page views of around 4 billion per month, thus proving that those people who know their way around the website can make smart decisions concerning ways in which they may take advantage of the popularity of the websites featured on Craigslist. One feature of Craigslist is the means by which those who use the Internet for website marketing can capitalize on the expansion of financial opportunities through use of the various websites offered by Craigslist. Those owners of websites who deal with e-commerce benefit by having a venue in which they make look for and connect with affiliate companies. Further, those who are seeking to expand into other businesses can find new opportunities. This article will explore the purpose and operations of affiliate marketing. Information will also be disseminated on how affiliate or affiliate opportunities can be discovered. What is Affiliate Marketing?When the owner or operator of a business utilizes a campaign for marketing in which performance-based-only compensation to an affiliate is provided, that is considered affiliate marketing. As you may be aware, in areas of ordinary or conventional sales or services, advertising is purchased, with little or no way of knowing what results will be obtained by the use of the advertising media. In affiliate marketing, positive feedback resulting in the obtaining of specific results must be achieved before compensation is rendered. There are three types of affiliate marketing which most often occur. Those are: - Pay Per Click - Pay Per Sale - Pay Per Lead. When pay-per-click methods are utilized, a coded link is placed on an affiliate marketer's website. Each time a website is visited, and a link to the sponsor's site occurs, the affiliate receives a certain sum of money. How much compensation is given depends on the decision make between sponsor and affiliate. Amounts may vary; some amounts may be small, measured only in cents or even fractions of cents, others may be dollar amounts. Pay-per-sale methods rely on an actual purchase being made when a connection is made to a link. In other words, if there is no sale, there is no pay. Compensation again is based upon the agreement that was previously decided on. A specific amount may be given as compensation, or profit may come from a percentage of the income from the sale. Pay-per-lead programs provide for pay/compensation through the completion of an additional action once a visitor has navigated through the link provided by the affiliate. This action may be in the form of registration on the website maintained by the sponsor or a request for more information or details. Using Craigslist to Find Potential AffiliatesCraigslist may be utilized by owners of businesses who are seeking affiliates for promotion of their websites. While it may seem that putting forth opportunities for affiliate marketing in the section of Craigslist that is intended for job postings would be the most logical method, it should be remembered that such an action violates Craigslist's policy concerning job postings. The requirements necessary can be obtained through a careful perusal of the policy. Business owners wishing to discover affiliates should be prepared to capitalize on other venues offered by Craigslist in order to achieve their goal. Possible contact with affiliates may be achieved by visiting those sites which provide for discussion and/or feedback relating to a particular marketing area. Business owners, however, should not take advantage of such areas by creating links or avenues by which contact with the business owner's site can be obtained. This is considered "spamming", and may have a negative result on those who may have been considering affiliation with a particular site. Additionally, further negative consequences may occur by the action of moderators and monitors of the Craigslist site, through their imposition of more severe penalties. Discussion/feedback forums are best utilized when business owners use appropriate methods of contributing information to these sites. Further, it is advised that business owners make contact with others participating in the forums in ways that go beyond on-line connections. Business owners may also consider including a means whereby additional information can be obtained whenever a posting is achieved. Using Craigslist to Find Opportunities for AffiliatesBusiness owners who use Craigslist to operate as an affiliate in order to achieve profit can also discover opportunities that were previously unknown or were not being utilized through affiliation. Once again, it should be stressed that the job boards on Craigslist are NOT to be utilized for affiliated marketing, and indeed is prohibited.Unfortunately, there are times when such an occurrence is noted. This usually happens when an affiliate did not have knowledge of the restrictions and prohibitions, or they chose to deliberately disregard such policies. Advertisements which fall into the above two categories will more than likely be deleted once they have been noticed; however, they may remain for a small amount of time before being discovered and removed. The sections of Craigslist that are reserved for the posting of services or resumes can be a venue for possible contacts, and advertisements may be entered on those sites. Networking with those with whom business orders have made contact through discussion/feedback forums may also lead to further opportunities. |
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