So you've found the perfect affiliate program, you've signed
up and they gave you a website....now what? "They" say that
"all you have to do" is drive traffic to your site...but you
don't have a clue where to begin...

Never fear, Affiliate 101 is here...here's a list of a few
simple, free or inexpensive tasks you can accomplish today.
Details follow, first just the list:

1. Send emails to friends and family;
2. Make new friends on the internet;
3. Print out and distribute posters, business cards, and/or
postcards;
4. Write articles and post free ads.

First of all, don't panic. You don't have to do ALL of
these, just whatever you feel comfortable with. But I do
heartily suggest that you push the envelope a little on your
comfort level...

Email Friends and Family

If you're uncomfortable with contacting family members (they
CAN be your sharpest critics) first scan the options, maybe
one of the less obtrusive ones would work.

Be sure to write ONLY to friends. Anything else will be
considered spam; any worthy company will drop you like a
hot potato when they receive legitimate spam complaints.

Consider the friends and family you might write to and
decide the best approach for each:

1. The Second Opinion Approach: save this for the hard nuts
to crack, flatter them with "I've signed up for this
opportunity and would really like to hear your opinion..."

2. The Beating Around the Bush Approach: "I'm making some
extra money doing this biz, do you know anyone who might
need a few extra dollars?"

3. The Direct Approach: for those close friends that you
KNOW could use some financial miracles in their lives... you
can lead with the business opportunity or with the products.
I think it's Avon that has a nice promo these days,
"products you can buy and sell". Simple and to the point...

4. The Chummy Letter Approach: just write a letter to a
friend as you usually would and casually mention what you
are doing, that it's on "wait and see", or already is making
you a little money, or whatever.

5. The No-Mention Approach: just add a signature to all
your emails that includes your website's URL and your email
address, maybe the name of your company. Subtle, let's them
explore if they want.

Getting to Know You...

How do you currently meet people on the internet? Game chat
rooms, forums, opt-in email lists, Yahoo groups, messenger
services...these are only a few ways to meet people. Many
sites such as Yahoo, AOL, or ICQ let you create a profile
including favorite websites, etc. While direct advertising
is often frowned upon or prohibited, usually signatures at
the bottom of posts is allowed. Many friendships formed in
forums and chat rooms lead to email and website exchanges.

Stuffing Envelopes...

Printed fliers can be distributed everywhere you go, posted
on your car...be creative. Include a business card or flier
in every piece of mail you send including bills, on tables
in restaurants, in phone booths, stick them in business
books in the library. Make it fun! If you have mailing
addresses rather than email addresses of anyone who might be
interested, send them a flier or postcard.

Become a Famous Author

Anyone can write an article, everyone is good at something
or has an experience that would help someone else out.
Article writing helpsbuild trust and over time will brand
your name and drive traffic to your website. And it's free.
Submit your articles to individual webmasters and editors as
well as article directories.

Banner Swapping and Text Linking

Some say that banners are not very effective in getting
traffic to your website, but hey, it's free and it doesn't
hurt to try. It's best to spend some time finding a high
traffic site or two and not fill your site with banners.
Text links are still your best bet.

There you have it, lots of good ideas for beginning
promotion of your website.
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Glenn Beach is a home entrepreneur in Nova Scotia, Canada.
He has written extensively about affiliate marketing, and
sells products that he trusts at:
http://www.work-at-home-business-opportunity-canada.com