The photo to the left was taken at Affiliate Summit last year. That’s me with Rosalind Gardner, the woman who turned ME into a Super Affiliate – and of course a well-known and successful Super Affiliate herself.

Finally getting to hang out with her in person was a real pleasure. She’s brilliant, successful, FUN… and a foodie like me.

Earlier today we were discussing BlogWorld, which is coming up in June, and we’re planning to meet up there and hang out so we can hit some good restaurants. And of course attend the event, LOL. You can still get tickets super cheap by the way, until February 22nd. You should join us!

People often ask me what the term “Super Affiliate” actually means. They seem to be a different breed, don’t they? They waltz into a product launch, or launch a new affiliate site, and blow the socks off everyone else. What is it exactly that makes them so different than typical affiliates? That’s what we’re going to discuss today…

What is a Super Affiliate?

In any affiliate program, it’s the top percent of affiliates that make the majority of the sales. These are the super affiliates. There’s no standard industry definition, but super affiliates are those in the top earning tier & winning affiliate contests.

The majority of affiliates in any given affiliate program make very few sales, if any at all. The earning curve is steep, with a very small percentage earning the majority of commissions – and everyone else nickel ‘n diming it.

Don’t let that discourage you, though. It just means there’s more room at the top.

The Top 6 Traits of a Super Affiliate

You might think it’s in the research, the tools, or the niche selection. But that’s not the case. While super affiliates do consider profit potential, a true Super Affiliate can work with just about any product in any niche.

So what is it that really sets them apart? Six things…

• They ENJOY their niche, and LOVE their market. A genuine interest shows, and it attracts your market to you. The more personality you have, the more you humanize your brand. Going the extra mile comes easy when you enjoy your work, and it pays off with a strong loyal fan base. One that links to your content, shares your content, and takes your content viral FOR YOU.

• They take ACTION. Super affiliates come up with a plan, and they work it. They don’t just sit around and dream up ideas, read blogs & guides, then hope they’ll one day be successful. They implement *everything*, keep what works, and constantly move forward.

• They’re committed to their promotions. They don’t just send out an email or write one article, post something on Facebook once or set up a PPC campaign for a few short hours. They get behind their product promotions 100%. They review them personally, test them, publish case studies, create bonus products, welcome questions from their market and help them make a smart buying decision, etc.

• They choose products carefully. A super affiliate doesn’t always go with the highest commission rate, or the easiest sale. They choose products that are a good match for their market, and products they use and believe in themselves. They’re in it for the long haul, and know they are putting their reputation on the line with every recommendation.

• They stick it out. Super affiliates don’t get distracted by the next big thing. They follow through and follow up. They’ll come back and post updates, implementation strategies, results, and even check in with their market and ask for their feedback on the product(s).

  That genuine interest results in social proof, which helps more people in their market make a smart buying decision. Which results in more sales.

• They don’t give up when things don’t work. They figure out why, fix it, and/or try something different. It’s never about something not working. It’s about WHY it didn’t work, and finding a solution. Super affiliates DO make mistakes, and they DO have “flops”. It’s learning from those and moving onward & upward that sets them apart.

While today’s super affiliates have an advantage, it’s because of these traits that they HAVE that advantage. There’s nothing stopping you from becoming one of tomorrow’s super affiliates.

Super Affiliates are NOT Genetically Special…

Super Affiliates weren’t born wearing a big red SA cape, or knowing all the tricks. They are just like you, and have the same resources available as everyone else. They learn by trial and error, get seriously committed, pick products that sell and markets that buy, take action… and follow through.

Join Us In The Top Earning Tier!

Rosalind Gardner’s Super Affiliate Handbook was the very first ebook I ever purchased online. I’ve shared before how I waffled over that purchase for a couple of weeks.

Which is funny in hindsight, LOL. I mean, seriously. It completely changed my business… and my life.

And psst: it’s still on sale for only $27!
I paid almost twice that – and believe me, it was worth 100x that to me, minimum!

And if you can get to New York in June, join both of us at BlogWorld!

Super Affiliates are fun to hang out with.

Best,

p.s. There’s nothing magic about Super Affiliates. And there’s nothing magic about Rosalind’s Super Affiliate Handbook either. The magic is in learning, implementing, and in YOU taking action!

There’s no better time than TODAY to up your game!

In yesterday’s post I mentioned a great event, and a great guide. Both of which I highly recommend. But you may be in a place where you can’t afford to invest money into your biz.

And I’m not talking about just feeling unsure (or waffling) about spending the money, like I was when I bought my very first ebook (which still cracks me up, lol).

I’m talking about being honestly broke and having to decide between groceries and a $27 download. Hey – I’ve been there. When I started over after my divorce, I didn’t just start from zero. I started below zero, with an overdraft account -lol.

I didn’t have tons of money to pour into my business. In fact, I didn’t have any in the beginning. But I still made it, and now run a very successful online business.

So I’m going to share one of my secrets with you that works – that will really help you get your internet business off the ground – and that won’t cost you a dime…

“I Can’t Afford The Help I Need, So I Can’t Succeed Online.”

You may have looked into coaching programs, hiring a mentor, training systems, products, membership sites etc and felt deflated because you couldn’t afford them.

Maybe it left you feeling hopeless, and thinking you may never be able to succeed online because you couldn’t get the proper start with these products/services.

I’ll tell you from experience that is not true. It’s just your perception. Because I made it without ever tapping into a single paid resource. It wasn’t until well after I had my business established, and a regular online income, that I began investing money back into my business.

That’s not to say *some* of those things aren’t incredibly helpful when you’re just starting out. But thinking it’s a “make it or break it” thing is just plain wrong.

Analyze Successful Marketers In Your Niche

You’d love to hire a coach or mentor, take a detailed training program, or join a private brainstorming group – but you truly can’t afford it right now.

No big deal. I’m going to show you another way to “learn from the best” – without even hiring them or buying their products. And this is a GREAT way to learn what you need to know, and kick start your online business idea…

Simply watch what they do, in great detail, which will often teach you more than any product or one-on-one time with them ever would.

This is how I started out, and it’s called being “self-taught”.

You can learn A LOT by observing the Market Leaders in your niche, and even by observing successful online marketers across a variety of niches. Here’s how…

1. Choose Your Mentors & Market Leaders Wisely

This is the most important point. Don’t just choose from the “Internet Marketing” pool. Choose market leaders that are actually successful at what they teach, outside of the IM space. (Note, it’s a much smaller pool – lol)

More importantly, look at the market leaders in YOUR niche. Who are they, why are they popular, and what are they doing? THAT is who you really want to study.

2. Set Up An Easy Way To Study Them

You want to do two things when you start this process. You want to set aside a specific amount of time for learning (vs working on your business) – say, an hour a day. And you want to set up a way to monitor their activity that doesn’t flood your inbox or clutter your virtual work space.

I like to set up a separate Gmail account just for monitoring market leaders, but you can also create a folder to filter their emails into. If you set up a separate Gmail account, you’ll also have a separate Google Reader account to browse their current blog posts. But you can also filter that as well if you prefer.

On Twitter & Facebook, you can put them into Lists so you can easily watch their updates as well. Just figure out a system that works best for YOU, set aside a specific time each day to study them, and make notes on things you observe or learn that you can apply to your own business model or niche.

3. Monitor Them Closely (What To Look For)

So what are you looking for exactly? How often they post content, what they post, what gets a response, where all they are active online, how they frame their “call to action”, what they’re promoting, what they offer in the way of products/services of their own, the flow of their funnel, headlines & copy that compel you, plugins & programs they’re using.

Basically just get a feel for what they’re doing and why, and what seems to be obviously working well for them.

4. Subscribe To & Monitor Their Mailing List

Take note of how often they mail their list, subject lines that intrigue you, their content, length of email messages, number of promos, format, etc.

You’ll find that each marketer may be totally different from the next in many of those elements. Make note of what you like, what you don’t like, and what appeals to you most on this side of the marketing message.

5. Observe Their Social Media Channels

How active are they on Twitter and Facebook? What other social media channels do they use, and HOW do they use them? What do they share, how often, and what types of updates get the most engagement?

6. Study Their Low-Cost Intro Products & Free Downloads

Most marketers have a lower cost introductory product to get you into their funnel and/or free downloads. Analyze their funnel, how it’s set up, what they offer on the back end, how they follow up – the entire process.

Also study their product, the layout & format, the quality of content, delivery method, etc. This is just as good as purchasing a guide that teaches you how to create & deliver an incentive or product.

7. Interact With The Market Leaders In YOUR Niche

While you’re studying the successful marketers in YOUR niche, interact with them. You’ll want to do this from social media accounts you have set up for you niche/business – not from a personal account. See How To Use Social Media

Share their best content, like their best posts, retweet their best tips, comment on their blogs, etc. This is a great way to “get on the map” in your niche, simply by leveraging the current market leaders (and their following).

Free Resources To Help You Get Started

In addition to studying what the successful marketers are already doing, you can tap into free resources and get the help you need while you’re just starting out.

In fact, there are three easy ways to ask ME a question anytime you feel stumped or need technical help. You can tweet me a question to @LynnTerry, you can post a question on my Facebook wall, and you can brainstorm in the Main Internet Marketing Forum section of my discussion forum – which is free.

And don’t hesitate to post in ANY of those places – I love questions!

There are also tons of free tutorials here on ClickNewz such as how to set up your blog and how to write a blog post and how to write a product review – and plenty more, such as my Organic Marketing Strategy.

If you have a question and can’t find the resource or tutorial here, just tweet me with what you need and I’ll send you the link!

Best,