The Spring 2004 issue of CrisisNurseryOnline’s newsletter lists Hawaiian Gardens Casino general manager Ron Sarabi as one of the donors of Friends of Crisis Nurseries, an auxiliary of the Sacramento Children’s Home. Friends of Crisis Nurseries is a program that aims to solicit community support for various crisis nurseries through different fundraising activities and educational programs. Crisis nurseries work for the safety of child abuse victims as well as for the prevention of such kind of abuse.

Ron Sarabi, who is also active in other charitable causes, contributed to the program within the period of November 1, 2003 to January 31, 2004.

This particular mention is proof that Sarabi does not only spend his time working out lucrative business deals and strategies but that he also has a heart for those who are in need.

Aside from his philanthropic affiliations and activities, Ron Sarabi also divides his time among several worthwhile professional organizations. As the person responsible for bringing Hawaiian Gardens Casino into the threshold of success, Sarabi is one of the most respected leaders in the casino and gaming industry. He is also known to be a promoter of responsible gaming practices.

Ron Sarabi has a hand in the litigation and legislation of card games in California by virtue of his membership with the Golden State Gaming Association’s board of directors. He is also a former president of the gaming association. Ron Sarabi is part of the Southern California Casino Association, where he is both co-founder and board member. Likewise, the hardworking Ron Sarabi is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Joint Powers of Authority of which he is a co-founder.

The value of an affiliate is nil in a customer’s mind - ok, so you’ve shown them where they can get a few products related to that niche, but there needs to be some sense in their mind that you have offered a genuine reason for choosing those particular affiliate partners. Are the chosen partners simply making you the most handsome commission? How do you turn a lifeless “I make money off you” affiliate link into an appreciated “These are the only products you want” recommendation?

Some marketers scatter freebies around their newsletters, such as valuable advice, hoping to build positive relationships with potential paying customers, then spring the partner links on them. Others cloak their ugly affiliate hyperlinks in a “.com” sub-domain name that makes people believe the partner site is in fact owned by them. This is an effective, if slightly immoral, option if you have no products of your own to promote, plus it will make your business look more established than it actually is.

There is, however, one method of promotion that capitalises on the income immediacy of affiliate programs and adds value for the customer at the same time - Comparison sites. We’ve all used them, and they are a god send for consumers who want to shop around and find the cheapest place to buy. The beauty of comparison sites such as Pricerunner.com or Kelkoo.com is the visitor identifies that you, as a webmaster, have gone out of your way to find them the best websites - you’ve cut their search time and saved them money. This service will instantly gratify people’s shopping needs in a few clicks, distracting them from the fact you’ve embedded your affiliate link in the comparison results and you’re making money from them. Yes, being obvious about making money from people is a big turn-off in commerce - my advice would be to keep it under your hat. Some will ask “what’s in it for them?” but will soon let it go.

I know what you’re thinking - “when will I ever have the time to create a site to rival Kelkoo?”

The answer; think small.

Don’t forget the golden rule - niche marketing. If your website or newsletter deals with “money making opportunities,” draw up a page that compares five of the best money making opportunities, the best being your opinion of course, and embed your affiliate link into the “visit now” link. It works best when you do a “chart” or ranking because the number “1″ automatically has positive connotations for most people. The number 1 site you can make money is… The cheapest place to get this service is… This site was ranked 1st by our team because…etc.

Visitors would also appreciate a small review or some form of analysis to make the comparison valid. Many affiliates prefer to actually sign up with the affiliate product or service themselves to rate the overall experience - this is not a bad idea when you think about how in-depth your reviews could get if you know the product you’re placing at the top of the rankings is genuinely the best.

If you don’t have an existing website, it shouldn’t matter. Pick anything in the world market and I guarantee you can add value to simply linking to products by comparing them and helping customers narrow down their choices. Having too much choice is the big off-putter for shop surfers. Help them out. The good thing is your “mini site” can be as mini as you want it to be.

Another tip would be to offer what I like to call an “income exit” - sign up with Google’s Adsense service and place a small Google search box on your mini-site. This way, especially if you’ve used Google Adwords, if visitors don’t really find what they’re after on your site, they can re-search in Google straight from your site. All has not been lost, as you make money on searches made from your Adsense search box.

The chances are, however, that your affiliate links will pull in some good income, most likely from your cheapest or “number 1″ labelled product or service. There’s a whole mindset with this which subconsciously places customers in debt to your service. I won’t go into the psychology right now, but if you take the visitor off the search engine and place them in your capable hands, they will feel embodied by your service, not the search engine’s, and will therefore feel they have already found a resolution and direction to their aimless window shopping.

Your options are seemingly infinite - I’ve seen comparison mini-sites for those paid survey websites, spyware programs, computer RAM, autos, games, everything. You just need to find a service or product that there is an abundance of on the web so you can say “come to my site and I’ll show you which one is the best / where the cheapest is.”

Offer your customers some extra services, help them make decisions and build that relationship with them. Perhaps add a newsletter stating you have other services similar to this they would be interested in and you’ll keep them notified in future emails. Big potential! Bottom line; always look to add extra value to the service you initially offer your customers.

Mike Beatham

If you enjoyed this article and want to know how to get started in affiliate marketing the RIGHT WAY, using methods that will stand you above the crowd you should sign up for my free multimedia e-course. Success and profit is the goal, which is why I’ve put together an e-course that brings together the best of the web’s affiliate marketing tips in one easy to follow course. Don’t pay for your affiliate marketing school, get it free at: http://www.futureaffiliate.com

If you are trying to sell a product or service on the Internet, then you are probably doing so through an affiliate program. You signed up as an affiliate (usually for free) and they gave you an affiliate ID (user name or number). They may have even given you a basic marketing package which includes text ads, banner ads, and solo ads with a link to your affiliate sales page. All you have to do is use these tools to get traffic to your affiliate sales page.

Well that sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? This process actually works too, except that your probability of converting your traffic into sales is very, very, very low.In other words, you may have to have thousands of people to visit your affiliate sales page before you ever see your first sell. Now those aren’t very good odds, are they?

Unfortunately, that is what most people do. They spend a lot of time, effort, and money getting all of those people to that affiliate sales page and then they finally make a sale and earn a referral fee or commission. But wait, it can get even worse. Let’s say that you made one sale and earned a $10 commission.

That’s great, right? Well not really, because in the terms and conditions of your affiliate program, you don’t actually get paid until you have accumulated at least $20 of commissions. So get back to it and get another sale and finally get paid. Good grief!

Don’t quit! Internet marketing is a great way to make extra money, but you have to know some of the secrets. Here’s one. “Don’t advertise your affiliate program directly.” You must use a four step process instead.

Four Step Process

1. First, you must provide something of value. The easiest valuable thing that you can give away is information. An informative email course, special report, or ebook are all great ways to give away free information.

2. This step goes along with the initial step above. Don’t give away your free information until you get an email address. You must capture the name and email address of your prospective sale in order to be able to implement the next step.

3. If the information that you are providing is good and helps people, then you will earn some trust. If someone gives you some information that saves you time, money, or effort; then you are going to closely read anything that they send you - as long as the information is still valuable. This is why it is so important that you get that name and email address before you start giving away your information. Now you can keep the information flowing through an occasional email to your prospect.

4. Finally, if you have been providing valuable information and earning trust from people, it is much more likely that they will buy something that you recommend. This is especially true if you can convince them that what you are recommending will help them and that it is worth their money.

The easiest way to do this is to recommend something that you have actually purchased and use yourself. Just tell them how it helped you and why you think that it was worth what you paid for it!

Kevin Oorlynck is the editor of the Wealth:Time4Evolution! Newsletter and Webmaster of the Evolution Resources Center