What does it take to be a super affiliate?
One of the best people to ask is Rosalind Gardner, one of the best known super affiliates around and author of “The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 In One Year Selling Other People’s Stuff”.
The Super Affiliate Handbook (SAH) has undergone a number of revisions and updates since it was originally published in 2003. The latest edition includes up-to-the-minute information on topics such as blogging, RSS and how to use foreign currency rates to your advantage if you’re an affiliate living outside the US.
This latest revision is a precursor to a hard-cover book that is to be published by McGraw-Hill, with the first draft due in late July. After scouring the Web for all of the affiliate marketing book available online, McGraw-Hill contracted with Ros to rite a softcover introductory book on affiliate marketing for beginners.
This is a very exciting new venture for Rosalind and one she is looking forward to. As Ros said, “To prepare for writing the book, I decided to do an intensive revision of the SAH. It’s always good to have your own materials to reference!”
The Super Affiliate Handbook has been the bible of affiliate marketing for many newbie affiliates as well as the preferred choice for seasoned affiliates looking for the perfect source material to boost their income streams since it was first published.
The SAH has sold many thousands of copies, and when asked about its success, Rosalind said, “Because I’m trying to keep the marriage proposals down to a mere deluge, I no longer divulge earnings figures. So, let’s just say that the Super Affiliate Handbook passed one million dollars in sales more than a year ago, thanks in part to my own affiliates. Proceeds from the sales certainly all didn’t go into my hands!
“Sales numbers have been fairly consistent day by day since the book was originally published.”
What makes The Super Affiliate Handbook so successful?
Perhaps the best measure of the book’s success is the feedback Ros gets on a daily basis about the SAH and her weekly affiliate newsletter, Net Profits Today:
“A little trivia (or confession) … I got off track, for way too long, by following the teachings of another … no names right … but you likely know who I mean.
Needless to say, I should have ignored all others, and stuck with your system. Period.
Thanks Ros … for all you do.
Bob Perrault”
And another:
“I have bought a number of systems on building a business around the internet marketing medium but your book is the best of all for several reasons:
1. VERY clear and step by step path to get started the fastest way.
2. Clear instructions on how to do it with little money and with
other people’s products
3. Clear path to moving on up to possibly creating or finding my own products.
4. Very easy to read
5. etc.!
…All the other books I have bought have been like pulling teeth to go through and figure out the steps that you lay out very clearly.
So, if I have trouble with them, I can only imagine how difficult they are for people with little or no business, writing and/or computer experience.
Thanks for the great product!
Allen Halstead”
It’s all in the details
Rosalind writes in a clear and concise style and presents the facts in a down-to-earth, no BS manner that enables an absolute beginner or a seasoned veteran of affiliate marketing to learn what it takes to become a super affiliate.
She knows her stuff because she’s been there herself. She teaches other affiliates a multitude of marketing methods including PPC, email and list building, so the Super Affiliate Handbook is as much about what NOT to do as it is about what to do to boost yourself into the super affiliate stratosphere.
Her focus is on choosing affiliate programs carefully, building simple but professional sites, writing compelling text and building trust from your visitors.
Ros makes it very clear that you have to get the details right first time, every time – that’s how she generates over $1,000 a day in affiliate income.
She describes her systems and how she manages to generate conversion rates of between 2.5% and 6% (and higher!), when the average affiliate considers 1% a successful conversion rate.
Whether you are just starting out in the Internet marketing industry or have been around for a while waiting for that magic formula that is going to drive more traffic and more sales conversions to your site, don’t do another thing until you’ve read the Super Affiliate Handbook.
You won’t find any magic tricks or get rich quick schemes. What you will find is a detailed and precise process that has worked for Ros, and it could make all the difference for you.
[UPDATE 2013: Rosalind has expanded and updated her Super Affiliate Handbook, including adding dozens of short instructional videos, mainly about how to use WordPress effectively. She calls the new expanded instruction course Affiliate Blogger Pro, which is now much better than the book. Here’s my review of Affiliate Blogger Pro. Highly recommended.]