There are many places where we can read about an [1] affiliate marketing business.  Unfortunately, it is much harder to find someone to do the actual difficult work for you.  Well, I haven’t quite fixed that problem for you, but I know that I have unearthed what is probably nearly as good.

I do affiliate marketing, although I also sell my own information products and physical products.  My online business is made up of a number of traditional sites and blogs.  I am a firm supporter–make that “enthusiast”–of SEO for traffic generation, but that is a long term process; good search results take time to build.  For some of my affiliate marketing, I have tried PPC, but rarely have I had success over the long haul. 

Consequently, like many in affiliate marketing, increasing traffic at a reasonable cost is one of my most vexing challenges.  It is particularly difficult for those times when I discover a new affiliate product but for which none of my sites are well optimized.  How do I send my traffic to the vendor’s site?

My approach to directing traffic to the vendor’s site is just like many other affiliate marketers, I bring the visitors to my own site initially for an introduction to the product or, perhaps a comparison of competing products.  I hope they’ll click the link that will take them to the spot where they might actually buy the product that will earn me my pittance.  I have always wished that I could cut out part of the middle of that process.

I use content syndication for all of my sites.  I employ that strategy primarily for its SEO value but also for the direct visitors that are sent my way.  There are two major problems with the traditional approach to article marketing, especially for the affiliate marketer.  First, the major article directories don’t allow contextual links within the body of the articles.  Typically, the links are isolated below the article itself in a sort of no man’s land called the author’s box or the resource box.  The second big problem, maybe the biggest of all, is that the top ranking article directories all refuse to permit affiliate links even in those little boxes.

At last there is a content syndication service thall allows both contextual linking and inclusion of direct affiliate links.  It’s called My Article Network–and, yes, once you are a member, you can join its affiliate program.

[2] My Article Network is something of a cooperative that brings site owners (publishers) together with article marketers.  (The link goes to some specific information about My Article Network on one of my sites.)  It’s another of those Callen projects that most of us who hang around online business for any period of time have come to know so well.

Since I am writing for affiliate marketers, I’ll cut short the presell message and let [3] sales page of My Article Network persuade you on its own.  I have been a member of the system for less than seven weeks, and I am definitely ready to proselytize!  In fact, I even set up four new niche blogs to make use of the free content that my colleagues provide.  {(Go ahead.  Click the link, you know you want to.)(Do it!  You know you want to click the link.  Come on…don’t you think I deserve it?}