What I’ve learned from affiliate marketing is that marketing is about talking. Talking yourself into it, talking about yourself and talking about the products you’re selling.

At first, I was afraid of these three “c” words: connection, communication, conversation. Every article or book I read about selling online kept scaring me away with these words.

I saw them so fancy and high demanding that I refused to apply them. So, I just kept it simple; I rewritten some articles, started sending e-mails, submitting to directories, posting blog comments and talking on forums. Then I started making sales… and it hit me! I was making sales because I was doing those dreaded three “c” words.

Affiliate marketing is hard to start. No doubt about it. So if you’re newbie, breathe deep and get yourself motivated. It’s easy to get scared especially with so many new things. Affiliate marketing is a whole new information avalanche in your life.

First you’re amazed of the capabilities of a PC, then you start experiencing things on the internet then you’re surprised on how much money can be made. Then what? Though it’s hard, starting affiliate marketing is a natural step forward in your online experience. You know how you found things and how you were talked into buying.

Don’t do things in a sterile way. Include your experience. Did you get to sites only from Google? Did you buy something because it had flashy call-to-actions or because the content was honest? Did you buy a product or signed up somewhere because you needed the product or because the salescopy made you want that product?

Struggling to get your first site running, browsing through thousand of sites, scrolling through hundreds of search engine results, subscribing to tens of marketing blogs, sending out e-mails for link exchange may sound like boring and dull tasks but no marketing/SEO book can give you the experience and conversation skills you earn from doing them.

Now you got some ideas where to start from. But don’t be too narcissistic about it. Don’t rely on some things to work for others just because they worked for you. People are different in shapes and sizes, age, gender and needs. You don’t talk the same to a 24 year old woman who wants to lose weight, the same as you do to a 60 year old man who wants to gamble online. And make sure your copy sounds like a natural conversation!

According to conversation theory, a great way of learning is the “teachback” which implies one person teaching another what they have learned. Teach others what you’ve learned. This way new information will become more versatile for you. And teaching others will also provide a great way of building your 2nd tier.

So, to wrap it up, here’s your affiliate marketing conversation checklist:

MoreNiche support – get talking, get support on the products you are selling, ask for a review of your website.

Potential customers/leads – start a website or a blog, send out e-mails to friends and family, comment on blogs, join forums and social bookmarking sites; throw your hat in every conversation you can!

Other webmasters – get in touch with fellow webmasters, ask them about their sites, what’s their secret, how much do they earn. It’s useful to have other webmaster friends, you can start a website together, you can exchange blog comments, ask them to bump your threads on forums or you can tell them why Aloeride is the black swan of the aloe vera niche.

Get talking, make new friends, be honest and start making money! I did. And I’m here to stay.