One of the best ways to get affiliate marketing leads is by using mailing lists.  We’re not talking about the mailings lists people used to use, where you purchased a list of 1000s of names for a price and then sent offers through the mail to each one of them.  But opt-in email mailing lists.  You don’t have to buy names, people will give you their names, for free!  Here’s an example.

You have a simple website where you offer helpful information about how to train pet birds to behave well or talk.  Through that site you promote one or more affiliate marketing programs.  Maybe you link to a CD that helps teach birds to talk and you make profits (or hope to) from the sales your link generates through affiliate marketing.  Or maybe you link to a pet shop that sells bird supplies and you get a small commission on each person that clicks through or registers on their website.

Whatever type of affiliate marketing you have in place, as long as you have visitors to your site looking for information, you can generate affiliate marketing leads by using your own mailing list. It’s easy to get started.

There are many different software programs available online to help you manage a mailing list, from expensive programs with all the bells and whistles to free online programs.  Choose one that fits your budget and your anticipated demand.  You won’t need to spend  a lot of money when you’re first starting out and if the operation expands dramatically you can always transfer your list to a higher-end provider later.

Once you have your mailing list software or service ready to go, it’s time to get affiliate marketing leads to go into it.  If your site is about birds, as mentioned above, then you’re obviously providing information about birds to draw visitors there to click on your affiliate links.  Simply ask people to register at your site, or to sign up for a mailing list or occasional mailings, with more of that great information.  You can’t just throw a register box in there and hope, you have to entice a person to want to sign up.  Maybe when they do, you’ll send them 10 tips on how to keep a bird from biting, or tips on the best way to make a quiet bird talk.  Find something of value to your specific customers that you can offer to get them to sign up, or opt-in, to your list.

Once people opt-in, you have a ready-made audience for your affiliate marketing links.  You no longer have to wait for them to visit your site.  Write an article about birds or bird care, put together some tips, even just tell a bird story, include links to the programs you want to promote, and deliver it straight to their inboxes. This is an excellent way to generate affiliate marketing leads of people who are receptive to the products you’re selling.

To learn more check out Commission Blueprint