One of the things which strikes you as soon as you decide to start affiliate marketing is this: the shortage of useful information on what you can actually do to get your affiliate marketing efforts to prosper. Of course, basic guides tell you that you can start by registering a website and creating a sales page. Then all you have to do is register with a service for PPC ads and money will start flowing in, they say.

Unfortunately, this is a “pipe-dream!”

But it is possible to promote without spending a ton on advertising. There are several ways to generate free traffic to your domain that actually work…

1. Forums

With their popularity rising every day, forums offer you a great opportunity to promote your affiliate link. Visit forums related to your product and give helpful suggestions or useful information. Do not forget to provide your signature file at the bottom of the post. This is how interested visitors will find you.

My guarantee: if you’ve contributed something useful, you will see an immediate rise in traffic via your link.

2. Blogging

Search engines simply love weblogs. So you really can’t imagine earning ’super’ money without setting up a blog. There are a number of free blogging services available. Sign up with one of them and follow their easy instructions. You will be ready to go in less time than it takes to bake a cake!

Target your blog tightly around the exact niche you are promoting and add to it regularly. The incoming traffic will really surprise you! This is one of the top ways to earn affiliate income from your domain.

Another neat technique: Visit related blogs and post your comments. This will bring links back to your own blog. Of course, spamming is a big NO!

3. Set up a good squeeze page

Your ‘pre-sell’ page or landing page is like the appetizer before the main course: just good enough to whet your reader’s appetite for more. Just give your visitors enough to make them leave their email address with you.

Squeeze pages help you build your most important affiliate tool - your lead list. This list is the pulse of your online business because it holds the names of all those people who might be interested in the product you offer.

A important tip: Utilize technology to your advantage. Place a short video or audio on your squeeze page. This is the easiest way to punch up customer responsiveness.

4. Write a free report

The web is all about offering quality content for FREE!

Write a free 5-8 page report and advertise it using blogs, forums and social bookmarking sites. Include your affiliate link in the report. If your report is genuine, many people will check back and discover your product.

Paid ads can break your marketing budget even before you start. So stay away from paid advertising.

A new affiliate marketing campaign must always start out with the lowest possible investment on your part. If your product is brand new in the marketplace, diving straight into a PPC campaign will lose you money. Before you decide to pay for ads, exhaust all free methods. Once the existing channels start paying up, you can try PPC advertising.

This simple list of guidelines will help you generate massive income from your online business.

To see a great example of a video squeeze page (mentioned above), and to get more insight on driving traffic to your site, visit TheSecretAffiliateFormula.Com. For a limited time, you can also sign up for a free training course worth $67.

- Secret Affiliate