Review of New Affiliate Marketing Guide

A few weeks ago I mentioned Jeremy Palmer's High Performance Affiliate Marketing (see original post), which is a new Affiliate Marketing Guide that looked to rival the long unmatched Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner.

Even though I am a huge fan of Rosalind's handbook, and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to break into Affiliate Marketing - after reading about Jeremy Palmer's success as an Affiliate Marketer I decided to get a copy of this book and review it personally.

What sold me on reviewing this product were the credentials listed on his website, which I mentioned in my original post:

"According to his website, Jeremy earned a 6-figure income in his first year as an Affiliate Marketer, and now runs over 100 affiliate sites in various niches. He has been featured in a case study on Commission Junction’s website and was recognized as a top performer in their network (winning the 2005 Horizon Award for Innovation). Jeremy was also a panelist at both Affiliate Summit and the CJU event."

I have the PDF version of Jeremy's Guide - High Performance Affiliate Marketing - which is 150 pages. There is also an online version, but for review purposes the PDF version was more convenient. It is very well laid out, complete with bookmarks and a hyperlinked table of contents. My first impression was that it was a top-notch professional guide.

The book starts out on a great note, explaining how to get the most out of the guide and what to expect. It also introduces the Member Support Forums so that you can log in and ask questions anytime you run across something you dont understand or need more help with. Great idea!

I particularly liked the Action Items and Real Life Examples throughout each chapter. These were very much on target, encouraged readers to take a specific action and offered creative ideas to help you determine your next best step. To give you an example, the first Action Item is to help you choose a niche - meaning which products or which market you are going to work with. The Real Life Example that follows gives you a better understanding of the steps involved by sharing a personal experience in detail. The guide is loaded with examples and resources as well.

The first couple of sections focus on the basics of Affiliate Marketing and give you a good overview of the business and the options. The rest of the guide fills in the gaps with detailed instructions on everything involved with building an affiliate business.

My favorite part of the introductory section was in Section 2.4 where Jeremy outlines how to select Affiliate Programs or merchants. I think that the selection process is incredibly important, and deserves serious consideration from the Affiliate. Many people will choose a program based on payout details alone, but there is much more to the 'bottom line equation' than that!

Section 3 was equally good with steps on understanding and using Keywords. He gives example keyword lists and screen shots of how he uses the free keyword tools that he mentions. He also suggests ways to organize and manage your keyword lists - all very in-depth and helpful information.

I have to admit, he gives away some 'super affiliate trade secrets' on keyword brainstorming!

Section 4 is all about developing affiliate sites. Not HTML and FTP, but how to "create a website that makes sales". Quite impressive actually - and he even lists his own affiliate sites as examples that you can view and draw ideas from. Jeremy goes into detail about content sites, directory sites, review sites, shopping sites, datafeed sites etc.

Jeremy also offers an outline for a website plan in this section that is particularly useful. How to plan the various sections of your website, how to use your keyword list for ideas on sections/pages, layout elements, navigation ideas, etc. Very practical suggestions for anyone that is developing their first affiliate site (or their first successful affiliate site 😉 ).

He also goes into landing pages, usability and testing in this section - in great detail. The book ends with two very extensive sections - one on SEO (search engine optimization) and one on paid search engine marketing. I was told that Jeremy focuses mainly on PPC similar to Rosalinds handbook, so I was surprised (and impressed) to find such an extensive chapter on SEO included.

Someone had also mentioned that they researched reviews of this guide and that they were told it was too general or didnt include enough detail to justify the price (currently just under $50). However, having read through it chapter for chapter myself... I would have to disagree. This guide is chock-full of details and screen shots, and would be incredibly helpful to even the newest beginner.

The interesting thing about guides, tutorials and info-products in general is that each person is going to walk away from it gaining something specific to their needs and their unique goals & plans. If you pick up just ONE tip or resource that you put into action, the entire guide is well worth the small investment.

This guide is no exception. Considering the thousands upon thousands of dollars to be made in Affiliate Marketing, the price is a drop in the bucket compared to the head start it will give you in setting up successful affiliate sites. The keyword brainstorming and website planning sections alone are invaluable!

This guide definitely gets a thumbs-up from me and will go on my list of highly recommended resources!

Best,

P.S. The half price special has been extended until Dec 13th, so you can still get your copy for under $50 if you order before the deadline. You can get more details and order online at Jeremy's site: High Performance Affiliate Marketing .

If you want to kick off 2007 with money-making websites, this is the how-to guide to get your hands on!