If you have been an internet marketer for any period of time, you have probably heard the term “Bum Marketing”. You can probably guess what it is by the title. Internet marketing will cost you one of two things, time or money. It may cost you both.
Bum marketing will cost you time, but no money. This is why this concept is so appealing. So how can you join the droves of people who are making a living this way?
1. Set Up a Sales Page
To truly be a bum, you will want to host your affiliate links on existing sites, then link back to that page with your bum marketing articles. Before you get into writing countless niche articles, you will need a destination page. Many people drop the paltry sum of a couple dollars per month to host their own website from which they can direct links to.
Only true bums are willing to squat on sites like Squidoo or Hubpages to sell their affiliate products. This way will you not only get a free page to hock your wares, but you will earn a monthly revenue sharing stipend from the site as well.
2. Identify Niche Topics
In order to be a successful bum marketer, you will need to identify some niche topics. There is so much competition out there that it could take a lot of time to make any sales within a highly competitive field. This is why it is important to attack a niche.
You can still compete for a specific product by bypassing many of the other marketers who are promoting that product. For example, if you are trying to promote a chocolate delivery service that delivers all over the United States, try focusing your articles on specific cities. You will be much more successful with keywords like “Cleveland chocolate delivery” than a broad term like “chocolate delivery”. The only problem with this tactic is that it takes a lot of legwork.
3. Writing Articles
When you actually get down to writing your articles to promote your site, you will have to dedicate a lot of time in order to be successful. Since the monetary cost is nil, the time requirement is very high. In order to tap into all of those niche keywords, you could have to write hundreds of articles. This can be extremely tedious. If you have the coin, you can pay writers to do it for you, but then you wouldn’t be a true bum marketer.
You should learn a little bit about keyword placement to get your articles found in the search engines. If you only title your article with your target keywords, then fail to mention that keyword again, your article will not be found often enough for you to make a profit. You should use your keyword several times within your article, and mention it in the tags at the end. If you are given the opportunity, use the <strong> tag to emphasize to the search engines that the keyword is important. Be careful not to overdo it, if the search engines think you are guilty of keyword stuffing, it is all over for that article.
Bum marketing might be old news, but you can still make a ton of money doing it if you take the right approach. Article directories are not the only place to submit your writing to receive bum marketing affiliate commissions. You can also write guest blogs and link back to your site that way (wink). In time, your website will become more popular in the search engines and you will have to rely less on bum marketing to sell your products. The search engines will start to bring more natural traffic to your site, and then you are on easy street.
This article was written by Chris Ruminski who teaches others how to make money online at 2makemoneyontheweb.com. His site is dedicated to finding the best ways on the internet to make a buck. Image by timparkinson under CC. You can also write guest posts and share your marketing tips.