The 7 Steps to Affiliate Marketing Success 
If you are looking to be successful in the affiliate marketing business, then you need to follow the next 7 steps to reach your success. Here are the seven steps to affiliate marketing success:
Step 1: Finding a hot niche market -- The first step in obtaining affiliate marketing success is to choose a viable niche. This should be done through researching to find out which niches are doing the best and can turn into being a highly profitable source of income for either physical or digital products.
A hot niche is one that has little or no competition, yet there are lots of potential customers that need to have their problem solved or they need some sort of help and are having trouble finding an answer. If you can come up with a way to meet those unanswered needs, then you will have a chance to make some serious money because you will be helping these potential customers get what they need and desire.
Step 2: Main Affiliate Product Research—In this step you will be doing research on the product or service that you have decided to promote and sell. That information will be used to create a squeeze page. You need to make sure that all of the information you gather on your chosen product is relevant and up to date so as to provide the best and most current information to your potential customers.
A squeeze page, also known as a Lead Capture Page, is typically a one page website which is designed to target a precise niche market. It is meant to get the attention of the person visiting the page and getting them to complete an opt-in form or follow the call to action that leads them to click onto the affiliate link to the merchant’s site and if successful, to become a paying customer.

Step 3: Additional Affiliate Products Research- It is vital for potential affiliate marketers to research several affiliate products directly related to the chosen hot niche. This way they will know which one of the products is the best one to promote. Many products can be related to a niche. For example, if your niche is dentistry, then products could include anything from toothpaste to dental instruments.

The products you choose will be advertised by using Autoresponder emails. An autoresponder is a computer program that answers email sent to it automatically so the marketer doesn’t have to manually do it. When the potential customer sends out a request for information then it will be pre-arranged to give them the answer they desire.
Step 4: Squeeze Page Set up – During this stage is when you create the squeeze page while approaching the key benefits that the visitor will see once he gets to the Main Product Sales Page. This is a form of preselling, so after the user enters his or her name and email, they will be prepared and redirected to the Sales Page directly, where they will hopefully become a paying customer.
Step 5: Autoresponder Set up: There are three types of emails that you will be sending out to your potential customers. These include the autoresponder emails that you should be using to advertise the main affiliate product you are promoting, as well as another set of emails concerned with advertising the additional affiliate products you are selling, and a third set of emails in which you are building a good relationship with your past or potential customers on your list by offering them free, but still high quality items (i.e. reports, e-courses, etc.) that are all centered on subjects regarding your hot niche you are targeting.
Step 6: Advertise your Squeeze Page: There are several ways to advertise your squeeze page that can lead to financial success including Facebook Ads, Solo Ads, Media Buys, YouTube Traffic, and Forum advertising. Here is basic information on each of these topics:
Facebook Ads: To advertise on Facebook, you must create a Facebook Page, then create ads to help you get an audience to follow it, engage with your followers, and try to influence your follower’s friends by providing lots of relevant and up to date content.
Solo Ads: Ads targeted to specific subjects.
Media Buys: A media buy is the purchase of advertising space in a media venue such as a newspaper or magazine.
YouTube Traffic: Making a video about your business and what it can do for your potential customer.
Forum Advertising: When you advertise your product in a forum.
Step 7: The smartest way in the world to get the most out of your traffic is through retargeting. Retargeting is a very hot topic in affiliate marketing, as it helps you to get the most out of every penny spent on advertising. Retargeting is a way of maintaining a list of names and contact information and using this to keep in touch with past and potential customers. 
By doing this you can do things like send them a free report, give more details on the product, etc. until you get them warmed up to the idea of becoming a paying customer. In regards to past customers, you can try to upsell them and get them to buy additional products or services you are selling. 

