Firstly, you will need to be in control of your own traffic. You will need a place that will enable you to capture names and email addresses, distribute promotional materials and to work on preselling your prospects. Some people might be thinking why can’t I just send people directly to the merchant’s sales page? Well you can send it but it will not be a good idea.
Let’s say that the product that you are promoting is good but the merchant’s sales copy is awful. People might just look around the website and leaves. What has just happen is that you have lost a potential leads and you have lost him forever. There will be no way that you will be able to contact him again because you do not even know him.
Imagine that you send the leads to your own website instead. You will make your website into a landing page where it will keep the prospect interested enough to give you their email address and names. This will be a much better way to do things as you now have their contacts. So why is it better?
Firstly, you will be able to contact him on a regular basis. Secondly, you will be able to make up for the poor sales letter by promoting the products in your own word. When you are doing that, you will start to form a relationship with your customer. The last reason is that you will be able to promote other related products to him again as long as he is in your list.
You should also know that if you have your own website, you will have more advertising option. For example if you are using Google adwords, they have a rule that states that you will not be able to directly promote your affiliate links using their services.
In conclusion, having your own domain and web hosting is vital for your long term success. The part 2 of this article will tell you how much you will need to invest in these tools and where are the places where you can find free hosting.
Zack Lim is an up and coming affiliate marketer who owns http://www.MyAffiliateMarketingOnline.com providing information on Affiliate Marketing. To get Free "7 Days to Affiliate Marketing" course, go to http://www.MyAffiliateMarketingOnline.com