Thinking Outside of the Box

A lot of new Internet marketers or individuals who are trying to make money online express frustration with how to make money or that they aren’t making as much as they thought they could. Many of these individuals start out marketing information products from Clickbank. While that is a good route to go in it is not the only route.

Many people can leverage their money-making efforts if they think outside of the realm information products and start marketing physical products. It is important to set up multiple streams of income. Marketing physical products online is a very good way to make money online-possibly more money than could be made marketing ebooks. Commission Junction has some excellent affiliate programs including ebay.

You can sell anything on ebay as an affiliate including big-ticket items: cars, designer dresses, boats, even planes. The possibilities are endless. Currently eBay’s commission structure is slightly complicated as it is tiered but affiliates earn 30% of the 4-6%% of eBay’s profits on the lowest tier.

What this means for affiliates is if your sell a $20,000 dollar car you will earn 30% of what eBay gets (around 4%) Ebay gets $800 and the affiliate gets around $200- in one day. That may sound like small earnings to some that was the earning from only one item. What if you sold another car? Or a $50,000 car? Affiliates monthly earnings potentials are incredible.

How do you even go about selling a car that costs 20,000 or even more online? You need to position yourself with people who are looking for items like that online. The best place to start is with the Craigslist wanted section. You can search through wanted sections for all the cities all over the world and connect people with the items they’re seeking.

EBay commissions are sometimes higher in other countries, for example eBay Germany will pay out larger commissions.

Here’s a simple and easy step-by-step plan that you can do to take action now.

Step 1: If you’re not already an eBay affiliate apply to become one at Commission Junction.

Step 2: One you’ve been accepted to the program or if you’re already an affiliate go to Craigslist and search through the wanted section in a city (cities) of your choice.

Step 3: Once you find someone who is looking for an item which will give you a reasonable commission go to Ebay’s affiliate tool section and go to the “Flexible Destination” tool to link to eBay listings related to what they are looking for.

Step 4: Go to eBay and search for item they are looking for. You can even search by relative location to their area and by price range. Once you’re done that copy the URL link (select, right click is the easiest way) in your browser and paste it into the flexible destination tool. Don’t forget your publisher ID.

Step 5: Give it some clickable text if your want (such as Chevy Camaro) and create the link.

Step 6: Contact the poster by email. You can use their temporary Craigslist email (Ex: sale-##########@craigslist.org) and it will redirect to their personal email account.

Step 7: Compose your message. A typical message is short, is written in a courteous, respectful manner, and politely links them to the listing. Using Chevy Camaro as an example:

Hi Joe,

I saw your wanted ad and thought I could be of some help. I did a quick eBay search and found a couple Chevy Camaro’s in your area. (Your link goes here) Hope that helps.

Best of luck,
Your email here.

I’ve actually gotten emails from people who have thanked me for giving them leads. I didn’t expect that. As it’s always nice to get recognized for your help it also makes you feel like you’ve made their life better in some way.

You can expand to other online classified websites. You can even take your efforts offline and connect buyers with products. You can post fliers in your area. Or even go to local business owners who need monthly supplies. Junkyard owners are always looking to buy and sell auto part or cars, which could be repaired and resold later.

Classic auto enthusiasts in general, who are looking for those rare, old cars, are also another group on the look out for deals. You can go to car collectors forums and see if there is a wanted section . (Be sure to read the forum rules first so you don't spam) Don’t limit yourself to just cars though, remember you can earn commission on any item. It's mind boggling when you first realize this.

The possible ways of promoting your ebay affiliate links are endless. So take action and most of all have fun.