Super Affiliate Handbook Review

Written by Rosalind Gardner, Super Affiliate Handbook (pdf file) is a sizeable 237 pages long.

It was published in 2003 and has been updated to reflect the affiliate marketing opportunities and methods for 2008.

It is currently priced at US$ 47.00.

This book is strictly white-hat and is the most comprehensive guide for new affiliate marketers on the internet.

The subtitle is 'How I made $436,797 In one year selling other people's stuff online', but don't let that detract from the fact that it is a great basic introduction to Affiliate Marketing with valuable insights from an industry heavyweight.

The subtitle suggests that the book is full of hype, but unlike most other affiliate marketing e-products it is remarkably hype-free and contains great tips based on her own experience.

It is also published in hard-cover format and is stocked in libraries and used in University and College e-commerce courses.

If you have been in internet marketing for a while you have probably read most of the information before, but there are still valuable insights to be gained from reading it.

Unlike other Super Affiliate Handbook reviews, we'll have a look at which topics she covers and then give you our truthful opinion on where her book shines and where it falls short.

Super Affiliate Handbook topics.

Business Building

For this topic she delves into how to build your business by giving us 5 steps to follow:

1. Profit from what you know
2. Build sites for people, not search engines
3. Build fewer sites with better content
4. Build a community around your site
5. Brand yourself

Find your niche

For this research topic, she goes into detail about the following topics:

1. Find your niche
2. Don't go too broad
3. Do keyword research
4. Assess demand and evaluate market trends
5. Review the competition
6. Build a keyword list by separating it into categories and subcategories

Build your site

A very practical section with the following tips:

1. Choose the best domain name
2. Choose a good webhost
3. Why not to use free webhosting
4. How do you want to build your site: outsource or DIY ?
5. For the DIY'ers: 7-step wordpress installation guide

Build your content

White-hat only, she presents us with her methods for building content:

1. 6 ways to 'get' content for your site
2. Must-have site pages
3. Essential content writing tips
4. Best title ideas
5. Articles, product reviews and comparisons

Monetize your site

Here she shows real-life examples of ways to monetize your site:

1. Contextual advertising networks
2. Affiliate networks
3. How to pick a good affiliate program and which type to avoid
4. How to promote your affilate links

Market your site

Probably the most interesting section for those who have some experience in affiliate marketing already:

1. Pay-per-click advertising (PPC)
2. Email marketing (don't spam)
3. Article marketing
4. Onpage optimization
5. Blogging
6. Directory submissions
7. Press releases
8. Groups and forums
9. Advertise in ezines
10. Use auctions
11. Rss
12. Email signature
13. Offline methods
14. Marketing methods that waste your time

Managing your business

In this section she gives us some real-life tips how she manages her own business by breaking it down into weekly, monthly and annual tasks.
She also shows us in detail how you need to evaluate your site's performance by using statistics available from your hosting company.

Grow your business

She advises us how to negotiate a commission increase and adds a couple of helpful tips on how to make more profit out of your site.

Problem solving section

This is where her hard-won experience comes into play and she is not shy to share her tips on how to deal with thieves, copycats and affiliate partners who you should not be in business with.

Final sections

In the last part of the book, she hands out helpful script samples, shares with us 25 mistakes to avoid and provides a very good resource section.

Where does 'Super Affiliate Handbook' fall short ?

If you have dabbled a little in affiliate marketing already, a lot of the information in this book will be old news to you.
There is a lot of useful information in the ebook for experienced affiliate marketers, but her book is targeted mainly at beginners.
There are parts where she goes to great lengths to explain a technical process which I feel was put there as 'filler' material.
If you are even a little computer-literate, you will not need to have this much spelled out for you, but perhaps she is targeting an audience who need a lot of hand-holding.

Last negative trait:
I would have liked to see a section on the value of video marketing in her book and more detail on how to build enough traffic to make your site profitable.

Where does 'Super Affiliate Handbook' shine ?

• Wordpress guide
  I absolutely love the amount of effort she has put into the Wordpress guide.
  This helps a novice learn how to build a site as painlessly as possible and really lowers the technical barrier of entry for first-time site builders.
  There is even a step-by-step section on how to implement your own theme. Good stuff !


• Video
  For those who know nothing about affiliate marketing, she has posted a video here which shows you in less than 3 minutes how affiliate marketing works.


• Resource section
  Her resource section itself is worth the price of the book and I find her information to be well researched and backed up with figures.


• She lives her teachings
  The fact that she has been in this business successfully since 2003 gives you the feeling that you are in good hands and she is entitled to the title 'guru'.
  There are many infoproducts out there about methods that claim to make their owners millions, but few of them actually show you their own sites in the material.
  She truly lives what she teaches as she has managed to build community and trust around her own 'brand'.


• Optimism
  She has a fine way with words and manages to infuse a message of positivity and optimism in her writing.
  She actively encourages her readers to get into the affiliate marketing business and does not use a 'fear-factor' logic to sell her words.


• Bonuses
  
  • Automatic updates to her ebook.
  • Access to the companion site and blog (details on the Super Affiliate Handbook download page)
  • Discounted 1 hour telephone consultation with her (wait with this until you have some experience with affiliate marketing to make the most out of the consultation.)
  • 6-week Money back guarantee

Conclusion

During this Super Affiliate Handbook Review, we've highlighted the topics that are covered in the Super Affiliate Handbook and given you our truthful opinion on the pros and cons of this infoproduct.

If you are starting out with affiliate marketing, this is the best resource available on the web for you.

If you have some experience already, you will find valuable real-life tips, but perhaps you should check out her landing page for yourself.




If you are ready,
click on the image on the right-hand side or the text link below.

Click here to buy 'Super Affiliate Handbook'

Enjoy the book and go make a profitable website !!

Good luck.

Ed.