Clickbank marketplace is one of the largest and most acclaimed venues for digital merchandise such as ebooks and software.

Clickbank holds the advantage of facilitating thousands of digital products under several categories that can be downloaded immediately after purchase rather than having to wait for shipment. Another advantage is that the process of joining as an affiliate to any product within the Clickbank marketplace is extremely simple

Despite these advantages, many Clickbank affiliates struggle to make a enough money to cover the cost of advertising. These folks are using Clickbank to create and grow a successful online business with affiliate marketing.

The question is, how is it possible that you, as a new Clickbank affiliate achieve the level of income that these more veteran affiliates receive? Here are the 5 imperative steps to know if you want to be even remotely successful in the Clickbank marketplace.

1) You must find the most beneficial products. With thousands of products in their database, you have to be able to wade through the crowd and find those that pay a gratuitous commission (at least $20) for each purchase, are in demand by the general public, and have a compelling sales page (if it is convincing to you, it might convince others).

2) Build your own affiliate sites and landing pages. If you link directly to the vendor's sales page, you will reduce the number of different ways you can advertise and receive traffic, and you don't stand out from your competition. It's always a better idea to stand out and do something different. It takes more time and effort, but the increase in profit can be well worth it. One great way to advertise affiliate products is with review sites, where you compare 3 or more similar products and maintain affiliate links to all of them.

3) Create email opt-ins for your landing pages which allows you to collect the names and addresses of visitors. When you capture your visitors' information, you can check in with them, which has been shown to increase your conversion ratio. Don't sacrifice future potential for the instant sale. Many people are proposed an offer multiple times before they purchase.

4) Once you have collected the names of your visitors and have built a substantial subscriber list, you can now market other products to them as well. Bear in mind, you want to invest the time to earn their trust, grow your reputation, and retain them as long-term, loyal customers. You can do this by offering information and/or free products, as well as refer them to authoritative sources of information and services. This will position you as an authority in your niche.

5) Get free targeted traffic to your Clickbank affiliate sites. There are a number of steps which are free but are efficient in getting quality traffic to your site. These include:
(a) Writing articles and submitting to article directories
(b) Posting at forums and online boards
(c) Using signature files in emails and forums

These are some of the ways currently being used by all extraordinary Clickbank Affiliates. You must learn these techniques to start massively increasing your money through the Clickbank marketplace.

My suggestion, if you're considering becoming an affiliate, is to find products that have a really good commission ($200-$7,500 each) and yet only need the same level of marketing skill as Clickbank products. Such products are available, and many of the affiliates associated with them are making tens of thousands a month.