In preparing the affiliate marketing program, the online businessman must first find professional affiliates. One affiliate is not enough. Therefore, there should be a sizable number of affiliates that will create a significant impact on the sales of the online business. But once the affiliates have been recruited, the next important step for the online business is to provide his affiliates with promotional materials.

A promotional material is a feature in the website or Internet system that can be utilized by the affiliate to advertise and pre-sell the products of the online company. Without such promotional materials, the affiliate marketing will be slow or will come to a standstill. But one affiliate is different from another. Thus, the online businessman should be able to identify the type of promotional material that will meet the unique needs of the affiliates.

Here are some promotional materials that an online businessman should consider preparing for his affiliates. These promotional materials are quite basic and the online businessman may try other methods that are less conventional and more revolutionary. In the meantime, these are great for any affiliate marketing program on its first steps.

1. Effective email ads - This type of promotional material is ideal for affiliates who have e-zines or newsletters that they send their consumer/visitor base. In fact, most professional affiliates have their own newsletters.

Therefore, a shrewd online businessman must place email advertisements that will be included in the newsletters. He should create several email ads with varying lengths. Some affiliates like these ads to be short, while others prefer longer email ads.

In writing email ads, the online businessman should remember to use animated words that trigger emotional responses from the readers. The reason for this is that, buying is mostly an emotional action.

2. Signature Files - This type of promotional material is sought by some affiliates who have signature lines. Thus, the online businessman must submit several clever lines to his affiliates. When the affiliate finds a signature file that he likes, he will include it in his own signature line.

3. Articles - This type of promotional material is needed by affiliates who want good content in their websites, and even in their newsletters. The online businessman should have good articles that can be posted in the affiliates' websites. Such good articles can also help the website's ranking in search engines

4. Banners - This type of promotional material may not be the most effective, but it can still attract visitors. The online businessman must be ready with his banners that will fit into various parts of the website, such as the toolbar, the sidebar, the top, and the bottom.

5. Product Images - This type of promotional material is attractive to affiliates who want to display the images of the products that they are promoting.