Once you are generating a lot of commission, consider asking the company you are an affiliate for to give you a higher percentage of the sale price. If you are an excellent affiliate, and are using above board marketing techniques, companies will do anything to keep you working for them. Taking all things into consideration, they are very likely to increase the commission you get for each order if you simply ask.
Buy a domain name that reflects your website and the affiliate program you're promoting, and then point it towards the content on your website which is specificly promoting that program.If you want to have a look at a good example of precisely what you should not do, take a peek at the Home Cash Success Scam that was pushed aggressively through unethical affiliates.
Add a series of podcasts to your website to drive traffic to the pages where you have your affiliate marketing links. People love to watch podcasts, but they also love to read the transcript (and so do search engines!). So, make sure to provide both and keep everyone on your site happy.
Linking to a product that you're affiliated with, can drive sales if you've already sold the item to the reader, but you can also link to any pre-sell information that the affiliate company provides, like PDFs or videos. This can help you to sell a product, in case you can't make the video yourself.
Find out if the affiliate program you're a part of is using any "scarcity" tactics in their promotions. For example, if they have a limited time discount offer, or are including a bonus item with products sold before a certain date, mirror those promotions on your website to help drive sales.
Submit content to other websites, like EzineArticles.com, which allow for links to your affiliate-driven content pages to be posted in your bio. For example, you could write an article about how to build a deck and link it to BuildingDecksAdvice.com which you have pointing at the "decks" category on your website or blog. This will drive a very specific audience to your website; and, hopefully, they will be ready to start buying.
Here is an idea for affiliate marketing! Create a topical lead magnet, like a video series or podcast, on your website and have a newsletter sign-up on that page. This will give you the ability to send your affiliate emails to a broad audience who are interested in your topic! In addition, you now have a broader audience to market your products to!
The best way to learn about affiliate marketing techniques is to sign up to receive other websites' marketing tools! Check out the emails they're sending out, the marketing programs they're affiliated with, which graphics they're using, and what type of content they use most often. Don't plagiarize their content, but copy content IDEAS.
If you're producing a ton of sales for a company you're affiliated with, ask for more commission. As long as you're driving a ton of sales their way, they're likely to give in to your offer to ensure you don't switch and send people to a different company instead, cutting their sales in the process.
These ideas should help you move steadily toward affiliate marketing success. Making money as an affiliate isn't an instant process, but one of constant learning, tweaking and gradual building. Following these tips is an investment in your future though, so with what you've learned, you can go forth and build the financial freedom you desire.