You can use a free report in three different ways to make money. Try to use two or even all three in every report to maximize your profits.

1. Incorporate affiliate links directly into your report

You can add recommendations to the end of each chapter, or work your affiliate links directly into each chapter.

2. Add links to pages with more information or reviews of a particular product on your site. The page on your site will of course have your affiliate link of the product on it. By getting them to your site, you can also encourage them to visit other pages and join your newsletter.

3. Use the report to encourage visitors to join your newsletter. Offer the report as a free download to any new subscriber. Not only will you be able to market your affiliate products within the report, but you will also be able to follow up with your subscribers each week or month to encourage them to buy, or offer them a different affiliate product.

A report can turn into a great viral marketing tool as it is passed on from person to person. You should encourage the readers of your report to share it with others who may be interested in the topic. If the readers of your report pass it on to three other people on average, your exposure to new potential customers will grow quickly.

You can put a report together by combining a few related articles, or by expanding on something you have already written. Of course you can also write the report from scratch. Decide on a topic and what affiliate products you want to promote with your report. You can then write your report in a word processor like Microsoft word and turn it into a PDF. Use adobe acrobat, or free software like open office or the PDF creator at http://sector7g.wurzel6.de/pdfcreator/index_en.htm to turn your word document into a PDF.

A report is easy to put together and adds yet another way to promote your products to your affiliate marketing toolbox. If you have not been using free reports yet, I encourage you to give it a try. If you can come up with just one free report a month, and get it circulating, you will increase the amount of visitors you attract and the number of sales you make.