3 ways to increase your success with affiliate programmes
Are you frustrated with your affiliate programs?
I used to be. Very frustrated! One day, in sheer desperation, I wrote to one of my affiliate
programs and suggested that the market was now saturated with their product - it was no longer possible to sell it.
The next day I received a very nice reply. "The Internet is HUGE", they said. "We predict it will be five years before the market is saturated with our product. And long before that, we will have introduced our next product." They were right, of course. The problem was not with the market (the Internet is huge). Nor was the problem with their product. The problem was in the way I was presenting it.
Since then, my affiliate sales have soared. Why? Because I learnt a few secrets to winning the affiliate game. Here they are:
1. Choose affiliate programs that relate very closely to the theme of your website. Let me give you an example. Of the three affiliate products I sell from my web site, the one that does best by a long way is an eBook that shows people how to generate free Ezine advertising. Why does it do so well? Because my website is a directory of ezines and most of my visitors are already interested in Ezine Advertising before they even arrive at my website - I don't have to persuade them very much.
2. Buy the product yourself! Research across dozens of affiliate programs shows that at least 70% of sales in any affiliate program are made by the small percentage of affiliates who actually buy the product they're selling. It makes sense doesn't it (how can you recommend something you've never used)?
3. Banners - they don't work anymore, and some experts believe banners will actually damage your affiliate sales.
4. Personal recommendation. The human factor is very important on the Internet - people want to know that someone else has bought the product and that it worked for them. But to write a convincing personal recommendation, you'll have to buy, read and use the product you're selling.
5. 'Over-selling' - this is the most common mistake of affiliates. Keep in mind that all you
need to do to succeed with affiliate programs is to get your potential customer to click through to the affiliate website in an 'open-to-buy' mindset. If the affiliate program is good, the affiliate website will make the sale. So don't try to sell the product from your website - just aim to get a click on your affiliate link.
5. Standard Ads. When you join an affiliate program, you'll probably be given some standard ads to use. Don't use them! Why? Because your potential customer has probably seen those exact same ads on dozens of websites and in dozens of
Ezines. And if that standard ad hasn't led them to buy the product so far, it probably won't now. Something new and original is required.
6. Back-end sales. Once you're succeeding in one affiliate program, join another program that offers a related product and use the technique that marketers call 'back-end' sales. It's a well known fact that people are much more likely to buy from someone they have already bought from. So when someone makes a purchase from your affiliate link, send them a nice follow-up letter. At the end of the letter, tell them about your other affiliate product and how it can help them.
(c) 2000, by Michael Southon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Southon shows
webmasters how to use Ezine Marketing to build
a Successful Online Business.
Start using this simple technique today -
watch your traffic and sales go wild!:
http://www.ezine-writer.com/
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
More Affiliate Promotion Articles
More By Developer Shed
 developerWorks - FREE Tools!
|
The IBM DB2 Deep Compression ROI tool is designed for DBA’s and IT management personnel to perform a clinical analysis of the cost savings gained from the Storage Optimization feature of DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX and Windows. The feature, also known as Deep Compression, compresses data that lies within a database by up to 80% at times.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
As businesses grow increasingly dependent upon Web applications to provide services to customers, employees and partners, these complex applications become more difficult to secure. Although traditional security solutions protect Internet infrastructure layers, they do not guard against HTTP and HTML attacks. Many organizations that conduct security testing still deploy applications that allow attackers to manipulate their logic and wreak havoc on their business. To mitigate this risk, development and delivery teams must address Web application security throughout the lifecycle, addressing the many layers detailed in this paper.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
This whitepaper presents the benefits of successfully introducing static analysis into your organization using IBM Rational Software Analyzer. Additionally, it identifies some common pitfalls that can hinder the effective use of static analysis tooling as well as presents 10 simple strategies designed to help you quickly realize the value of static analysis using Rational Software Analyzer.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Visit IBM developerWorks to download the latest trial version of IBM Data Studio V1.1 at no cost. IBM Data Studio is a comprehensive data management solution that helps you effectively design, develop, deploy and manage your data, databases, and database applications throughout the data management life cycle utilizing a consistent and integrated user interface. Unlike other client-side data management solutions that focus on only one aspect of the application lifecycle or database administration, Data Studio complements the Rational Software Delivery platform, providing unparalleled flexibility for a heterogeneous data server environment across platforms.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join this webcast to see how IBM Data Studio Developer and pureQuery can take the pain out of Java data access. uApplications developed using both Java and SQL have become a common requirement. Database connectivity using Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) to create an application is a multi-step tedious process, and tooling that covers both SQL and Java has been unavailable, until now. IBM Data Studio introduces the pureQuery platform: a high-performance, Java data access platform focused on simplifying the tasks of developing, managing, and optimizing database applications and services.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
This paper is about the critical role that a discipline called integrated requirements management can play in helping to ensure that your business goals and IT investments are continuously aligned—whether you are sourcing, integrating, building or maintaining software. It also looks at ways that automated IBM Rational® products can work together to help you use requirements in the very best way.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Try the latest version of IBM Rational Manual Tester V7.0.1 by downloading a free trial from IBM developerWorks. This manual test authoring and execution tool promotes test step reuse to reduce the impact of software change on testers and business analysts and addresses the needs of teams performing at least a portion of their testing manually.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Visit IBM developerWorks to try the IBM SOA Sandbox for people. The SOA Sandbox for people provides a trial environment with the necessary tooling and components required to enable consistent human and process interaction and collaboration, showing how you can improve user experience and business productivity.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
As businesses grow increasingly dependent upon Web applications, these complex entities grow more difficult to secure. Most companies equip their Web sites with firewalls, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and network and host security, but the majority of attacks are on applications themselves – and these technologies cannot prevent them. This paper explains what you can do to help protect your organization, and it discusses an approach for improving your organization’s Web application security.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
With IBM Rational Systems Development Solution, you can deliver products faster with higher quality. Within this kit, Read the “Model Driven Systems Development” white paper to see how to improve product quality and communication. Then check out the rest of the e-Kit to learn more about important topics that can affect the success of any software project through customer examples, tutorials, informative Webcasts, and best practices for designing, building and managing systems. From start to finish, at every stage in your projects, Rational Systems Development Solution can help your company reach its full potential.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools!
|
