|
Author: Tim Coulter Article source: http://tools.devshed.com/. Used with author's permission.
Affiliate marketing has become extremely popular, and ClickBank offers a large and growing network of affiliates to tap into, but only a tiny percentage of them know how to make the most of their web traffic. Countless studies have demonstrated the huge benefits of proper pre-selling, but most affiliates do little more than display their merchant's banner ads.
Unfortunately, the cause of this problem lies with the merchants. Affiliate relationships are often treated as little more than risk-free advertising, with the affiliate providing the space and the merchant providing the ad to fill it. What is lacking in this approach is any attempt to leverage the affiliate's unique relationship with her niche community.
Even some of the largest online merchants, who spend huge sums setting up the infrastructure for their affiliate programs, do nothing to coach or motivate their affiliates. Nor do they provide any of the basic materials necessary to optimize the quality of referrals.
But, by treating affiliates as a valued marketing resource instead of a risk-free ad service, you can achieve astonishing results. This means investing effort in helping your affiliates.
The most fundamental way to prime your affiliates for effective pre-selling is by producing a support pack that leads them in the right direction and makes the process as simple and effortless as possible.
Of course, the pack should contain all the staple advertising tools, like banners, classified ads, headlines and a variety of short and long descriptions for search engines and classified listings. But it should also include content that your affiliates can use to extend the value of their websites or distribute in their newsletters.
This content should include templates for infomercials, product reviews and endorsements (ready for customization) as well as articles, interviews and case studies (to be reproduced verbatim).
A typical product review is a mix of facts and opinions. Although you may not wish to dictate the opinions of your affiliates, you can make it easy for them to write their own personalized reviews, by setting out all the most important facts in a brief article that they can customize with their own impressions. The most effective product reviews explain exactly how and why the author uses the product, with a big emphasis on benefits. Again, you can help out here, using template paragraphs that your affiliates can tailor to describe their own experiences. The more work you do for your affiliates, the easier you make it for them to present your product in the most favorable light.
This brings us to the important issue of product ownership. The best way for an affiliate to write a credible product review is from personal experience. In other words, she should own and use the product before offering an opinion on its suitability.
So, as a merchant, it should be among your priorities to encourage your affiliates to own the products they promote. One way to do this is to allow them to buy your products using their own affiliate link. Some merchants are wary of this approach, fearing that it leads to commission theft and encourages buyers to sign up as affiliates purely to obtain a discount.
The alternative is to restrict the membership of your affiliate program to existing customers, forcing them to buy your product if they want to participate in its promotion. A number of very successful ClickBank merchants adopt this policy, although it should be noted that it carries the risk of seriously diminishing your affiliate recruitment rate.
A final - somewhat drastic - step is to offer your product free to registered affiliates, thus encouraging them to become familiar with it and properly endorse it. Of course, you would need to employ this tactic discreetly, or you run the risk of being overrun by freebie seekers.
If the thought of giving your product away free is too intimidating, consider making the offer conditional on a tacit commitment by your affiliates to participate in your coaching program. In other words, you get the chance to interact directly with the affiliate, mentoring her in her quest to deliver high-quality targeted prospects to your sales page. This kind of one-to-one relationship with affiliates can be extremely time-consuming at the outset, but as each affiliate tunes in to the most effective pre-selling tactics, she becomes self-sufficient and low-maintenance. And little by little you build a marketing SWAT team that delivers immediate results whenever you launch a new product. About The Author
Copyright © Tim Coulter. All rights reserved.
Tim Coulter is a consultant and software developer who helps netpreneurs to harness marketing technologies.
He is also the author of "ClickBank - The Definitive Guide" The Ultimate ClickBank Tutorial & Reference Manual.
http://www.clickbankrevealed.com/
Children Get Constipated, Too
Do you notice your child putting off going to the bathroom because he/she is busy doing more important things? Do you notice avoidance of the bathroom for fear ...
Why Does a Business Fail and What Can You Do to Stop It?
I believe the number one reason why a business will fail is lack of planning. This can be due to various reasons, perhaps because the market research wasn't su...
How To Choose a Glyconutrient Supplement
This article provides three easy tips for selecting a quality
glyconutrient supplement to make sure you always get the best
value for your money. These principa...
Ready to Move -- Anywhere!
"I have lived in this city all my life. My family is here. I am pretty satisfied, but lately I'm getting restless. I want to move somewhere - anywhere. I was th...
Make The Decision To Succeed
Companies that are proactive; that identify and seize upon opportunities; that respond swiftly to situations are most successful. Whether it is right or wrong, ...
Flower Delivery in New York
As is the case with any large city, you can become overwhelmed with the options for sending flowers. If you need to send a gift, New York flower delivery servic...
Eat Fiber and Avoid Constipation
Fiber is what our basic diet should consist of. Most of us eat very little fiber and this leads to chronic constipation. Many other illnesses also come from c...
We Do Not Have An Upside Down Trade Deficit Because We Cannot Compete
Our trade deficit is directly proportional to our attacks on US Businesses and Entrepreneurs. We do not have an upside down trade deficit because we cannot comp...
Creativity and Inspiration
Whether you're an author, artist or musician, the secret of creativity is learning how to attune with the One source of all creation. Writers attempt to do this...
PaintBall Gun Buying Tips
Buying a paintball gun? Read up this article for tips on selecting and buying the perfect PaintBall Gun.
The Power You Possess
What you need to understand is that there is no barrier to what is possible. It doesn't matter what it looks like. Everything that you desire is possible. Eve...
Ten Top Tips for Healthier Lunchboxes
How you can boost your childs nutrition and health through preparing a healthy lunch box to take to school.
Is Your Life A Minefield ?
Why everything has to be so hard? What have I done to deserve such torment and pain? I seems like everything and everyone around me have conspired against me.
7 Tips to Relieve Stress At Work
Do you feel stress at work? Do you carry your stress home with you at night?
Secure Your Privacy From Spyware And Other Adware Programs
Be cautious when surfing the net and downloading free/shareware. Not only can it seriously infect your computer, it can also cause identity theft.
Reiki-Seichem
This article looks at the fundamental teachings behind Reiki and Seichem as healing modalities...
Google Slavery...Old Habits Die Hard
Webmasters that stick to the old ways and focus entirely on
Google are missing out on a lot of search traffic these days if
they are not also well ranked by Y...
Cosmetics & Toiletries - Global Outsourcing & Private Label Manufacturing
After recent globalization and change in policies the opportunities for manufacturers & exporters have widen. Today we can say that the producers are coming-off...
Negating Negative Feedback on eBay
Taking some pride in my one hundred percent positive
feedback score on eBay, I was horrified to see a
negative feedback appear against me.
Glittery Holiday Acrylic Refrigerator Magnets
The glitter background on this magnet is bright and eye-catching from a distance--perfect for special holidays. Stamp out multiple holiday images on acrylic sq...
Defeating Back Pain Forever
If back pain is or has been part of your life, then you need to know there is hope. There are things you can do to decrease back pain, as well as decrease the c...
Private Mortgage Insurance Basics
Will you be asked to pay Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI? Most lenders will require you to carry PMI if you cannot put 20% or more of your loan amount forwa...
Golf Swing Problem And How To Fix It
Having a golf swing problem and not being able to correct it is the norm these days. Millions of golfers every year walk off the course in frustration. They a...
Your Holiday Survival Checklist
Admit it! You promised this year was not going to be like the last few, but yet you are already feeling that holiday anxiety. The TO DO list even if unwritten ...
|
Print this page