Affiliate Marketing Strategies

Rainbow Farts

… and Butterfly Dreams.

And as an added bonus, let’s throw in a couple of unicorns, a handful of lollipops, and some cotton candy.

Doesn’t that sound tempting?!

How many of these have you invested in so far in your business? My hard drive is housing quite a collection (not easy to admit).

Especially when you’re first getting your entrepreneuial feet wet, it’s really difficult (nearly impossible) to distinguish between “fruit” and “fluff”.

Some business-building products and programs help your business bear fruit — really juicy, sweet-tasting fruit.

And others, well …

Let’s just say they have as much value as a big pile of dryer lint.

Not to imply lint is useless.

I saw an intriguing artist on television once who makes stunning pieces of art with various shades of dryer lint. And she gets paid big bucks for her creations! I guess you could say she’s turning lint into gold.

But back to fruit versus fluff …

Do you see that little tab at the top of the page that reads, “$7 Guides”?

I refer to the contents of that page, fondly, as my Michelle Shaeffer Collection. Michelle produced every one of those guides (so that I didn’t have to go to the trouble).

Have you guessed I’m an affiliate for Michelle? I figured as much. My readers are super savvy.

Want to know WHY I promote those guides and have them proudly displayed here? No, it’s not because I intend to make a fortune. My affiliate commission is exactly $1.50.

I market those guides for Michelle because she’s not trying to sell people rainbow farts and butterfly dreams.

What’s the most useless product, service, or program you’ve every purchased?
How do YOU tell the difference between “fruit” and “fluff”?
If you’re an affiliate marketer – what’s your criterion for determining which products, programs, or services you’ll promote?

Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, Entrepreneurs Tagged With: Affiliate marketing strategies, Business, dryer lint, Laura Bell, Michelle Shaeffer, Opportunities

Time to Tie up the Loose Ends – Affiliate Marketing Part 5

By Melanie Kissell 11 Comments

Before you read the grand finale on affiliate marketing, be sure to go back and read Parts 1-4, if you haven’t already. They’ll help you tie up any loose ends about the common mistakes people make as well as the wonderful benefits and expert tips for affiliate marketing success.

Here are the two questions people ask me all the time:

“What is the best tip you can give me, Melanie, about affiliate marketing so I can start making some money?” And “What’s the best way to start?”

The answer to both those questions is the same. You need to focus on finding the RIGHT people to promote and recommend to others.

GET TO KNOW potential affiliate partners first. Follow them on Twitter, befriend them on Facebook, communicate through emails, attend some of their free teleseminars, opt in to their list, and read their blogs. Observe what they are doing and how they conduct themselves to decide if you resonate with them or not.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them – Affiliate Marketing Part 4

By Melanie Kissell 8 Comments

Affiliate marketing can be an excellent way to get started in business online or a powerful, profitable addition to a current business.

There are amazing and wonderful products to sell and wonderful product owners to partner with.

Being an affiliate marketer isn’t just about making money, it’s about promoting products that you believe in and are passionate about – this is key to becoming a successful affiliate.

But what if affiliate marketing doesn’t seem to be working for you?

Here are some of the common mistakes to avoid when you are starting out as an affiliate marketer:

1) There’s a disconnect with your visitors

No matter how interesting and informative the content of your site is, most of your visitors won’t stay and browse unless you have injected some of your personality into it. Add some personal details, perhaps a photo or an about me page, and try to make the content sound as though you are actually talking to your visitors. Write conversationally, as if you were speaking to your sister or your best friend.

2) All lookers and no buyers

This problem is generally caused by failure to really pre-sell the products you are promoting. Anticipating the needs of your audience and convincing them that your affiliate product will address that need should increase your conversion rate. A well designed site will have your customers prepared to buy the product before they even click on the link.

3) Not taking names

Don’t forget to ask your customers for their e-mail addresses, whether that is to receive a newsletter, e-book, audio, video, or a free report. If you don’t, you are missing out on a great opportunity. Very few people buy from a site on their first visit. So capture their e-mail addresses in exchange for something of value so you can gain their trust and confidence and ensure you have future chances to sell to them.

4) Leaving out the human element

Human elements sell better than clever copy every time! Don’t rely on advertising over testimonials. Although banner ads in the sidebars on your webpage can lead to affiliate sales, they are not as effective as personal recommendations and endorsements.

Online customers are becoming immune to traditional advertising but the human element of a recommendation can still dramatically increase your sales. Even though your customers are probably aware that you make a commission from recommending a product, they will reason that you would not endorse something you didn’t believe in because that would damage your reputation and credibility.

Do write a heartfelt enthusiastic endorsement. It may take some practice, but it will be well worth the effort when the commissions begin to roll in.

5) Tell before you sell

Too much sales-y stuff and too little content turns people off. Whether you are promoting affiliate products via a website or information products, your customers will want to learn something from you rather than reading a blatant sales pitch.

As a general rule, you should be aiming for 90% high quality informative content and 10% sales content on your site.

6) Repeating the same mistakes

Many affiliate marketers find they are only making a small profit from one product, so they decide to promote a large number of products in order to increase this income. All you really achieve with this is repeating a formula that doesn’t work very effectively.

If you are not generating much income from your affiliate products, look at different ways to market them. Having a few well-marketed products is always better than hundreds that get little exposure. Don’t be afraid to try out some new marketing platforms and strategies.

See you for Part 5 – The Grand Finale!

Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing Tagged With: Affiliate marketing, Affiliate marketing strategies, Internet business success, Online Success, Testimonials, Third Party Validation

5 Expert Tips for Success – Affiliate Marketing Part 3

By Melanie Kissell 4 Comments

In part one and part two of this series, you’ve learned about different business models, how to zero in on your affiliate marketing personality, and the cool advantages of becoming an affiliate marketer.

In Part 3, I want to share some expert tips on how to be successful by promoting and recommending other people’s products, programs, and services.

Tip #1

Dip Your Toe In First

Trying to start up too many sites and affiliate programs when you first begin as an affiliate marketer can mean you won’t have enough quality time and energy to dedicate to each one. Beginning with one website and a handful (3-5) of relevant affiliate products will give you a chance to learn the ropes. Once you have found the winning formula, you can repeat it over and over again.

Tip #2

Believe In The Products You Promote

Make sure you purchase and test any product you intend to promote before you begin to sell it. By recommending it to your target audience, you are putting your reputation on the line! So making sure the product does what it claims is just good business sense.

Check out the company selling the product you are promoting. Is their customer service up to your standards? Is their site professional and easy to navigate? Will they treat your customers as you would treat them yourself?

Tip #3

Let’s Talk Money

Check out the payment terms of each affiliate program you join. What percentage can you expect to get from each sale or will it be a fixed dollar amount? Will you be paid only for the sale, or will you get commission for each sales lead you generate? If an affiliate program pays out less than 40% in commissions, I wouldn’t consider joining. Most pay 50% and some as high as 75%. Now we’re talking!

Tip #4

Use The Resources In Your Affiliate Members Area

When you join an affiliate program, check your affiliate back office to see what marketing materials have been created for you to use in your promotional and business-building efforts. These may include email marketing messages, text links, articles, blog posts, graphics, banner ads, Facebook updates, and Tweets for social media marketing.

Some affiliate program owners choose to email you affiliate tips and marketing materials over a 30-day period after you join their program in lieu of having these items stored in the affiliate members area. In that case, you’ll need to create a file to keep those items handy.

Tip #5

Grab Your Megaphone

You can have a great website promoting high quality affiliate products and fantastic sales copy that would convince the most skeptical visitor to buy, but if you don’t have any traffic to your site, you are not going to make any money. Successful affiliates spend around 75% of their time and energy on marketing – through e-books, articles, social media venues, classified ads, free reports, tips booklets, and blogging (my favorite).

The beauty of affiliate marketing is that anyone can do it – exclusively or as an addendum to your existing business.

See you for Part 4!

Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing Tagged With: Affiliate marketing, Affiliate marketing business models, Affiliate marketing strategies, Internet business success, Online Promotions

In Case Of Emergency – Affiliate Marketing Part 1

By Melanie Kissell 8 Comments

Although I’ve been a medical professional for many years, I’m not talking about medical emergencies here. Let’s put all of those into the hands of the skilled and fine emergency room physicians.

However, I do want to talk about what you can do to put a band-aid on your business in case of a solo entrepreneur emergency.

If you’re brand new to the internet, you’ll want to keep a big box of these band-aids on hand.

You’ll need a smaller supply if you’re a seasoned solo professional and you experience only an occasional cut or scrape.

Whether you’ve been a solo pro for years or you’re just getting your internet biz off the ground …

You need affiliate marketing band-aids!

You’ve been a “promotion and recommendation” expert since kindergarten.

When you got a new toy for your birthday, you shared it and showed it off to your friends. And when you put on a spiffy new pair of Keds sneakers, you instantly became a walking advertisement – literally and figuratively!

In this series, I’ll be talking about how you can rely on affiliate marketing to create streams of income or heal a drop in sales.

To begin this journey with me, grab a FREE copy of Affiliate Classroom Magazine and read the comparison of different affiliate marketing business models. No, I am not an affiliate for this magazine.

Choose a business model that fits your goals and your personality.

See you for Part 2!

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