By Jason Gazaway
Many affiliates fail in affiliate marketing because they limit their marketing strategies to placing
referral links in their web sites, distributing links to business sites through multiple emails or
posting their links to other web pages. Doing any of these alone would not guarantee sales and thus,
your commission.
You have to exert effort to promote your affiliate products and make yourself ahead of the thousands
of other affiliate marketers who are selling the same products in the Internet. There is actually no
perfect sure-win get-rich-quick scheme or formula in affiliate marketing; but using tried and tested
ways to promote your affiliate products can be of great help. The following are eight promotional
techniques used and proven to be effective by experienced affiliate marketers.
First, provide visitors of your website enough information about the product. Aside from your website
design, the content of your web page counts a lot in capturing the interest of the guest. Your web
pages must contain factual and objective articles on the product, such as product reviews. In the
informative articles, state the products’ special features, benefits and advantages over other brands
of its kind. Take note, you are not selling but informing.
You are trying to establish the value and desirability of the product and thus, convince the visitor
that the product matches his needs and wants. He will then follow the link and complete his purchase.
Spice up the content of your web pages with statements like "And not only that, there’s more.." that
does not only create suspense but likewise hold the interest of the reader to know more of the product.
There’s no perfect product, of course, so you can also reveal some of its negative attributes but
don’t let them overshadow the good ones.
Second is through the use of testimonials and endorsements from respected or relevant individuals
who are using the product. This sounds like a familiar marketing strategy but this still works. These
testimonials validate the information you are presenting about the product; this way, you build
confidence and trust of the client.
In addition, you exude an impression that you are an expert in the field since you are able to prove
that the product and services you are offering really works as assured. Remember that your prospects
are also conducting researches on their own so make sure you can back up every claim with facts and
figures.
Next promotional strategy is through marketing banners. Make these banners attractive enough for
visitors to click them. However, don’t overuse banners as they can make your site messy, too.
Webmasters say users generally do not have negative remarks about banners. In fact, they appreciate
that they can shop through the site they frequently visit.
Others, however, find crowded banner ads annoying, so limit your use of banner ads. The fourth is
offering newsletters, which guests of your site can opt-in to. In the newsletter, you can place
informative articles, advertisements, affiliate program links, news and features. In this way, you
can regularly inform them of the hottest products available or you can get their interest to check
your site every now and then.
You can add to your site a forced opt-in page, the fifth most effective marketing strategy. Here you
may put an emphatic headline, a problem, an offer, which is a solution to that problem and an
autoresponder opt-in box. As the visitor signs up, he is directed to the business site, while you
increase your highly targeted mailing list.
Remember that signing up signifies his interest, so it’s not a waste of time sending emails to that
possible buyer. Statistics show that most sales are generated from second and third mailings, so
follow up. Using the same mailing list, you can also promote affiliate products through "thank you"
emails.
If emailing doesn’t work well for you, then try the sixth way to effectively promote your affiliate
products, using advertising services like Google AdWords. The Google AdWords helps you meet your
marketing goals in a fast, effective and easy manner. Through this, your own ads are connected to a
large number of users who are exactly in need of your products and services.
After you have created your ads, you can see them on Google right away and many buyers online likewise
can. You get quick response to your ads and you get to advertise with Internet users who are actually
interested in buying. You can also define or choose your target market area, allowing you to get the
best possible results.
Although you are not involved in the actual selling process, you are responsible for referring a
customer to the merchandisers’ business website and convincing him to buy so you are sure of your
commission.
The seventh most effective way of promoting the product and compelling a visitor of your website to
go to the merchants’ site and buy is to tell something about the price. Higher-priced items give you
the most commissions but they are hard to market since customers always have the propensity to go for
the lowest priced.
But you can work on this by breaking down the total cost and putting it in words to make it appear
cheaper. Instead of stating the lump sum, state how much he has to pay in affordable installments or
how much dollars or cents he has to spend everyday.
Lastly, you may want to be extra generous to your prospects by giving them bonuses. Add-ons and
freebies are always inviting, especially when they match the interests of the buyer. It doesn’t
have to be expensive; you can even just customize it, say a CD with freewares and tips and list
on the best online resources on interesting topics. Make it unique so your prospects can’t easily
price it and compare it to the offers of your competitors. Be creative and know what your buyers want.
For sure, you’ll get what you want, too.
©2005
About the Author
Jason Gazaway, Learn more about affiliate promotion
This article was authored by Jason Gazaway. This 22 year old, 'regular' college kid was able
to quit his 7-4 "job" because of his affiliate marketing business. He now wants to help others
and show you how he did it! For more FREE information, please go to: Affiliate Students
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