[Cheat Sheet] "…But I'm Also A Client!" Become a Better Affiliate by Buying What You Sell
Call it what you like: "Eat your own dogfood" or "Drink your own kool-aid", but the fact is, affiliates who BUY what they SELL have a DISTINCT advantage.
StomperNet Faculty Dan Thies sent out an email the other day, and one particular line struck me:
"After all, the Internet is full of lying weasels making crazy claims. We all need to see the proof these days – that's just common sense."
Isn't that the truth? And isn't that a shame, too?
Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest business models to get into online. It's easy to learn the basics, it's easy to get signed up, and it's easy to start making a little money right away.
But it's also VERY easy to abuse. One of the banes of modern online business, SPAM, very likely wouldn't even EXIST if it wasn't for affiliate marketing. (If the spammers wouldn't get paid, they'd find something else to do.)
And that works for spammers, because they don't run a real business. They don't build a customer list as an asset. They don't care if the product is terrible. They don't care if the customer gets screwed so badly they NEVER shop online again.
And that means those affiliates have to find a continuous stream of new customers to burn. They can't ever stop, or the money stops. So what seemed "easier" at first really means a constant struggle to keep bringing in cash.
But you CAN actually build an affiliate-only business and STILL create your own loyal customer lists – people who will buy from you again and again.
The larger that list becomes, the less work it is for you to make money on demand. But it takes a little WORK. Because you need to earn the trust of your customers. Rather than think of yourself as a nameless link-builder, take on the role of a trusted advisor.
You want to help your audience find and buy products they will really love, so that they come back to you to see what ELSE you might recommend.
It seems like common sense, but so many beginning affiliates forget or ignore it. Or maybe it's that they were taught by bad teachers, who were taught by bad teachers, etc.
Well if you want the ease and low overhead of an affiliate marketing business, but want the long-term value of creating a REAL referral business rather than a tinker-toy money-getting scheme, I have good news.
In Volume 1, Issue 4 of "The Net Effect" (StomperNet's monthly online business action journal), Faculty member (and EXPERT affiliate marketer) Jerry West shared 7 tips that affiliates can use to boost their sales, even in this economy.
But I think one tip in particular can help get new affiliates off on the RIGHT foot when it comes to building a solid business that will not only SURVIVE a recession, but can actually GROW!
Why do I say that? It goes back to that "trusted advisor" role. As money becomes tighter and people spend with more and more discretion, they will NEED advisors to help them weed out the "noise" so they can spend their money wisely.
To become that advisor, you can't just recommend ANY product. You need to recommend the BEST products available. And as far as I know, there's only one REAL way that ANYONE can know that.
That also happens to be Jerry's Tip:
Buy and Use the Product!
Even if the vendor will send you a free sample, you should go ahead an actually purchase whatever it is you intend to sell. You want to go through the exact same experience your potential customers will go through.
You should already be evaluating the seller's checkout process to make sure they have good conversion practices in place, but there's no reason you should leave any of the backend a mystery. Look for anything that could lead to shopping cart abandonment, or anything that sets off any alarms for you while you're wearing your "customer hat".
If you see anything that's going to lose sales and waste the traffic you're going to try to send, reconsider this particular vendor. In the affiliate model, your job is to send traffic, and THEIR job is to convert. Don't do your job if they aren't doing the best they can at theirs.
Here are some seller evaluation tips directly from Jerry's article.
1. Record your whole shopping process.
You can do this with screen-capture software like Camtasia. That way, if anything goes wrong, you don't have to try to figure out how to explain it in email and wait for the seller's tech team to figure it out. You can just email the video, and they'll see exactly what you see.
This also is a good point – notice Jerry ASSUMES you're in direct contact with the sellers you're promoting. While it's tempting to remain anonymous as an affiliate marketer, if you're trying to make a REAL affiliate business, you need to create relationships with the people you do business with.
Good relationships can lead to all kinds of special treatment – negotiate higher payouts, participate in exclusive promotions… you can ask for practically anything that might give you a competitive advantage over your competing affiliates.
Chances are, if you bring the traffic, they WILL at least TRY to meet your demands. But that all starts with having a relationship in the first place.
2. Do you WANT to buy the product?
Is the offer clear? Is the "Call to Action" compelling? Put yourself in the surfer's shoes – when you send them here, are they going to find what they're looking for and whip out that credit card to get it? And do you know exactly what you're getting? Are there any dangling questions that remain after you read the copy?
3. How is the checkout process after the "Call to Action"?
Is the customer required to create a login before purchasing? Is the seller asking for too much personal information – more than is required to complete the transaction?
If you've made it this far into the process, that means the sales copy is doing its job. But the above factors can greatly impact conversions and cause massive shopping cart abandonment.
The checkout process should be a "greased chute" and make it extremely easy for the person to pay for what they've already decided to buy.
You should even count the number of clicks it takes to complete the purchase from the time you click "Buy Now". Every click after that first one will lose people.
4. After you've bought the product, then what?
Do you get a receipt email? If it's a physical product, did you get tracking information? Are there any unanswered questions about your order? If so, does the seller make it easy to contact them? (Unless you need to though, don't contact them yet. We'll get to that once we have the product in hand.)
Immediately after a purchase, a buyer can often go into a "cooldown" phase where the excitement generated by the sales materials begins to die down. For more expensive products, this can manifest as full on "buyer's remorse".
You want to make sure your seller is doing everything they can to deliver the goods as FAST as possible, and keep their new customers happy and calm in the meantime. Any "instant" deliveries promised really SHOULD be "instant".
Another "gotcha" is any time the seller requires the customer to take some additional action AFTER the purchase in order to complete the order. This will DRASTICALLY reduce conversions, because most customers won't take the additional action, they won't get what they expected, and they'll ask for their money back. So avoid sellers that have too many hoops to jump through post-sale.
5. Does the product arrive as expected?
Is it packaged well? Does it include any needed instructions? If anything is out of place, it's time to test their customer support and you can jump ahead to #6 below.
If everything's fine, you should actually USE the product as directed. Does it work? Is it easy to use? Does it perform like the seller promised? After a thorough evaluation, are there ANY lingering questions remaining?
If not, don't consider yourself a satisfied customer yet. There's still another couple of things we need to do.
6. Time to test Customer Support.
Call them up. If there's an automated phone system, is it fairly fast and easy, or is it too complicated and slow? When you do get a representative, do they handle the call directly, or are you transferred around? Is the representative knowledgeable about the product? Are they friendly and helpful?
NOTE: Take good notes, but DON'T record any of these calls. That's illegal in some states, so unless you know for sure, don't.
And a tip from Jerry: Don't just inform the merchant of a terrible experience. Let them know if they did a good job, too! They almost never hear that, and you ARE trying to build a relationship with them, remember?
7. Test the guarantee and return the product.
Now, if you LOVE it, keep it. I'm not trying to make you into a serial refunder here. The only way to REALLY know how returns are handled is to actually complete one.
But with that being said, if your seller has done an AMAZING job so far on everything else, you COULD just test them all the way up to the point of shipping your product back. I'm sure they won't mind that you "change your mind" at the last minute and decide to keep it.
The point is to have an authentic and complete customer experience. You may be causing a slight inconvenience to the seller, but they have accounted for returns, and if they pass the test, you will MORE than compensate them as their affiliate, right?
So get into it. Do they stand by the terms of their guarantee? If they said "no questions asked" did they mean it? Does the representative try to talk you out of a return? If they did so, did they do a good job? Saving the sale isn't always bad.
Remember, you want the customer to have a good experience, but you ALSO want the vendor to do everything they can to keep the customers you send them so you get PAID.
If they have an RMA process, does it work well? Was the product easy to return? How long did it take to get any refunds?
NOTE: You may wonder why you care about how long a refund takes when this is a sale you've lost commission on. But don't forget, we're talking about building your own list of loyal buyers. Just because they've had a bad experience with one product DOESN'T mean they don't still trust your recommendations. A refunder on product X could very well LOVE product Y instead.
So that's it. You've gotten the complete customer experience. Share any feedback with the seller that you care to pass on. If they seem to be working hard at succeeding, you could even go beyond recommending fixes for broken items. You might even offer suggestions for improvement. After all, there's plenty of advice you can pick up for free here, right?
If the seller is inflexible, or just hopelessly bad, it's best to move on. There are plenty of opportunities out there for affiliates, and no time to waste having to teach someone to do business online.
Nor do you want to work with companies that are non-responsive to affiliate requests. If they don't care about your concerns as their business associate, how much can they care for their customers… YOUR customers?
And of course the FINAL benefit to going through this process is what will make you a BETTER affiliate marketer. You'll have intimate, hands-on knowledge of the product, the sales process, and the delivery process.
Your sales copy will drastically improve, your ability to overcome objections will improve, and the responsiveness of your prospects will improve, too!
And remember, most other affiliates won't go this far to learn about the product they're promoting and that gives YOU the distinct advantage.
When the market is tired of taking the weaselly affiliates' bad advice, they'll be looking for a trusted advisor to turn to – someone who REALLY knows what they're talking about when it comes to the product in question.
And you'll be there, READY! And not only that, you'll ONLY be promoting products that have made you a satisfied customer PERSONALLY. Chances are, any buyers you refer will be happy too. Plus, you can rest well at night knowing that you're promoting a quality product from a quality company.
A few final tips before we wrap up today's "Cheat Sheet"…
FINAL TIP #1: What about launches? Sometimes as affiliates, we have the opportunity to promote products during a launch, in which case, such a hands-on evaluation is not possible. In those cases, I tend to rely on the reputation of the seller in question. In this industry at least, it's really not hard to discover how someone stands behind their products and customers.
I haven't ever promoted a launch unless I know the seller personally. Has it ALWAYS worked out? No, unfortunately. But if you want to take advantage of the profit potential of playing the launch game, that's a risk you sometimes have to take.
FINAL TIP #2: Keep an eye on the products and sites you're promoting. Any time they make a major change, you should re-evaluate them. Go through the whole process all over again. Major changes on the front-end can sometimes indicate major changes on the back-end, too. Make sure that any changes don't erode the customer experience, and hopefully are actually IMPROVING conversion for you.
Even if you AREN'T an affiliate marketer, I think there's a good bit of food for thought here for sellers. Make sure your own offer and order process create that "greased chute" effect that the SUPER affiliates are going to be looking for. So I guess that's…
FINAL TIP #3: If you ARE a seller, and you DON'T have an affiliate program, you're leaving money on the table. Really. Every single day. So start one already!
If you make your product easy to sell and provide great value for your customers, you'll have an affiliate ARMY beating down your door in no time.
Until Next Time,
Keep Stomping!
~Andy Jenkins and the
StomperNet Faculty and Staff
P.S. Nearly all the tips and advice above are extrapolated from JUST ONE of Jerry West's "7 Steps to Boost Affiliate Sales in a Recession". That article appeared in Volume 1, Issue 4 of "The Net Effect."
That issue contains over a dozen more easy-to-follow tutorial articles by our EXPERT online business education faculty. Even though we put out a brand new issue every single month, you can still get INSTANT ACCESS to this back issue (or just browse the full table of contents) here:
Learn More About This Issue of "The Net Effect"
"The Net Effect" isn't just a trade newsletter or thinly veiled product catalog – this is a REAL periodical, with exclusive content provided by some of the best minds in the internet marketing field.
You owe it to yourself to check it out – your business and your bottom line will BOTH thank you!
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Thanks gooda article
John you really said it well, it will really help you a lot for becoming a better affiliate.
"Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest business models to get into online. It's easy to learn the basics, it's easy to get signed up, and it's easy to start making a little money right away."
It's probably true that affiliate marketing is a very easy business models to get into, but if you only know the right techniques and appropriate tools to use.
"But it's also VERY easy to abuse. One of the banes of modern online business, SPAM, very likely wouldn't even EXIST if it wasn't for affiliate marketing."
Yes, there would be spam as long as affiliate marketing exists.
Yes, this all makes sense, and it's why I'm not in any niches online (or offline) where I don't belong. For example, I own three shredders (one at home and two in my offices), and have burnt through a few. Potential market for me as I'm part of the market. But now I know nothing about monster trucks, and although I find them interesting, I not part of that niche so I wouldn't consider trying to market to it.
Thanks for the advice. Very nice post. To make business success, people need first discipline..
Hey Guys Great Post….
I am already a member of Net Effect and I can say there is very solid stuff to be learned inside the covers…
Keep it comin I ain't going back to work for a boss ever.
Great post. It is easier to market products you own, that way you don't feel like your lieing when hyping the product up.
http://affiliatemarketingtipsblog.com/
http://wvu212.wordpress.com/
A very well written article with handy information. I’m already looking forward for more.
“If you make your product easy to sell and provide great value for your customers, you'll have an affiliate ARMY beating down your door in no time.”
A basic business principle forgotten by most due to technology’s convenient applications. I guess it doesn’t hurt to reiterate this.
It is too easy to hide online, but that's not what affiliate marketing is about. Sure it is about selling products, but it's about giving people good advice at the same time so they make a good product purchase.
"You want to help your audience find and buy products they will really love, so that they come back to you to see what ELSE you might recommend."
These steps can be considered the online way of putting out commercial ads. Thanks for these useful tips.
This and all of the cheat sheets has been such a wealth of info. I all internet marketers followed your advice. thanks
Becoming successful at affiliate marketing on the net requires acquiring some skulls. It is not as easy as some self proclaimed guru's claim. Your efforts will be simplified through studying what affiliate marketing is about.
"If you see anything that's going to lose sales and waste the traffic you're going to try to send, reconsider this particular vendor. In the affiliate model, your job is to send traffic, and THEIR job is to convert. Don't do your job if they aren't doing the best they can at theirs."
This sounds like an ideal way to do affiliate marketing business. But can you really afford to be that picky? If you still have to test the product and then reject it if you find something bad about it, would there be a product left for you to advertise? Consider this, you don't have to patronize a certain brand of milk in order to become its model. Get real! Instead of rejecting to backlink a product because there's something bad on it, why not find its good quality and focus in those points?
What you say is good advice if there are only poor products to promote in your specific niche. The point we were trying to make is that you should be picky when you have your choice of affiliate offers. Promote the ones that will convert the best and make you the most money. Hope that clears things up.
I like this guys, especially about the integrity and honesty with affiliate marketing. It is too easy to hide online, but that's not what affiliate marketing is about. Sure it is about selling products, but it's about giving people good advice at the same time so they make a good product purchase.
If we have used the products or company we recommend, it is all the more credible.
This will help other affiliates especially the new ones.
You're absolutely right. just be a keen buyer and try to check the product and review the product well.
As always, Stompernet Gives!
Thank you all so much for all you do!
Rhonda Giarraffa
2 pomts:
#1 Reviews may not be impartial – nothing stops the author writing his own; a standard way of obtaining reviews is to give away free copies of a product in return for a review. Then the author can be selective and only publish the most flattering ones.
#2 A lot of products do not match up to their claims – so although the advice to buy / use yourself is correct, it often leads to the disappointing conclusion that the product doesn't live up to its claims. Should this be the case with one which, nevertheless sells well, the affiliate can be compromised; sell a poor product and make money v. look for one which is good but which doesn't make much money. I know which of these choices I have made (sales engineer training), but still look enviously at the 'proof of income' evidence put out by some vendors.
After almost a year of researching I dove into the affiliate marketing thing by joining a course. I was very exited at first. But the more I am "into " it I keep getting "nagging feelings" about the whole moral in this market.
But then again, if you're setting up multiple websites promoting lots of different products, how can you all test these?
Do the people at Amazon or Walmart test everything they sell? Of course not. Where's the big difference in this?
Perhaps it differs in how you "promote" your product. Do you really actively promote your product or is is just more like an ad on a content-rich website/page?
And yes, i'm getting sick and crazy off all these big online marketing guys selling us their 100.000$$$ making methods as well. Why not just use it yourself and shut up about it?? That's what I would do!
Great information about getting the best out of the affiliate model of internet business.
I agree that to successfully promote affiliate products, you need to put yourself in your customer's shoes so that you can understand their experience of the buying process.
Customers are always looking for the trusted advisor who will steer them in the right direction.
many valuable information
I have just overviewed the STSE 2 its great
great article andy! as usual.
I couldn't agree with you more Andy. Thanks for re-emphasising these viable tips once again. Keep up the good work.
Andy – This and all of the cheat sheets has been such a wealth of information. It does make a lot of sense to go through the entire purchase process and then to actually use the product. I wish that all internet marketers followed your advice.
Keep up the great work!
Good points here. This matches well with something I had done recently. We have some web hosting companies as affiliate partners for our Mac software product, and since it can be kind of intimidating for somebody to sign up for web hosting and then setting it up to actually publish a website, I made screencasts walking through the whole process of signing up, getting the technical information, and plugging it into our program. (Of course I didn't show my credit card information in the process!)
I learned a lot about the whole experience of signing up (I even sent some suggestions to our partners to make it better) and hopefully took away some of the jitters people may have in going through the process for themselves.
If you're curious about the screencasts, they are all linked from here:
http://www.karelia.com/sandvox/hosting_screencasts/
This is really great advice.
I´m a clickbank Affiliate and yesterday i bought the product i´m about to promot to see exactelly what you´ve talked about in this post – my experience as a customer!
Today i open my mail and …there it was – this excellent post about how to behave like an honest Affiliate.
Affiliate marketing could be great if people followed your advice – and this is possibly the best article i´ve read about this topic.
Because of bad marketing, bad products and bad sellers, Google is constantly changing the rules, affecting EVERYONE in the business!
But it is my belief that things will change, and we will start to see more and more teachers like you, who advise only the WHITE-HAT techniques to build a sustentable business.
Best Wishes,
Nuno
You know Affiliate marketing is like Real Estate sales and really sales in general. 20% of the Real Estate Agents will sell 80% of the homes.
Andy what I really like what you have said is really boils down to integrity, if you strive for integrity, along with relationships with customers, that relationship will be what will get you that one sale, but the integrity is what will keep them coming back for more.
Thus the reason I continue to support StomperNet.
Good Stuff Andy!
Great advice. Zig Ziegler once said if you don't have enough faith in it to buy it, you cannot sell it. He also said not to sell anyone anything they do not need. If he sells it they need it. That pretty much sums it up. Thanks for the information. Great stuff. (Is that redundant?)
Better check the network and the advertisers terms and conditions before you go and buy the product. At the least its probably safer not to use your own link and get banned for fraud.
What an Article with all these nice thoughts and idea's. I just loved reading this article. Keep them coming.
Affiliate marketing is the most used business models when dealing online and its a shame that many people abuse this model. One Plus is that their customers come to us for advice instead. thats a good thing though.
Adam Joseph
Very poignant and timely article, thanks!
We are a leader in our field and enjoy a very trustworthy reputation, but as of yet do not sell via affiliate marketing. There are a number of items we could sell, but we have to be very careful to maintain the reputation upon which our main business is based. We do know if we sell anything at all, it has to be presented with the buyers' interests in the forefront of all considerations, otherwise it becomes a push-sell that we want no part of. Without the trust of the consumer, we are just another peddler.
I do believe that being some sort of recognized expert or something similar is a big help in any sort of marketing. Trust is king and we may eventually forgo additional affiliate sales that take advantage of our natural website traffic, but we are looking into methods to maintain or boost trust while providing us additional revenue streams. We are considering giving robust unbiased reviews of products to include pros and cons.
This is a great article!
You can also use a free screen capture program called CamStudio. I used it for a good while until I was comfortable with doing screen captures, then I purchased Camtasia(which is excellent).
I have actually used this techique before, but it was not planned. I also did not have a step by step plan of action to do it like you layed it out.
It does work and I better do some more of it. I never really thought that was the real reason I did well with that product because it was something I was using and I thought very highly of it.
As usual spot on!!
Having been around the block a few times and bought numerous (don't tell the wife how many or how much!!) e books from so called gurus it is blatantly obviuos that these guys have carved out a little cartel in the IM niche.
The same names pop up pushing each others products of dubious value all of course with "Fantastic must have bonuses"
Once you have realised this and the magic bullet that they profess to have is the same topic, top tip, proven method rehashed and hyped to the heavens then you are half way to actually getting something up and working.
The premise that you need to build a relationship with your customers is just as valid if not more so than in the Offline world. The smash and grab merchants will always have to sell something new not build a long term scaleable business.
Most good long term marketers are good honest proffesional business people who do build long term relationships with their customers. They do not try to oversell but offer impartial and honest opinions with lots of useful information. Thats the customer wants.
I now only listen to certain people and have removed myself from lots of lists due to too many launches etc.
Good point!
This is really good advice, as always! If every affiliate would use the product for a while before promoting it, it would be a hole different story. And I agree with Paul Simister. Often I wont buy something if the price is too inflated or the bonuses seem unrealistic compared to the price of the actual product.
Hello,
Definitely an excellent posting that will have a positive effect on anyone's authority in their niche. I have experienced this when actually showing my readers, the product or script being used by me on one of my sites. That way I can demonstrate it and have them go check it out on their own.
Look forward to your next email!
Sincerely,
Robert Ratcliff
"Bob's College of Knowledge"
Points about the IM market ring true. It seems that the same group of promoters all jump on the same launches and pretty much say the same thing every time. I actually lose respect for the 'gurus' that do this and have come off of one or two mailing lists of IM marketers I used to follow.
IMO the Stompernet guys like Dan Thies are the ones to watch.
Great post! I appreciate this sort of information because it's a method I like to use and promote. It's what adds value to your affiliate business. I think it's easy for affiliates or any business person to forget about the needs of the customer and instead put themselves first. So it's good to bring these ideas to the forefront.
How to know the market trend? Or how to know about the people needed?
Right on! Putting yourself in the seat as a customer is definitely a plus.
The problem with affiliate marketing these days is that most beginners are running on zero resources and can't afford the products. Therefore they have little knowledge of their wares.
Good cheat sheet.
Hi Andy
Yes I totally agree with this and although I have been "looking through the window" at internet marketing for a couple of years I have finally stoped procrastianting and have just purchased my first domain, I now have a good idea of where to go for good genuine, relevant stuff with you guys and have also heard Liz Tomey and Rosalind Gardner echo the same thoughts!
It's Like riding a motorcycle – how can you teach someone to ride if you don't know yourself!! Thanks for all the info you keep giving to us, even if it's not relevant to me at the stage in my internet marketing career I'm at it's ALWAYS really interesting stuff you give us.
Thank You!
Phil (UK)
Good article. Am setting up an affiliate programme on my new site and so will defo implement these tips. Cheers.
I would add something to this, in that its a lot easier, more fun and more interesting to take something you are really interested in and to create an affiliate site around that. Once you're into the area of hobbies and interests, there are lots of chances to get sticky visitors if your content is good enough.
…and you won't get bored regenerating the same old rubbish about the same old gadgets that everyone else is reviewing !
So especially for those starting out, I would avoid the apparent impressiveness of insurance, gadgets, loans etc. and go for something that's a hobby. If you can't help yourself and go into the gift market, at least choose something where it involves a persistent interest or a possible repeat purchase where someone might come back to your site if its good enough.
Nice info, but I am not convinced that Affiliate business is a good choice because in this way we are helping other giant business grow rather than ourselves own a business. It is what their brands get promoted and we get a very small commission.
Mohsin, I need to disagree with you here on the point that affiliate selling is undesirable because we are only "helping other giant businesses grow rather than ourselves own a business."
Isn't an affiliate's ultimate goal the same as the merchant's? Don't you want your affiliate business (yes, it IS a business!) to become a "giant" one, too? It seems to me that we're looking at a classic "win/win situation" here. Isn't that really what ALL business is about? I sell something to you, I make money (and some pretty BIG businesses are affiliate businesses!). You buy something from me that you want or need. Everyone's happy.
(If not, that's what refunds are for!)
Great article – thanks! I think people are now much more aware of affiliate marketing and are becoming immune to it in the same way as banner ads are now ignored. The key point about the trusted advisor role is in sticking to products where you have a level of authority in your niche. A quality review of a product within a relevant article is much more powerful than an isolated affiliate link or banner ad. That's how successful review sites and authoritative bloggers make their money.
Janet Helft
Author of 'Social Media Marketing in 30 Minutes a Day available from http://www.thirtyminutemarketing.com
Superb advice!
Having ended up homeless as a result of real world money problems created by real world International Bank that should have been worthy of trust.. I think most of us out here looking for digital gold on our laptops are pretty cool.
We didn't destroy the lives of millions… We're just trying to be prosperous!
I wasn't able to get up to speed with learning how to turn a profit online before losing my beautiful home, but I'm back two months later to do it, and I'll tell you why!
I look at guys the like Andrew Hanson, Justin Mitchie, Matt Garret, and Chris Carpenter.. guys who answer the "important" emails and do thier best to treat you like you're a real human being, and I know there are way more good people out there than I had ever expected.
The IM world has surprised me that way..
Yes, there are a lot of rubbish marketers out there, but the fact is that there is "Gold in them there hills" in the great people you end up gravitating towards!
If you check things out for yourself and trust your own opnion to decide what has value and more importantly who and what is "worth spending your time with" you will learn what to do, and eventually make your dream income, and you'll sleep well at night too, because you did it by providing value and genuinely helping people, like the guys who won your trust and respect.
Michael Magee.
I agree with Paul Simister that the so called "Gurus" are killing the IM niche with all their bonus offers these days. I was taught that when you give a bonus offer to the customer that you only give a bonus that's 50% more of value than the actual product they are buying. The Gurus are slowly shooting them self's in the food and most of them will not be around in the next ten years…
Thanks for the great advice and tips it all make sense to me.
Gerrit
I too have been reading IM articles and watching videos for over 2 years. I know the technical stuff, but actually how to make any money is still a mystery. If I use google adwords to get to the #1 or #2 position, I always spend more than I make…never fails. SEO seems to take forever, and you still don't get to the number 1 position. Also, I get numerous emails everyday from the Gurus, all with the "Greatest Product Ever" and you "Just Have To Buy It Now Before It's All Gone", and "It's a $2000 product that you can have today only for $77 cause I'm such a nice guy!". Funny thing though, the next day there's another one created by another guru, and yesterday's guru is promoting it today too(cause they're all buddies), so he can make the commission. It seems that, if any of these products were all that good, we wouldn't have to keep buying more and more of this stuff…ya think?
I do have to say,though, the stompernet guys have the best information I have seen bar none! It's really useful and up to date…not just a bunch of hype. thanks guys! And thanks for not just pumping the NEXT BIG LAUNCH TO MAKE YOURSELVES RICH!
I'm new to this affiliate marketing business but I'm one who has read for literally two years and just hasn't taken the plunge. I probably read 1 – 2 articles a day and I have to say that this might be the most useful and pertinent information I have come across. Keep up the great work!
I agree with Paul. Often I wont buy something if the price is too inflated on the basis that the product must be questionable.
Very interesting article Andy but I see big differences between the Make Money Online niche and other niches.
It seems to me that the IM gurus are killing affiliate marketing in their own market with the crazy bonuses.
What does it say about the implied quality of product or bonus when you have a $2k product packaged with a $14k bonus – to someone rational it says that neither is worth buying on its own at the inflated prices.
Are the gurus really that desperate to one-up their rivals and win the silly prizes?
That's a very good point Paul. I was thinking the same; which is why I haven't purchased the latest and greatest, make a 100K/day products. With all the product launches saturating my email recently, it seems like a competition of who can outdo the other.
Thanks Will and everyone else expressing support for my thoughts.
It inspired me to write a longer rant on my Online Profits blog.
I really do think that it is self defeating and I give examples where my own greed has kicked in, I've spent money on stuff that I wasn't connected to, haven't used and now it forms a block.
There must be many more like me.
Very great points. I'd like to say that I usually pay attention to these types of things, but this "cheat sheet" is really helpful and getting printed out right now. Clear, precise and easy to follow as usual.
Jerry, thanks for giving Andy something to talk about today
Thanks for sharing something so simple yet important information. Most new affiliates only goes in to promote a product that they don't even understand how it function! They don't read or go through the sales process themselves and they expect their customers to trust their recommendation?
John Ng
http://www.mindlesson.com
Great post and, hahaha i just love the photo! great choice Andy.
Anyways, keep up the good work.
Affiliate marketing can be a difficicult task due to the learning curve. This infomation is invaluable to success in any business. Due to the times we live in, affiliates now than ever need to build a solid foundation, built on the information above.
Nice article, and it gets to the point in 7 easy steps.
Thanks for this. It seems reasonable to use the products you are selling, but I hadn't thought about getting a refund.
I love the Stomper Net. I can not sit around and wait for owning my affilaite products. I have sold plenty of things in my life that I could not own personally. $300.00 Sweater at Ghiradelli Square, Portraits, Wedding Albums, Teleflora products and gifts.I have my favorite Gurus' and some day soon I hope I can buy my favorites. In the mean time I have to get money coming in and I intend to sell affiliate products. The product owner has free publicity and all the work done for them if I am Twittering, Facebook, blogging all the stuff you write about. Let's get me some cash so I can own the products too!I'll be looking for my Stomper news..keep it coming.
That's a great idea to buy and product and then go through the process of getting a refund. Then you will really see what their customer service is like. There wouldn't be anything worse than someone on your list's experience being that they bought the product, didnt like it and had trouble getting a refund.
really good tips guys,
I'm really getting into all this stuff you guys have on here. It's a whole heap of great tips and I'm not even finished net effect #1.
Thankyou
I have yet to get a single cent from affiliate programs despite promoting many excellent products (with reviews) on my site. I guess I'm a victim of commission robberies. I had posted this issue on ClickBank's blog.
It does make perfect sense to know and own the product you sell but what if I have a thousand products to sell?
Thank you for all you do! I am totally with you on this and will keep preaching it right along with you!
Peace to all at Stompernet. You guys ROCK!
Once again, what would seem obvious, helps the straight shooters stand out from the crap out there. Excellent points as always gentlemen, simple and to the point, no fluff. WJeff
Another tip for Clickbank products especially is that you can e-mail any refunders directly. Be pleasant and friendly, make it clear that the product is not yours and that you only recommended it because you thought it suitable. Ask what it was about the product they felt unsatisfied about.
Usually people are very willing to let you know and using that info you can maybe drop the product, change your copy to more accurately target the right people or add another product that suits a slightly different market.
I work for a company and one of my duties is to train some fellow workers in how to handle the set up of affiliate sales program. I have set up a few in my day, although the information the you jerry laid out here has just made my job a whole lot easier and more profitable. Thanks.
Andy,
You heard it once if not a zillion times – keep extending the line and the queue will grow! Great stuff as per what I expect, keep it coming and one day you never know, I may even join!! (No, I'm not a member…)
I have a serious question for someone who is about to release a "virgin product" to the web in a niche that is empty – so here goes;
"Is there any specific way to set out your sales page – and based on this, for a retail digital product, what would you say is good or typical for the amount of words for an ideal page?"
obviously, intention is not to send them to sleep yet, not to leave them short of excitement and real content.
Hope you read some of these comments we keep leaving, have tried for a response once or twice before and, to no avail….
You have my email – would appreciate any help for a complete "Newbie Seller" in this industry.
Regards
Darren
http://www.ecoverstreet.com
Great advice here.
It's also valuable if you prove to your visitors that you really do own and use the product with some form of photo and video evidence. Aside from the value of the unique richer media itself, it adds an element of trust to your offer.
I was fence sitting on whether to expand beyond adsense and amazon for income streams on my site…thanks for being the final push to get me started on affiliate offers as well.
And one thing to add, if you have affiliates promoting your products, treat them well! Expect most of them to sell nothing, a few to make the odd sales, and hope a small handful, like 2 or 3, to sell consistently. But treat them all well – you never know who will "get it" and take off
Andy,
Another great article, as always.
One quick question: when passing on good feedback to the vendor about your experience as a customer, should you let them know that you are an affiliate and intend promoting their product(s)?
Thanks,
Mark.
Andy,
As always…great information. Thanks!!
If we follow the 7 Steps you have mentioned in this cheat sheet…we have already laid out a strong foundation for the business as an Affiliate/Reviewer.
Cheers
Absolutely fantastic tips Andy!
It is so easy to get caught up in the launches that we sometimes forget to look at this from the customers perspective. I like the idea of taking it all the way through the return process. Had never actually thought of going that far before.
Also love the idea of using Camtasia or something similar to record the entire buying process. Not only is it great if you run into any problems, but could also be used to help out your potential customers as well. (At least parts of it anyway).
Thanks for the great content, but then we would not expect less from the awesome guys at StomperNet.
We call it Eat your own Cake..
Great advice. I know I have purchased items and found that they are not what was hyped. I only promote what I use.
I'm just getting into some affiliate marketing and I was just thinking today that I should probably purchase the product before i promote it. I actually heard Zig Ziglar talk about buying what you sell so you can better inform your customer about how the product can solve their problem.
Thanks for all the great info. You guys are great!
Hey Andy,
Great tips – I really think being transparent in your marketing is very important.
Can't wait to see what is next…
~Brett
http://www.FreeTrafficBigProfits.com
I'm glad someone has arrested this issue. Affiliate marketing is a privaledge but somehow has been reduced to misuse and junk in some cases. It's pleasing to see that some vendors are now increasingly veting applications from potential affiliates.
I think your point in No.6 is going to increase. People like to move fast on the net. Accordingly, customer support that takes 48 hours and longer (if ever) to reply just doesn't rate anymore.
Ray Baker
Fantastic stuff as usual…It's amazing what simply seeing things from your customers'/visitors' eyes can do for your business.
Thanks for this post.
I can relate to what you are saying,
because as an affiliate internet marketer,
I do feel proud and more confident whenever
I promote something I have personaly used.
Igor
This is the kind of information beginning affiliate marketers should be frothing at the bit to get. In fact (wiping the foam from my mouth), I think I'll pass it on to my own affiliates. Cheers once again, StomperNet.
This is really good advice. We do not recommend anything we don't personally use in our business, and we make sure that we've used it for a while before we start promoting anything.
Agreed, experience or even expertise is absolutely essential.
Great advice here. I'm sick to death with all these new product launches with every Tom Dick and Harry bombarding my inbox.
Personally, I'd sooner wait and read some reviews about the product before buying, rather than get caught up in all the misplaced hype.
Very Valuable Advise. I really like "Buy And Use The Product" aspect of your advise. The Golden Nugget I am taking from this is – "You want to go through the exact same experience your potential customers will go through."