Articles Log

By Robert Hopper / Published on September 12th, 2007 / eCommerce

In the last issue I covered how you can start an affiliate marketing business with a simple and inexpensive one-page website. I've heard from a number of you who are getting your business started based on that article.

In this issue I want to talk about the most effective ways of doing affiliate marketing with your current business and website. While it’s similar to what I covered last week, an existing site presents some unique challenges and opportunities. If done properly, you can really leverage the selling power of your site.

First of all, before you join an affiliate program stop to think about how that product or service will enhance the product or service you already sell. This is important. People come to your site because they have an interest in what you have to offer. If you have an affiliate program that offers products that will add value to yours you’re more likely to make a sale of your product and the affiliate product.

For example, if you sell cell phones you wouldn't want to add an affiliate that sells car parts. Your visitor didn't come to your site to buy car parts. You might want to join an affiliate program that sells cell phone accessories. It’s even better if you can add several affiliates each offering a value-added product to yours. Just be sure each affiliate is selling a different product than the others. Otherwise you'll just create a lot of confusion in your customer’s mind and they are likely not to make a purchase at all. I call this “context sensitive affiliate marketing.” Keep everything within the context of your website and offer clear choices.

Forget the banners. The vast majority of people that affiliate programs to their site just stick a banner up and forget about it. While banners were popular at one time in the ancient history of Internet marketing (1994 -1996) that just isn't the case today. There are many reasons for this and they are too numerous to get into hear. I'll discuss that in a later column. Just trust me on this.

When folks go to a website they want information and a clear and compelling reason to buy from you. The same thing applies to your affiliate partner. You have to give them a reason to click over to their site. You don't have and shouldn't try to make the sale from your site. That’s the job of your affiliate. Your job is to get them there with a positive and expectant attitude. You’re not going to do that with a banner.

Recent marketing studies have shown that the most effective method of advertising an affiliate product is to write a few paragraphs explaining something about the features and benefits of the product and provide a text link. Ideally it should be something you have used yourself and you can provide a personal testimony to the value of the product. Try to be quantitative with this. For example this widget saved me $XX in just a few months. Or, I improved my profits by XX% in just the first 7 days. You get the idea.

If you can't provide a personal testimony the affiliate can usually provide a few for you to use. Just remember to be honest and don't use a lot of hype. Folks that purchase on the Internet are much more sophisticated that most people give them credit for. They are insulted by hype and overblown claims and they won't hesitate to move on when they see it.

How you advertise your affiliate program depends on a number of factors. Take a look at the Links/Resources page on my site. I have most of my affiliates listed there along with a description of the features and benefits of the various products. Other sites that sell the same type of products will put a picture of the book or software box by the link. Some folks like to see something tangible before they buy.

If you only have one affiliate partner you might want to work the ad copy into the main body of your site. The separate page will still work with just one product; you just need to provide a little more copy.

If you chose to us the separate page approach be sure that page is easily accessible from your home page. Keep your site easy to navigate.

Another approach is to send a special mailing to your opt-in list. This has its down side if you do it too much. I wouldn't recommend doing this more than 4 or 5 times a year and never for the same product. And, be sure it’s something your customers are likely to be interested in and can really benefit from. Your first consideration should be your customer.

The upside to email is that it gives you the opportunity to go into a lot more detail about the product. You can list features, the things about the product that provided the most benefit to your business and suggestions about the various ways the product can be implemented to meet specific needs. But be sure you understand the product completely. Don't try to wing it. Remember, these folks are smart. And you want to build trust.

So, there you have it. Whether you’re using affiliate marketing to begin your online career, our you’re developing additional revenue streams for your existing business, follow these guide lines and affiliate marketing can be very rewarding.

Copyright 2001 by Robert Hopper