2.1How To Maximize Your Affiliate Profits?
The goal of any business, including your affiliate business, is to maximize PROFITS.
“PROFIT" is simply your INCOME minus your EXPENSES.
As an affiliate, there are exactly two ways to increase your INCOME (i.e., the amount of money your business makes)...
1) Refer more visitors to the merchants that you represent.
2) Increase the CONVERSION RATE (i.e., the percent of visitors referred to your merchant who deliver the response for which the merchant pays, whether that’s a sale, or a lead, etc.).
Simple, right? If you refer 100 visitors per day to a merchant and 1% buy, you get paid for that one purchase. But if you send 1,000 visitors per day and 3% buy, you get paid for 30 purchases.
Yes, thirty times more!
So it’s pretty clear how to maximize affiliate INCOME!
Of course, every business has expenses, too. Maximizing profits does not imply that you must minimize expenses, too. After all, if you spend no money or time on a business...
... You have no business! You MUST get the best possible traffic-building and sales-converting results for every dollar you spend... and for every hour you spend on your business.
By the way. Time is money. So don’t count your hours as zero cost simply because it does not cost you “out of pocket.” Assign your time a dollar value -- it will put your affiliate business on a solid, professional “business footing.”
Let’s examine expenses by asking two questions...
Question #1 -- What does it cost to build traffic to your merchants’ sites?
Traffic-building, no matter how you cut it, will cost you... in terms of both time and money. Spending dollars is optional, but spending time is not.
There are many ways, both offline and on, to drive traffic to your merchants’ sites. This course will show you the most highly profitable, time-and-dollar- effective way to build traffic to your merchants' sites...
Build your own Theme-Based Content Site -- one that is loaded with high info- value Keyword-Focused Content Pages which rank well with the Search Engines and get the click throughs to your merchants’ sites.
Let’s break that down... for your affiliate Web site to generate traffic to your merchants, it must do two things well...
1) Rank well at the Search Engines, so that it pulls in lots of traffic. So far, though, that traffic is still on your site. Therefore, it’s not generating income yet - your visitors are just “looking around.” So...
2) Get those visitors to click through to your merchants. (Some affiliate program models can actually place merchant offerings on your Web site. In this case, your traffic does not actually visit your merchant’s site. But you still have to
“get the click” to generate income.)
OK, that wraps up expenses and traffic-building. Now for our second question about expenses...
Question #2 -- What does it cost to maximize Conversion Rates?
Good news!...
Maximizing your Conversion Rate (CR) is simply a question of doing things right. There is no extra dollar or time cost to boosting Conversion Rates at your merchants’ sites. This course will show you how to achieve this goal, too.
So... your goals, and your only goals, are...
1) Maximize traffic to your merchants, spending only dollars and time that maximize profits.
2) Maximize Conversion Rates. Do things right (no expense).
Don’t just do one. Do both. Why? Because, as you saw above, your payment is determined by traffic multiplied by the Conversion Rate... not “added.” Your profits grow geometrically when you concentrate on maximizing both
traffic and Conversion Rates.
I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing the difference between the Affiliates who refer high traffic and deliver high Conversion Rates (% of visitors who purchase) and those with low ones.
THE #1 REASON FOR LOW TRAFFIC AND TERRIBLE CONVERSION RATES?
Banner ads!
Retinal studies have shown that Web surfers actually avoid banners. Yes, their eyes look away! Click throughs have plummeted to under half-of-a-percent. And, for the few who do click...
We went on to prove that banners are worse than futile, they are counter- productive. The Affiliates who rely on banners have an average Conversion Rate of 0.5%. But those who use “in-context” text links (i.e., text links that are part of the content of the Web page) average over 3.5%!
How’s that for a reason not to use banners?
Why does this happen?
Banners are cheesy and hurt your credibility. Because visitors simply arrive feeling “pitched” rather than informed. So they arrive at SiteSell.com in a resisting mindset, rather than with an open, ready-to-buy attitude.
Remember that example where you sent 100 visitors per day to a merchant and
1% bought? If you rely on flipping up some banners, it will be more like 10
visitors per day and not one buys!
Conclusion?...
Don’t use banners.
Yes, I know “they're so-o-o-o-o easy.” It’s always easy to not make money. That’s how all those get-rich-quick-guys do so well... the allure of easy money. No such thing.
I must repeat… Don’t use banners.
By the way... If you simply must use banners, save them for the products that you don’t feel
absolutely great about recommending. That way, you don’t hurt your credibility
-after all, it’s “only advertising.”
Save your “in-context” text links for super companies with wonderful products that deliver true value to your reader.
Beside the obvious futility of banners, I’ve spotted another major point. This one is more subtle, but it’s important…
Extremely important. After banner advertising, it’s the second most common error. And it’s an even bigger shame because this boo-boo involves a lot of work... misplaced work. I mean, if you’re going to fail, the best thing would
be not to spend much time at it, right?
Here it is... selling instead of PREselling.
Some Affiliates have really made great efforts in creating sites to promote our various products....
... and are building some sales and traffic. But when I see a low Conversion Rate (i.e., CR under 2%), I know that something is amiss. Great efforts deserve greater results than 1%.
Yes, I agree, that’s better than banners. But remember -- these folks put in a lot more work than tossing up a couple of banners. We’ll see in a moment that it’s misdirected work. (The good news is that this course will redirect those efforts into high-profit areas.)
Time for a philosophical perspective...
In life, the vast majority of people just keep doing the “same old thing.” It seems easier that way. But it guarantees the “same old results.” So in the long run, it’s actually much, much harder.
In the movie, “The Renaissance Man,” Danny De Vito’s character makes a profound statement...
“The choices we make dictate the lives we lead.”
To paraphrase...
“Where you are today is the result of all the choices and actions that you have made in your life.”
When he said that, I remember thinking, “You know, he’s right. Except in rare cases of extraordinarily good or bad luck, everyone basically ends up where they are as a result of choices they make and courses of action they take.”
People tend to blame a lack of success in life on “bad luck” or “poor timing” or other people. And yes, at times, that can be accurate. A heck of a lot of factors beyond our control can blindside us. In the long run, however, as long as we persist in our efforts, these factors tend to even out and De Vito's statement remains valid.
Now, here’s the good news...
E-commerce is simpler than life. Due to its digital nature, there are fewer variables... so the outcome is more controllable. Which means that we can boil De Vito’s statement down to “The #1 E-commerce Reality.”
This Reality is almost self-evident, yet it’s so easy to forget. Your success with anything you do in the world of e-commerce flows from it. Internalize it and act upon it...
… and you will succeed.
Yes, it’s that fundamental. And that leads me to…
The #1 E-commerce Reality
“Nothing happens by accident in the world of computers, the Net, and customer response. There is always a reason for what happens, good or bad, and that reason is YOU.”
So...
When I see some Affiliates with CRs over 10% (and a few over 20%!), I figure that those with CRs at 1-2% or less could be multiplying their sales five-or-more-fold.
How?
Not by working harder, but by simply channeling their motivation in a better direction.
Let’s continue with the case of those Affiliates who make “great efforts” but so-so results...
As I reviewed many of these affiliate sites (those that are getting sales but have CRs under 2%), I realized that almost half were basically one big sales letter for their partner's website, their partner's products, and the partner's business. Which means that these affiliates are SELLING (with sales copy) when they should be PREselling (with great, and related, content that is of value to the reader).
There’s really not much point in straight selling off your site – that’s what your merchant’s site is for. Picture this...
A visitor arrives at an affiliate’s site that is really just one, big sales site. Yes, I know that their words are sincere -- I owe all my personal Affiliates a big thank you for the truly wonderful things they say. But put yourself in these visitors’ shoes for a moment. They don’t see inspiring, editorial content -- they see a sales effort.
But they were searching for content!
“CONTENT!” I said. (Sorry for yelling.)
People resist sales efforts, so your click-through actually goes down. And if they do click, what do they see when they arrive at SiteSell.com? More sales effort. And, in some cases, many of the words on the partner's site are similar to the words that they’ve just read.
Result? Poor Conversion Rate.
If your site is basically a “bunch of sales letters,” you have not yet built your credibility and likeability with this visitor. Your visitor ends up feeling “pitched.” And then feels double-pitched if he clicks through to your merchant’s site...
That’s why the CR actually goes down.
To make things worse, as he “smells” a sales effort, he becomes less likely to click! So referred traffic drops, too.
OK, let’s see... Referred traffic down. And Conversion Rate down. But these are the two ways to increase your income (that’s we talked about right at the top today’s lesson). We’re going in the wrong direction!
Conclusion?
Don’t SELL! Instead, warm your visitor up for your merchants by PREselling them with great content that they value and respect. They’ll click-through with pleasure, arriving at your merchants’ sites in an open-to-buy mindset.
It’s your PREsell effort that will boost your traffic-to-merchants and Conversion
Rate. Which in turn maximizes your income.
So... Your CR depends upon what you do and how you do it. You do not need Lady Luck, Sir Serendipity or anyone else. There is always a reason for how well you do, and that reason always relates to what you do and how you do it.
Once you realize this, then you know success really is do-able. Some people do succeed... big-time. But not necessarily the first time. Just keep trying until you find the right approach.
Why is “The #1 Affiliate Reality” true?...
Because how you reach your customer, and what you say once you reach him, and how you refer your visitor to your merchant directly affects your visitor’s mindset when he arrives at SiteSell.com.
A positive mindset turns into a purchase with amazing regularity. A negative
one is near-impossible to overcome.
And that is what “high-CR affiliates” have known all along…
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“They refer people to their merchants in an OPEN-TO-BUY frame of mind.”
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So... write “The #1 Affiliate Reality” onto a yellow Post-It Note and stick it onto your monitor...
“Your CR will literally vary from 1% to 10%
(and at times, as much as 20%!), purely because of...
1) HOW YOU REACH your visitor, and
2) WHAT YOU SAY to him, and
3) HOW YOU REFER him to your merchant.”
2.2 PREsell to Convert
Your strategies and actions as an affiliate directly affect your Conversion Rate. This section deals with how to PREsell effectively. (Later in the course we will cover traffic-building in more detail.)
Let’s look at examples of how “low-CR affiliates” create negative mindsets by making HOW-YOU-REACH, WHAT-YOU-SAY, or HOW-YOU-REFER boo- boos...
1) How to Reach Your Visitor...
Free-For-All Sites (FFAs) are a great example of how not to to reach people. For the most part, they have become so seamy and useless, that no matter what you say, you’re doomed from the start. I made a request to all 5 Pillar Affiliates for FFA success stories some time ago... not a single success story!
Compare this with how smart and open-minded your visitor feels when he finds you via a Search Engine!
2) What to Say to Your Visitor...
Don't write a site purely devoted to “hard-selling” your merchants’ products. Imagine a visitor who hits your site and reads an immediate sales pitch. That person will resist because he does not know you. Then, if (and it’s not likely) he clicks to your merchant, he gets another sales pitch on the merchant's site ==> Negative x 2!
In other words...
Never devote your site to one company’s product line.
No matter what you do, no matter how sincere you are, this kind of approach always ends up “smelling” like a sales pitch. It simply makes no difference that you honestly love the products -- your visitor will mistake your devotion for selling. Remember they don’t know you!
It’s far better to develop a concept that relates to that company’s products and to other products from other companies that are complementary. Develop related content that PREsells. Then “get the click” through “in-context” text links.
3) How to Refer Your Visitor to Your Merchant...
Banners are the best example of how not to refer your visitor to your merchant
(unless it’s for products that you are not so proud to recommend -- a banner is an ad, so you’re not putting your personal endorsement upon it). In plain and simple language... people feel “pitched” when they click on a banner. And people who feel “pitched” are difficult to convert into a sale.
Now for a critical ACTION STEP...
Review your site or whatever other means you are using to REACH, TALK TO, and REFER visitors to your merchants. Put yourself in your customer’s brain. What will he think, how will he feel, at each of the 3 major steps from above?
If you’re doing everything perfectly, congratulations! You must have a high CR.
If you don’t have a high CR, or if you see some big mindset mistakes....
Consider how much higher your CR would be if a visitor found you in a bona fide manner (ex., as a result of doing a search on a Search Engine), then became
“your friend” (or your “trusting admirer” if you do a truly awesome job!) because you provided excellent content, and finally was led to a context-appropriate recommendation. (There will be more on RECOMMENDATION vs. SALES PITCH shortly).
So...
Always consider how these actions affect your visitor’s mindset...
1) HOW YOU REACH your visitor, and
2) WHAT YOU SAY to him, and
3) HOW YOU REFER him to your merchant.
Get inside your visitor’s head -- realize how he will feel each step of the way. Whatever you do, consider the impact on your visitor -- if it does not make him more “open to buy,” don’t do it.
PREselling is really all about selling yourself to your customer, every step of the way. You reach the right folks in a proper fashion, you deliver valuable, appropriate, editorial content, and you recommend visitors to your merchant after they have come to respect and like you.
Your CR will soar.
A piece of advice...
Do not represent merchants who simply bribe you with a high commission to recommend overpriced products. Short-term gain like this results in long-term pain. Your reputation is your foundation. Build it on rock rather than sand. Want a first-hand look at the quality of Affiliated Web Business products? Download our e- books at…
http://affiliated-business.com/
Now, please think about the following for a moment...
Why would I, a merchant, recommend that you not create “yet another Web marketing site,” and especially not one that is dedicated to selling our SiteSell.com products?
It’s because I know you’ll waste your time. The two-step SELL-SELL does not work. Period. Sure, you’ll get a few sales. But you won’t make enough money to stay motivated to build your business. I’d rather give you a far more powerful, successful approach and have a smaller piece of your larger, more successful, attention.
Proof? The most successful affiliates all give their merchants only a piece of their attention. For example, take a look at the site of affiliate guru Allan Gardyne...
http://www.associateprograms.com/
You’ll see that, although Allan makes thousands of dollars from us every month, he only devotes a small part of his site to SiteSell.com products.
And, by the way, Allan started his site about affiliate programs very early in the game. His was one of the very first sites out there to focus on affiliate programs. He’d be the first to tell you that he would never start a site now with the same focus.
But he has started a second one...
http://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com/
Allan has spotted Pay-Per-Click Search Engines as a trend that will grow. He’s the first to build a site focused upon this concept. Watch this site grow as the trend does!
Bottom line? If you want to create and build a site that is related to Net marketing? Take your time and do your homework. Find a new concept, or a unique twist, or a trend that you think will become important, and be the first to one to do it. Do not be a “me too.”
Where do you find a great concept for your site?...
Inside you!
Because you do know stuff other people don’t... things people would pay to know. You might have learned it “on the job” or through your hobby.
There’s a good chance that you don’t even realize what you know. It’s often right under your nose. But, as you’ll see, everyone is an expert about something.
For now, here’s a real concrete, non-Web-marketing, example that will succeed...
It’s all about creating a Theme-Based Content Site that is loaded with Keyword- Focused Content-Rich Pages. Your theme?...
You love concrete. Yes, cement! It’s been your hobby, your passion, for years...
Concrete statues. Concrete painting. Decorative concrete. Concrete in the garden. Repairing concrete. The various types of concrete. Hand trowels. Things to do with cement blocks. Concrete trade shows. Concrete and swimming pools. Concrete molds. Cleaning concrete. Ready mixed concrete. Concrete countertops.
For this example, I had to brainstorm topics for concrete. But I know nothing about it. I chose it because it was the first thing to enter my head. But I could develop topics about concrete forever. More about brainstorming and developing HIGH-PROFITABILITY topics later in the course.
Anyway, let’s say that you decide to create a THEME-BASED site that is all about concrete. Your home page explains how your site is the site for everything concrete, from structural to esthetic.
You also, of course, create high-value content-jammed Keyword-Focused Content Pages. For example, your page about concrete statues explains all about how to make striking statues for the home and garden. You could even expand it into an entire “Statue Section,” with a page on the history of concrete statues and another one about how to market and sell the statues that the visitor makes.
The main point, though, is that you create truly excellent, high-value content that delivers what your reader sought at the engines.
And you also weave relevant, “in-context” text links right in the content, as appropriate. Links to...
• Books about the topic (ex. concrete statues if that's what the page was about)
• A garden supplier for concrete molds, trowels, etc.
• Naturally, a concrete supplier!
See what’s happening? By writing about a niche that you know and love, the content is easy. I’ll show you how to also write it to score well for the engines later in the course.
By providing great content, you PREsell your reader, increasing your click- through (traffic to your merchants) and your Conversion Rate (sales). And by diversifying your affiliate programs among several related and excellent merchants, you develop multiple streams of income from one site.
This is the way to go.
Please note…I’d love to have just a small piece of your attention on a site like this... perhaps a button link “Powered by SiteSell.com” or perhaps a page about “How You Built This Page.” If you can figure out a way to make it fit on your site, I’d love to be with you.
As a matter of fact, the more I researched successful Affiliates, the more PREselling techniques I found. But, no matter how they do it, they all accomplish the same thing in the end...
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“They refer people to their merchants in an ‘OPEN-TO-BUY’ frame of mind.”
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And...
At the same time, they maximize traffic to their merchants’ sites.
So...
If you’re building terrific traffic to your site... and if your site is getting a great click-through rate (CTR) to the merchants that you represent... and if you are converting a high percentage of them into sales...
Isn’t that the roadmap to becoming a high-earning affiliate champion?
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