How To Win The Affiliate Game

I used to be. Very frustrated! One day, in sheer desperation, I wrote to one of my affiliate programs and suggested that the market was now saturated with their product - it was no longer possible to sell it.

The next day I received a very nice reply. "The Internet is HUGE", they said.
"We predict it will be five years before the market is saturated with our product. And long before that, we will have introduced our next product." They were right, of course. The problem was not with the market (the Internet is huge). Nor was the problem with their product. The problem was in the way I was presenting it.

Since then, my affiliate sales have soared. Why? Because I learnt a few secrets to winning the affiliate game. Here they are:

1. Choose affiliate programs that relate very closely to the theme of your website. Let me give you an example. Of the three affiliate products I sell from my web site, the one that does best by a long way is an eBook that shows people how to generate free Ezine advertising. Why does it do so well? Because my website is a directory of ezines and most of my visitors are already interested in Ezine Advertising before they even arrive at my website - I dont have to persuade them very much.

2. Buy the product yourself! Research across dozens of affiliate programs shows that at least 70% of sales in any affiliate program are made by the small percentage of affiliates who actually buy the product theyre selling. It makes sense doesnt it (how can you recommend something youve never used)?

3. Banners - they dont work anymore, and some experts believe banners will actually damage your affiliate sales.

4. Personal recommendation. The human factor is very important on the Internet - people want to know that someone else has bought the product and that it worked for them. But to write a convincing personal recommendation, youll have to buy,
read and use the product youre selling.

5. Over-selling - this is the most common mistake of affiliates. Keep in mind that all you need to do to succeed with affiliate programs is to get your potential customer to click through to the affiliate website in an open-to-buy mindset. If the affiliate program is good, the affiliate website will make the sale. So dont try to sell the product from your website - just aim to get a click on your affiliate link.

5. Standard Ads. When you join an affiliate program, youll probably be given some standard ads to use. Dont use them! Why? Because your potential customer has probably seen those exact same ads on dozens of websites and in dozens of Ezines. And if that standard ad hasnt led them to buy the product so far, it probably wont now. Something new and original is required.

6. Back-end sales. Once youre succeeding in one affiliate program, join another program that offers a related product and use the technique that marketers call back-end sales. Its a well known fact that people are much more likely to buy from someone they have already bought from. So when someone makes a purchase from your affiliate link, send them a nice follow-up letter. At the end of the letter, tell them about your other affiliate product and how it can help them.

About the Author

Michael Southon is the publisher of The Free Directory of Ezines
freezineweb.com/

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