The Keen Marketer

Yes affiliate marketing rocks, but it’s really hard to get started. The reason is because there is a lot of competition. What you need to do is come up with methods no one else is using. And the sea of information about this doesn’t make it any easier. But here’s one tip that almost no one is talking about.

Video marketing

You can’t deny that video is powerful. Video online is everywhere because people love it. About the only thing that keeps people’s attention anymore is video. So you can put this to great advantage in your affiliate marketing.

Examples of how to use video for affiliate marketing:

• Record your testimonial
• Walk-throughs
• Record the order process
• Sneak peak

Testimonials

This one is super simple. Just click record on your web cam and start talking. It doesn’t have to be professional or polished. Just seeing another real person endorsing a product helps your viewers decide to buy. In truth, mistakes and mess-ups just make it more believable. You can literally just press record and talk. If you don’t want to be in front of the camera use one of the other methods.

Do a video walk-through

This technique works slightly more subconsciously. Basically you’re doing a tutorial on how to use the product. And seeing it being used is a great way to make people want to buy it. If the product is useful, watching the tutorial makes them want to buy it. So pick some really helpful aspect of the product and show how to use that.

Ordering

This one is killer! Record a video of yourself actually buying the product. Watching you make a live purchase will inspire your viewer like nothing else. First, it’s social proof. In general people are more likely to something they’ve seen other people do. It also build your viewers trust. People believe you’re giving them good advice if you take that advice yourself. And let’s not forget about good old fashioned envy. They see you getting the satisfaction of making the purchase and that makes them want it. You can add additional juice to this one with: You’re gonna have to place your own order if you want to see the members area.

Do a preview video

Here’s an easy way to show the value of the product. In this case you record a screen share of the inside of the product. They get to see everything they’ll receive when they order. It also reduces the reservations of skeptics. It’s much easier to trust they’re getting something if they actually seen it.

It’s easy!

No special skills are required. Anyone can create stunning videos with some easy-to-use software. Really, the software does all the work. So you don’t have to worry about the technical part of this at all. Keep focused on the rewards:

• More sales You’ll earn more affiliate commissions when you add video. People like video, so start using it.
• Lower refund rates You’ll also have less of your commissions taken back. Your customers will know what they’re getting into ahead of time. So, very few of them will cancel their order.
• Beat your competition! This is a really easy thing to do. But only a very small percentage do it. So, you’ll be way ahead of the crowd.

Take your affiliate promotions to a higher level and getting started with this now. It’s your profit that’s affected by not taking action.

You need a list. That’s a given. It’s the one thing above all else that matters most. After it’s built, it’s yours to use any time you want. It’s a resource you can tap at any time and generate income.

Now you now why. Here’s how:

Here’s what you need to build your list:

• The Squeeze Page
• The Bribe
• Your Confirmation Page

Your Opt-in Page – The landing page is the page that has your opt-in form on it. This page is the one that asks them for their email. This page needs to look professional. And it needs to be simple to see how to opt in. And your call to action must be clear!

The biggest mistake you can make is not having a clear call to action. This is a definitive message that tells your visitor what to do. And if you don’t include it, they won’t opt in. The funny thing is that people just don’t know what to do unless you tell them.

One way to really spice up your squeeze page is to add a compelling video to the page. This will grab your visitors attention and keep it. It also allows you to tell them what to do several times. And you can have the video just tell them to fill in your form after it’s done playing.

Now, don’t worry if you have no idea how to make videos. You can hire freelancers to do this for you for a few hundred dollars. There are also list building systems that have everything pre-built for you.

Your Bribe – The next thing you need is an incentive to subscribe to your list. People need a good reason to part with their email address. Nobody likes spam, so most people guard their email closely. So make your “bribe” a good one!

The key to a good bribe is that is has value. It has to be something that people actually want. And something from which they can derive a benefit. Here’s some examples:

• A free report
• Some useful software
• A video
• An email training series

You’ve got to create some great content. Something that’s useful and helpful to your visitors. And of course it has to be free. But to get the email, it’s got to be a good offer.

If you’re worried about creating this content, don’t be. Here again, you can hire freelancers to create this for you. Simply tell them what the topic is and they can write the content. One easy and effective bribe is a 5-part email training series. Each email will cost between $20 and $25. So, you’ll get the whole series written for under $150.

There are also list building products that include the follow up email series. Two things to keep in mind when writing (or buying) and email training series. The first thing is that it delivers value to your subscribers. And it’s nice if it earns you some money, too. One very easy way to make some money from your list is with affiliate marketing. Affiliate products are easy because you don’t have to do anything at all. And you can earn some commissions immediately from your emails.

Your Confirmation Page – The last bit is the thank you page. This is the page your subscriber sees after they opt in. A great thing to do here is provide some immediate value. That way, they feel glad that they gave you their email address. And it helps you establish the relationship. It also makes them more likely to open your emails.

This is another case where you can get a complete marketing package. You can also put the whole thing together on your own. And do your own writing for this content. Or pay a freelancer to write the content for you.

Summary

It makes no difference whether you build your opt-in, bribe and thank you page. Or pay a freelancer to write produce it all for you. Or if you get a ready-done package. It’s just important that you start today building your opt-in list. Once you’ve got it built. You can basically write your own meal ticket.

If you’re not preselling, you’re losing money

If you want to make more money as an affiliate, you must presell and that’s where great training comes into play..

Before we begin, we need to first define what preselling is. Preselling is both an art and a science. It’s a process of taking your reader and getting them ready to buy. Then you send them to the site that sells what you’ve prepared them for. If you do it well, it’s completely invisible.

In a nutshell, you provide value. And give them a link to the product you’re preselling. In just a minute, I’ll explain exactly how to presell. Before we get into that, you should understand what’s in it for you. Here are a few benefits of preselling:

• Preselling creates trust – And gaining the trust of your readers helps them want to click your links. Which obviously means you’ll make more sales.
• It disarms your reader – When you’re preselling vs. pitching, you’re reader doesn’t feel the need to be guarded. Unguarded reading means they’re not filtering what you say. And your intention is conveyed more easily.
• It puts them in a buying mood – Your readers are now receiving your message. Being open means, they are open to everything you give them. For example, the sales message on the page you’re linking to. Sending them to the sales page in this state makes them more receptive to the actual pitch.
• It increases your sales – You’ve prepped them and referred them in the right state of mind. Open to the sales message and feeling safe. The only possible result is more sales!
• It increases customer satisfaction – People like to make their own buying decisions. Instead of being manipulated into buying. So they are happier with their purchase.
• Preselling increases your bottom line – A satisfied customer doesn’t ask for a refund. Less refunds means more affiliate money stays in your pocket.

The need to presell is clear. You increase your profits. Your customers are happier. It’s a win-win-win!

OK, so how do you do it?

OK, now you understand why it’s so important. And hopefully you’re convinced you need to start doing it. So, it’s time to break down how it works. Like we talked about before, it’s an art. And it’s a science.

Becoming an artist

Effective preselling requires gaining your readers trust in order for them to let down their guard. And the only method of doing this is to give exceptional value to your readers. The art of this is to provide enough information to be of value, but not enough to satiate the hunger. The idea is that they want more and the sales page you send them to gives them more. And since they’re more open, they are more likely to make a purchase.

The science component

There are also several key elements that need to be included.

The first is how you present the information. You’ve got to map out your strategy before you start writing. Your end goal is to make a sale of the product you’re preselling. You use the information to do this in one of two ways. The first method is to provide enough info to get them started, but not enough to finish. The second way is to provide all the information and let your reader discover how hard it is to actually implement it. Either way, the product sales page solves the problem.

Next, you have to use “convert linking” methods. Instead, you use a direct link to the product website. This increases your clicks. But, without your affiliate link, how do you get credit? Well, that’s part of the science of this whole process. You “pre-cookie” your reader before sending them to the sales page.

You also want to link to the sales page from inside your article’s content. It’s habitual to click on words and phrases that are hyperlinked. And when the words are in context like this, it makes perfect sense for your reader to click them.

What you have now is a super powerful system for affiliate marketing success.

Now for the bad news…

This process is not easy – at all! Let’s look at the skills required to pull it off: Great content. First and foremost, you have to be able to write a great article that provides valuable information. This means you have to be able to write well, and have enough knowledge to be useful. Strategic writing. First, you have to give good information. And you have to make the content accessible in order to provide value. And still leave them wanting more. The other approach is to reveal a self-evident problem through the information.

Choosing your products. You also need to determine what products you’ll be preselling. Even if you can pull off writing and great article. All your efforts are wasted if you send your reader to the wrong sales letter.

Techie stuff. And finally, you need the technical know-how to embed your image tag and make sure you get credit for the sale. This is fairly simple – you use a 1 X 1 image and set the “source” to your affiliate link. (But if you do it wrong, you won’t get paid for the traffic you send.)

Summary:

Now you know exactly how to presell effectively. And doing this increases your affiliate commissions by over 500%! It’s absolutely critical to do this every time – and to do it correctly. Take action now. Put in the effort to reap the greater rewards.