You’ve build a great site with wonderful content that people love. It’s full of great information and receives lots of traffic. People are viewing you as a trusted expert. I know you’re doing it all for the love of it, but wouldn’t it be nice if it could also pay some bills? Maybe some mad money? Maybe even a second income! I’m not going to promise you that you are going to retire to a private island (though some affiliate marketers certainly have done that). What I am saying is that affiliate marketers can realistically make a few or even tens of thousands of dollars a year- just by doing what you are doing right now but adding just one more element to it - affiliate marketing ads and links for select merchants.
How does affiliate marketing work?
- 1) You place a text link or banner on your website which links to a merchant’s site. (The link contains a special code unique to you.)
- 2) One of your visitors clicks on the banner/link.
- 3) That visitor buys something from that site (at that moment or in the future).
- 4) This is the best part… you get a paid a commission - typically a percentage of the sale.
Where do I get banners? Links? My own code?
Go to a merchant’s website that you and your visitors would appreciate. Look around for a link to their affiliate program. If they have a program, an “Affiliate Program” link will often be at the bottom of the page which will take you to their sign up / join page. When you join their program, you’ll be signing up directly with the merchant or with an affiliate network that the merchant is running the program through. (Read this article to learn more about affiliate networks.) Signing up is free and you have no obligation to do any amount of promotion.
Sometimes you get lucky and receive an invitation from the merchant’s affiliate manager to join their program. This is probably one of the highest compliments someone can pay your web site. That manager has looked at your site and thinks it’s of high quality that’ll reflect well on the merchant. He or she also believes that YOUR VISITORS will truly appreciate the merchant’s products or services.
Once you sign up and join the program, you’ll be able to sign into your affiliate account. There you can choose from all the marketing materials (banners, links, promotions, etc) that merchant has for you to place on your website or in emails. This is also the same place you can check your statistics (hits, sales and ka-ching… commissions).
Expert Tip: Links are best.
Let’s face it, most of the time people ignore banners. That probably happens on your site too. Banners are easy to “throw” up on to your site and are certainly better than not promoting at all, but they produce the least results. One of the best things you can do is place text links (which include your affiliate code) to the merchant in relevant places in your copy throughout your web site. Or make a special recommendation that your visitor check out the merchant when shopping. How ever you weave them in, using links you’ll see much higher sales and commissions coming your way.
Don’t change what you love doing.
What’s most important is that you keep doing what you love. Whatever your website is, keep building and nurturing it. Because that’s what your visitors love. It’s that what makes you an expert. And what’s better than to make some money while doing what you love and helping others find great stuff?
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That’s right. In Time Magazine’s December 25th edition, they’re naming YOU as the Person of the Year!
What Time is referring to is “Web 2.0″ and the social networking phenomenon that has occurred this year:
It’s a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It’s about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people’s network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It’s about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.
I think this really gives our industry a nice shot in the arm. Gives us, and especially bloggers and social network sites, yet another stamp of legitimacy. I particularly like this encouraging quote:
We’re looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it’s just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy.
Check out the full article online here
So what are you doing to ride this wave - this buzz moment?
It’s a great story to spin to your benefit. Connect yourself with a major press event. Tell all your visitors that they are Time’s Person of the Year!
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“Everybody’s different.” We all know that intuitively, so let’s take a closer look at how you can accommodate their differences and increase conversions.
When creating copy for your website personas, take into consideration personality. Generally speaking, people can be classified into four types: Spontaneous, Humanistic, Competitive, and Methodical. Each type of person has specific needs and goals when they go to your website. Each of the four types has a different way of looking at your website. They are primarily looking for the answers to their questions. Here are some ways to satiate their desires for knowledge and move them closer to The Sale.
Spontaneous
These are fun-loving people who tend to skim pages and jump around the website. Bolding key points on a page will help them gather information in a way that is natural for them. Notice that you can get the gist of my articles simply by reading the bolded parts. Another thing I do is give them lots of links to (umm) spontaneously jump around to. The jumping around should lead them to the answers they’re looking for. Done right, it would be like having your FAQs woven throughout your website.
Humanistic
Humanistic types will read a lot of your website. They feel that that by buying from you they’re putting their trust in you and that your product will perform as promised. They need reassurances from you and you have to prove to them that you have integrity. They’ll look for reassurances from others too, so testimonials are very important. Typical marketing hype and clichés are easily spotted and are a quick turn-off, so “just say no” to clichés and hype ;-). Three of the most important facets of humanistic folks are they are often buying, researching, and recommending for others. Make it easy for them to do that.
Competitive
Why should I buy from you and not from your competitor? What benefits do I get from you that they can’t provide? Those are the kind of questions at the top of a competitive person’s mind. So set the tone right away - establish your credentials and your unique selling proposition on your home page. Lead the Competitive type to a page that compares you against your less worthy competitors.
Methodical
These folks read everything. They have the most questions about your product or service. (I’m a Methodical. I often find myself in situations where I know a product or website better than the business owner!) Satisfy their needs for lots of data with structured copy, bullet points, and factual information. Start the copy on the page light and increase the level of detail as you progress down the page. This will satisfy the Methodical folks who want more info and won’t be a hurdle for the Spontaneous who won’t get to the end.
Now, go back to your personas and give each at least one personality type (some may be a mixture of two with one of the types being dominant) Then look at your website through their eyes. See holes? See places to make more sales? Hmmm… GOOD!
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