THE BIGGEST MISTAKE
AFFILIATES MAKE
By Jason Potash
Affiliates are like buffalo.
Buffalo? Let me explain.
Back in the days of the wild west, Natives used to round up herds of buffalo
on foggy days and make them run straight for a cliff.
The buffalo in front could not stop in time. As for the rest of the herd,
they were simply looking at the tail in front of them.
Is this the same approach you are taking to making money with affiliate
programs? Follow the herd and hope for the best?
Are you reading the same old articles, ebooks, affiliate magic tricks,
pay-per-click millionaire by Christmas, hocus-pocus puffery?
Probably.
And much like those poor buffalo who never saw it coming, you are setting
yourself up for the same fate.
That is, unless you keep reading ;-)
Are You An Affiliate "Traffic Cop"?
If you have links on your website that link to affiliate products, then you
are really nothing more than a traffic cop. You work hard to generate
traffic to your site. Then, you simply pass on that traffic to an affiliate
site (for free).
Sure, you might get a few orders here and there, but here's what you are
really missing out on.
1. Repeat Traffic
Here's how it works. Once a person visits a site (via your affiliate link),
they might return in the next few days or weeks. Not to your site, but to
the affiliate product's site. The affiliate merchant gets the benefit of
repeat traffic, not you.
If the visitor starts clicking on a few more links, they might visit other
websites from the same company. They might even buy another product as a
result.
Your commission = ZERO
Wait, it gets worse ...
This same visitor may sign up for the same affiliate program and order
through their own affiliate link. Or, they may order several products from
the same vendor over the course of a year.
Your commission = ZERO
So, here's the reality ...
You just spent X dollars and/or Y hours to generate Z hits to your website.
Those visitors visit your site and you (the traffic cop) pass them along to
other sites (for free).
As a result, you don't have their email address, you don't know who they
are, they haven't returned back to your site, and you just lost a sale since
they ordered through their own affiliate link.
Are you beginning to get the picture?
You might as well wear a sandwich board that says "Big Macs Rule. Try one
today!" and parade around outside your local McDonald's.
Some people may give you credit for sending them in. Most won't. The manager
may even give you a free meal. In the end, you'll be no worse off than with
your current affiliate marketing efforts (see X,Y,Z example above).
This brings us to our next point.
2. Loyal Subscribers
If given the choice of traffic or subscribers, I'll take subscribers any
day.
Why?
It's simple. Traffic is anonymous. You can't truly control traffic. You
can't *make* visitors return to your website 3,4 or 7 times.
However, when you have subscribers, the rules completely change.
You know your subscribers by first name. You can send them an ezine every
week. You can persuade them to visit your website on demand by sending a one
paragraph email.
Not to mention, if you build a bond with your subscribers, they will buy
from you again and again. One subscriber can easily be worth over $300 a
year to you.
And since you already have traffic to your site, turning these visitors into
subscribers is easy.
1. Create a pop-up
A pop-up window on your website is an easy way to capture
subscribers.
2. Create a "subscribe" box on your website
Just add a simple subscribe box that allows visitors to add their first
name, email address and press "subscribe". I witnessed one webmaster
generate 40+ subscribers per day by adding a subscribe box and the words
"subscribe to our list".
No details, no freebies. no big promises ... you can't get much simpler than
this. Add a special free-report or mini-course with subscription and your
results will be even better.
3. Start an ezine
If you are planning to build a long term (and profitable) relationship with
your subscribers, you cannot blast them with solo ads every day.
An ezine provides the perfect medium to give your subscribers valuable
content, articles, tips, etc. In return, they won't mind if you promote the
odd product to earn a few bucks.
So there you have it. Some simple techniques for creating your own traffic
and subscriber fishing net. Start trapping all that lost traffic, grow your
subscribers, start an ezine, and watch those affiliate checks JOLT over the
next few months.
Unless of course, you're happy just being one of the herd
___________________________
Jason Potash makes it easy to launch a successful ezine
and rapidly build your list. Learn the 7 essential keys to
ezine success. To receive your free 4-part mini-course
email
mailto:7keyscourse@demandmail.com |
