Archive for February, 2007

Yesterday we discussed 4 things affiliates should NOT do. Today, I want to talk about 4 things you should be doing to increase conversion rates on your affiliate products.

- Educate your readers.

To stick with the gardening example from yesterday, if you are recommending a product about growing flowers, you’ll do even better when you educate them on the topic and the benefit they can receive.

If you’re promoting an information product or book, you can give your readers ideas on what to do to solve a certain problem and then point them to the guide so they know HOW to do it.

- If you use pre-made marketing materials, make sure you modify them to suit your style and inject your own opinions and perspectives. A canned promotion looks like a canned promotion to people who know you ex. your blog readers and mailing list subscribers.

- Be honest. Like I mentioned yesterday, not every product is for everyone and no product is perfect. Tell your readers, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Even the bad and ugly can be overcome when you mention other product benefits. Go the extra mile and tell your reader who the product is for (ex. advanced gardeners) and who it’s not for (ex. beginners).

- Don’t give too many choices. If you’re creating “how to” materials, you might want to recommend certain products for the job. For example, if you’re talking about how to set up an autoresponder, you’re more likely to sell more by just telling your reader which autoresponder to sign up with than if you give them choices.

Internet searchers don’t usually respond well when given too many choices, especially on products they aren’t that familiar with. If they’ve never set up an autoresponder series, they won’t know how to compare services. Tell them what you recommend and go with it.

Remember the way you present the product you are promoting will determine if they buy from you or another affiliate. Put some effort into it and you’ll see an increase in your conversion rates.

Recently, I had an affiliate send a significant amount of traffic to a product via her email list (not an Internet Marketing Sweetie product, just so you know) and the conversion rate really stank.

Since then, I’ve done tests of the conversion rate through Google Adwords and email as well and the conversions were decent. Now, I’m not going to blame the affiliate and say it’s all her fault. If we run an affiliate program (and this is a new product, so we’re just getting started), we need to do what we can to convert traffic, no matter where the traffic comes from and we’re walking on improving that.

Still, there are some things that you can do, as an affiliate; to make sure your conversions are better.

Let’s start with things not to do:

- Avoid all the pretty banners with no call to action, unless they have been proven to convert.

So many banners have nice graphics a bit of text, but they don’t tell the website visitor to click. Don’t underestimate the power of a “click here” to get people do just that.

Also, ensure the graphic has really concise and very benefit-oriented copy.

- Don’t just say, “My friend XXXX has just released….” and tell them to check it out. I’ve been guilty of this before. Sometimes people trust your judgment where they’ll take your friendships as a sign of quality people with quality products, but other people will look on it with suspicion and think you’re just promoting because they are your friend. It may work for you, but it might also backfire. Back up your recommendation of your friend with good solid info about the product.

- Don’t bother with affiliate promos on pages that aren’t targeted. You’re wasting precious real estate when you post a bunch of graphics in the menu of your site and they’re not targeted to specific pages of your website.

Use that space to get a subscriber to your mailing list or offer a product specifically relevant to the content of each specific page.

For example, a page about growing the perfect daisies would probably sell an eBook about growing daisies better than a general gardening guide.

- Don’t go overboard in your praise. Sure, there are great products out there, but no product is perfect and not every product is for everyone on your list or visiting your site.

I’ll be back tomorrow with 4 things you SHOULD DO in your affiliate pre-selling efforts. See you then!

Keeping busy this morning. Here’s a FAQ on opening a link in a new pop-up window. This is useful when you want to keep your readers on the main page they are on, but you want a link to open a small window for more information.

I’ve just added a new question to the FAQ about increasing the price of your membership site. Having a plan to continually add value to your existing members and steadily increasing your price based on that value is a great strategy for a growing stream of income.

Check out the question on the FAQ here:
http://internetmarketingsweetie.com/faq/content/view/139/1/

Q: How do I make a link open in a pop-up window? Read the rest of this entry »

Q: Recently, one of my Copywriting Sweetie students told me she was going to increase the price of her mail order membership. She wanted to know how to let her readers know about the change.

A: One thing I’ve found to be effective in a price increase is to increase the value of the product just as you raise it.

In the case of a mail order product, you could add a booklet, a CD recording or something that doesn’t cost you much money, but is valuable to your members. Then you have an “excuse” to raise the price, but you can get people to take action now by saying: “Get the new bonuses at the current low price, but the price will be going up on X date, so join now.”

And of course, also reassure current members and members who register before X date will always pay their low membership rate. People will often take action when they know they’ll get the low price and they’ll be able to continue to receive that low price for taking action early.

Having a strategy for continuously increasing the value of your membership site, whether it’s mail order or digital, can be very profitable. The older members who keep getting new stuff will sing your praises and will continually be surprised by your over-delivery of a quality product. We all know that this word-of-mouth is priceless in continuing to build your membership base. And of course, the new members joining at a higher rate is definitely good for your bottom line.

While browsing the IM News Watch site I came across an article titled Get Thinking by Leo Quinn and it got me thinking about something. That was the point after all with a title like that right?

In the article Leo asked his readers to think about what they would do if suddenly they needed to do 10 times the things they are doing now.

As an online business owner I have to say if I were ever in the situation that I needed to make 10 times the amount I am now, I would be even happier than I already am, that I do what I do for a living. I have control over how much I make and though, it would be a lot of work, I truly believe it could be done. All I need is a bit of brain time to come up with ideas and then I would just have to implement those ideas.

It’s really hard for someone working a 9-5 job to say that. They don’t have control over their income, someone else does. Therefore if they found out they needed to make more money and fast, the thought of going to their boss and asking for a raise of 10 times their current salary probably would never even cross their mind. Not too mention if it did, what are the odds that they would get it?

I’m curious as to what you have to say about this topic. What would you do if you were faced with the fact that you needed 10X the income you are currently pulling in?

The virtual assistant field has really grown over the last 12 years. It’s not uncommon, especially in the Internet marketing sector, to hire a virtual assistant who lives across the country or even the world from you and never even meet them in person.

But, what if you aren’t ready to hire someone you’ve never talked to in person or if you need an assistant who is more available to your business on more of a personal basis? Try looking out your back door. You can experience the benefits of having a more traditional working relationship without having to deal with the headaches of employment taxes, office space, holiday pay, etc.

Many business owners, especially those who have no experience with virtual workers can really benefit from choosing the local route. If you prefer face-to-face meetings, need paperwork picked up and dropped off, or if you need someone who deals with your local customers then finding a VA locally is a great option.

If you live in a larger area, there is likely a company that offers outsourced administrative services. For example, in Vancouver, we have a company called “My Private Secretary” that offers Word Processing and other services. You may have something similar in your area.

If you’re looking for web design or other business services, check your local phone book, you’ll be surprised at what you find. You can also try the online Yellow Pages in the USA and Canada. Be sure to check the Business & Professional Services category when performing your searches.