Meat and Potatoes for Your Affiliate Diet
Think of banner ads as the spice in your affiliate diet.
Sprinkle them around, but for a heartier helping of sales,
you'll need something more solid! Learn to give your visitors
longer, more descriptive pre-sales text. Revamp your affiliate
advertising using these simple steps: Pull the Reader in
Introduce the Product Explain the Product's Significance Tell
the Reader to Make a Purchase Pull the Reader in To convince
your audience that your text is worth reading, make your first
sentence or two very interesting. Make a bold statement, say
something seemingly ridiculous, or appeal to your prospect's
emotional side. Then, tie this grabber in with the rest of your
copy.
Introduce the Product What is the product you're advertising?
What does it do? Directly after your grabber, give a compact
explanation of your product. Keep this explanation short, while
still being very clear. This should still be a very short
section of your text.
Explain the Product's Significance What will it do for me?
By writing your own copy, you can directly target your unique
audience. Make the most of this opportunity! Clearly explain how
your readers will benefit from this product.
No one knows your audience like you do. Suggest a variety of
product uses just for them, and give examples. This is the time
for details - make this section long and rich.
Tell the Reader to Make a Purchase You've come so far - you've
laid out exactly what the product is and how it will help your
unique audience. Now, seal the deal - tell your readers to
purchase the product! Include your affiliate link in this
section.
This step may sound strange, but it's necessary. Often, people
hear about a product and are genuinely interested, but fail to
actually make a purchase. A clear call to a simple action cuts
down on buyer ambivalence. Don't be pushy - just change your
verb tenses to the imperative. Instead of:
"If you think that you fit this profile, you might want to think
about buying this product."
Say: "Click here to order an account today."
Drive Sales - Use Long Copy If you don't feel ready to write
long copy yourself, ask your affiliate program manager for help!
Many companies release well-written articles by respected
authors that you can reprint free of charge.
The novelty of the Web is wearing off. People online now are
busy. Surfers won't make a purchase unless you make a great case
for what they'll get out of it. And you're not going to do that
with just a banner ad.