In Mourning for the Google Cash System
Do you remember when you could pick an affiliate program, hustle
up a few hundred keywords toss it all into your Adwords account
& wait for the commissions. No me neither! I was busy doing
something else during those glory days.
If it ever was that easy it certainly isn't any more, there's a
lot of competition & intense bidding for keywords. There are big
corporations bidding on anything that moves & paying tens of
thousands of dollars every month for number one listings.
Just in case you weren't getting the message. Google changed the
rules. Now Google will only list one ad for each domain name in
any given set of results. If you've ever searched for something
obscure and found three or four ads telling you it can be found
on eBay you will understand why they did this. The result of
this change is that you almost certainly now need your own
website to succeed.
But never fear, there are still opportunities for the little guy
to earn big.
You just need a plan to maximise revenue from everything that
you do and from every visitor that passes through your online
real estate.
Here are my top five tips steps for maximising income from
affiliate programs.
#1 Sell to a niche. I know you've heard that message a thousand
times before. There are hundreds of guides to niche marketing
online and you might be forgiven for thinking it's just the
latest big hype. But the fact is if you choose a small market
you can focus your product more precisely on your target market.
If you get this right more of your visitors will think that your
recommendation was written just for them and for their
situation. The result? More of your visitors will buy.
#2 Always collect contact details from your visitors, if they
don't buy today many will buy tomorrow or the day after. If you
have a responsive mailing list, you have an asset that can earn
you money on demand. All lists start small and small lists can
earn big money.
#3 Once you have their mailing details keep in touch, don't let
these people forget who you are. Certainly don't only send them
mail when you have something to sell. Send them freebies and
news as well. Build a relationship, tell them about your life,
be their trusted friend.
-- Side Bar-
I read a post on a forum a while back about a guy who had been
promoting an affiliate program for about a year. Then the
program decided they didn't want affiliates any more. This guy
calculated that he had sent over 10,000 paying customers to the
merchant over the course of the year. Now he had lost a whole
revenue stream and had no way to earn from his past efforts.
If only he had kept in touch with these people by collecting
names and mail addresses and keeping in contact, he would
probably have made more sales along the way but better still he
could now contact them and tell them about another great
product.
-- End Sidebar--
#4 Upsell your list. If they didn't buy initially then keep
reminding them of the benefits of the product. If they still
don't buy after later mails sell them something else. If they
were buyers of the initial offering then upsell them on
something bigger and more expensive.
#5 Don't stop. Never stop sending mail to your list and don't
leave it so long between mails that they forget who you are.
Keep sending useful information every week, build a rapport with
them. Do this right and they will come to trust you like a
friend and when their friend recommends something they will buy
it.If they don't want to hear from you any more they will use
the unsubscribe link. Don't assume they are all sold out. A good
list is good for as long as you maintain it. Which can be until
the day you retire.
Build your business right and you will be building an asset that
will keep you for the rest of your life.
One great benefit to taking the long term view instead of
immediate profits is that you will be in a better position to
compete in the PPC marketplace. If the goal of your campaign is
to build a list as opposed to making a profit then you can bid
higher and run a break even campaign.
Would you like a free subscription to a monthly magazine
dedicated to affiliate marketing? Visit
http://www.ireviewguru.com/freeresources.html