If you're a savvy consumer (which of course you are), then you put more stock in your friends' opinions and independent product reviews.
As affiliate marketers, we become much more successful when we approach our site visitors as friends and take the attitude that they too are savvy consumers.
From that standpoint, an affiliate's real work is to pre-sell our merchant partners' products by writing fair and balanced reviews, also known as endorsement letters.
Sure, writing a review for each product takes a little time and effort, but it's an activity that sets the super affiliates apart from their less-super counterparts in terms of rewards... read 'income'.
Product reviews can be either stand-alone or comparative. The first type focuses on a single product, while the second is an evaluation of similar items that allows readers to choose which product best suits them.
Before you begin to write a product review, you'll need to evaluate the product. (Nothing like stating the obvious, eh?)
I prefer to endorse products that I've actually used. However, buying a product isn't always feasible. If that's the case, affiliate managers will often grant 'proven' super-affiliates access to products for their review. That's especially true of information products and services that are delivered online, such as internet dating services.
But what if you're not yet a super affiliate, and can't fathom a basement full of treadmills to review for your exercise site?
Well, do what your customer would do if product reviews didn't exist on the Internet - go to the store and test those treadmills out!
And how do you review acne medications for your skin care site if you don't have acne? Surely, you have some friends with (previously) pimply-faced teenagers... ask them to tell you what worked for them.
If you can't find out that way, search Google for
About the Author
Rosalind is the affiliate marketing guru. She offers numerous valuable tips, suggestions and commentary on ebiz...and, she is eager to help others become highly successful!