In many ways, affiliate marketing follows an easy formula that can more or less be summarized to:
- Identify a market in need of a solution;
- Identify a product that will satisfy that demand;
- Become an affiliate for that product; and
- Market away!
This is supposed to be easy, because, as the hype often points out, you don't need your own product, website, or even autoresponder -- and there are any number of social media and web 2.0 platforms which you can leverage to essentially advertise for free.
However, while it's often that simple, it is seldom that easy. Especially for newbie affiliate marketers, the difference between knowing what you are supposed to do and doing it correctly is often a difficult chasm to cross.
One aspect of affiliate marketing that is especially critical to master, though often hard to get right, is writing articles to drive traffic to your sites. The mistake that most beginning affiliate marketers make is that they just starting writing away without a plan or a strategy in place.
While it's fair to say that the posts you put on your blog and the articles you submit to article directories do not need to be award-winning material (and who hasn't experienced that sense of cringing at a poorly written article on the web?), it's also necessary to realize that these articles need to meet a certain minimum criteria if they are to meet the whole purpose of writing them -- that is, turn visitors into buyers.
So, I would like to share with you the four types of articles that, in my opinion, every affiliate marketing site should have.
Product Review Articles
People are always looking for information on products. Maybe they heard about a product from a friend, or maybe they've been exposed to a sales pitch somewhere else and are searching the Internet for an objective opinion before making a buying decision. So, to attract traffic and build trust, give your prospects what they want: an honest and sincere information on your affiliate product in the form of a product review.
Be honest with your reviews. Along with all the good reasons people you should buy your affiliate product, make sure to mention any downsides the product might have. While this may seem like you are unnecessarily driving people away, presenting a well-balanced view will give readers the confidence that they have the information they need to make up their own minds.
If you do this correctly, it is possible to promote your own affiliate product as well. While few people will respond favorably to an out-and-out sales pitch on a page where they expected to find a even-handed product review, those who do favor your product (based on the totality of features, or price, or ease of use, etc) will appreciate a link for buying the product.
And, whether you have made a sale, or managed to add a subscriber to your list, hopefully you've built at least a little bit of trust that will motivate your readers to keep coming back.
Product Comparison Articles
If you are confident of your product's ability to sell in the market, write an article comparing the product your are promoting against one or more similar products. Chances are, the product you are promoting is not the only one on the market; and chances are, your prospect already knows a little bit about theses other products, or at least has formed an initial impression, so it is smart to address these initial impression directly.
One thing you should always remember, especially so if a competing product has a comparable or even better set of features, is to focus on the *benefits* that the user will derive from choosing your product over the other. For example, will your product save more time? save more money? Require less work? etc. If you can demonstrate that the product you are promoting has more benefits to your visitor than a competing product, you have gone a long way toward making the sale.
Of course, you should make this comparison in a reasonably fair manner. Do not just highlight all the cons of the competition while just highlighting your own product's benefits. However, if you wish, you *can* be somewhat selective about the benefits you are comparing. Highlight the benefits of the other product, then compare in such a way that your product comes out on top. Be smart in selecting which benefits of the competitor's product you are going to highlight. If the competitor's product has qualities that yours can't beat, then opt to 'overlook' that quality, and focus instead on the other product's benefits which your product can beat.
Testimonials
One of the most powerful motivators in making a decision to purchase something is establishing social proof. We all are seeking validation for our choices in the choices that others have made. Social Proof is the phenomenon whereby, if I see that other people (people like me) have purchased the same product, it lends credibility to the product, it makes me feel safer in my decision to buy the same product. That is why on sales pages you often see page after page of testimonials, in which happy previous customers rave about how the product saved them time, made them money, helped them lose weight, helped them get their ex back, trained their dog to sit,and so on. While the glowing and numerous testimonials are cliche, they are no less effective just because you know why they are being presented to you.
Now that you understand this, you can see why it is so important that you leverage this effective technique in your affiliate marketing, too. Your prospects need to know that other people -- ideally people similar to them in circumstances and needs -- have decided to buy your product, and have thoroughly derived the promised benefits.
For these reasons, testimonials are most effective if they are personal and specific. For example, "Joe's product was great" is not a very effective review. However, "Joe's product helped me increase my bench press max weight by 50 pounds in 4 weeks" provides your reader with exactly the kind of assurance that they are looking for. (Now, of course, that was just an example - I have no idea whether there are any products which promise to do that or even if that sample testimonial makes any sense at all.) And, what you can use to personalize the testimonial more is to get a picture of your reviewer -- and if it is a physical product your are promoting, get them holding or standing next to the product.
Unless you have thought about it in advance, or have done a little planning, it may be difficult to find people who can attest to the benefits of your products in the real word, and get them to provide you with a testimonial. At a minimum, you might want to keep your customers' contact information from previous sales, and simply email them and ask them to write a testimonial if they like the product. Better yet, you could offer an ethical bribe in exchange for a testimonial, such as promising to post a link to their site along with their testimonial on your website. One other tactic that works well is to offer free copies of your product to the first x people in exchange for a testimonial. This allows you to have your testimonials in place as your marketing efforts are hitting their mainstream stride.
Product News Articles
Keep your affiliate marketing site fresh with the latest news regarding the product. You might want to include the latest promotions, developments, or any new information regarding the product. e.g. "Recent scientific studies show that X product Promotes Hair Growth". One excellent way of keeping on top of this information would be to create a Google alert based on the product name.
Keep your news briefs concise -- do not bombard your readers with too much information. If you happen to have a dozen new information regarding your product, post them on your affiliate marketing site as a week's worth of news briefs.
Conclusion
These types of articles can be used all at once, or in a combination. It's up to you to choose what works best for your affiliate product or program -- and you will surely be on your way to affiliate marketing success!
