The podcast is now up for your listening pleasure - if you would like a summary first - Jeremy has it here. I got a chance to hang out with Jeremy a bit in Chicago and at pubcon in Vegas - and we’re gonna do an episode of NetIncome this evening. It’s a bit late notice - but we’ll be discussing how folks can dive into affiliate marketing, and take their efforts to the next level. I’ve always had a mindful eye for affiliate marketing - but done very little until the last year or so, and starting to get much heavier into it now. I’ll be talking a bit about the progression from consultant to affiliate, and the crossovers between the two, as well as grilling Jeremy on how to become a better affiliate. If you have any questions for me to ask Shoe - now’s the time.
Affiliate marketing is tough. Anyone who tells you different is most likely very very smart, or very very stupid. Smart affiliates use button pusher marketing to crank out large sites quite often. I think these sites certainly help with the size of the SE’s index, though I don’t imagine many of them contribute to the quality of their indexes. The best affiliate marketing folks are generally very technically savvy as well as marketing savvy. I really respect the opinions of those who have been successful at affiliate marketing, because I know it takes a lot of work, ambition, and dedication. I’ve never been what I would consider successful with affiliate marketing, but I have dabbled a bit, and listened A LOT. There is definitely some gold available for those up to the challenge.
It’s getting pretty tough to come up with a weekly tool list these days. Mr. Ploppy’s list will most likely be a less frequent occurence in the near future. If you have requests for future lists, be sure to let me know, and I’ll try to keep the tools coming as I come accross them.
If you have tools you would like to see added to this list, don’t hesitate to let me know as well. With out further ado…
Affiliate Marketing Tools
Affiliate marketing is an awesome opportunity for those who are self-motivated. Brand your affiliate program as the best out there for your industry. In my mind, affiliate marketing is the retail distribution channel of the virtual world. I sometime wish I fell into the self-motivated category more often to create a fleet of affiliate sites for myself, but I stay with the security of bein’ a SEO consultant. The affiliate realm has really become an entity onto itself, and takes dedication to stay up to date with changes. Understand how affiliates work.
I recently had a former client who had set up an affiliate program with Shareasale write and ask how he could more actively promote his affiliate program. Again, it made me realize that a program will only be as successful as it’s affiliates, and the pareto principle definitely comes into play (meaning 90% of your sales will come from 10% of your people). If your program doesn’t stand out, you won’t be remarkable. Attracting the right people and keeping them motivated is critical to the success of an affiliate marketing program. Creating working relationships with good synergy is key as well. If you sell peanut butter, partner with a site that sells jelly. Make it EASY for those around you to make money, and they will often try to reciprocate. Work with your affiliates to get rankings and sales.
Okay, the title is a hoax. You caught me. I’m a liar who likes to tell stories. There is no “magic formula for website success”. There are only best practices. As a search engine marketer (SEO/ SEM..whatever you want to call it), we are really moving towards being project managers (yes, I harp about this all the time). As a project manager, you have to understand how all the tools at your disposal work, and how they could work better. I’m going to tell you exactly what best practices *I* would use as a guide for marketing a retail (or better yet manufacturer) website online.
Assumptions:
- You have a worthwhile product
- You have exceptional profit margins
- You have a well trained, enthusiastic staff that is willing to work and learn
- You have a plan for growth
- You are willing to change when necessary
- You have a qualified web development team
- You have someone who will handle link development and PPC
10 marketing strategies that matter
Months 1 - 3
Month 1 - Planning
Spend the first month planning. Document and consider every angle to your marketplace. Define your unique selling points. Devise ways you can be remarkable by your customers. Brainstorm and write down EVERY idea in your head that is even remotely related to your new online business. Write down keywords. Start organizing your ideas and writing copy for your pages. Delegate responsibilities to your staff. Start dividing up the work.
Compleat guide to SEM I
Compleat guide to SEM II
Affiliate marketers -
What they do:
Create “affiliate sites”, rank them high and get commissions off online sales. Affiliate marketing is strikingly similar to a modern version retail sales. Affiliate marketers are paid a percentage based on many criteria…as with retail sales…location is everything….with affiliate marketing the location is at the top of the serps rather than mainstreet. The more traffic to a site (or foot traffic to a retail outlet) the more likely the customers are to pay a higher price. The more people the better the chance of converting enough folks to make a profit. In my mind, the best affiliate marketers are the pros of the SEO industry. They are the people willing to get “down and dirty” and just sell. There is no school for affiliate marketing - learn online and run with it. It takes a true entreprenuerial mentality. An affiliate marketer must understand all aspects of how the web works…user psychology, web development, search engine optimization, etc. Affiliate marketers “control their own destiny”, and seem to see opportunity in every crisis. They are soldiers of fortune that create Christmas sites in July (or July of two years previous now.) Affiliate marketers are often the “blackhats” that give the industry a bad name as well. This works both ways, as they also do the “dirty work” that corporations want no part of to keep their reputation from being tarnished. They will be happy to garner the traffic that goes with cutting edge borderline techniques, they just would rather have the affiliates do them to keep a safe distance from liability.
Button pusher SEO is usually what the “white hat” mouseketeers like to whine about loudest. The rationale, is that it is that it is really easy to do, and tends to be on the “spammy” side because of things because it is generally somewhat automated. Automated, however, doesn’t always mean easy. Button pushing SEO’s, work very hard to create tools that will create content, links, and ultimately revenue with techniques that push the envelope. They don’t worry about update schedules, they worry about revenue and developing improved tools.
The rumor that spilled and started yesterday was that MSN will be announcing their new pay per click service very soon. While this is not a big surprise in itself since they have been recruiting for the positions associated with the new service for quite a while, it does bring up some interesting questions.
