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Sure, a wonder-pill that produces traffic and profitability sounds like a perfect solution. But what would the side-affects
of artificial traffic generation be? Unstable sales results.
Non-targeted traffic? Unpredictable financial forecasting?
Alive and still pumping outrageous statistics into the
counters of sites across the globe -- affiliate marketing
remains a powerful viral being. It's worked for Amazon,
Match.com, and Pay Pal to name a few. For Roy
Oron of makelinks.com, "I'm nothing without my affiliates."
According to Internet guru-genius Oron, the value of a
good affiliate program is in the product and quality of its
affiliates.
"I had 2000 affiliates who could not measure up to
my one super affiliate," continues Oron. The number
of affiliates member's means nothing if the affiliates
are not producing sales. Therefore, it's pointless
to boast about the number of affiliates in your
program if they're not bringing you a high volume
of sales.
In the Internet marketing industry, it's no secret
that there are people like Ken Envoy, Marlon
Sanders and Cory Rudl who create products.
And there are professional marketers who
promote and move these products. They are
the top performers, super affiliates who make
the affiliate network powerful.
What Makes an Affiliate Program so Powerful?
"A powerful affiliate program starts with a product
that really works and not just another ebook on
Internet marketing," says Oron, a
magician-businessman turned Internet marketer
extraordinaire. It has to be a win-win for all:
the business owner, the affiliate and the
customer. Additionally, a powerful affiliate
program offers success tools for its affiliates.
A sales driven affiliate program provides a
marketing strategy and complimentary learning
tools to inspire and secure sales. For his
affiliates, Oron provides creative ideas
and innovative methods to sell the software that
turned him into a millionaire.
Another Internet success genius, Simon
Grabowski of getresponse.com equips his
affiliates with a tracking counter. It's a way
for affiliates to gage their success. A recent
poll portrayed that affiliates who could
monitor their success, were more goal-driven
and successful.
"I pay my affiliates generous commissions
because it is mutually beneficial," voices
Oron. After Oron left the entertainment
business and his television show, he
teamed up with a software engineer. Together
they distributed a world-renowned typing
tutorial product. The software was available
on shelves, globally -- in Germany, America,
Spain, and Israel.
A risk taker with a vision, Oron saw the
profitability of the Internet. His partner
doubted that people would automate
purchases online. After Oron and his
business partner made their software
accessible on the Internet, they watched
their typingtips.com counter never move.
The only people visiting their site were Oron
and his wife.
Obsessed with succeeding, Oron began
reading every ebook. He tried every software
possible to jumpstart his traffic and stimulate
his sales. Oron quickly learned that the Internet
had its share of cons and people who had never
succeeded at anything - let alone the Internet.
However, Oron knew that Internet marketing
was going to make him rich.
"We added shopping carts to our site. Then I
started an affiliate program. I knew that I could
get free advertising. I knew my product was
outstanding. I just needed a way to sell it. I
had to find people in my industry who specialized
in selling my product," confides Oron.
And Oron was right. Once he streamlined
his affiliate program, it became powerful. His web
site traffic went from 2 visits a day - to current day
visiting averages of 8,000.
Roy Oron's immediate success story was very
simple. He had located the super affiliates I
n his industry. (Super affiliates make triple digits,
daily.) For instance, one super affiliate would
send Oron 3000 visits a day while another
would send him 700 visits a day. Oron brags,
"You multiply this type of traffic by 4 super
affiliates and you have an insane amount of traffic
and sales."
How do you package a powerful affiliate program
to attract super affiliates and affiliates, alike?
FOR THE BUSINESS/SUPPLIER
A powerful affiliate program makes everything
EASY for the affiliate. So that means everything
being a no-brainer. By providing the affiliates with
marketing/selling tools, it's a turnkey business
opportunity with 0 percent risk.
Power Building Marketing Tools
ü Sales Letters/Autoresponders
ü Banners
ü Articles
ü A free/complimentary eBook Report(s)
ü Endorsement Letter(s)
ü Bonus products and offers
ü Shopping Carts
Equipping your affiliates with marketing tools is
vital for your success. Customarily sending
a monthly email about the best links and
special offers is a good beginning, too. Fuel your
affiliates with promotional ideas to use their
marketing tools smarter.
FOR THE AFFILIATE
Time spent creating tools -- like letters and
reports is time wasted. An affiliate program
geared toward success will provide the tools
for immediate profitability. (If you have to
spend time writing and designing your
marketing tools, then you are losing money.)
FOR THE BUSINESS/SUPPLIER
Breakdown your affiliate program into departments
so that you can forecast your sales projections.
In example, if you have 700 affiliates that you
send $60-$100 checks to monthly, make this
your turquoise level. For your median sales,
label this group Topaz. And for your super
affiliates, call them your diamond club.
(To better identify your super affiliates,
they are the few affiliates who generate 80
percent of your traffic.)
After you have departmentalized your affiliate
program, you can plan the growth of each level.
In example, if you have 6 diamonds, you can
figure an additional 60-80 new turquoise affiliates.
For your Topaz group, you need to offer commission
incentives to get them into the Diamond club.
To leverage your sites growth, send an email
to your turquoise group. The premise of the email
is to direct your affiliates to study their traffic
patterns. Are they getting traffic without the
click-thrus? Or, are they getting lots of clicks
and not a lot of action? Obviously, whichever
they AREN'T getting means they need to make
some modifications to their sales presentation.
(If you have the time send a personal email
advising them on how to actualize their success.)
Another stellar affiliate incentive is a multi-tiered
residual commission structure. This is one of the
best ways for average affiliates to recruit super
affiliates. (For the business owner: Use your
turquoise affiliate to recruit other affiliates
who will produce mega-sales. Tiered affiliate
programs are a win-win for the affiliate and the
business owner.
FOR THE AFFILIATE
A tiered payment structure, for the affiliate means
that he/she is always getting paid for their hard work.
(Why shouldn't an affiliate be entitled to the
commission of an affiliate that they recruited?)
FOR THE BUSINESS/SUPPLIER
Pad their commissions. 50-60% is the ideal
commission for a super affiliate. Obviously, when
affiliates are paid generously, they are inspired to
continue to produce. For professional affiliates,
money rules -- their commissions are their livelihood.
Get Personal. Powerful affiliate marketing is all
about establishing relationships. Internet
marketing may seem impersonal; however,
nothing secures a business relationship better
than personal interaction. If you treat your
affiliates and super affiliates like a robot, don't
expect any more or any less. Treat them more
like ROYIbots. (A return on your investment.)
Coaching your affiliates in a personal email is
an invaluable way to show your appreciation
for your affiliates achievements. In other words,
visit your affiliates sites, specify ways they
can earn more with you, ask them about your
shared customers feedback, and offer contest incentives.
Payout Rapidly. To insure that affiliates
continue to promote products, it is imperative
that they are paid in a prompt fashion. Accommodate
your super affiliates. Their sales volume is worth the trade-off.
(Constant tardy payment is a red flag for financial difficulties.)
FOR THE AFFILIATE
On the other side of the coin, if you belong to
an affiliate program and you're constantly
checking your mailbox or Pay Pal account, then
you need to look for an affiliate program that will
remit payment, promptly.
For a reference of examples of powerful affiliate
programs review the following web sites:
o Getresponse.com
o Dynamitecovers.com
o Sitesell.com
o Websitewizards.com
o Hypertracker.com
The above web sites command a high level of
traffic and sales. They offer excellent affiliate
opportunities chock full of all the right marketing
tools.
Of course that traffic wonder pill could do something
for your web site - like maybe make it load faster.
Unfortunately, it's not the foundation of affiliate
marketing and mega sales. In fact, if it were created
tomorrow, it would never be the cure-all for
sales growth -- because nothing happens without affiliates.
Holly Bentz, is one of the premier copywriters of
Internet marketing. With over 8 years of film and
media production, her expertise in providing
truthful marketing copy is her specialty. Visit
her at http://www.fruitionmedia.net to check on
her latest specials and E-books.
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