The Passion Principal (Affiliate Style)
Passion – it’s what makes living worthwhile. And based on a blog post from the Five Star Affiliate blog’s Linda Buquet, it’s also what helps make super Affiliates successful.
But that conjecture makes you wonder how a company like InsureMe has successful affiliates if passion is really an important part of the equation? I mean, no one in their right mind gets excited about insurance, right?
Well, yes and no.
I will tell you that some of our successful affiliates actually do have some experience in the insurance field – and being someone who once was an insurance agent – I can attest that there are people who are really and truly passionate about insurance. Remember, there are people who passionate about collecting hubcaps too.
What about the “others”?
Today I don’t want to write about the insurance lovers out there (God bless ‘em). I want to write about the rest of you. I want to write about the affiliates who have absolutely no passion for insurance and never plan on having a passion for it. Based on Linda post you’ve gotta wonder - is it possible to be successful as an affiliate in the insurance space without a passion for insurance?
You bet it is, but you still need to have a passion – just not for insurance. But first…
Why insurance?
Chances are, if you are sending companies insurance traffic, you are doing it because:
- insurance affiliate programs have higher payouts than other programs
- most insurance programs are lead generation, not sales related – so no one has to purchase anything before you get paid (read: easier)
These are two very good reasons to be involved in the insurance vertical, indeed. I mean, it has got to be a lot harder to get a person to purchase a pair of Nikes online than it is to get them to fill out a form, right? (Jangro, correct me on this if I’m wrong).
Back to the passion part…
So if you’re not passionate about insurance, it probably isn’t the best way to get into affiliate marketing, right?
Maybe not. But here’s a good story…
I was hanging with a couple of our affiliates out a Pub Con a couple years back. The conversation got to the topic of how they got their start in affiliate marketing. Astonishingly, both of them said that they were big RC car fans, and ended up building web sites around their passion for remote control cars. After that, they joined RC car affiliate programs and started to make a bit of money off their sites.
Eventually, both of the affiliates lost their passion for RC cars. And in both cases their passion for RC cars was replaced by a real passion for affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is a passion too…
So I guess what I am trying to convey here is that when you are starting out as an affiliate, it is a good idea to start with a passion. Trying to get your search marketing juices flowing is a lot easier when you are having fun building a site that gets you excited. Chances are, if you start your affiliate adventure by promoting insurance, you might get burnt out pretty quickly and go back to your day job.
However, by promoting the activity/item/service you are passionate about through affiliate marketing, there is a chance that your passion will eventually become affiliate marketing itself. When that happens, it won’t be the activity/item/service that will stoke your passion, but the process and results will.
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Comments
Hi James, good blog and you make some great points. I think once affiliates develop some skill they can do well in any market they choose to focus on - passionate about it or not.
My biggest concern is when newbies go for the high paying, highly competitive markets like insurance and mortgage - with no experience at all - then complain affiliate marketing doesn't work, when they don't make a dime.
Another way to create passion for something like selling insurance is to focus on a niche vertical that you know about and are passionate about. A work at home MOM may want to focus on insurance for Women or the importance of insurance for single moms or insurance for WAHMS.
Posted by: Linda Buquet | February 13, 2007 03:25 PM
J, I do think passion helps you through doing things you may enjoy much less. I know I'm truly passionate about what I do and so that makes my days fly by, and when there are times where I might have to focus on something a little more on the side of "not fun", I know this is part of the job I'm passionate about. It makes it easier.
Posted by: apes | February 13, 2007 03:47 PM
Thanks for the comments!
Linda - I totally agree with you. Getting started as an affiliate in the mortgage or insurance space is tough to do if you have no online marketing or related industry experience. And working niches is a great way for affiliates to get started.
I also really dig your WAHM analogy too.
Apes - I'm glad you are passionate about what you do, and I think all of us that work with you can feel that :)
Posted by: James Omdahl | February 13, 2007 04:07 PM
Hey all, I can't resist posting my 2 cents. I did start the biz with a lot of the right tools. I was a computer programmer and an insurance agent. But I've still got tons to learn about traffic, converting, etc. These days, I spend more time reading than building. This blog is a daily stop - right after I check my stats. :)
On to your topic... First, plenty of people are passionate about insurance - especially their health insurance - Maybe if you're not one of the 47 million Americans without it, you don't feel that. ..or maybe you're a new homeowner and you're getting swamped with offers for something called mortgage life insurance...lots of consumers search to find out what that is.... It's never hard to find something to produce content about.
That said...you've got a point, and I'd always encourage new marketers to start with something they know about. How else can they sound credible at all?
Posted by: Mar | February 13, 2007 08:22 PM
true dat, Mar! I agree that it does make it easier and that even if you aren't passionate about insurance in general, there are parts that every one is passionate about one way or another......
Posted by: apes | February 14, 2007 10:18 AM
>> (Jangro, correct me on this if I’m wrong).
James, I can't be baited!
ok, maybe I can.
>> it has got to be a lot harder to get a person to purchase a pair of Nikes online than it is to get them to fill out a form, right?
I've never tried to get a visitor to fill out an insurance form, but to me the more important question is this: What's more difficult...getting traffic from visitors who are looking for a pair of Nikes or who are looking to fill out an insurance form?
(I don't know the answer to that either, but I have a feeling.)
As for the subject of your post, just about everything I've ever done, that was worth doing, was passion-fueled.
Posted by: Scott Jangro | February 14, 2007 02:19 PM
Ha ha. Glad the bait worked.
Scott - I've never tried to get someone to a site to buy Nikes...so I guess this question will remain a mystery. Of course there is one way to solve this, all you need to do is join our affiliate program...
:)
Mar - thanks for the two pennies and your continued love for InsureMe. I'm glad you are the type that is passionate about insurance and affiliate marketing - that is a killer combo in my book. I also agree that the uninsured and the overcharged can be passionate about insurance as well.
But if you asked those people if they were still passionate about insurance 6 months after they bought a good policy, what do you think they would say? That’s the funny thing about insurance - most of us have it, all of us need it, but it is usually something we don’t think about much. Not really a formula for passion building.
Now Nikes on the other hand…those make me go crazy. Have you seen the Nike + custom shoe creator? Awesome.
Posted by: James Omdahl | February 14, 2007 02:53 PM