April 26th, 2007 by James Omdahl
As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, Chris asked:
Can you offer any advice on someone who can already build sites, including custom CMS etc…
But is finding it hard making the jump from normal site and link building to affiliate site / link building?
As I said I am a proficient web designer etc but for some reason feel completely unable to venture into affiliate marketing.
I think it is just a very daunting task, choosing a niche, finding and choosing an affiliate corp and deal that suits the site, then deciding on how to promote it, CPC vs Organic etc.
Sorry about the rant, any advice you can give would be amazing, cheers
Chris
Great question Chris…here’s my take:
If you already know how to build a good looking site, you are way ahead of a lot of affiliates. But taking that knowledge and turning it into affiliate success can be a challenge.
First off, let’s talk about finding a niche. While I’d love it if everyone who wanted to be an affiliate joined the InsureMe affiliate program and sent us traffic, I know this a) isn’t realistic and b) insurance isn’t for everyone. So with that said, and I know you have heard this before, but if you are looking for something to promote, find a product/service/topic you have some passion for (especially if you are just getting your feet wet in the business).
You might want to sit down and make a list of products/services/topics that excite you, and then start exploring the affiliate possibilities in these areas. A good place to look for partners would be Commission Junction - where you can sign up for a free account and start searching their lists of advertisers. Hopefully you can find some companies to work with there.
As far as promotion goes, as you mentioned there are a few routes to explore - organic, PPC and also social media. The product or service that you are promoting will help dictate where you want to focus your time. In general I would recommend:
PPC - For use in promoting popular products or heavily saturated markets that have large, web savvy companies competing in them. A well run PPC campaign can still generate profits in this type of market. PPC also can be effective in smaller markets as well. Actually, I recommend PPC for promoting pretty much anything.
Organic - Smaller niches where there aren’t a lot of good sites coming up in the results. It’s also good if you are planning on providing a number of resources/articles that meet the needs of a niche.
Social Media - Good route for niches that you are particularly passionate about. Also, there is a lot of potential in to use this method in localized offers and micro niches.
Overall, I’d say that the most successful affiliates look to succeed on multiple fronts - meaning they promote multiple products/services and try to use any effective promotional method they can find. With that said, when it comes to ranking organically, there are huge challenges for affiliate sites in highly competitive markets…so know that (unless you are an extremely talented SEO) ranking well for a term like “auto insurance” might be unattainable. Keep these realities in mind when you are planning out your promotional strategy - calculate your Return on Effort, work smart, and give it your all.
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April 26th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Search engines see “pure” affiliate sites (i.e. where the main intention merely is to have the user click through to the “real” site) as a nuisance. Search engines only want to promote sites with “real” content.
Its probably too late in the game to create affiliate sites that only help the user navigate to a prospective seller.
Before you select an affiliate program, you should consider what value you can add to the otherwise pretty straightforward connection between the products you advertise and any prospective customers.
I like your use of the word “passionate”, because you have to be passionate to continuously update an affiliate site. If you dont maintain the site, search engines will consider it stale and will once again be reluctant to take their users there.
Since youre now selecting a topic rather than a single affiliate program, you should try to promote 2-3 advertisers on your site and not just one. This will further reduce any anxiety at the search engines.
Most new affiliates focus too much on EPC - earnings per click. Look at the traffic indicator instead. Try to find two-three advertisers within one of your “passionate” areas with lots of traffic (e.g. four or five bars in CJ), each having an EPC around $30.
Then create your site around the topic, not around the advertisers. Promote products wherever possible, but dont be afraid if some of the pages on your website dont contain any advertisements at all.
April 26th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Very strong points Magnus. I wholeheartedly agree.
Having passion and the ability to add value is key for long term affiliate survival.
April 26th, 2007 at 11:22 am
You forgot to be add that you have to be a little crazy.
A page without an advertisement, Magnus? Gasp! I agree that you need content, but somehow that topic should bring up the product you are promoting.
You can still get SE traffic on lots of related keywords (just dont take mine). LOL
I, personally never do well with any networks like CJ.
All of my main programs that actually send money in the 100s or 1000s(including InsureMes inhouse program) are outside of a major network. For some reason those types of programs work better for me, and I barely get pocket money from the network programs. Maybe they are oversaturated, or they just dont excite me or something.
I dont know why. Others only do networks and make a lot more than I do.