The Secret To Affiliate Marketing

The internet is awash with lazy site owners whose only goal is just to get people to click on their affiliate links.

So, they damn near spam their own site with them.

Affiliate links all over their blog posts, in the sidebars, in the footers. Yuk.

The funny ones are the ones who use blogs to “promote” these affiliate offers, but the problem with a blog is you need content, right? So, they create some. The problem is… it is useless, boring content that says the same thing anybody already knows. It is just… generic.

You’ve seen ’em. One way it happens is a product review post that isn’t really a review at all. They basically just parrot off the product specs. Stuff anybody could find. Then, lace it with affiliate links.

This is the kind of stuff you see when people are looking for shortcuts to money. See the previous issue on my thoughts about shortcuts. 🙂

So, here’s the thing…

The secret to effective affiliate marketing is no secret at all. It just takes work… and that’s why those who do it thrive and those who do not will suffer a fruitless online existence where Google won’t even bother to rank you.

See, the most effective affiliate marketing is when you OWN the product being promoted. Not literally, but just… mentally. As in, you take responsibility. You don’t just try to get people through your links and wipe your hands and hope that company does all the hard work. You actually have to take real responsibility for YOUR tribe.

Don’t be merely a middleman who adds no value to the transaction. You provide a TON of value. You serve YOUR customers.

Yes, even if they buy that other person’s thing through your link, you still treat that person as YOUR customer.

Are you providing value to your customer just as you would if you were selling your own product? Or, are you just being a conduit and a nobody?

Here are some potential ways to go about being an affiliate marketer with a real business… and not just a conduit with no value proposition…

• Provide training or how-to using products you recommend. Maybe even free training courses.
• Offer bonuses. I once saw a webinar that literally generated millions of dollars and the core offer they made wasn’t even their’s. Yet, he offered 11 bonuses. 11 bonuses for an affiliate offer. And he generated a TON of money.
• Build actual sales funnels. Lead magnet -> offer. The structure can work for affiliate products, too, you know. And it’ll build a great list.
• When at all possible, find out who bought through your affiliate link. And treat them as YOUR customer, too.
• Be very stingy about what you promote. A good affiliate marketer will refuse to promote way more things than he/she actually promotes. And that’s because…
• A real affiliate marketer is an advocate for their audience. You’re there to stand up for them, get the best deals, keep them from buying bullcrap. You’re there to SERVE your people.
• Build goodwill. Inspire trust. When you have people who are asking for your affiliate link before they buy a thing they were already about to buy, THEN you know you’ve done well.

For any of you guys looking to make solid revenue using affiliate marketing, know this…

It works. It can work VERY well. In fact, you could build an entire business where pretty much all your revenue came from affiliate commissions if you wanted to. I can’t say I recommend that, but it could  be done.

But…

There are no shortcuts. Not if you really want this to work.

To do it well and effectively, it will take almost the same amount of work, diligence and care as building any other kind of online business.

The rules are the same.

Provide great value. Inspire trust. Create content worth looking at. Build your list.

The days of spinning up little affiliate niche sites that are devoid of anything all that useful are over.