Affiliate marketing has become more aggressive over the past few years. It has seen trends come and go, and the way affiliate products get marketed has changed in a number of ways with the advent of social media.
Just a few years ago, a solid email list and a good idea were enough. These days, when demand for engaging content is high, so is the pressure to stand out among other affiliate marketers. Your content is either going to be one of the biggest vehicles or biggest barriers to your success.
If you’re still recovering from the thousands-of-dollars debacle that was that VSL you bought on Fiverr, it’s time to start working more in the direction of success. That means two things: producing relevant content and knowing how to market it.
We will deal with both as we go so keep reading. Here are five reasons why things are probably tanking. Be honest, there’s at least one thing on this list that applies to your marketing strategy.
Quick note: I’m assuming in this article that you’re an affiliate marketer working with an existing product or you’re launching a product trying to attract affiliates. The marketing structures are similar, with minor adjustments in the messaging.
1. Your Support Content Needs a Makeover
Why is the content of your sales letter so busy? That looks like quite a bit to read. Why on earth are you trying to cram “War and Peace” into that squeeze page? There’s more, but I see these more than anything else. Let’s take a quick look at each.
When your sales letter looks like a social media feed, that is how it is going to be consumed — with lots of scrolling and occasionally stopping on an interesting image. You paid so much money for the copy, and no one is reading it.
Start by highlighting the key concepts you want to convey in bolded and isolated headings. Bold text attracts the eye, and smartly presented ideas also stop people from scrolling and make them pay attention.
Then, separate the text into smaller chunks, like in this article. In blogging, email, sales letters, and the like, the definition of a paragraph is a little fuzzy. It is OK to break rules of grammar and style in favor of keeping your copy readable and relatable. This paragraph, for example, is already getting too long.
Finally, keep messaging succinct and specific when it leads into a call to action. Don’t make prospects wade through a sea of sales-speak before getting to the point. What do you want them to do? Give you their email, click the “join” button, or do something else? Just say it and use as few words as possible.
2. Your Emails Aren’t Getting Opened
For affiliate marketers, neglecting email or not sending good emails is still the kiss of death. Some traditions do endure, and they do remain relevant. In the affiliate marketing arena, email is one of them.
The style of marketing emails also hasn’t changed very much in the last decade, although some very silly trends have come and gone. Looking back in the Beez blog archive, you’ll find some examples of crackpot email content that repels leads.
It has been quite a while since I’ve personally seen some of the more stereotypically gonzo email marketing tactics. Marketers are learning the value and necessity of conversation in marketing and are learning how to engage effectively from subject line to postscript.
That means that IF YOUR SUBJECT LINE LOOKS LIKE >>>>THIS<<<<< it’s getting deleted, pure and simple. If it looks like this, it’s more likely to get an open:
“[Name], I learned a valuable lesson this week…”
Start the conversation in the subject line. It will pique enough interest to pull at least a few more opens. That said, you’ll probably get way more than a few.
3. You Use Fake Testimonials
Don’t even get me started on this…
Too late, I already started it. Here’s the most important question: Do you believe you have a good product? If so, you need to keep your messaging honest and real. We’ve all read launch content that was stuffed with testimonials, and it never makes any sense. If this is a new product, who is out there testifying to the quality?
Use testimonial content after the product succeeds. Initial efforts should provide factual information about the product and compelling reasons to buy. It’s the purest form of marketing: raising awareness and excitement and then asking for the sale. It’s simple, believable, and trustworthy. Fake testimonials are not.
4. You Aren’t Using the Right Keywords
Just like any other area of content creation, affiliate marketing content needs to be easily found by the right audience. This means knowing what keywords to use in your product descriptions and, when possible, in their names. There are free and cheap keyword planning tools out there that can help more people find your product at launch.
5. You Haven’t Properly Vetted Your Affiliate Network
Different products work better on different networks. Don’t choose a network based on its size or potential audience. Sometimes the bigger networks fail to deliver the results in ways that smaller, more focused networks can. Marketing on smaller networks also costs less. Choose the one that is most likely to attract the right audience for your product and motivate other marketers to want to sell it.
Parting Thought
If you’re following all of the above and still not getting the results you need, contact us. We can help edit existing copy or help you start from scratch to develop an affiliate marketing content creation and delivery plan that can help you reach your goals.
