“Affiliate Marketing Means Being Different”

Affiliate marketing…it sounds so easy, doesn’t it? Just put up a website, slap on some affiliate links, recommend a product, and you’re off to the races, right?

Ummm, not quite. Yet even product owners try to entice affiliate sign-ups by making it sound like you can retire early if you just place their link on your website or in your signature line.

But of course that’s not exactly how it works, and it sure isn’t that easy. When you’re an affiliate, you’re competing with hundreds, perhaps thousands of other affiliates who are selling the same thing as you.
In order to successfully compete against these other affiliates, there are a few things you need to consider.

Bottom line? You need to be different.

First, you have to figure out your unique selling proposition (USP). Once you develop your USP, you answer the question that’s lingering in your prospect’s mind: why should I buy from YOU and not your competitor?

Indeed, why should anyone buy from you? If there are hundreds or thousands of other affiliate selling the same thing, why should your customer purchase from your link and not someone else? If you can’t answer this question in a few sentences, then you know your customers have no clue.

Take time out today and start figuring out what differentiates you from all the other marketers out there.

The second thing you should take into consideration is what sort of value you can add to the product you’re selling. In other words, if there are hundreds of other affiliate selling the same product, what can you add to this package that will make it more valuable?

For example, let’s suppose you’re selling a golf training video. To add value to this package, you can offer a bonus buyers will receive only if they buy from your website.
For example, perhaps you create or buy reprint rights to a quality ebook that covers “101 Ways to Improve Your Swing.”

Now when a customer starts shopping around for golf training videos, he might notice that he gets a little bonus if he buys from you versus your competitor.
Who is he going to buy from? That’s right, he’ll buy from you…because you offer a better value for his money.
Now there are some instances where a customer will only buy from one person. Ideally, YOU want to be that one person!

This is again why cultivating relationships is so important. If a customer likes and trusts you, they will buy from you….repeatedly. (Remember, it’s cheaper to make back-end or repeat sales to existing customers than it is to acquire new customers.)

In fact, they may even buy from you despite the fact that your competitor seems to be offering a better deal. Why? Because if something goes wrong with the transaction, they know that you’ll “go to bat” for them.

If they purchase from your competitor just to get a bonus, but then they have problems, it’s not worth it. Many people will in fact pay a little extra for something just to have peace of mind.

So let’s recap: develop a USP, add value to the products and services you sell, and cultivate relationships with your customers. Once you get these three basics down, you’ll find your affiliate marketing becoming a whole lot more profitable!

This article was provided by Becky Hagel of Marketing Auction