Choose a few good products
Trying out an affiliate campaign for the first time is exciting. This is often why we see new publishers attempting to partner with a large amount of retailers and promote every product they offer. It’s better to carefully select a handful of good products that are relevant to your users to promote. Try to understand the needs of the market you’re operating in, looking for products that are suited to your users and work well with the topic of your site.
Help your audience
The key to persuading users to make a purchase is to educate them as to why they should buy a product. Users want to see reviews from other people who have bought the product. They want informed advice about why they should buy it and more importantly why they need it. That being said, don’t be dishonest with your readers –once you’ve lost trust with your readers, it’s hard to come back from that.
Research demand of the product
It is a good idea to spend a bit of time researching and finding out if a product that you are thinking of promoting is a product that your audience needs. Trying to sell a product that is in low demand won’t result in many sales, unless you are a niche website or in a low competition market. Use Google Analytics to find out which keywords are bringing visitors to your site and tailor the products you’re promoting around those. If your site isn’t targeted to a specific audience, find out which programmes perform best on your site by creating and ad rotation using the Awin Ad Delivery tool. Also consider using ad4mat’s affiliate programme. This programme offers dynamic banners that will automatically display retargeting ads, bestselling advertisers or a selection of advertisers chosen by the publisher.
Keep up to date with the latest tools
The online marketing industry is a very competitive field and companies are always introducing new techniques and tools. Ensure you stay current with these new techniques by following industry blogs and online publications such as PerformanceIN, The Drum and Econsultancy. Likewise, it also pays to sign up to your affiliate network’s newsletter and follow their blog and social media channels so that you don’t miss out on the latest update to their tools. (A cheeky plug for the Awin blog there ;-)) If possible, try to immerse yourself in the industry by attending events. Usually spots for publishers are free and it’s a great way to build relationships with potential new partners.
Choose the right advertisers
When you are promoting a product, you are also endorsing the person or brand behind the product. That’s why it’s important to choose who you work with wisely. You want your users to be happy with the purchases they make and continue to make more. Will your user come back to your site and shop through your site again? Usually, retailers which are known for good customer service will have better customer satisfaction so it’s best to begin working with larger established retailers, or smaller retailers with a good reputation.
The key is consistency and patience. As long as you consistently follow the above advice and continue to drive traffic to your site, eventually you will hit your first sale and then the commissions will come rolling in. It’s rare for affiliates to be an overnight success but if you continue to fine tune your efforts, you will begin to see the fruits of your labour.
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We hope you found these tips useful, if there’s a particular topic you would like advice on, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
