Affiliate Business Tips
Why you must presell
The number one strategy to increase your affiliate sales is preselling.
Before we begin, we need to first define what preselling is. There are two components to it – art & science. The goal is to get your reader prepped to make a purchase. Then when they’re ready, refer them to the product website so they can buy it. And if it’s done properly, the process is completely sub-conscious.
The gist is that you give your reader some useful information. Then send them to the sales page. In a second we’ll talk about how to do actually it. But before we do, you need to know why it’s so important. Some major benefits of this process:
- Preselling creates trust – Readers who trust you are more likely to click your links. And the more traffic you can send to the sale page, the more commissions you’ll earn.
- Preselling is disarming – Nobody likes to be sold something. By not doing that to them, your reader is less defensive. Unguarded reading means they’re not filtering what you say. So your message gets across.
- It puts them in a buying mood – Now they trust you and feel open to your message. And in turn, they’re open to other messages, as well. Like the info on product sales page you’ve linked to. And being open to the information there means they are much more likely to buy.
- It increases your sales – You’ve prepped them and referred them in the right state of mind. Open to the sales message and feeling safe. The only thing that can result is increased sales!
- It increases customer satisfaction – Your referral now feels like they decided to buy. Instead of being manipulated into buying. So they are happier with their purchase.
- It boosts your profits – A satisfied customer doesn’t ask for a refund. Which means you keep more of your affiliate commissions.
Clearly preselling makes sense. You increase your profits. And produce happier customers. Everybody wins!
Now, here’s how preselling works:
Now you know whey preselling is critical. And hopefully you’re convinced you need to start doing it. So, it’s time to break down how it works. Like we talked about before, it’s an art. And it’s a science.
Part 1 – The art of it
The first step is in getting your readers to trust you and open up. This can only be accomplished by providing actual value in the information you’re presenting. Now, providing enough info to be useful, but still making them want more – that’s the art of it. The idea is that they want more and the sales page you send them to gives them more. Plus they’re not guarded, so they’re more open and likely to purchase the product.
The science component
There’s also a specific formula you need to follow.
First of all, it’s important HOW you present your information. You need to know where you’re going before you begin. Your goal is to sell the product you’re promoting. There are two ways to accomplish this with great content. First, you can provide useful but incomplete information. The second way is to provide all the information and let your reader discover how hard it is to actually implement it. Whichever method, you send them to a product website that solves the problem you just created.
You also have to link to the product you’re promoting discretely. You have directly to the home page of the product. When you do this, you’re click-throughs go way up. But how will you earn affiliate commissions if you don’t use your affiliate link? Well, that’s part of the science of this whole process. You “pre-cookie” your reader before sending them to the sales page.
Next, you want to make sure you’re linking on related words and phrases. People are used to clicking on hyperlinked words to get information they’re looking for. Plus, if you link on relevant words, it only makes sense to click on there.
Putting all of this together creates a powerful affiliate marketing formula for success.
Unfortunately…
This process is not easy – at all! Think about everything that goes into crafting an effective preselling article: Good content. First of all, you actually have to write great articles and give value to your readers. Which means you need to be both knowledgable on the subject and capable of writing a high-quality article. Strategic writing. Yes, you must providing useful content. You also have to present the info in a way that provides real value. And somehow also make them want to learn more. Or make the information so overwhelming they realize they can’t do it on their own.
Product selection. Next, you’ve got to pick the right product to presell. Even if you can pull off writing and great article. All your efforts are wasted if you send your reader to the wrong sales letter.
The technical know-how And finally, you need the technical know-how to embed your image tag and make sure you get credit for the sale. This is pretty easy – you just make a 1 pixel X 1 pixel image with no border and make the “source” of the image your affiliate link. (But if you mess it up, your referrals won’t be tracked.)
Summary:
Now you’re armed with the information needed to effectively presell. Preselling properly will boost your affiliate profits up to 500%! It’s absolutely critical to do this every time – and to do it correctly. Please don’t be lazy. The effort it takes is well worth the benefits…
