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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Affiliate Masters... an intensive 5-day e-mail
course on becoming a high-earning affiliate champion.
How?By building income through content.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have a friend who would benefit from taking this
course, please pass this on.Or tell that person to
receive the 5-day course by sending a blank e-mail to...
tamsalliesunme@sitesell.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guarantee that you'll refer to this course over and over
again as you build (or rebuild) your affiliate business.
Print each e-mail out, pour yourself a beverage of choice,
bring along a pen to jot down some ideas, and take it all to
your favorite sofa.Learning a serious subject is so much
more successful when you're comfortable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you print out this e-mail, keep it in a 3-ring binder.
Here's a super little printing utility that will allow you
to print 2 or 4 pages to a single 8.5" x 11" piece of paper.
It saves you paper, space, and money...
http://www.fineprint.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<TODAY>>
Affiliate Masters 101
Building Income Through Content
by Ken Evoy, M.D.
President, SiteSell.com
Ken is president of SiteSell.com.SiteSell's "5 Pillar
Program" is considered by many experts to be the most
innovative, partnership-oriented and productive affiliate
program on the Net...
http://www.sitesell.com
-----
Welcome to the Affiliate Masters Course, a comprehensive,
DO-able 10-DAY program of BUILDING INCOME THROUGH CONTENT.
You will receive the entire Affiliate Masters Course over
the next 5 days (i.e., five installments, one per day).
You will emerge from this 10-DAY program with a radically
stronger information base and skill set. You will be well on
your way towards building a substantial affiliate business.
Each of the 10 DAYS has a specific "Goal-of-the-DAY," a
clear, DO-able, target.Complete this goal before moving
ahead to the next DAY.By the time you finish DAY 10's
Goal-of-the-DAY, you will have a Theme-Based Content Site up
and running and generating traffic and income.
Each DAY also sets an "Ongoing Goal."Why?Because a Web
site is never "finished."The Ongoing Goal is what you
should be achieving on a regular basis.The Ongoing Goals
provide the pathway for building maximal income through
content over the following weeks and months.
Bottom line?...
Upon completion of the course, an income-generating process
will be clearly established.Call it your 10-DAY PROGRAM TO
BUILDING INCOME THROUGH CONTENT!
-----SIDEBAR-----
The Affiliate Masters Course is a "work-at-your-own-pace"
course.Some of you will be able to devote large blocks of
time to it.So you'll complete a "DAY" in one (or even
less) of YOUR days.
Others may only have 15-30 minutes per day to spend on it.
So it could take you a week or more to complete a "DAY" of
the course.
Either way, it does NOT matter how LONG it takes you to
complete the course.Set aside a certain amount of time per
day to attend this course and to do your homework.
You'll find it was time well, no BEST, spent.:-)
-----SIDEBAR-----
The Affiliate Masters Course is designed and written for ALL
affiliates.Just beginning to develop a second income
stream?Or are you an established affiliate of several
programs?Doesn't matter...
EVERYONE shares the same goal... to maximize profits. Be
forewarned about the Affiliate Masters, though...
The material that we will be covering over the next five
installments will be extensive in scope.It will require
effort and commitment on your part, as does anything
important that yields rewards.
Most folks have to train or go to university for years to
prepare to earn a substantial income stream.Your mini-
university course will accomplish this in 5 installments...
... five SUBSTANTIAL installments.
Don't let me scare you, though...
It is ALL manageable.Take your time to digest the
information properly before you start to work on the
prescribed action steps towards your goals. Use the
Goals-of-the-DAY and Ongoing Goals -- make them your
guide-posts, your beacons of light.
Understanding the concepts will boost your confidence level
in applying them.Even as adults, we never lose our need to
know "why" things work the way they do. :-)
It's critical that you finish each DAY of this course before
you begin the next.The DAYS build on each other. You are
following a step-by-step process.
As I said, though, please don't feel that you have to rush
-- work at your own pace, as time allows. Set your own work
schedule... and stick to it.Take as much time as you need
to complete the 10-DAY program.Set a REALISTIC schedule
that will allow you to do your best.
Do you only have 30 minutes daily to work on the course?No
problem.Your Affiliate Master's "DAY" is done when it's
done, even if it takes you a week!This is not a race.
Final piece of advice... Use your printer to make a hard
copy (your own textbook!).There is just too much
information in the Affiliate Masters Course to learn by
reading off a monitor screen.
Underline the important parts.Add your own notes and
ideas.I promise you... you'll get lots and lots of great
inspiration as you go along.
PLEASE... work with a printed version of this course. If you
are at all serious about following this course to build a
serious income stream, please start right...Print it.
--
And now, just as for any college course you might take,
here's your syllabus/outline for your Affiliate Masters
Course.As you can see, it's the total package for building
income through content...
Affiliate Masters 101
oBusiness Basics
oIncome and Expenses
oTraffic, Click Throughs, and Conversion Rates
oPRE-selling... why
oPRE-selling and your visitor's MINDSET
oPRE-selling... how
Affiliate Masters 202
oBrainstorming concepts for your site
oPicking the concept with the most profit potential
oDeveloping HIGH-PROFITABILITY topics for your site
oDEMAND, SUPPLY and BREAKOUT tools, and the
MASTER KEYWORD LIST
oThe CUSTOMER END vs. the KEYWORD END
oHow to pick the HIGHEST-PROFITABILITY topics
oAnalyzing (and using!) the competition
Affiliate Masters 303
oFinding affiliate programs for your concept
oHow to reduce risk by diversifying
oPicking the best, safest programs
oRefining your concept to just the right scope...
oThe "Valuable PRE-selling Proposition"
oCreating and Protecting the PERFECT domain name
oPreparing for your own mini-vertical-portal
Affiliate Masters 404
oBuilding your site... TWO kinds of visitors
oOVERdelivering high-value content to readers
who deliver HIGH-PROFITABILITY to you
oHow to PLEASE the Search Engines
oThe WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN
o"FIND-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-kaCHING"
oThe Structure of Your Site
oThe Content of Your Site
Affiliate Masters 505
oTraffic-building for Content sites
oThe Free Major Search Engines
oPay-Per-Click Search Engines
oThe Major Directories
oWord of Mouth
oE-zines -- market via your own opt-in newsletters
oOther traffic-building techniques
oTraffic Analysis... What's Important
oClick IN Analysis
oClick Through Analysis
oYour Road to Success... ACTION STEPS
Ready to begin?Sound the bell.Class is in session.:-)
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
DAY 1 -- Intro to Affiliate Business Basics
Being a GREAT AFFILIATE is *NOT* about
selling... It's about PRE-SELLING.
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
Goal-of-the-DAY... This is the only DAY where
you have nothing to DO except READ the
material. Actually, that's wrong... Your
Goal-of-the-DAY is to UNDERSTAND, UNDERSTAND
DEEPLY, the concepts outlined here,
culminating with the concept of PRE-selling
to maximize Conversion Rates.It's the
foundation of BUILDING INCOME THROUGH
CONTENT.
Ongoing Goal... Deepen and focus your under-
standing of this material.Re-read it once
per week for the next eight weeks, monthly
after that.As you progress through DAYS 2
through 10, it's going to be easy to lose
sight of the "big picture" presented today.
And there's another reason to re-read
regularly -- it will mean more and more to
you as you gain each DAY's new perspective.
With these goals in mind...
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
--PART ONE--
The goal of any business, including your affiliate business,
is to maximize PROFITS."PROFIT" is simply your INCOME
minus your EXPENSES.
As an affiliate, there are exactly two ways to increase your
INCOME (i.e., the amount of money your business makes)...
1) Refer more visitors to the merchants that you represent.
2) Increase the Conversion Rate (i.e., the percent of
visitors referred to your merchant who deliver the response
FOR WHICH THE MERCHANT PAYS, whether that's a sale, or a
lead, etc.).
Simple, right?If you refer 100 visitors per day to a
merchant and 1% buy, you get paid for that one purchase. But
if you send 1,000 visitors per day and 3% buy, you get paid
for 30 purchases.
Yes, thirty times more!
So it's pretty clear how to maximize affiliate INCOME!:-)
Of course, every business has EXPENSES, too.Maximizing
PROFITS does *NOT* imply that you must minimize EXPENSES.
After all, if you spend NO money or time on a business...
... You have no business!You *MUST* get the BEST POSSIBLE
traffic-building and sales-converting results for every
DOLLAR you spend... and for every HOUR you spend on your
business.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Time *IS* money.So don't count your hours as zero cost
simply because it does not cost you "out of pocket." Assign
your time a dollar value -- it will put your affiliate
business on a solid, professional "business footing."
-----SIDEBAR-----
Let's examine EXPENSES by asking two questions...
QUESTION #1
>What does it cost to build traffic to your merchants' sites?
Traffic-building, no matter how you cut it, will cost you...
in terms of both time and money.Spending DOLLARS is
optional, but spending TIME is not.
There are many ways, both offline and on, to drive traffic
to your merchants' sites.This course will show you *THE*
most highly PROFITABLE, TIME-and-DOLLAR-effective way to
build traffic to your merchants' sites...
> Build your own Theme-Based Content Site -- one that is
> loaded with high info-value Keyword-Focused Content Pages
> which rank well with the Search Engines *AND* "get the
> click throughs" to your merchants' sites.
Let's break that down... for your affiliate Web site to
generate traffic to your merchants, it must do two things
well...
1) Rank well at the Search Engines, so that it pulls in lots
of traffic.So far, though, that traffic is still on *your*
site.Therefore, it's not generating income yet -- your
visitors are just "looking around."So...
2) Get those visitors to click through to your merchants.
(Some affiliate program models can actually place merchant
offerings on *your* Web site.In this case, your traffic
does not actually visit your merchant's site.But you still
have to "get the click" to generate income.)
This 5-day course will show you how to achieve both parts.
-----SIDEBAR-----
It makes sense, of course, that a Web site is THE way to go.
After all, this *IS* the Net!
But there are loads of other ways for affiliates to drive
targeted traffic to their merchants, both offline and on. We
cover them all in the 5 Pillar Manual. (SiteSell's affiliate
program is called the 5 Pillar Program.)Allan Gardyne of
associateprograms.com has said this of the 5P Manual...
----------
> The BEST manual for affiliates is FREE
Ken Evoy must be bonkers - or the
smartest marketer around. He's just
spent three months writing a 224-page
manual for affiliates, telling you,
step-by-step, how to succeed with
revenue sharing programs . . .
And now he's giving it away. All you
have to do to get the FREE manual for
affiliates is join the 5 Pillar Program,
which just happens to be the BEST
revenue sharing program out there.Yes,
although it's the best Manual on the
market, you can have this one totally
FREE.
You should do it now. It will be the
wisest thing you've done this year.
----------
Yes, the 5P Manual is free to all 5 Pillar Affiliates. For
more information...
http://www.sitesell.com
Please accept it with my compliments.No obligation to
actually promote SiteSell.com products. :-)
-----SIDEBAR-----
OK, that wraps up EXPENSES and traffic-building.Now for
our second question about EXPENSES...
QUESTION #2
>What does it cost to maximize Conversion Rates?
Good news!...
Maximizing your Conversion Rate (CR) is simply a question of
doing things right.There is no extra DOLLAR or TIME cost
to boosting Conversion Rates at your merchants' sites.This
course will show you how to achieve this, too.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Remember, when this course talks about Conversion Rates, we
are talking about the Conversion Rate at the sites of the
merchants that you represent as an affiliate. So we are
talking about *YOU* maximizing the percent of visitors (who
you refer) who deliver the response FOR WHICH THE VENDOR
PAYS, whether that's a sale, or lead, etc.
If you think that it's impossible for you to change the
sales-effectiveness of your merchants' sites, you are in for
a big surprise.:-)
-----SIDEBAR-----
So... your goals, and your *ONLY* goals, are...
1) Maximize traffic to your merchants, spending only DOLLARS
and TIME that maximize PROFITS.
2) Maximize Conversion Rates.Do things right (no expense).
Don't just do one. Do BOTH.Why?Because, as you saw
above, your payment is determined by traffic MULTIPLIED by
the Conversion Rate... NOT "added."Your PROFITS grow
geometrically when you concentrate on maximizing BOTH
traffic and Conversion Rates.
--
I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing the difference
between 5 Pillar Affiliates who refer high traffic to us AND
who deliver high Conversion Rates (% of visitors who
purchase) and those with low ones.
THE #1 REASON FOR LOW TRAFFIC AND TERRIBLE CONVERSION RATES?
Banner ads!
The futility of banners was *FIRST* revealed by our 5 Pillar
Program, both in our award-winning 5 Pillar Manual and in
the Five Pillar Affiliate Reports.
Retinal studies have shown that Web surfers actually avoid
banners.Yes, their eyes look away!Click throughs have
plummeted to under half-of-a-percent.And, for the few who
DO click...
We went on to prove that banners are WORSE than futile, they
are COUNTER-productive.The 5 Pillar Affiliates who rely on
banners have an average Conversion Rate of 0.5%.But those
who use "in-context" TEXT links (i.e., text links that are
part of the content of the Web page) average over 3.5%!
How's that for a reason *NOT* to use banners.
Why does this happen?
Banners are cheesy and hurt your credibility.Because
visitors simply arrive feeling "pitched" rather than
informed.So they arrive at sitesell.com in a resisting
mindset, rather than with an open, ready-to-buy attitude.
Remember that example where you sent 100 visitors per day to
a merchant and 1% bought?If you rely on flipping up some
banners, it will be more like 10 visitors per day and NO one
buys!
-----SIDEBAR-----
We reveal a lot about 5 Pillar Affiliates and about our
program stats during this course.But it is *NOT* the 5P
Program that is important here -- it's the *LESSONS* to be
derived.This course is all about making ANY affiliate of
ANY program more successful.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Conclusion?...
> Don't use banners.
Yes, I know "they're so-o-o-o-o easy."It's ALWAYS easy to
NOT make money.That's how all those get-rich-quick-guys do
so well... the allure of easy money. No such thing.
> Don't use banners.
-----SIDEBAR-----
If you simply MUST use banners, save them for the products
that you don't really feel GREAT about recommending.That
way, you don't hurt your credibility -- after all, it's
"only advertising."
Save your "in-context" TEXT links for super companies with
wonderful products that deliver true value to your reader.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Beside the obvious futility of banners, I've spotted ANOTHER
major point.This one is more subtle, but it's IMPORTANT.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.After banner advertising, it's the
second most common error.And it's an even BIGGER shame
because this boo-boo involves a lot of work... misplaced
work. I mean, if you're going to fail, the best thing would
be not to spend much time at it, right?;-)
Here it is... selling instead of PRE-selling.
Some 5 Pillar Affiliates have really made *great efforts* in
creating sites to promote our SiteSell.com products....
... and *are* building some sales and traffic.But when I
see a low Conversion Rate (i.e., CR under 2%), I know that
something is amiss.Great efforts deserve greater results
than 1%.
Yes, I agree, that's better than banners.But remember,
these folks put in a lot MORE work than tossing up a couple
of banners. We'll see in a moment that it's *misdirected*
work.(The good news is that this course will redirect
those efforts into high-profit areas.)
Time for a philosophical perspective...
In life, the vast majority of people just keep doing the
"same old thing."It seems easier that way. But it
guarantees the "same old results."So in the long run, it's
actually much, MUCH harder.
In the movie, "The Renaissance Man," Danny De Vito's
character makes a profound statement...
"The choices we make dictate the lives we lead."
To paraphrase...
"Where you are today is the result of all the choices and
actions that you have made in your life."
When he said that, I remember thinking, "You know, he's
right. Except in rare cases of extraordinarily good or bad
luck, everyone basically ends up where they are as a result
of choices they make and courses of action they take."
People tend to blame a lack of success in life on "bad luck"
or "poor timing" or other people.And yes, at times, that
can be accurate.A heck of a lot of factors beyond our
control *can* blindside us.In the long run, however, as
long as we PERSIST in our efforts, these factors tend to
even out and De Vito's statement remains valid.
Now, here's the good news...
E-commerce is simpler than life.Due to its digital nature,
there are fewer variables... so the outcome is more
controllable.Which means that we can boil De Vito's
statement down to "The #1 E-commerce Reality."
This Reality is almost self-evident, yet it's so easy to
forget. Your success with *ANYTHING* you do in the world of
e-commerce flows from it. Internalize it and act upon it...
==> you'll succeed. Yes, it's THAT fundamental.
The #1 E-commerce Reality
--------------------------------------------
"NOTHING happens by accident in the world of
computers, the Net, and customer response.
There is always a reason for what happens,
good or bad, and that reason is *YOU*."
--------------------------------------------
So...
When I see some 5 Pillar ("5P") Affiliates with CRs over 10%
(and a few over 20%!), I figure that those with CRs at 1-2%
or less could be multiplying their sales five-or-more-fold.
How?
*NOT* by working harder, but by simply channelling their
motivation in a better direction...
Let's continue with the case of 5P Affiliates who make
"great efforts" but so-so-results...
As I reviewed many of these affiliate sites (those that are
getting sales but have CRs under 2%), I realized that almost
half were basically one big sales letter for SiteSell.com,
SiteSell products, and Ken. Which means that these
affiliates are SELLING (with sales copy) when they should be
PRE-selling (with great, and related, content that is of
value to the reader).
There's really not much point in straight SELLING off your
site -- that's what your merchant's site is for.Picture
this...
A visitor arrives at an affiliate's site that is really just
one, big sales site.Yes, I know that their words are
sincere -- I owe all 5P Affiliates a big THANK YOU for the
truly wonderful things they say.But put yourself in these
visitors' shoes for a moment.They don't see inspiring,
editorial content -- they see a sales effort.
BUT THEY WERE SEARCHING FOR CONTENT!
"CONTENT!" I SAID! (Sorry for yelling.)
People resist sales efforts, so your click-through actually
goes down. And if they do click, what do they see when they
arrive at sitesell.com?More sales effort.And, in some
cases, many of the words on sitesell.com are similar to the
words that they've just read.
Result?Poor Conversion Rate.
If your site is basically a "bunch of sales letters," you
have not yet built your credibility and likeability with
this visitor. Your visitor ends up feeling "pitched." And
then feels double-pitched *IF* she clicks through to your
merchant's site...
That's why the CR actually goes down.
To make things worse, as she "smells" a sales effort, she
becomes less likely to click!So referred traffic drops,
too.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Women now represent 50% of all surfers. And they control
approximately 80% of all shopping dollars. To reinforce this
in your mind, we'll use the feminine pronoun to talk about
readers/visitors/customers.To keep things simple and even,
we'll use the masculine pronoun when referring to affiliates.
-----SIDEBAR-----
OK, let's see...Referred traffic down.And Conversion
Rate down.But these are the two ways to increase your
INCOME (that we talked about right at the top today's
lesson). We're going in the wrong direction!
Conclusion?
Don't SELL!Instead, warm your visitor up for your
merchants by PRE-selling them with great content that they
value and respect.They'll click-through with pleasure,
arriving at your merchants' sites in an open-to-buy mindset.
It's your PRE-sell effort that will boost your traffic-to-
merchants *and* Conversion Rate. Which in turn maximizes
your INCOME.
This brings us to our second philosophical premise and the
end of Part One...
"The #1 Affiliate Reality"...
-------------------------------------------
"Your CR will literally vary from 1% to 10%
(and at times, as much as 20%!), purely
because of...
1) *HOW YOU REACH* your visitor, and
2) *WHAT YOU SAY* to her, and
3) *HOW YOU REFER* her to your merchant."
-------------------------------------------
Your CR depends upon what *YOU* do and how *YOU* do it. You
do NOT need Lady Luck, Sir Serendipity or anyone else. There
is *ALWAYS* a reason for how well you do, and that reason
always relates to *WHAT* you do and *HOW* you do it.
Once you realize this, then you *KNOW* success really is
DO-able.Some people DO succeed... big-time.But not
necessarily the first time.Just keep trying until you find
the right approach. To quote Calvin Coolidge...
--------------------------------------
"Nothing in this world can take the
place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common
than unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is
almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of
educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent.
The slogan "press on" has solved and
always will solve the problems of the
human race."
--------------------------------------
Of course, the goal of the 5-day Affiliate Masters series is
to reduce the amount of trial-and-error-PERSISTENCE that
will be required before you find *YOUR OWN* successful
formula! :-)
-----
Why is "The #1 Affiliate Reality" true?...
Because *HOW* you reach your customer, and *WHAT* you say
once you reach her, and *HOW* you refer your visitor to your
merchant DIRECTLY affects your visitor's *MINDSET* when she
arrives at sitesell.com.
A POSITIVE mindset turns into a PURCHASE with amazing
regularity.A NEGATIVE one is near-impossible to overcome.
And THAT is what "HIGH-CR affiliates" have known all along.
*************************************
"They refer people to their merchants
in an 'OPEN-TO-BUY' frame of mind."
*************************************
So... write "The #1 Affiliate Reality" onto a yellow Post-It
Note and stick it onto your monitor...
-------------------------------------------
"Your CR will literally vary from 1% to 20%,
purely because of...
1) *HOW YOU REACH* your visitor, and
2) *WHAT YOU SAY* to her, and
3) *HOW YOU REFER* her to your merchant."
-------------------------------------------
-----SIDEBAR-----
Some people e-mail us after reading this course, refusing to
believe that we have affiliates who can generate a
Conversion Rate (CR) of over 20%.Actually, the monthly
record is 26%.
Do they do that *EVERY* month?No.
But we know it's not a fluke.Why?Because, although each
affiliate's CR may fluctuate in any given month, a "high-CR"
affiliate does not suddenly become a "low-CR" affiliate.
The good ones score high, and make significant dollars,
every month.
-----SIDEBAR-----
OK.Take a quick stretch and then we'll continue.
.................
.................
.................
Back already?Let's go...
--PART TWO--
Your strategies and actions as an affiliate directly affect
your Conversion Rate. This section deals with how to
PRE-sell effectively. (Later in the course we will cover
traffic-building in more detail.)
Let's look at examples of how "LOW-CR affiliates" create
NEGATIVE mindsets by making HOW-YOU-REACH, WHAT-YOU-SAY, or
HOW-YOU-REFER boo-boos...
> 1) *HOW* to Reach Your Visitor...
Free-For-All Sites (FFAs) are a great example of *HOW NOT*
to reach people. For the most part, they have become so
seamy and useless, that no matter *WHAT* you say, you're
doomed from the start.I made a request to all 5 Pillar
Affiliates for FFA success stories some time ago... not a
single success story!
Compare this with how smart and open-minded your visitor
feels when *SHE* finds *YOU* via a Search Engine!
--
> 2) *WHAT* to Say to Your Visitor...
Don't write a site purely devoted to "hard-selling" your
merchants' products. Imagine a visitor who hits your site
and reads an immediate sales pitch.That person will RESIST
because she does not know you. Then, *IF* (and it's not
likely) she clicks to your merchant, she gets *ANOTHER*
sales pitch on sitesell.com ==> Negative x 2!
In other words...
> NEVER DEVOTE YOUR SITE TO ONE COMPANY'S PRODUCT LINE.
No matter what you do, no matter how sincere you are, this
kind of approach always ends up "smelling" like a sales
pitch. It simply makes no difference that you honestly love
the products -- your visitor will mistake your devotion for
SELLING.
It's far better to develop a concept that relates to that
company's products *AND* to other products from other
companies that are COMPLEMENTARY.Develop related content
that PRE-sells. Then "get the click" through "in-context"
TEXT links.
--
> 3) *HOW* to Refer Your Visitor to Your Merchant...
Banners are the best example of *HOW NOT* to refer your
visitor to your merchant (unless it's for products that you
are *not* so proud to recommend -- a banner is an ad, so
you're not putting your personal endorsement upon it). In
plain and simple language... people feel "pitched" when they
click on a banner. And people who feel "pitched" are
difficult to convert into a sale.
--
Now for a critical ACTION STEP...
Review your site or whatever other means you are using to
REACH, TALK TO, and REFER visitors to your merchants.Put
yourself in your customer's BRAIN.What will she think, how
will she feel, at each of the 3 major STEPS above?
If you're doing everything perfectly, congratulations!You
must have a high CR.If you don't have a high CR, or if you
see some big MINDSET mistakes....
Consider how much higher your CR would be if a visitor found
you in a bona fide manner (ex., as a result of doing a
search on a Search Engine), then became "your friend" (or
your "trusting admirer" if you do a truly awesome job!)
because you provided excellent content, and finally was led
to a context-appropriate RECOMMENDATION (more on
RECOMMENDATION vs. SALES PITCH below).
The BOTTOM LINE?Always consider how these actions affect
your visitor's mindset...
1) *HOW YOU REACH* your visitor, and
2) *WHAT YOU SAY* to her, and
3) *HOW YOU REFER* her to your merchant.
Get inside your visitor's head -- realize how she will feel
each step of the way.Whatever you do, consider the impact
on your visitor -- if it does not make her *MORE* "open to
buy," don't do it.
PRE-selling is really all about selling YOURSELF to your
customer, every step of the way.You reach the right folks
in a proper fashion, you deliver valuable, appropriate
editorial content, and you RECOMMEND visitors to your
merchant *AFTER* they have come to respect and like you.
Your CR will soar.
--
Why does PRE-selling work so well?
Because a sale via ANY Affiliate Program is really a
*TWO-STEP PROCESS* -- it requires the delivery of two "Most
Wanted Responses," yours *AND* your merchant's.
-----SIDEBAR-----
The "Most Wanted Response" ("MWR") is probably the most
important lesson in all of Make Your Site SELL! (MYSS!). The
MWR is what you MOST want your visitor to do after reviewing
your content.
Make Your Site SELL! has been proclaimed by most Web
marketing experts as the "single best resource" about
selling on the Net. From product development, to
site-selling, to traffic-building, MYSS! covers it all.At
well under US$20 (no typo!), it's a MUST-BUY that belongs in
every e-commerce library...
http://myss.sitesell.com/
-----SIDEBAR-----
As an affiliate, what is *YOUR* MWR?No, it's NOT to get
the sale.That's the second STEP -- it's your merchant's
MWR.*YOUR* MWR is to...
> GET THE *CLICK* (the click-through to your merchant)
> WITH THE VISITOR IN AN OPEN-TO-BUY MINDSET.
Let your merchant's site do *its* job and get the sale.I
remember when I used to tell my star baseball pitcher, Joel
Leonoff...
-----------------------------------------
"Joel... you don't have to strike 'em all
out.You've got a great team behind you.
Let them do their job."
-----------------------------------------
Same goes for your merchants... Let them do their job.
Our "Top 100" 5 Pillar Affiliates all provide useful content
-- they PRE-sell.Then they let the rest of their team (us
here at sitesell.com) get the sale.
It's a TWO-STEP process that builds to the sale...
STEP 1 --> *YOU* PRE-sell to get an *OPEN-TO-BUY CLICK* to
your merchant.
STEP 2 --> Your merchant gets the sale.
So, whatever you do, however you do it, it should always
pull your visitor one step closer to delivering *YOUR*
MWR...
...Get an *OPEN-TO-BUY* click.
-----
Whoops!I was just about to move on to the next point. Good
thing I heard you asking...
---------------------------------------------
"Ken, if I leave it up to the merchant's site
to get the sale, I still don't see how I have
any influence on the Conversion Rate. I'd much
rather SELL the visitor on my own site.
---------------------------------------------
First, let's make sure we have our terms straight by using
our first SiteSell.com product, Make Your Site SELL! (MYSS!)
as an example...
Let's say that you have a large, high-traffic site that is
all about Web marketing, and that has lots of high-value
content about marketing and selling on the Net.If you
write a terrific review about "the BIBLE of selling on the
Net," Make Your Site SELL!...
You are *NOT* SELLING, you're PRE-selling. After all, your
high quality, content-filled site, has already done a great
deal of PRE-selling your visitor. And your review itself
should be a fair reflection of your feelings about MYSS!,
written in such a way that you address the major benefits
for those readers who are assessing if they need it.
Do this right, and your CR will zoom.But if it reads like
a "hard-sell sales pitch," you'll quickly lose credibility
with your audience.
On the other hand...
Let's say that you do NOT have a MEGA-content, ultra-high
traffic site and a widely read e-zine of an Allan Gardyne or
Ralph Wilson.But you DO really love SiteSell.com products
-- that's why you're so proud to represent them.After all,
you'd never just want to "push stuff" on people, products
that you do *NOT* believe represent true value-for-dollar.
-----SIDEBAR-----
"I'm proud to recommend SiteSell.com products" is the most
frequent comment that we receive from 5 Pillar Affiliates...
http://www.sitesell.com
As I mentioned a bit earlier, our first product, Make Your
Site SELL!, is generally accepted by most Web marketing
experts as the single best book about selling on the Net...
http://myss.sitesell.com/
And every product that we launch offers every bit as much
value... and is automatically included in the 5 Pillar
Program...
Make Your Knowledge Sell!
Create, publish and sell what you know...
http://myks.sitesell.com
Make Your Price Sell!
Price with confidence...
http://myps.sitesell.com
Make Your Words Sell!
Become an e-persuader...
http://myws.sitesell.com
Site Build It!
Building income through content...
http://buildit.sitesell.com
Combine a growing product line with lifetime customers, a
powerful 2-tier structure and limited membership (yes, we'll
close this program when we have enough high-performing
professionals), and you do indeed have what all the gurus
proclaim as...
"The Best Affiliate Program on the Net"...
http://www.sitesell.com
Bottom line?...
Do *NOT* represent merchants who simply bribe you with a
high commission to recommend overpriced products...
Short-term gain like this results in long-term pain.Your
REPUTATION is your foundation.Build it on ROCK.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Back to our example, where you simply love SiteSell.com
products and want to tell everyone about them...
You create a site that really raves about MYSS! and all the
other products.Actually, it uses a lot of the principles
of MYSS! to SELL your visitors.*YOU* mean every word of
it, of course. And *YOU* are really proud of your site and
*YOU* know that you are doing visitors a favor by telling
them about the SiteSell products.
Whoa!Let's shift the focus from *YOU* for a second. :-)
Let's focus on your VISITOR's mindset.Up above, I said...
---------------------------------------------
Get inside your visitor's head -- realize how
she will feel each step of the way. Whatever
you do, consider the impact on your visitor
-- if it does not make her "open to buy,"
don't do it.
---------------------------------------------
So maybe *YOU* see an honest site that tries to share the
benefits of MYSS! with your visitor.But your *VISITOR*
does not know you or your motivations.She might very well
see a straight sales effort.With no other true content, it
would be hard "for an outsider" to see it any other way.
It does not matter what YOU see.If your VISITORS basically
perceive a straight sales effort for your merchants, you're
SELLING, not PRE-selling. That means that the TWO-STEP
process is now SELL-SELL...
Redundancy = Turned OFF customer = LOW CR.
But if you develop great content that leads to the click,
you become a friend making a RECOMMENDATION rather than a
stranger making a SALES PITCH.And if you create a truly
great site, you'll actually become a trusted EXPERT making
an ENDORSEMENT.
Recommendation = Turned ON customer = HIGH CR.
In other words, don't PUSH your visitor to the click, make
her WANT to click.It makes all the difference if your
visitor feels that it's HER idea to deliver *YOUR* MWR (the
*OPEN-TO-BUY CLICK*).
--
Geez, I was about to grab a coffee.Fire away!
"But can you give me a CONCRETE example of using content to
PRE-sell?"
You want "concrete"?OK, concrete you get...
Let's go back to the example just above.You love MYSS! and
want to create a Net marketing site.
Whoa!My first recommendation...
Do *NOT* create another Web marketing site.There are
zillions of them.If I was to get the idea for MYSS! today,
I would not do it.Too, too crowded.It would be almost
impossible to become so well established today.However...
If you can develop a UNIQUE TWIST to presenting HIGH-VALUE
Web marketing, something that no one else is doing and that
you think offers HIGH-ORIGINAL-VALUE, then go for it.Even
then, as I just implied above, that site should *NOT* be
dedicated to selling SiteSell.com products.
Rather, if you create content about how to write truly
persuasive sales copy on the Net, finish the article with
text links to your Top 3 books about copywriting.According
to the feedback we receive daily, Make Your Words Sell! is
far ahead in the #1 position -- much the same as Tiger Woods
is for golf...
<<RRURLMYWS>>
But still include a #2 and a #3 recommendation.First, that
gives extra content value.Second, it adds extra
credibility to the #1 choice (ahem!).And third, it gives
you three possible links for your visitor to click upon.
And, on top of that, include your favorite book about
writing "offline" copy, too.Naturally, it's an affiliate
link to one of the online book stores!.
It's a WIN-WIN-WIN situation where you, your visitors, and
your merchants all WIN.
--
Now, please think about the following for a moment...
Why would I, a merchant, recommend that you *NOT* create
"yet another Web marketing site," and especially not one
that is dedicated to selling our SiteSell.com products?
It's because I know you'll waste your time.The 2-STEP
SELL-SELL does not work.Period.Sure, you'll get a few
sales.But you won't make enough money to stay motivated to
build your business.I'd rather give you a far more
powerful, successful approach and have a smaller piece of
your larger, more successful, attention.:-)
Proof?Our most successful affiliates *ALL* give
SiteSell.com only a piece of their attention.For example,
take a look at the site of affiliate guru Allan Gardyne...
http://www.associateprograms.com/
You'll see that, although Allan makes thousands of dollars
from us every month, he only devotes a small part of his
site to SiteSell.com products.
And, by the way, Allan started his site about affiliate
programs very early in the game.His was one of the very
first sites out there to focus on affiliate programs. He'd
be the FIRST to tell you that he would never start a site
NOW with the same focus.
But he *HAS* started a second one...
http://www.PayPerClickSearchEngines.com/
Allan has spotted "pay-per-click" Search Engines as a trend
that will grow.He's the first to build a site focused upon
this concept.Watch this site grow as the trend does!:-)
Bottom line. If you want to create and build a site that is
related to Net marketing?Take your time and do your
homework.Find a new concept, or a unique twist, or a trend
that you think will become important, and be the FIRST to do
it.Do *NOT* be a "me too."
--
Where do you find a great concept for your site?...
Inside YOU!
Because you do know stuff other people don't... things
people would pay to know.You might have learned it "on the
job" or through your hobby.
There's a good chance that you don't even realize what you
know.It's often right under your nose.But, as you'll
see, everyone *IS* an expert about something.
For now...
Here's a real CONCRETE, non-Web-marketing, example that
*will* succeed...
It's all about creating a Theme-Based Content Site that is
loaded with Keyword-Focused Content-Rich Pages.Your
theme?...
You love concrete.Yes, cement!It's been your hobby, your
passion, for years...
Concrete statues.Concrete painting.Decorative concrete.
Concrete in the garden.Repairing concrete.The various
types of concrete.Hand trowels.Things to do with cement
blocks.Concrete trade shows.Concrete and swimming pools.
Concrete molds.Cleaning concrete.Ready mixed concrete.
Concrete countertops.
-----SIDEBAR-----
For this example, I had to brainstorm topics for concrete.
But I know nothing about it.I chose it because it was the
first thing to enter my head.But I could develop topics
about concrete forever.More about brainstorming and
developing HIGH-PROFITABILITY topics tomorrow.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Anyway, let's say that you decide to create a THEME-BASED
site that is all about concrete.Your home page explains
how your site is "THE" site for everything concrete, from
structural to esthetic.
You also, of course, create HIGH-VALUE content-jammed
Keyword-Focused Content Pages.For example, your page about
concrete statues explains all about how to make striking
statues for the home and garden. You could even expand it
into an entire "Statue Section," with a page on the history
of concrete statues and another one about how to market and
sell the statues that the visitor makes.
The main point, though, is that you create truly excellent,
HIGH-VALUE content that delivers what your reader sought at
the engines.
And you also weave RELEVANT, "in-context" TEXT links right
in the content, as appropriate.Links to...
oBooks about the topic (ex. concrete statues if that's
what the page was about)
oA garden supplier for concrete molds, trowels, etc.
oNaturally, a concrete supplier!
oAnd so forth.
See what's happening?By writing about a niche that you
know and love, the content is easy.I'll show you how to
ALSO write it to score well for the engines later in the
course.
By providing great content, you PRE-sell your reader,
increasing your click-through (traffic to your merchants)
and your Conversion Rate (sales).
And by diversifying your affiliate programs among several
RELATED and EXCELLENT merchants, you develop multiple
streams of income from one site.
*THIS* is the way to go.
-----SIDEBAR-----
I'd love to have just a small piece of your attention on a
site like this... perhaps a button link "Powered by
SiteSell.com" or perhaps a page about "How You Built This
Page."If you can figure out a way to make it fit on your
site, I'd love to be with you.:-)
-----SIDEBAR-----
OK, we can summarize today's session into a KEY LESSON to
take home. I am giving it this title...
---------------------------------------
The Road to Becoming a Master Affiliate
The more I researched successful 5 Pillar Affiliates, the
more PRE-selling techniques I found.But, no matter *HOW*
they do it, they all accomplish the same thing in the end...
*************************************
"They refer people to their merchants
in an 'OPEN-TO-BUY' frame of mind."
*************************************
What's the KEY?PRE-selling.Not selling. You must, must,
MUST know...
HOW TO PRE-SELL!
Basically, The Affiliate Masters 5-day course delivers THE
single most productive approach to affiliate income. It will
show you how to PRE-sell your way to a CR of 5-10%.
*AND*...
At the same time, maximize traffic to your merchants' sites.
And I guess that brings us to the bottom line for today...
If you're building terrific traffic to your site... *AND* if
your site is getting a great click through rate (CTR) to the
merchants that you represent... *AND* if you are converting
a high percentage of them into sales...
Isn't that the roadmap to becoming a high-earning affiliate
champion?
Let's summarize the WHOLE point of PRE-selling with this
question...
Which Would *YOU* Respond To...
A Stranger With a Sales Pitch
or
A Knowledgeable Friend Making a Recommendation?
-----
Before proceeding to DAY 2, please complete your DAY 1
Goal-of-the-DAY, and take note of your Ongoing Goal...
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
Goal-of-the-DAY... This is the only DAY where
you have nothing to DO except READ the
material. Actually, that's wrong... Your
Goal-of-the-DAY is to UNDERSTAND, UNDERSTAND
DEEPLY, the concepts outlined here,
culminating with the concept of PRE-selling
to maximize Conversion Rates.It's the
foundation of BUILDING INCOME THROUGH
CONTENT.
Ongoing Goal... Deepen and focus your under-
standing of this material.Re-read it once
per week for the next eight weeks, monthly
after that.As you progress through DAYS 2
through 10, it's going to be easy to lose
sight of the "big picture" presented today.
And there's another reason to re-read
regularly -- it will mean more and more to
you as you gain each DAY's new perspective.
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
Tomorrow, we'll start the hands-on material... you'll create
and develop your own Site Concept and HIGH-PROFITABILITY
Keyword-Focused topics.
The next installment of the 5-day course is very
comprehensive. That means big, heavy and important.
Bring coffee.;-)
-Ken
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Affiliate Masters series is sent only to those people
who have specifically requested it.It is composed of five
daily e-mail courses. Want to join the exclusive club of
high-earning affiliate champions?Follow the strategies
outlined in The Masters series.Really... JUST DO IT!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allan Gardyne (yes, of associateprograms.com fame) has said
that "if you join only one program, make it the 5 Pillar
Program" and he has called it "the perfect revenue sharing
program." Ralph Wilson (wilsonweb.com) says that "Ken Evoy
has taken affiliate programs to the next level." And the
Five Pillar Program was chosen by AffiliatesDirectory.com as
"The Best Program of 1999."
For more information...
http://www.sitesell.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE
You are receiving the Affiliate Masters Course only because
you requested it, or someone used your computer to request
it.If you do NOT wish to receive the rest of this course...
To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to...
unsubscribetams@sitesell.net
NOTE: You must send it from the same e-mail address that
receives this 5-day course.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact info: E-mail us at support@sitesell.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written by Ken Evoy, M.D.
President, SiteSell.com
(c) copyright 2000, 2001 SiteSell.com Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Site Build It!" TM SiteSell.com Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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