Just got back from Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas.
It was a great event, from all of the affiliate marketers and AWeber users we met to the keynote by Jason Calacanis about the need for affiliates to create additional value for visitors instead of simply replicating company-provided sites and resources.
(Example for our own affiliates: use our posts here as a starting point to write a reaction piece, or if you use AWeber, do a self-case study about how you’ve built and optimized your own email marketing campaign with us).
I didn’t hear as much talk as I’d like about how affiliates can more successfully market by email. So let’s talk about it here!
Affiliate Bloggers: Syndicate Your Content By Email and RSS
Do you use a blog to deliver content and promote products as an affiliate?
Just like with any other site, most visitors aren’t going to make a purchase on their first visit to your blog.
By syndicating your blog’s content by RSS, and also using our Blog Broadcast tool to convert RSS to email, you can drive repeat traffic from your audience.
This not only increases the chances of converting affiliate sales, it’s more cost-effective than driving new traffic through pay-per-click and other advertising.
Learn more about how to send a blog newsletter.
Add Affiliate Promotions Within an Existing Campaign
You may find it appropriate within email campaigns for your own products/services to discuss other tools or services that you have found helpful.
Provided you have gained the trust of your subscribers and positioned yourself as an expert in your field, you may find them happy to purchase products that come with your “seal of approval,” particularly if you can clearly demonstrate to them how those products have helped you and others to solve a problem.
Such recommendations put your reputation and business on the line. Don’t be tempted to promote something you know nothing about, or haven’t tried, or don’t fully believe in.
Offer Bonuses to Email Subscribers
One challenge for affiliate marketers is that many consumers are thrifty. They’re always looking for the best deal, and this can make them hesitate if they’re not 100% sure that the product you’re recommending to them is not only right for them, but is offered at the best value.
So, many affiliates try to position their products/promotions as the best value by offering extra incentives to buy through them.
While you might not always be able to compete on price, you can offer other incentives like a rebate (ebates is an example of a company doing this) or perhaps a bonus, such as a report/ebook/whitepaper you’ve created, or some other content that you no reserve for buyers.
To tie this into your email marketing campaigns, reserve those extras so that only your active email subscribers are eligible.
Be sure to check with merchants to make sure that any bonuses or extra incentives you offer are permitted by their affiliate programs.
What Else Do You Do?
What other tactics have you used to successfully market affiliate products via email?