What is affiliate marketing and why is it such a big hit in the arena of Internet commerce? That type of marketing has been going on for years - and has served as a fine option for companies to capture a share of the Internet audience and get some customers lurking around in the Internet as well as a chance for bloggers and website owners to earn passive income. That mutual link certainly benefits both: the marketer promotes the company; the company gives commissions as they sell.
How does affiliate marketing work? Affiliate marketers simply consult companies to tell them what products or services to promote. Then they will begin writing entries in their websites or blogs regarding those products or services. The content can cover anything - from positive reviews to technical descriptions; from testimonials to information about the products or services. The beauty of that is that marketers can promote as hard as they can by regularly updating their websites and by posting in many websites at once - because the struggle is not only against the company's competition, but also against the superbness of other marketers. It is also possible that affiliate marketers promote products and services from many businesses at once (as long as the businesses aren't competitors, or as long as the articles concerning products from rival companies are found on different websites or blogs.
In affiliate marketing, every article must contain a link directed to the business website that contains the products or services detailed. That is the link that customers should click. (As a backlink, it also improves the business website's SEO rating, which increases its chance of being noticed.) So, whenever a customer clicks on the link, the company will know, and once a sale is completed, the company will give the affiliate marketer a commission! That is how the marketers' earnings are measured: through the number of successful sales made by the customers they refer to the company. Some companies opt to pay commissions just for any successful click made by a visitor (regardless of whether sales were made, but if sales were made, there are additional commissions).
Affiliate marketing is effective because of the ease involved in the marketer's tasks and the company's tasks. Marketing in the Internet, first of all, does not require that the marketers go out in the open and do some field advertising; they do not even have to come to an office. It can also be done during free time, which opens up plenty of time for other Internet income-generating tasks. Marketing tactics done in outdoor settings are also applicable in blogs or websites. Marketers just have to stay at home, write articles or make videos or craft banners or pen brochures or do anything that will guarantee successful sales. Anyone with these skills can become prosperous as an affiliate marketer. Anyone who can do all of these can make contact with thousands of potential clients (something which is excruciating to do in outdoor settings) and then get them to visit the company's website - and the more they flock, the more commissions you will get. Such is the beauty of affiliate marketing.
Friday, 23 December 2011
What Not to Assume in Affiliate Marketing Based on Customer Psychology
While you are undertaking your affiliate marketing ventures, it is not enough to wait for customers to click at the links that you have placed well at your blogs or websites that you employ. Marketing using the Internet is different from ordinary marketing. In the Internet, you get millions of potential customers at your fingertips, and from that, it is reasonable to expect that a thousand, or even a hundred, will drop by your website. In a single day, it is easy to get thousands of visits, unlike in brick and mortar marketing, where passing your message to a hundred customers may cover a full eight-hour day.
Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the psychology of an Internet customer is substantially similar to the psychology of the ordinary customer when it comes to buying products. First, they love quality products or services. Second, they will seek lengths to get them - even spend days - to speculate and get them. Third, they will visit establishments - or websites - and pick the best products or services. Fourth, when the actual products or services do not match the expectations given them by the marketer through the advertisement, the customers will resent (for a long time) the business selling them.
Now, based on the common-folk customer psychology stated above, here are important tips to keep in mind in affiliate marketing.
1. Do not assume that other customers know about your affiliate marketing efforts just because you have your websites or blogs marshalled somewhere.
Suppose you have a store positioned somewhere; only those locals near your store will visit them. Unless you promote your store beyond the boundaries of your locality through newspaper ads, brochures, etc. Same goes with the Internet: do not assume that your blogs will be visited just because they're there. In the Internet, you won't know the ones close to you your 'locality' so you should strive to make that locality of your own. That is done by aggressive promotion of your websites or blogs.
2. Do not assume that placing links in your homepage is good enough to entice visitors to click them and visit.
Suppose you are successful in summoning visitors. Would they automatically click the links in your webpage? Of course, if they think that the links are worth their time. How would they know? They will read the content which tells them what to expect when they indeed click, so make sure that your marketing efforts to visit them is backed up by a superb analysis of the products and services that they'll potentially avail of.
3. Do not assume that if some customers may actually click at your links, they will actually avail of the products or services of the company that you affiliate yourself with.
Now that they have seen your judgment about the products, the customers will now use their own judgment. The greater the discrepancy between their judgment and your, the marketer's, judgment, the harder the time they will have in transacting, for they have to contend with the mismatch in judgment during the transaction.
Successful affiliate marketing requires some cognizance of customer psychology and then doing some adjustments while dispelling some difficult superstitions (perhaps infused by over enthusiasm or an overly zealous belief on the capabilities of the Internet) to get customers to actually buy products and services, and for you, the marketer, to get commissions.
Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the psychology of an Internet customer is substantially similar to the psychology of the ordinary customer when it comes to buying products. First, they love quality products or services. Second, they will seek lengths to get them - even spend days - to speculate and get them. Third, they will visit establishments - or websites - and pick the best products or services. Fourth, when the actual products or services do not match the expectations given them by the marketer through the advertisement, the customers will resent (for a long time) the business selling them.
Now, based on the common-folk customer psychology stated above, here are important tips to keep in mind in affiliate marketing.
1. Do not assume that other customers know about your affiliate marketing efforts just because you have your websites or blogs marshalled somewhere.
Suppose you have a store positioned somewhere; only those locals near your store will visit them. Unless you promote your store beyond the boundaries of your locality through newspaper ads, brochures, etc. Same goes with the Internet: do not assume that your blogs will be visited just because they're there. In the Internet, you won't know the ones close to you your 'locality' so you should strive to make that locality of your own. That is done by aggressive promotion of your websites or blogs.
2. Do not assume that placing links in your homepage is good enough to entice visitors to click them and visit.
Suppose you are successful in summoning visitors. Would they automatically click the links in your webpage? Of course, if they think that the links are worth their time. How would they know? They will read the content which tells them what to expect when they indeed click, so make sure that your marketing efforts to visit them is backed up by a superb analysis of the products and services that they'll potentially avail of.
3. Do not assume that if some customers may actually click at your links, they will actually avail of the products or services of the company that you affiliate yourself with.
Now that they have seen your judgment about the products, the customers will now use their own judgment. The greater the discrepancy between their judgment and your, the marketer's, judgment, the harder the time they will have in transacting, for they have to contend with the mismatch in judgment during the transaction.
Successful affiliate marketing requires some cognizance of customer psychology and then doing some adjustments while dispelling some difficult superstitions (perhaps infused by over enthusiasm or an overly zealous belief on the capabilities of the Internet) to get customers to actually buy products and services, and for you, the marketer, to get commissions.
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