Seven Key Success Factors For Affiliates To Beat The Competition
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The affiliate marketing industry is one fueled by competition. After all, there are only so many customers, right? The key is to get the consumer to make a purchasing decision while on your affiliate website and not on that of your competitor's.
“Creating a powerful marketing strategy is a very important part of a successful affiliate marketing career. Use whichever methods make you most comfortable.”
No. 1 -- Know Your Target Audience
Understand your market niche and your customer base. There is nothing more basic than that, yet not knowing it is one of the primary reasons why some affiliates fail. Knowing your customer dictates how you advertise to them, how you speak to them and how you attract them.
If you are running an affiliate website targeting the technology sector, take the time to learn their language. Find out what the demographic is you are targeting. The content on your website will be extremely different if you are targeting 20-30 year old males in comparison to 50-60 year old women.
No. 2 -- Create A Useful Website
Studies show that it takes seven exposures to an ad before a customer responds to it. That's why it is imperative to create a website that the customer finds useful enough to keep returning to time and time again. If you fail to craft an informative website, your guests will be one and done. Keep the content useful, relevant and updated.
No. 3 -- Outline A Good Marketing Plan
Creating a powerful marketing strategy is a very important part of a successful affiliate marketing career. Use whichever methods make you most comfortable. Some examples of marketing solutions include pay-per-click advertising, publishing articles on online article databases, posting your website on classified ad sites and managing a blog. These tools drive the traffic to your affiliate marketing site.
No. 4 -- Build A Rapport With Potential Clients
Build trust and credibility with your customers. You accomplish this by providing them with valuable information for free. You can decide to publish information-rich articles on your site or you can give away a free downloadable e-book, but the result will be that the customer will feel more comfortable making a purchase on your site since you have already given them value free.
No. 5 -- Know SEO
Understand how search engine optimization works. Search engine optimization is the process of creating content for your website that includes certain words or phrases that are highly targeted by search engines. Most people type these words into the search engine box when they are looking for something on the Internet.
Understand your market and the keywords that your customers are using to conduct a search. Then, get those words or phrases into your copy and watch your visitor count rise.
No. 6 -- Get To Know Your Competition
Study your competition. The best way to beat your competition is to know what they're doing and what they're not doing. Study their programs and see where you can improve the customer's experience.
No. 7 -- Find A Competitive Edge
Perhaps the most important key -- just work harder than your competition. Never deviate from providing the customer with good products and valuable free content and over time, you will begin noticing more and more customers returning to your site to make their purchases.
Being successful in affiliate marketing is a job that requires plenty of attention to detail and hard work. Albeit, the work is enjoyable and hardly back-breaking, but it is work nonetheless. People who think that they will make a living in affiliate marketing simply by posting some ads on a website are greatly mistaken. Through dedication, desire and determination, and by following these seven keys, you can out-perform your competition on your way to affiliate marketing success.
