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Super Affiliate Marketing and Higher Commissions
Do you want to be a super affiliate?
An Article Underground member just sent me an email with a few questions about affiliate programs, high ticket items and Adsense. I thought I’d share the info with you guys as well!
“Can you make more money with higher ticket items/higher payouts? Which affiliate programs are best? Are banners really less effective than text links?”
My thoughts came flowing… this is not a guide or lesson – just some of my thoughts.
It depends on your niche(s) and web site themes, so there are no fixed answers for the best affiliate programs, however the idea is to stay away from LOW payouts and low percentage of sales – a 5 or 10% commission is generally just not worth promoting unless you are easily selling something for $1,000. or more.
How hard is it to get that payout??? Do you have to work hard for it?
In most cases – getting conversions requires work – so larger payouts are generally a safer bet and often require the same amount of work or less.
This all changes if you have HUGE TRAFFIC NUMBERS to work with. But then again – it also depends if the traffic is highky targeted or not.
Sure – you can make money promoting free smiley giveaways with a $1.75 payout per lead – but ONLY if you have HUGE traffic – because it is very unlikely you have a web page or site that is smiley targeted and gets huge traffic.
General – mainstream – untargeted traffic is not bad to have – but your conversion rates will be muc less and you will need to work pretty hard to find something that converts. Not everything will.
Unless you have insane volume and huge traffic numbers, it’s very hard to make money off pennies, dimes or even dollar payouts. That said – if you can get a lot of conversions very easily with an IRRESISTABLE OFFER for little effort or money spent – that’s different. But it’s a rarity.
In all honesty – it’s pretty much a crapshoot. You need to throw stuff out there to see what converts and what sells.
That is why I often have difficulty giving training with specifics. The variables always make things hard to pin down. There are so many variables.
What kind of traffic. What are they visiting for? Are there looking for information on a broad topic or a specific tight keyword phrase???
While it never hurts to have a large amount of untargeted traffic – it is almost always preferable to have some or even a LITTLE traffic that is VERY TARGETED – because you can find something that is more likely to convert. Match a product that is what that visitor needs and you will have higher conversions.
Which affiliate programs/networks???
Commission Junction (cj.com) is ok – but to be honest – most of the vendors pay very small percentages for commission and the products are mostly PHYSICAL which are often harder to get to convert. It’s a good program to have in your toolkit, but not among my favorites. That said – some people do very well promoting stuff from CJ.com – but beware as they have a lot of stuff that expires so you will need to be on top of what you are romoting. Vendors come and go and campaigns expire on cj a lot. It can be a hassle.
Clickbank is great! Clickbank is dependable for lots of mainstream and low priced digital products, with high commissions 50 or even 75%. The products are often targeted to specific demographics and needs – so they are often very easy to promote to exactly the people wo will want them.
Also notable are CPA Networks which have lots of offers that usually pay pretty high for getting leads and often only require collecting an email or giving something away for free or very little.
The big question is – how easy is it to convert into a payout???
If the offer is targeted and gives something of great value for free or low cost – the conversions should be good. Those are the things you will make the most money from – whether a physical product, a digital product or capturing a lead.
It’s all about the conversions.
Does this all seem like it requires a lot of work? Finding and targeting the right people for the right products??? Yes – it can be more work – but you will make more money when you get it right.
Want something easier and with less brain power expended?
What about putting the Adsense code on your pages and letting Google decide what to match up with your content???
People like Adsense because they can be LAZY and it will make decent money if you have traffic – the problem is unless you hit a GRAND SLAM you most likely will never make INCREDIBLE MONEY unless you have a huge volume of page views
So – it’s ok to use Adsense, but if you ever want to break through to making huge money, then you need to start doing the things that super affiliates do.
What do they do?
They do a little extra. They research. They decide what is most likely to match the traffic. They then come up with a way to help convert the people faster and easier.
Super Affiliates often pick a product or products and very specifically design sites and pages to promote the products and continue to tweak and test until they see better results and improve conversions.
Big timers pay attention to conversions. What converts and why – and how to increase etc.
If you know that stuff you can improve the conversion rate and make more money,
otherwise you are acting blindly and hoping something will make money – often not finding out why it made money or in some cases – not even knowing WHAT made money.
That’s ok for a hobby – but if you really wnat to get into the big leagues – you need to spend a little time and brain power and do the things that most people do not do. Build a better mouse trap so to speak.
You need to be a marketer and promote the product and convince people to take action! Build pages around the products.
You need to prominently feature the offers and not give the visitors too many choices.
The web pages goal is to get the visitor interested in the product promoted and hopefully take an action. So featuring it in a way so that it gets attention is very important.
It’s not entirely accurate to say TEXT LINKS are better than BANNERS – it’s just that people have some BANNER BLINDNESS and if they think you are hard selling them they will ignore it.
If they feel you are sincere or are bringing something of value to their attention – then they will be more likely to check it out.
As for high ticket items – the basic principle is that it is very hard to achieve a consistent high volume of actions – it takes a lot of work – whereas it is easier to sell a few that pay a higher comission, even if the selling price is higher.
So take the path of least resistance. Sell what will bring in the most money with least effort.
It’s all based on conversions and payouts.
Assume your commission is 50% for all the below:
If you have a $2,000. product – all it takes is 5 sales to make $5,000. in commissions ($10,000 x 50%)
Can you convince 5 people to buy something??? If it is a good product, then yes.
If you have a $500. product – you need 20 sales to make $5,000. in commissions
It’s harder to convince 20 than just 5 – even with the price difference – it takes more effort and the product still needs to be good.
If you have a $100. product you need to to make 100 sales to earn $5,000.
That’s with a $50. commission per sale.
It is muuch harder to get 100 sales and is more risky. Also – at that price point there are likey more options for the consumer. It might actually be harder to convince them to buy – even though the price is lower.
Now what happens when you only get $5.00 commission per sale on a 10 product – you need to sell 1,000 to make the same $5,000.
It gets harder because you need more volume and is not necessarily easier to convince 1,000 people to buy a 10 dollar product….
Whenever possible – I prefer a product that has a higher commission payout. even if the price is greater – i still neeed to do pretty much the same work to get people to buy it. So why not pick something that will pay me more.
Now ofcourse – if the product is a DUD _ that won’t work. So you need to consider more than just the commission payout.
You need to analyze their sales page. Does it help the prospect turn into a customer???
I know that might not give a simple clear answer.
What I do is look at the product and decide if I think it will be easy to get people to look at it. If the commission is under 15 or 20 bucks – it needs to be one of those super easy to decide on products or I WON’T promote it.
I try to find HIGH TICKET items because those make the most money – especialy if they are something that offers value – even if to a very small audience – it offers what they need – I prefer those.
Well – that should give you a lot to think about! It’s not a definitive guide to picking products – but should give you a few insights and ideas on what to consider.
42 Comments »
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It’s really difficult to earn money online without setting up the proper strategy to increase your monthly earnings. Personally, I agree that relying on adsense alone can give you decent amount of money. Especially if you only own a newly built site with that needs more visitors.
Comment by Mark — January 4, 2010 @ 8:18 pm
I dont agree with you mark, if you put some good efforts and rely on Google adsense with perfect strategies then you can more even from this side too.
Comment by best cricket phones — January 5, 2010 @ 2:49 pm
This is such a great information on Affiliate Marketing.Thanks a lot for sharing this with us.I think people can get great help by this.
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Comment by Vanessa Lopez — January 5, 2010 @ 11:54 pm
Great Info, Affiliate Marketing can be a tricky subject to get right. I think you have put me on the right track.
Comment by jonathan — January 7, 2010 @ 2:57 pm
It’s really difficult to earn money online without setting up the proper strategy to increase your monthly earnings.
Comment by Rowenta — January 8, 2010 @ 1:42 am
Great advise,
Affiliate marketing seems to be gettign tougher and tougher as average internet users are becoming more savy and less likely to enguage in referral clicks.
Comment by Search Engine Marketing Minneapolis — January 12, 2010 @ 12:38 pm
I still don’t understand how so many people are making money with a affiliate marketing. I know a few guys selling seo stuff and are probably raking it in, but what other niches are making it? The market just seems to saturated and crowded.
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Comment by cheap ed hardy clothing — January 16, 2010 @ 1:11 am
Totally agree, I used to market the low ticket stuff for years, when I started doing the big stuff 2,000+ my income quadrupled…
But it was a big learning curve…
-D
Comment by Dwayne — January 17, 2010 @ 6:09 pm
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Comment by natasha — January 18, 2010 @ 6:25 am
very useful
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Comment by sujatha — January 18, 2010 @ 6:35 am
Great post! Very informative. Although affiliate marketing makes lot of money, getting there can be a difficult task. Great job! Thanks for sharing this post with us.
Comment by Judith — January 18, 2010 @ 8:59 am
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Comment by phonesia — January 20, 2010 @ 2:15 pm
Been doing some affiliate Marketing myself and it was rather frustrating, probably my site doesn’t generate that much traffic for me to be able to make a sale. Google Adsense on the other hand have been making some money in my other site probably because I place them very well.
Comment by Divorce Lawyer Austin — January 22, 2010 @ 2:46 pm
Affiliate marketing definitely helps make a lot of money. It is very lucrative but you need to work hard.
Comment by philadelphia pizza — January 22, 2010 @ 5:17 pm
Higher payouts are fantastic way to get real money soon. But these kind of products can only be promoted for certain amount of time. For example an internet marketing product or an very expensive authentic sports jacket. You can make good commission out of both the products but say for internet marketing product, the people will be interested to buy when it is released. Similarly the sports jacket is sold well during a specific sports season and not all time.
Comment by mitchell ness jackets — January 26, 2010 @ 5:04 am
Hello,
I agree with your post. I am finding that it is hard to make good money promoting products with little commission. Adsense is still good though.
Comment by Tim — January 26, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
I agree that selling high ticket products gives you a better
return for your time and effort. My husband sells products ranging
from $500.00 to $1000.00 with a ten per cent comision and does
very well.
Juliette
Comment by juliette — January 27, 2010 @ 2:51 am
Why doesn’t eBay do something proactive to stop fraudulent bids for high ticket items?
Comment by Nicholson@Kirra apartments — January 27, 2010 @ 4:31 am
thanks your information mike liebner internet marketing blog
Comment by I Putu Suandra — January 27, 2010 @ 11:26 pm
Been joining Commission Junction and Clickbank affiliate program for almost 3 months and it didn’t work out on me, probably my site cant get enough traffic to generate a sale.
Comment by Divorce in Texas — January 28, 2010 @ 2:44 pm
thank you sharing this
Comment by r4ds,r4i — January 29, 2010 @ 9:24 pm
it’s great info about affiliate marketing. But to be successful in affiliate marketing you need a business plan
Comment by Ali.A — January 30, 2010 @ 11:18 am
thank you for sharing this. so useful
Comment by haberrus — January 31, 2010 @ 7:11 am
I am thinking to put my hands into affiliate marketing now. Lets see what happens
Comment by Ebook shop in India — February 1, 2010 @ 4:44 am
Internet article marketing is one of my favorite strategies for driving traffic to my websites. It has been very effective and also very cost efficient. Keith Ellertson http://budurl.com/InternetArticle
Comment by Keith Ellertson — February 1, 2010 @ 10:34 pm
It is better to be super affiliate like you say, high commission and also useful product and of course good reputation company.
Comment by Stefhanus | Carbon Copy Pro — February 2, 2010 @ 7:36 am
So much of what we read is put forward by proponents of either Adsense revenue OR Affiliate revenue but it doesn’t need to be either / or it can just as easily be both. It is true that both options can work individually for many people, with perhaps one or other working better depending on the nature and content of your site while making it difficult to follow the money.
So if you really want to follow the money you don’t need to be an affiliate of just one or two products, why not be an affiliate for ALL of them? Using a source such as Clickbank marketplace you can do just that. And still have Adsense on your site. Take a look at my site and see how it can be done, try it this way and you can really follow the money. From business to money, from health and fitness to fun and entertainment, Clickbank Marketplace offers something for everyone
Comment by prostate problems — February 2, 2010 @ 9:56 am
Affiliate Marketing is the easiest way for the newbee marketer to start earning online. I’ve been marketing online for over 12 months now and enjoy regular payments from affiliate products, which I promote.
The really great thing about Affiliate marketing is all the work has already been done for you. No sales letter to write, no dedicated site to set up, just post a banner or link on your blog and drive traffic to it.
Comment by Paul Lowe — February 5, 2010 @ 5:52 am
Nice post having excellent contents. I have been searching for this type of posts. Thanks a lot for writing this post.I think this post will definitely helpful for the readers like me. Thanks a lot for sharing with us. Keep blogging.
Comment by Contract Hire — February 5, 2010 @ 6:11 am
The best affiliate programm of the world makes no sense if you have not enough visitors.
Comment by folienfaq.de — February 8, 2010 @ 9:04 am
yeah its real and have fact that the site must have billion of visitors if you make it for earning.
Comment by gena — February 11, 2010 @ 6:15 am
Great post Mark
The more info people can get on AM the better
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Comment by Barry Cross — February 19, 2010 @ 8:40 am
ITS REALLY GREAT INFO. keep sharing
Comment by Donna Parker — February 22, 2010 @ 1:17 am
I believe that the best way to find products that convert well is to develop a relationship with the affiliate manager.
They have the best information on what the bestsellers are at any given time.
If you can get out to events like the affiliate Summit you will be able to make contact with affiliate managers face-to-face.
Juliette, Publisher
beautybusinessblueprint.com
Comment by juliette — February 22, 2010 @ 1:51 am
It is better to be super affiliate like you say, high commission and also useful product and of course good reputation company.
Comment by Health questions — February 22, 2010 @ 4:11 am
I never been success in affiliate program. poor me
Comment by Penginapan di Jogja — February 23, 2010 @ 12:34 pm
Awesome writing. I like to promote products, no matter what the payout is. If I am the only one promoting a product, I pay 1-2 cents with adwords and makes me 5$ for 1$ paid, I will continue to promote it. Is that simple..
Comment by Ylod Sean — February 24, 2010 @ 5:14 am
Well, some prefer clickbank.
I prefer personally commission Junctions and now SAS (shareasale).
I’ll try click bank
Comment by Otimizacao Sites — March 1, 2010 @ 9:44 pm
Great post on affliated marketing. It really helped me. thanks for sharing the information.
Comment by RussR — March 4, 2010 @ 10:35 am
We can leverage our commerce relationships and our complete managed marketing campaigns to offer affiliates a responsive affiliate development team dedicated to helping them make more money. We also pass on a portion of our profits to affiliates through generous commission rates, bonus programs and exclusive coupons, deals and preferred pricing.
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Comment by Remortgage Deals — March 13, 2010 @ 5:03 am