Landing page vs. direct link to affiliate sales page

[newBum76]

I've been reading about bum marketing here, and it seems most of you think it's better to link from an article to a landing page rather than straight to the sales page. However, I haven't seen much explanation as to WHY that's a better idea. Does a landing page build up the viewers interest more? Get them all excited to buy something? From the sales pages I've looked at, it seems most of those already do a good job of that, so why make the viewer have to look at something extra?

I'm totally willing to put in the work to create a landing page, so I'm not asking this because I want to be "lazy". Just hoping to gain some understanding so that when I do get to work I can work smart! Thanks for the input everyone.

-Jon

[Droopy Dawg]

Use your landing page to "presell" the product. You could also throw up an optin form offering them something for free (related to the niche of course) to try to capture some emails (use '_blank' in optin form so that they won't leave your landing page).

[newBum76]

Originally Posted by Droopy Dawg

Use your landing page to "presell" the product. You could also throw up an optin form offering them something for free (related to the niche of course) to try to capture some emails (use '_blank' in optin form so that they won't leave your landing page).

I get that, but I want to know WHY the need to presell? Anything I would say on the presell page is pretty much repeated again on the main sales page......to me it just seems like extra reading for the viewer and more time for them to get bored and change their mind. I guess I'm wanting to know some marketing theory as to why this "preselling" approach would be more effective in making a sale.

[Vanquish]

Originally Posted by newBum76

I get that, but I want to know WHY the need to presell? Anything I would say on the presell page is pretty much repeated again on the main sales page......to me it just seems like extra reading for the viewer and more time for them to get bored and change their mind. I guess I'm wanting to know some marketing theory as to why this "preselling" approach would be more effective in making a sale.

Typically your conversion with a presell page will increase because most people don't want to be sold to directly. So acting like a middle man and telling a compelling story about how u tried many products but succeeded using this one will create more trust for the consumer and he will be in more of a buying state when he hits the sales page if you have successfully pre sold him.

Below are 4 benefits of a pre sell page hope that gives you a good understanding of what it is and how to use it...

The benefits of developing a pre-sell page dedicated entirely to the product or website you are promoting are many. Here are just some of the most important advantages:

• Attracts Search Engine Traffic. Creating a pre-sell page means that you’ve have a keyword relevant webpage that will show up on the search engines. If optimized well, this webpage will bring you some extra search engine visitors who might be searching for information on the topic.
  
• Leverages Existing Visitor Trust. The use of a personal voice in affiliate promotions is one of the main things often overlooked. If your overall website is well designed and genuinely offers useful content, it will invite trust from visitors. Creating a presell page and offering your thoughts on the product instead of blindly linking out to an external site capitalizes on the trust you’ve already gained.
  
• Makes it Easier for Off-Site Promotions. A presell page on your website makes it easier for future promotions. Using affiliate links on forums, blogs or other public websites makes you look like a spammer. Instead, you can drop a link to your webpage which clearly explains the product or program in question. You’ll also be driving traffic to your website instead of purely sending visitors to the affiliate website. This allows you to gain new blog readers, customers and list subscribers.
  
• Can be Used as Future Reference Points. When you are creating content for your website, you can insert a link to your pre-sell page and use it as a reference point. For example, if you’re writing an article about web hosting, you might like to drop a link to your pitch page, instead of linking directly to the host.

[newBum76]

Thanks Vanquish, very informative! Thanks for taking the time to teach a noob lol.

Originally Posted by Vanquish

Typically your conversion with a presell page will increase because most people don't want to be sold to directly. So acting like a middle man and telling a compelling story about how u tried many products but succeeded using this one will create more trust for the consumer and he will be in more of a buying state when he hits the sales page if you have successfully pre sold him.

Below are 4 benefits of a pre sell page hope that gives you a good understanding of what it is and how to use it...

The benefits of developing a pre-sell page dedicated entirely to the product or website you are promoting are many. Here are just some of the most important advantages:

• Attracts Search Engine Traffic. Creating a pre-sell page means that you’ve have a keyword relevant webpage that will show up on the search engines. If optimized well, this webpage will bring you some extra search engine visitors who might be searching for information on the topic.
• Leverages Existing Visitor Trust. The use of a personal voice in affiliate promotions is one of the main things often overlooked. If your overall website is well designed and genuinely offers useful content, it will invite trust from visitors. Creating a presell page and offering your thoughts on the product instead of blindly linking out to an external site capitalizes on the trust you’ve already gained.
• Makes it Easier for Off-Site Promotions. A presell page on your website makes it easier for future promotions. Using affiliate links on forums, blogs or other public websites makes you look like a spammer. Instead, you can drop a link to your webpage which clearly explains the product or program in question. You’ll also be driving traffic to your website instead of purely sending visitors to the affiliate website. This allows you to gain new blog readers, customers and list subscribers.
• Can be Used as Future Reference Points. When you are creating content for your website, you can insert a link to your pre-sell page and use it as a reference point. For example, if you’re writing an article about web hosting, you might like to drop a link to your pitch page, instead of linking directly to the host.

[Sven Schoene]

Originally Posted by Vanquish

Typically your conversion with a presell page will increase because most people don't want to be sold to directly. So acting like a middle man and telling a compelling story about how u tried many products but succeeded using this one will create more trust for the consumer and he will be in more of a buying state when he hits the sales page if you have successfully pre sold him.

Below are 4 benefits of a pre sell page hope that gives you a good understanding of what it is and how to use it...

The benefits of developing a pre-sell page dedicated entirely to the product or website you are promoting are many. Here are just some of the most important advantages:

• Attracts Search Engine Traffic. Creating a pre-sell page means that you’ve have a keyword relevant webpage that will show up on the search engines. If optimized well, this webpage will bring you some extra search engine visitors who might be searching for information on the topic.
  
• Leverages Existing Visitor Trust. The use of a personal voice in affiliate promotions is one of the main things often overlooked. If your overall website is well designed and genuinely offers useful content, it will invite trust from visitors. Creating a presell page and offering your thoughts on the product instead of blindly linking out to an external site capitalizes on the trust you’ve already gained.
  
• Makes it Easier for Off-Site Promotions. A presell page on your website makes it easier for future promotions. Using affiliate links on forums, blogs or other public websites makes you look like a spammer. Instead, you can drop a link to your webpage which clearly explains the product or program in question. You’ll also be driving traffic to your website instead of purely sending visitors to the affiliate website. This allows you to gain new blog readers, customers and list subscribers.
  
• Can be Used as Future Reference Points. When you are creating content for your website, you can insert a link to your pre-sell page and use it as a reference point. For example, if you’re writing an article about web hosting, you might like to drop a link to your pitch page, instead of linking directly to the host.

That post is pure gold, Vanquish, nice!


Additionally, imagine you are an affiliate for an expensive product with high payout. However, the sales page for the product sucks big time. Your presell might now even include making fun of the real sales page: "Ok, I know the sales page looks cheesy as hell, but hey, the product is really worth it. I've tried to contact that dude behind the site already that maybe he should switch it up a bit but he doesn't want to change anything. Well, whatever, after you've bought the product you never have to see that page again."

[adamv]

Originally Posted by newBum76

I get that, but I want to know WHY the need to presell? Anything I would say on the presell page is pretty much repeated again on the main sales page......to me it just seems like extra reading for the viewer and more time for them to get bored and change their mind. I guess I'm wanting to know some marketing theory as to why this "preselling" approach would be more effective in making a sale.

I don't know why either but the conversions I get from landing pages to affiliate sales pages are much better than direct links.

I don't really know why but it is what it is and I'm not going to argue with the numbers.

I don't yet operate in enough niches yet to make any definitive conclusions but so far the direct linking has not worked very well for me, it could just be a coincidence with the niches chosen for direct linking vs. landing pages. I'll do more testing but I'm definitely leaning toward using landing pages and review sites over the direct linking method.

The only times I've ever used direct linking is when I've been too lazy to build a landing page anyway.

[Clyde Dennis]

Originally Posted by adamv

I don't really know why but it is what it is and I'm not going to argue with the numbers.

Why I love numbers! They don't ever lie and they simply tell the story. Without feeling any particular way about things.

[Droopy Dawg]

Sorry I've been out of the mix... but Vanquish said everything and way more than I would say about preselling.

Thanks Vanquish!

[CurtisN]

Hey Jon,

You gotta think long term as well. Linking directly to a product's salespage is fine because you might make some sales. After making those sales, you'll need to "find" more prospects to sell to.

Another landing page strategy, which can work in tandem with reviews or presell pages, is to have an opt-in form somewhere on the page to build your list. You could either just have a squeeze page which doesn't review or presell anything, or you could find a nice place on your review/presell page to stick your opt-in form.

Those one-time sales aren't a bad thing, but wouldn't it be better if you captured the names and emails of everyone who purchases through your affiliate link?

Curtis

[newBum76]

Thanks Curtis......you just mentioned a bunch of stuff I didn't even know about. I guess that's what makes me a noob! Looks like I have more researching to do on those terms you threw out there, thanks for the help!

-Jon

Originally Posted by CurtisN

Hey Jon,

You gotta think long term as well. Linking directly to a product's salespage is fine because you might make some sales. After making those sales, you'll need to "find" more prospects to sell to.

Another landing page strategy, which can work in tandem with reviews or presell pages, is to have an opt-in form somewhere on the page to build your list. You could either just have a squeeze page which doesn't review or presell anything, or you could find a nice place on your review/presell page to stick your opt-in form.

Those one-time sales aren't a bad thing, but wouldn't it be better if you captured the names and emails of everyone who purchases through your affiliate link?

Curtis

[Harvey Segal]

Some years ago I wrote a book 101 SuperTips and one of the tips was
"Never link direct to an affiliate site"

I reproduce the content here:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

You should never openly use the URL that an affiliate program provides for you.

You should link instead to a page on your own site which then leads to the
affiliate program.

The reasons ?

1. On this page you can provide your own introduction to the product or
service you are promoting. This can include, for example:
- additional detail not available in your posting or advert
- your own personal experience
- a review of the benefits

2. You can provide links to the rest of your site in case your visitor is not
interested in that affiliate product.

3. Your own site traffic statistics will indicate the response to your advert in
addition to any stats provided for you by the affiliate company.

4. You can submit the page to search engines.

5. With the real URL visible there is a risk that the reader removes the suffix
(agent code) so that you do not get registered as the affiliate agent

6. If the affiliate operation becomes discontinued you can inform and divert
visitors at your own website, rather than have them visit a non-existent page.


Harvey


.

[geolt7]

Vanquish and Harvey.Segal have made some very good inputs.

I am also doing article marketing and linking them to my review site (landing page). Basically, I like the fact that I am in control of what my article readers get to see when they click on the resource box link. I like to know that I have provided some added value instead of sending them to the merchant site directly. I also agree with those who have posted to testify about increased conversion rates when you have a landing page that presells.

If you are linking direct to merchant, I guess it really depends on the niche as well as the quality of the landing page. It may work better for some niches. However, I believe that majority of the niches would require some short of presell to do well.

My 10cents worth.

[Joey Frat]

If you expect anyone to buy from you they have to know, like and trust you. The landing page does half of this. I'm not sure what's included on your page, but if your selling yourself or one of your products then the landing page is the place where the lead will get a glimpse of you and what you offer. Typically if the lead goes from the article straight to the sales page they will be less inclined to take action. It's all about positioning.

[JNFerree]

Try this...

Search Google for "keyword esp" and spend a couple of minutes watching the video and reading about why "you must" use a landing page / capture page / squeeze page (call it anything you like) but the $$ is in the list NOT the one time measly affiliate sale!

The good news is, if you use a tool like this, you will generate the kind of highly targeted traffic you need to make money online. The bad news is, he hiked the price. A couple of weeks ago, Keyword ESP was $97, now it's $197 (but) when you compare it to Google Cash Detective (who advocates using a direct linking strategy) and a price tag of $1,997 its a steal!

[Judge Groovyman]

For a given product, how do you know if a landing page is better than a direct link? split testing perhaps?

I'm a newb, and like the OP I don't mind making an LP I'm just wanting to work smart.

[showpage]

Originally Posted by newBum76

...but I want to know WHY the need to presell?

... because you'll make more money... and all chicks in the neighborhood will love you.