Crash Course On Affiliate Marketing...Repost...

[Steven Wagenheim]

Okay, I have just insulted every affiliate marketer on the planet, for which I
am humbly sorry. Well, one person said, do something about it. Train them.

Well, I can't do it individually, but maybe this post will help affiliates who
can't seem to understand why they can't sell their way out of a paper bag.

This is going to be a long post, so I suggest you save it in PDF format.

Let's begin.

Product Selection

This is where so many affiliates make their first mistake, especially if they are
just starting out and don't have the skills to promote the really competitive
products.

They'll either wait for the next big product launch, such as PLF 2 or TS 2
or whatever it was and jump all over it.

Now think about this logically. You have no list. You have no credibility.
You're a virtual unknown and you're trying to go up against guys like
Mike Filsaime, Willie Crawford and heaven knows who else and actually
make some sales? You need to get real here.

Same thing with the top products at the Clickbank marketplace. Take a
look at some of the gravities. They're up in the clouds.

But here is what those gravities DON'T tell you.

A gravity of 300 could mean 299 affiliates selling just 1 copy each and
maybe 1 affiliate selling 100 copies. It doesn't tell you how many of those
affiliates are actually having any REAL success.

You're better off picking products with gravities of 30 to 50. Forget mine.
They're not even on the charts. But gravities of 30 to 50 show that the
product sells BUT the competition isn't as fierce.

These are your best products to sell...hands down.


Promotional Strategy

Look, you've got to go against the grain if you're going to stand out in
this business. That means you have to stay away from the following:

Canned Ads - Yeah, I know, all you affiliates want these. That's why
merchants create them. So you have ready made ads to plaster all over
the Internet. Well, here's the problem. If every affiliate is using these same
canned ads, how does ANYBODY stand out from the crowd? They can't
and they don't. Making a sale is a crap shoot.

Bogus Review Sites - You know the ones I'm talking about. Where every
product on it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. There are even
templates being sold for these sites. Don't use them. They have no
credibility.

Okay, that's what you don't do. So what DO you do?

Step 1 - Get the damn product. If you can't afford it, write to the merchant
and ask him for a copy. Write him a really convincing email as to how
serious you are in promoting it. I've done this many times and more times
than not, you'll get a review copy.

Step 2 - Go through the product and review it. Write up a comprehensive
review on the product. Go over the good AND the bad. You want the
review to be as honest as possible. If the product really sucks, don't
promote it and ask for a refund.

Step 3 - Post the review up on a blog. Even a Blogger blog will do fine.
Trust me, you don't need anything fancy. At the end of the review put
your affiliate link. Make sure it's cloaked. I use a PHP script that I wrote
myself.

Step 4 - Write just one article daily on the subject related to the product
itself. Make sure you choose the relevant keywords to that subject and
product.

Step 5 - Submit the article to Ezine Articles late in the day so that it ends
up getting approved late in the day, assuming a 24 to 48 hour turnaround.
You can submit elsewhere if you like, but I find EZA is hands down the
best directory out there.

Step 6 - Make sure in the resource box of your article is a strong call to
action to your blog. Tell them that it is a review of the product. If they're
interested in getting the product, they'll read your review.

Step 7 - Okay, this is where things get good. Create a video. If you can't
afford Camtasia, download Camstudio. It's free. The video you're going to
create is going to be a review of the product. But, you're going to do one
additional thing. You're going to tell people that if they get the product
from you, they'll receive a bonus in addition to the product. Tell them what
the bonus is. Make it a damned good one. I offer personal mentoring for a
week for any IM related product I sell. When the video is done, upload it
to YouTube at least. You can send it elsewhere too, but YouTube will be
your best bet.

Step 8 - Create a free report related to the product. Embed your affiliate
link in the report, cloaked of course. Submit the report to as many free
download sites as you can.

Step 9 - Create an AR series and squeeze page to collect opt ins. Place
the link to the squeeze page on your blog, on your site, anywhere you can
that is related to the niche. Make sure the AR series contains at least 7
followups and of those 7, at least 3 of them contain a sales pitch for the
product at the end.

Step 10 - Sit back, relax, and let this all work for you.

I've been doing this for so long, in spite of the fact that I create my own
products that I am now starting to sell more affiliate products than I do
of my own products.

And the beauty of this is, there are so many products out there to choose
from, this method IS NOT IN ANY WAY AFFECTED BY COMPETITION.

I am selling products that you'd think would never sell based on their
gravities. Yeah, I know, i said stick to 30 to 50 gravity. That's just to make
it easier for you. But truth is, this system will work for any freaking product.

Is it a little bit of work? Um, yeah. That's why most affiliates don't do
squat.

If you think I'm feeding you a load of bull, go ask Travis Sago how I'm
cranking out his stuff.

Okay, my apologies for lumping all affiliates into one messy pot, but it was
5 years of frustration coming out. I'm sorry.

Anyway, now you have no excuses not to clean up with affiliate marketing.

[Angela V. Edwards]

This is a good thread, Steven. I'm glad it's been reconstructed and is available again.

[melanied]

There are a lot of people selling ebooks that don't contain as much actionable information as this post.

[angela99]

Genius, Steven, especially "Get the damn product".

You need to know what you're promoting. If you know the product, and you love it, you'll make money promoting it, because you're writing totally original material with enthusiasm.

As the saying goes, you can't fake sincerity. :-)

[jjpmarketing]

Great thread Steven. I'm assuming this was a response to someone else's thread that got deleted.

#1 was really #1. Product knowledge leads to easy sales. Most people can see through BS... so if you don't have that product knowledge... visitors will see a review exactly for what it is... a sales pitch... and then click away.

[Jose Delgado]

All hail king Google! Yep google.

If it wasn't for their cache, this Amazing post would have vanished forever.

[macki]

This is great- it makes me a lot less afraid to "plunge in". I especially like the part about buying the product. It reaffirms my conscience.

[kevinw1]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Step 8 - Create a free report related to the product. Embed your affiliate
link in the report, cloaked of course. Submit the report to as many free
download sites as you can.

I was looking for sites to list a free report on recently, and found it frustratingly difficult to find more than a few. Am I missing something? Anyone have a list of favorites?

Kevin

[BrianTubbs]

Awesome info! My question is the same as Kevin's. You mentioned "download sites." Can you give us an idea of a few? And maybe where/how to look for others. Thanks.

[Carol J Smith]

This forum is absolute excellent. Thanks for another excellent guide.

Carol

[Nathan Denton]

Great information Steven - very succinct and to the point.
You make it sound all too easy!!

Im going to go try right now.

Nathan

[James Schramko]

Steven this is a highly misleading post.

You said this re big product launches:

"Now think about this logically. You have no list. You have no credibility.
You're a virtual unknown and you're trying to go up against guys like
Mike Filsaime, Willie Crawford and heaven knows who else and actually
make some sales? You need to get real here."

** Have you ever heard of David v Goliath? **


You can promote big product launches against the big boys and have big paydays. They have a big list and rely on it so they are not doing the other steps on your list.

I have repeatedly had good pay days without using a list or submitting a million articles or spending days building sites. You just have to do the right things.

It makes sense when there is a huge swell of interest to stick your hat in the ring and watch it fill up fast with qualified buyers. You can do it with a pointed sales page and a unique offer combined with some clever traffic tactics.

It is the fastest way to build a list, get a profile for yourself and pay for your own info product education along the way.

** You are picking up clients who spend $200 - $2000 so you are building an awesome qualified list **

The rest of the steps for an 'affiliate pounce' strategy is similar to your evergreen model except LESS intensive and over a much faster timeframe.

You need to be honest, unique, offer value and take action - That stays constant regardless.

People reading this thread need to be open to the real possibility of a fast start because it IS a proven and valid model.

Don't just shut down your hope because someone says it can't be done.It can.

[Heather Vale]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

If you think I'm feeding you a load of bull, go ask Travis Sago how I'm
cranking out his stuff.

Aaah, you're the Steven... he mentioned that in my interview with him, but didn't want to give your last name.

So yeah, I'd say that's proof right there!

cheers
Heather

[sparrow]

I can't believe this thread was deleted, how dare

this is one of the best threads about affiliate marketing I have ever seen

I gave it a 5 star vote on the other thread

this is one is copied and placed where I can reference it time to time

Ed

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by James Schramko

Steven this is a highly misleading post.

You said this re big product launches:

"Now think about this logically. You have no list. You have no credibility.
You're a virtual unknown and you're trying to go up against guys like
Mike Filsaime, Willie Crawford and heaven knows who else and actually
make some sales? You need to get real here."

** Have you ever heard of David v Goliath? **


You can promote big product launches against the big boys and have big paydays. They have a big list and rely on it so they are not doing the other steps on your list.

I have repeatedly had good pay days without using a list or submitting a million articles or spending days building sites. You just have to do the right things.

It makes sense when there is a huge swell of interest to stick your hat in the ring and watch it fill up fast with qualified buyers. You can do it with a pointed sales page and a unique offer combined with some clever traffic tactics.

It is the fastest way to build a list, get a profile for yourself and pay for your own info product education along the way.

** You are picking up clients who spend $200 - $2000 so you are building an awesome qualified list **

The rest of the steps for an 'affiliate pounce' strategy is similar to your evergreen model except LESS intensive and over a much faster timeframe.

You need to be honest, unique, offer value and take action - That stays constant regardless.

People reading this thread need to be open to the real possibility of a fast start because it IS a proven and valid model.

Don't just shut down your hope because someone says it can't be done.It can.

Never said it can't be done. I'm only suggesting an easier way to break
into affiliate marketing.

Please read my post again and point out where I said it's impossible.

Don't put words in my mouth that aren't there.

[James Schramko]

[quote=Steven Wagenheim;90092]Never said it can't be done. I'm only suggesting an easier way to break
into affiliate marketing.

Please read my post again and point out where I said it's impossible.


You said to "get real" so I interperate that you are saying it is un-real to try and make some sales against [insert guru here] and that it is the first mistake new affiliates make.

It can be easier to sell what is hot if you know how to do it. You can make sales very quickly. People like Craig have put out products like secret affiliate code, and Adeel put out a product as well showing they made reasonable sales in short period.

It is only a mistake to dismiss the idea. It is a simple process when you know how. It has a fast paypack and you can build a lot of momentum.

I agree with most of your post other than that. I do both business models as well.

Your post and my post are just opinions and I guess I am going agianst your grain.

[Steven Wagenheim]

[quote=James Schramko;90248]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Never said it can't be done. I'm only suggesting an easier way to break
into affiliate marketing.

Please read my post again and point out where I said it's impossible.


You said to "get real" so I interperate that you are saying it is un-real to try and make some sales against [insert guru here] and that it is the first mistake new affiliates make.

It can be easier to sell what is hot if you know how to do it. You can make sales very quickly. People like Craig have put out products like secret affiliate code, and Adeel put out a product as well showing they made reasonable sales in short period.

It is only a mistake to dismiss the idea. It is a simple process when you know how. It has a fast paypack and you can build a lot of momentum.

I agree with most of your post other than that. I do both business models as well.

Your post and my post are just opinions and I guess I am going agianst your grain.

James, I understand what you're saying and I consider myself a pretty
good affiliate marketer based on the results I've been getting.

But even I don't try to promote things like TS2 and PLF2 and all those
high end products.

Why?

Have you taken a look at the emails for these products and who they're
coming from and the insane bonuses that they're giving away if you buy
from them?

Hell, I've been doing this for 5 years and I can just about compete with
these guys. In the Nitro Marketing Blueprint campaign I came in 20th.

Know who was ahead of me?

You got it, all the big names. I didn't see one person on that list who was
a newbie.

That's all I'm saying. It is incredibly hard to compete with these people
because their lists are massive and you're fighting against cannons with
pea shooters.

So why not make it easier for yourself and promote products that are low
on the radar? A product with a gravity of 30 to 50 has proven to sell and
is a lot easier to sell than something that is going to have every big name
in the industry hawking it.

I mean I'm stupid, but I'm not that stupid that I'm going to make things
harder for myself.

Does that not make sense?

[James Schramko]

It does make sense,

I do both types of affiliate marketing - the instant and the evergreen.

My main point is that if done right a new person can do it.

I should disclose that I have a product teaching people exactly how to do it and I have tested it four times. The results have been very conclusive. If i did not promote the odd PLF, TS2 etc.. I would have left at least $25k for someone else.

When I have been doing these campaigns I see new people getting in there making some money.

You may not be on the list but you still make some money.

If you are up for it Steven I would love to mentor you through one and show you how an extra few thousand dollars is within reach.

You can do it under a pen name of you really want to test it out - with no list.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by James Schramko

It does make sense,

I do both types of affiliate marketing - the instant and the evergreen.

My main point is that if done right a new person can do it.

I should disclose that I have a product teaching people exactly how to do it and I have tested it four times. The results have been very conclusive. If i did not promote the odd PLF, TS2 etc.. I would have left at least $25k for someone else.

When I have been doing these campaigns I see new people getting in there making some money.

You may not be on the list but you still make some money.

If you are up for it Steven I would love to mentor you through one and show you how an extra few thousand dollars is within reach.

You can do it under a pen name of you really want to test it out - with no list.

James, correct me if I'm wrong as reputations can be very misleading.

Aren't YOU one of those fairly big names I'm talking about?

If I'm not mistaken, XSitePro is one of the biggest selling products out
there for that target market.

Point is, your results and John Doe's results using the same system are
going to be quite different. 25K for you might only be 2K for John Doe, if
that much.

Sure, I understand just selling one 2K product is a nice chuck of change,
but I make more than that promoting the little odds and ends and I do
it consistently because I'm not banging my head against the wall going
up against the big guns.

As for your offer, very generous, though I seriously doubt it's coming with
no price tag. But even if it were, I'm so busy right now, I couldn't do it
justice and I'm not one of these people who does things and then just
lets the knowledge sit on a shelf. I hate that about so many marketers.
If I commit to something, I commit to it and I just can't do that now.

I have no doubt you have a dynamite system for promoting affiliate
products. But my experience tells me that your degree of success will
be proportional to the amount of success you've already had, especially
if you're talking about promoting high end products with a ton of
competition. Unless of course you're waiting until after the initial hysteria
and promoting it then. In that case, yes, you can trickle out a few sales
provided the product is still available. In many cases, it's not. That's the
problem.

[jhongren]

Great thread Steven. You have shown exactly what must be done and how they can be done. I am sure someone is going to follow your methods and make more affiliate sales. =)

Thanks again!
John

[James Schramko]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

James, correct me if I'm wrong as reputations can be very misleading.

Aren't YOU one of those fairly big names I'm talking about?

If I'm not mistaken, XSitePro is one of the biggest selling products out
there for that target market.

Point is, your results and John Doe's results using the same system are
going to be quite different. 25K for you might only be 2K for John Doe, if
that much.

Sure, I understand just selling one 2K product is a nice chuck of change,
but I make more than that promoting the little odds and ends and I do
it consistently because I'm not banging my head against the wall going
up against the big guns.

As for your offer, very generous, though I seriously doubt it's coming with
no price tag. But even if it were, I'm so busy right now, I couldn't do it
justice and I'm not one of these people who does things and then just
lets the knowledge sit on a shelf. I hate that about so many marketers.
If I commit to something, I commit to it and I just can't do that now.

I have no doubt you have a dynamite system for promoting affiliate
products. But my experience tells me that your degree of success will
be proportional to the amount of success you've already had, especially
if you're talking about promoting high end products with a ton of
competition. Unless of course you're waiting until after the initial hysteria
and promoting it then. In that case, yes, you can trickle out a few sales
provided the product is still available. In many cases, it's not. That's the
problem.

I didn't think of me as being one of them - and I did not hammer my lists for product launches, often only sending one P.S - . In one case I did not even email my list at all just to see if it can be done without it.

Name branding and putting a sales funnel on the launch campaign is a key strategy. Both your name and the list (and subsequent income) snowballs.

The funny thing is my profile may have increased because I have been taking on more competitive markets. I did start out with no list and no mentor and no clue -and the first product I did this on has made at least 12k so far for a week or so of effort (part time because I had a job then).

I have recently been testing this system with John Does and it still works. I was a John Doe with almost zero list when I created my system and with each campaign I test something new and learn from it.

My offer to you was without price tag - I am not trying to sell anything, it was a genuine offer to share with you a method so you could experience what I am trying to convey. If you experience it first hand that is solid proof. I totally accept and admire that you have strict stragety in place and I don't want to drag you off course.

The thing is if you COMBINE your instant and evergreen affiliate efforts in the same market then you increase the power of your brand. Clients will start emailing you for your affiliate link when the big promos come because they like you and they know you deliver.

I think the success is proportional to the effectiveness of the system x the effort applied x skills of the person x the brand/reputation of the person.

It grows each time because the system gets refined, the skills increase and the reputation increases. By the third or fourth time only one blog post and another tactic is required to make a great return ongoing.

My method is usually deployed just at launch, and the strategy will depend on the product. Many people completely missed the fact that TS2 (and several others) was an evergreen product and they had time or quantity limits which was crazy. It is still available... and profits can be made.

With your reputation you could absolutely clean up on a product launch without upsetting your clients - in fact they will love you for it.

I hope to change your mind one day.

[Chirag]

Great Stuff Mate! Thanks for sharing!

[aditya1107]

I've bought some E-Books which I would like to share with you guys. Send me a mail and I don't mind sending them to you for no cost.

[Michael Chris]

Originally Posted by aditya1107

I've bought some E-Books which I would like to share with you guys. Send me a mail and I don't mind sending them to you for no cost.

That seems a little, well... alot, OT. What are the ebooks about and do you actually have the legal right to be passing them around?

-Michael

[jem]

Originally Posted by kevinw1

I was looking for sites to list a free report on recently, and found it frustratingly difficult to find more than a few. Am I missing something? Anyone have a list of favorites?

Kevin

Did you find a good list of sites to upload a free report? If not does someone have a list of recommended sites?

thanks

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by p1a1u1l1

Beware this guy is spamming every thread, check his profile.

paul

Yeah, I even got a PM from this jackass.

[Peter Bestel]

Originally Posted by p1a1u1l1

Beware this guy is spamming every thread, check his profile.

paul

Could you edit your post please b/c when he gets deleted the quote with his link will still remain

Cheers

Peter

[karunnt]

Clickbank does not have all available affiliate products. (eg it does not have allposters.)

So... is there a source that list all available affiliate products or a way to find these. Or do I have to search Google and try to get lucky?

Thanks

[mike_awev]

Hi Kevin, and others,

Originally Posted by kevinw1

I was looking for sites to list a free report on recently, and found it frustratingly difficult to find more than a few. Am I missing something? Anyone have a list of favorites?

Kevin

You may want to try googleing "software directory" or "software download site". Since I am a new member I don't think I can post a link, yet consider the Association of Shareware Professionals at www dot asp-shareware dot org, removing spaces as needed, and putting in "." where it says dot. For most of the sites you need an executable file, so a free report done up as an ebook would help.

Originally Posted by karunnt

Clickbank does not have all available affiliate products. (eg it does not have allposters.)

So... is there a source that list all available affiliate products or a way to find these. Or do I have to search Google and try to get lucky?

Thanks

Hi Karunnt,
I don't know of an actual list, yet you can check out Commission Junction (CJ), ShareASale (SAS), and DoubleClick/Google Affiliate Network at www dot connectcommerce dot com (again, removing spaces as needed and inserting a "." where it says dot). Just a few of the many affiliate sites to help get you started. Also, if you see a product that you would like to promote look to see if they have an affiliate link on the bottom of the page, or a "Contact Us" link. Some sites, like Amazon, calls their affiliate program by another name, in Amazon's case it is associates, so don't let a name mislead you.

[Ian Jackson]

Pure gold - thanks Steven

[dwshoup]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Okay, I have just insulted every affiliate marketer on the planet, for which I
am humbly sorry. Well, one person said, do something about it. Train them.

Well, I can't do it individually, but maybe this post will help affiliates who
can't seem to understand why they can't sell their way out of a paper bag.

This is going to be a long post, so I suggest you save it in PDF format.

Let's begin.

Product Selection

This is where so many affiliates make their first mistake, especially if they are
just starting out and don't have the skills to promote the really competitive
products.

They'll either wait for the next big product launch, such as PLF 2 or TS 2
or whatever it was and jump all over it.

Now think about this logically. You have no list. You have no credibility.
You're a virtual unknown and you're trying to go up against guys like
Mike Filsaime, Willie Crawford and heaven knows who else and actually
make some sales? You need to get real here.

Same thing with the top products at the Clickbank marketplace. Take a
look at some of the gravities. They're up in the clouds.

But here is what those gravities DON'T tell you.

A gravity of 300 could mean 299 affiliates selling just 1 copy each and
maybe 1 affiliate selling 100 copies. It doesn't tell you how many of those
affiliates are actually having any REAL success.

You're better off picking products with gravities of 30 to 50. Forget mine.
They're not even on the charts. But gravities of 30 to 50 show that the
product sells BUT the competition isn't as fierce.

These are your best products to sell...hands down.


Promotional Strategy

Look, you've got to go against the grain if you're going to stand out in
this business. That means you have to stay away from the following:

Canned Ads - Yeah, I know, all you affiliates want these. That's why
merchants create them. So you have ready made ads to plaster all over
the Internet. Well, here's the problem. If every affiliate is using these same
canned ads, how does ANYBODY stand out from the crowd? They can't
and they don't. Making a sale is a crap shoot.

Bogus Review Sites - You know the ones I'm talking about. Where every
product on it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. There are even
templates being sold for these sites. Don't use them. They have no
credibility.

Okay, that's what you don't do. So what DO you do?

Step 1 - Get the damn product. If you can't afford it, write to the merchant
and ask him for a copy. Write him a really convincing email as to how
serious you are in promoting it. I've done this many times and more times
than not, you'll get a review copy.

Step 2 - Go through the product and review it. Write up a comprehensive
review on the product. Go over the good AND the bad. You want the
review to be as honest as possible. If the product really sucks, don't
promote it and ask for a refund.

Step 3 - Post the review up on a blog. Even a Blogger blog will do fine.
Trust me, you don't need anything fancy. At the end of the review put
your affiliate link. Make sure it's cloaked. I use a PHP script that I wrote
myself.

Step 4 - Write just one article daily on the subject related to the product
itself. Make sure you choose the relevant keywords to that subject and
product.

Step 5 - Submit the article to Ezine Articles late in the day so that it ends
up getting approved late in the day, assuming a 24 to 48 hour turnaround.
You can submit elsewhere if you like, but I find EZA is hands down the
best directory out there.

Step 6 - Make sure in the resource box of your article is a strong call to
action to your blog. Tell them that it is a review of the product. If they're
interested in getting the product, they'll read your review.

Step 7 - Okay, this is where things get good. Create a video. If you can't
afford Camtasia, download Camstudio. It's free. The video you're going to
create is going to be a review of the product. But, you're going to do one
additional thing. You're going to tell people that if they get the product
from you, they'll receive a bonus in addition to the product. Tell them what
the bonus is. Make it a damned good one. I offer personal mentoring for a
week for any IM related product I sell. When the video is done, upload it
to YouTube at least. You can send it elsewhere too, but YouTube will be
your best bet.

Step 8 - Create a free report related to the product. Embed your affiliate
link in the report, cloaked of course. Submit the report to as many free
download sites as you can.

Step 9 - Create an AR series and squeeze page to collect opt ins. Place
the link to the squeeze page on your blog, on your site, anywhere you can
that is related to the niche. Make sure the AR series contains at least 7
followups and of those 7, at least 3 of them contain a sales pitch for the
product at the end.

Step 10 - Sit back, relax, and let this all work for you.

I've been doing this for so long, in spite of the fact that I create my own
products that I am now starting to sell more affiliate products than I do
of my own products.

And the beauty of this is, there are so many products out there to choose
from, this method IS NOT IN ANY WAY AFFECTED BY COMPETITION.

I am selling products that you'd think would never sell based on their
gravities. Yeah, I know, i said stick to 30 to 50 gravity. That's just to make
it easier for you. But truth is, this system will work for any freaking product.

Is it a little bit of work? Um, yeah. That's why most affiliates don't do
squat.

If you think I'm feeding you a load of bull, go ask Travis Sago how I'm
cranking out his stuff.

Okay, my apologies for lumping all affiliates into one messy pot, but it was
5 years of frustration coming out. I'm sorry.

Anyway, now you have no excuses not to clean up with affiliate marketing.

I absolutely love this post. It is informative, and shows integrity. As I have stated in my new blog, "I will never promote any product that I have not created, read or tried...." Here is to integrity and may it overtake IM and drive the scammers out of business so that people don't look down on our industry.

[Paul Myers]

Steven,

I'm curious. Why, other than the sub-heads and point numbers, did you only bold the words "affiliate" and "course" thoughout that post. Some of the bolding doesn't seem to make sense to me. (The word "course" being the big one.)

Anyway... If I might make a suggestion.

I got the same impression regarding the use of "get real" that James did, and had the same thoughts. That sort of "Forget it. Do it my way" language is useful if you're trying to brand yourself as an authority to someone reading something without context or direct opportunity for rebuttal (as in an article), but it's not conducive to a discussion format.

You regularly include these sorts of "absolute by implication" comments. You might not get so many arguments from people if you left those out and stuck to the technique you were teaching. Instead of, "This is misleading," you'd be more likely to get, "Good stuff. Another approach that also works is..."

Something to consider.


Paul

[TLCarroll]

Originally Posted by James Schramko

Steven this is a highly misleading post.

You said this re big product launches:

"Now think about this logically. You have no list. You have no credibility.
You're a virtual unknown and you're trying to go up against guys like
Mike Filsaime, Willie Crawford and heaven knows who else and actually
make some sales? You need to get real here."

** Have you ever heard of David v Goliath? **


You can promote big product launches against the big boys and have big paydays. They have a big list and rely on it so they are not doing the other steps on your list.

I have repeatedly had good pay days without using a list or submitting a million articles or spending days building sites. You just have to do the right things.

It makes sense when there is a huge swell of interest to stick your hat in the ring and watch it fill up fast with qualified buyers. You can do it with a pointed sales page and a unique offer combined with some clever traffic tactics.

The glaring difference that I see between your post and Steven's is that he provides an actual method to illustrate his point. While you may or may not be right in what you are saying, since you haven't provided an alternate method as counterpoint to Steven's, there's no way for the reader to compare and evaluate.

It's all well and good to say that something will or won't work "just because".

Just a thought.

[Kay King]

This thread is from September - and just got bumped. Did everyone catch that?

kay

[TLCarroll]

Originally Posted by Kay King

This thread is from September - and just got bumped. Did everyone catch that?

kay

02-10-2009, 06:48 AM #29
mike_awev
Awev Trading

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I didn't notice that until you pointed it out, Kay. Yikes.

[Neil S]

Great stuff as always I am starting to set up something similar to this. One thing I am struggling with is how to include an opt in on a page where I have a review of the product as well as an affiliate link. Is this too much for the customer? Should I just do one or the other to limit the choices?

[Ian Jackson]

Originally Posted by Neil S

Great stuff as always I am starting to set up something similar to this. One thing I am struggling with is how to include an opt in on a page where I have a review of the product as well as an affiliate link. Is this too much for the customer? Should I just do one or the other to limit the choices?

An opt-in is usually only on a landing page - or to put it another way, a landing page (with its opt-in box) only has one job to do, and that is for you to build a list; i.e. you build a database of potential customers - to whom you can keep offering quality content, and of course eventually, when they trust you, they'll do business with you.

On the other hand, if visitors are distracted with seeing you have a link too, they might choose to click through on your aff link instead. It's highly likely they'll not purchase on their first visit, wander off somewhere else (with out clicking their "back" button), then they're gone forever.

HTH

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by Kay King

This thread is from September - and just got bumped. Did everyone catch that?

kay

You'll notice the person who bumped this just got here and has 2 posts
so far,

Should be a way to deep 6 old threads like these so that this doesn't happen.

[Nathan Hangen]

I hadn't seen this thread until now, so I'm glad it came back.

Steven, do you have any resources you can recommend to submit free reports too?

[raynman]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

You'll notice the person who bumped this just got here and has 2 posts
so far,

Should be a way to deep 6 old threads like these so that this doesn't happen.

who it was that resurrected it and the reason for their doing so may be troubling but still....awesome read and I did make it into a PDF.

first thing I thought when I read it was, "Man, Steven, you should insult people more often!"

I can see what James (and eventually Paul) was saying but the kick in the nuts that you gave is exactly what some people need. It takes all kinds of motivational tactics to get a wide and diverse people going.

Detailed instructions are great. Eliminating choice is incredibly helpful as well when you are new to this thing and there is sensory overload going on. A blind man just gaining his sight will find it easy to be overwhelmed by all the fantastic colors and images they had not been able to see before.

Sometimes people new to IM need to have someone come to them and tell them where they need to go and tell them exactly how to get there. It doesn't matter if it is the only way or not. They just need to know where to go and a way to get there. Giving them choices could confuse them. It did/has me, that is for sure.

Again, much appreciated.

[Clark]

I'm happy that it was bumped 'cause I've been searching for this thread to prove to myself that I wasn't seeing double... now I know I wasn't.

The Proper Way To Promote Affiliate Products At The Warrior Forum

Too bad it was censored by Allen but, it was for the right reasons given the context and the intended audience of the thread. It did share the exact method outlined in this thread which is why I thought I read it somewhere before.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by raynman

who it was that resurrected it and the reason for their doing so may be troubling but still....awesome read and I did make it into a PDF.

first thing I thought when I read it was, "Man, Steven, you should insult people more often!"

I can see what James (and eventually Paul) was saying but the kick in the nuts that you gave is exactly what some people need. It takes all kinds of motivational tactics to get a wide and diverse people going.

Detailed instructions are great. Eliminating choice is incredibly helpful as well when you are new to this thing and there is sensory overload going on. A blind man just gaining his sight will find it easy to be overwhelmed by all the fantastic colors and images they had not been able to see before.

Sometimes people new to IM need to have someone come to them and tell them where they need to go and tell them exactly how to get there. It doesn't matter if it is the only way or not. They just need to know where to go and a way to get there. Giving them choices could confuse them. It did/has me, that is for sure.

Again, much appreciated.

I appreciate the kind words from everybody, but quite honestly, these
days I'm just trying to keep a low profile around here and stay out of
trouble and my posts on page 1 don't help in that endeavor. The only
reason I even posted about my Wordpress problem earlier is because I
was totally stumped and didn't know where else to turn. I'm still not
having much luck though I did find part of the problem and my web host
(thank God for fellow warrior Marc Meole) is working on the rest of it. But
he's being pulled in 100 different directions today so it's going to be a while
before this is sorted out.

My grandmother would have said this is all my badness coming back to
bite me on the backside.

Maybe she's right.

[raynman]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

I appreciate the kind words from everybody, but quite honestly, these
days I'm just trying to keep a low profile around here and stay out of
trouble and my posts on page 1 don't help in that endeavor. The only
reason I even posted about my Wordpress problem earlier is because I
was totally stumped and didn't know where else to turn. I'm still not
having much luck though I did find part of the problem and my web host
(thank God for fellow warrior Marc Meole) is working on the rest of it. But
he's being pulled in 100 different directions today so it's going to be a while
before this is sorted out.

My grandmother would have said this is all my badness coming back to
bite me on the backside.

Maybe she's right.

I can totally understand about wanting to keep a low profile. Anonymity has it's perks.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by Nathan Hangen

I hadn't seen this thread until now, so I'm glad it came back.

Steven, do you have any resources you can recommend to submit free reports too?

Here's a thread I recently posted about dealing with people who steal your
stuff where I have a few of my personal favorite places listed.

Take Advantage Of People Passing Around Your Stuff

But there are a lot more.

[Nathan Hangen]

Thanks for that link Steven.

In terms of keeping a low profile, here is what I say. Screw what other people think. There are always going to be haters and sometimes you just got to put them in their place.

[Kay King]

Steven -

Didn't think it was fair you'd have to take flak for this twice

kay

[Omar B]

Steven-
Hi my name is Omar and I am totally new to this. I have read a few threads and this by far has not only inspired me, but it has been bolstered with tons of positive posts. The credibilty factor is through the roof and I look forward to telling you how I am doing after I apply these steps! Thanks Steve!

[Ian Jackson]

Sorry I still don't fully understand how cloaking works...

Point #3 (OP, SW) about cloaking; is this because Google doesn't links that go directly to affiliate sites? apparently mention this in their TOS. I was under the impression that a link would have to go to one's own site; a landing page for instance...


Also, please could you expand on what (if anything) is supposed to be on the blog, besides just a product review? how often, and with what, should it be updated?

[newbie@CPA]

Steven,
You are awesome and I appreciate your straightforwardness. I am new to this game but I am not a quixote. You advice is applicable to almost any venture both online and offline. Hardwork, education, patience, and unique approach are the tools needed to be successful. I thank you again for you awesome input to this community.

[Rachael]

Hi Steve

I want to say that I have enjoyed your posts and also find them very entertaining.

The thing is that, you are being you, the natural you. You dont try to impress people and always write things the way you see it.

I'd love to see more of you here.

Thanks
Rachael