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How REAL MARKETERS Use Affiliate Marketing (Why You're Doing it WRONG)

by XponentSYS
46 replies
When I figured this out, it changed the way I do business to the core. It also changed my bank account... for the better.

This is a long term business plan for affiliate marketing. Long term business plans are the only type that create wealth so here you go.

This is "outside the box" but it's how all those fancy "gurus" and I got started..... and what we stiill do presently.

We all engage in "affiliate marketing" but we do it backwards.

We do some basic market research to determine what market we'd like to enter and determine what kind of product we could create to sell in that market.

We then set out to create that product.

Once we've created that product, we create an affiliate program and promote our affiliate program to recruit affiliates to promote our products for us.

Generating traffic?

Your affiliates will generate the traffic (most of it anyhow) to your sales page that sells your product.

For the sake of generating traffic, you should be concentrating on generating traffic (and promoting) your affiliate program JV page.

This is the way the BIG BOYS use affiliate marketing to generate long term wealth, success and business.

If you're serious about YOUR long term success.... I implore you to start thinking about affiliate marketing this way.

So many newbies attempt to "learn traffic" when they should be learning how to spot and analyze markets and product creation (all of which can be learned right here in this forum).
#affiliate #marketers #marketing #real #wrong
  • Profile picture of the author gmichel
    That's interesting Ben. Thank you for sharing.
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    • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
      Originally Posted by gmichel View Post

      That's interesting Ben. Thank you for sharing.
      Thanks.

      It's interesting and it works. You're essentially creating products that SELL..... and instead of promoting them directly, you're promoting their (your) affiliate program.
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  • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
    This is also how you create huge buyer lists for yourself. It's those lists that can rocket you into success.

    This is a way to use aff marketing to get there.
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  • Profile picture of the author DubDubDubDot
    We've got a real gooroo here, folks!
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  • Profile picture of the author SDsurfer
    'Do what the marketing gurus DO, not what they TELL you to do.' If you're ever in doubt, don't bother reading the spew they are peddling, but look at how they are peddling it. Then copy THAT. Best thing I've ever learned about IM, changed my entire course of action for the better.
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  • Profile picture of the author FocusRightNow
    Originally Posted by XponentSYS View Post


    Once we've created that product, we create an affiliate program and promote our affiliate program to recruit affiliates to promote our products for us.
    This is a great post, but I'm really curious about this part. May I ask where you promote the affiliate program?
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  • Profile picture of the author artflair
    I agree 100% - product creators are the movers and shakers of any online industry!
    Art
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    This is pretty much spot on.

    However, before I ever introduce an affiliate program, and before I install reps and/ or AMs, I become my own affiliate and ensure that whoever works for me does the same. The experience you gain from promoting your product(s) can uncover problems and will also enable you (and your staff) to be more helpful to future affiliates.

    Good post, though.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Get Rich Methods View Post

      This is pretty much spot on.

      However, before I ever introduce an affiliate program, and before I install reps and/ or AMs, I become my own affiliate and ensure that whoever works for me does the same. The experience you gain from promoting your product(s) can uncover problems and will also enable you (and your staff) to be more helpful to future affiliates.

      Good post, though.
      In addition, you also have actual numbers you can show potential affiliates. Most of the pros I know are much more concerned with earnings per click than with the actual commission percentage.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        Most of the pros I know are much more concerned with earnings per click than with the actual commission percentage.
        This. Exactly.

        As a vendor, one wouldn't really want too many affiliates who select promotions according to their commission percentages, and as an affiliate, a 55% commission on a $47 sale is worth rather more than a 70% commission on a $27 sale.

        .
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      • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        In addition, you also have actual numbers you can show potential affiliates. Most of the pros I know are much more concerned with earnings per click than with the actual commission percentage.
        That's right. The majority of super affiliates, for instance, or whales, if you prefer that term, drive traffic via media buys. They want to gauge cost per click to earnings per click. It's pretty much useless information, to be honest, because the way I send traffic will yield a different EPC than the next guy (or guyess!). But from my POV, I have a pretty decent idea of what something should be converting at. So if I spend a few months promoting it, I'm able to hone everything, streamline it, and then I'm confident affiliates will have similar results or better. Anyway - you're quite right! It's a bit like being a chef and having a taste before you serve the meal. Is there the right amount of seasoning? Too much salt? Too little?

        (You can tell I'm no chef LOL)
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        • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
          Originally Posted by SDsurfer View Post

          'Do what the marketing gurus DO, not what they TELL you to do.' If you're ever in doubt, don't bother reading the spew they are peddling, but look at how they are peddling it. Then copy THAT. Best thing I've ever learned about IM, changed my entire course of action for the better.
          It's a good point you make and I actually agree with you. Those who know me, understand my stance that the quickest way to substantial wealth is to be a marketer rather than a visionary.

          Not saying that a visionary won't get wealthy - the likes of Steve Jobs certainly prove the opposite. But, for the vast majority of us (myself included), we are more interested in speed-building wealth.

          Replication of the successful (not copying) is the way to do that.

          I tell my students the same thing you point out....find people who are successful and study them. Then, do what they're DOING

          In fact, that's how I learned what's in the OP. I saw someone else approach affiliate marketing like that. I tried it and boy..... sure glad I did.

          Originally Posted by FocusRightNow View Post

          This is a great post, but I'm really curious about this part. May I ask where you promote the affiliate program?
          Promote is the same way you would promote an OPPORTUNITY because that's, in fact, what it IS.

          Create your affiliate program. THEN.... write a short report detailing 5 quick methods one can use to make money with it. I usually do 2 FREE methods, 2PAID methods.....and 1 OFFLINE method. At the end, I recommend my aff program.

          Distribute the HELL out of it. Use PPC, FB, media buys and solos to landers... all the usual stuff.

          Also create a video with the report for YouTube and social media.

          More "traditional" ways......

          Promote the JV page using the methods above. Matt Bacek has a banner here right now promoting his JV page. Click "view all" under the banner above to find it then STUDY it.

          There's tons of other ways too...... aff program databases, JV forums, launch sites like MunchEye (pre-launch) and market places.

          Originally Posted by Get Rich Methods View Post

          This is pretty much spot on.

          However, before I ever introduce an affiliate program, and before I install reps and/ or AMs, I become my own affiliate and ensure that whoever works for me does the same. The experience you gain from promoting your product(s) can uncover problems and will also enable you (and your staff) to be more helpful to future affiliates.

          Good post, though.
          Not much to add here because GRM made a great point. Want to point out that it's a good one - and an important one.

          Doing so allows us to gain the valuable metrics we need for a successful program.
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          • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
            Originally Posted by XponentSYS View Post

            Not much to add here because GRM made a great point. Want to point out that it's a good one - and an important one.

            Doing so allows us to gain the valuable metrics we need for a successful program.
            Thank you for the compliment, XponentSYS.

            Before I release an affiliate program, and depending on the size of the program in question, I find months of testing can be required; not only by myself, of course, but by affiliate beta testers.
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  • Profile picture of the author VmaNx
    Yep, I dont know of any "Affiliate Millionaires" that haven't created a product at some point and time. Great info!
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  • Profile picture of the author anwar001
    "I tell my students the same thing you point out....find people who are successful and study them. Then, do what they're DOING"

    This is a golden advice from the OP.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    To take things one step further: Build your business around existing traffic instead of the other way around. MOST people focus on the product and then they look to build traffic. Talk about Frustrating. Focus on FINDING the traffic first then build your product.

    Thanks to outsourcing, this is so much easier and cheaper to do now.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
    While it's a great way and I respect your success and accomplishments, it's not the ONLY right way.

    I guarantee you there are people engaging in affiliate marketing not doing what you recommended above that have a real sustainable business and bring in daily what many gurus do monthly.

    One of my companies does not sell its own products (and most likely never will) but is running a sustainable and scalable operation consistently doing between $4K-$6K per day in revenue

    There's always more than one way do something and I don't play the ass kissing "please promote my product" game. I don't chase anyone for anything, whether it be directly or passively through my marketing.
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    • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
      Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

      To take things one step further: Build your business around existing traffic instead of the other way around. MOST people focus on the product and then they look to build traffic. Talk about Frustrating. Focus on FINDING the traffic first then build your product.

      Thanks to outsourcing, this is so much easier and cheaper to do now.
      This is golden advice. In the OP I suggest that people "do market research..... develope a product". This is what I mean and you do a great job on bringing that to the forefront.

      You want to do your research by (a)looking for the traffic and (b)validating your prospective markets.

      You can research your market by looking at keywords and search volume. Take it further by looking for problems. Problems are indicated by "buying kys" and those are indicated by kys containing phrases like "how to", "how do I", "buy", "review" etc.

      Next, you go to places like Yahoo Answers and Ask.com and looking for questions being repeatedly in your market.

      If you find many questions asked over and over in your market..... this will help you"hone in" on their problems / wants.

      Once you drill down on your "market problems", you go back and look for the traffic that is seeking a solution. This is done by finding those "buying Kys" I talked about for the problem you've found.

      Done all that? Good!

      Now it's time to validate your market. This simply means.....

      1. Are there products for sale?
      2. Is there traffic for sale?
      3. Are there affiliate offerings?
      4. Are there advertising opportunities available (other than SEP)

      If you found a problem, if you found the traffic and have answered yes to the above questions...... youve found a market.

      NOW it's time (only now) to create a product that solves that problem.

      Originally Posted by jasondinner View Post

      While it's a great way and I respect your success and accomplishments, it's not the ONLY right way.

      I guarantee you there are people engaging in affiliate marketing not doing what you recommended above that have a real sustainable business and bring in daily what many gurus do monthly.

      One of my companies does not sell its own products (and most likely never will) but is running a sustainable and scalable operation consistently doing between $4K-$6K per day in revenue

      There's always more than one way do something and I don't play the ass kissing "please promote my product" game. I don't chase anyone for anything, whether it be directly or passively through my marketing.
      There are many ways to skin a cat. I certainly agree with you there. One of those ways is shared here.

      Clearly as indicated by your impressive daily volume, you've found another way but you didn't go into any detail about how you "skin the cat".

      Care to contribute some of your ideas here?
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      • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
        Originally Posted by XponentSYS View Post

        Care to contribute some of your ideas here?
        I contribute plenty here, but in this case, I am not open to discussing the specifics - unless you want to pay a hefty consulting fee.

        Just wanted to put things into perspective for the less experienced people who will take what you said as Gospel or the only way.

        Lots of "real marketers" out there skinning the cat lots of different ways. Doesn't make them any less real than you.
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        • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
          Originally Posted by jasondinner View Post

          I contribute plenty here, but in this case, I am not open to discussing the specifics - unless you want to pay a hefty consulting fee.

          Just wanted to put things into perspective for the less experienced people who will take what you said as Gospel or the only way.

          Lots of "real marketers" out there skinning the cat lots of different ways. Doesn't make them any less real than you.
          Gotcha man. It's always great to keep things in perspective and remembering that for any one result, there are a dozen ways to get there

          As for people taking what I say as gospel...... I don't have a problem with that. LOL

          All joking aside, people should remember that there's lotsa ways to the top. While it's good to keep that in mind, doing so can also be one's hinderence.

          Focus is important and often times it helps to focus on one method long enough to become proficient at it and achieve measurable results consistently.

          Once they've reached that bar, they can explore the next method while sustaining their results with the current one.

          It's my belief that the above methodology helps cut down on S.O.S and promotes action through focus.

          For those that feel inclined, this very thread contains one such method and the barrier of entry is such that this is "newbie friendly".

          By the way..... I didn't mean to sound hostile toward you in my reply. I'm aware of your contributions to this forum and didn't mean to ensinuate anything to the contrary. If you were offended, I apologize.

          I get why you'd be hesitant to contribute more than you have.
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          • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
            Originally Posted by XponentSYS View Post

            By the way..... I didn't mean to sound hostile toward you in my reply. I'm aware of your contributions to this forum and didn't mean to ensinuate anything to the contrary. If you were offended, I apologize.
            Not offended at all my friend. Just making my contribution
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    • Profile picture of the author OfferGrind
      Originally Posted by jasondinner View Post

      While it's a great way and I respect your success and accomplishments, it's not the ONLY right way.

      I guarantee you there are people engaging in affiliate marketing not doing what you recommended above that have a real sustainable business and bring in daily what many gurus do monthly.

      One of my companies does not sell its own products (and most likely never will) but is running a sustainable and scalable operation consistently doing between $4K-$6K per day in revenue

      There's always more than one way do something and I don't play the ass kissing "please promote my product" game. I don't chase anyone for anything, whether it be directly or passively through my marketing.
      You are spot on! There are numerous other ways to build and sustain a business in this industry. In this business affiliates can and do generate thousands of dollars per day in profit. You just simply have to find the right offers and the right marketplaces, and work to generate profitable campaigns then scale. With that being said it takes nerves of steel and generally experience at learning how to build and scale profitable campaigns to get to that level, however it is done everyday by advanced marketers. We have guys making a killing running dating, diet and gaming offers.
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  • Profile picture of the author 10kaday
    yep, it is the thing that drives most buinsess online
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  • Profile picture of the author JtxTop
    Doing the research and analysis first may save you a lot of time and money instead of creating the product first and realize later that there is no market for it..
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    • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
      Originally Posted by JtxTop View Post

      Doing the research and analysis first may save you a lot of time and money instead of creating the product first and realize later that there is no market for it..
      YES!

      So many people make this mistake which is why I say do things "backwards".

      backwards because it SEEMS like the right path to success is to create a product and then SELL IT.

      But, that's only what we SEE. We see people and businesses come out with products and sell the hell out of them. That's what we WE SEE.

      What we DONT SEE are the weeks, months or even years of research and development that goes into those products. That R and D are what make them sell so well.

      You need to "do it backwards" and find your market first.... then create the product to sell.

      Staying OT..... do the market research first and create the products for your affiliates to sell so you can build that BUYERS LIST
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  • Profile picture of the author Yao Daniel
    Hi,
    there is so plenty hype about IM. We always use to see "gurus" here and there talking about quick cash, passive income...
    IM is a real business and to make serious money, a marketer should have the right plan and above all, the right attitude. The plan provided by @XponentSYS is effective.
    Thanks for sharing this great information.
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  • Profile picture of the author sr.20
    Best advice would to find someone in the space who has already launched a series of products both on here and other marketplaces and ask approach them and ask for their coaching program if they have one.

    Avoid the hours spent second guessing and partner with someone who can take your product and put it in front of the right people, as they too also have lists that you need, thus getting authority status and buyers faster than doing it alone.
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  • Profile picture of the author gcbmark20
    Hi,

    1. Good Market Research - "Looking for a HUNGRY Market that has a particular
    NEED or problem they will be happy to pay for a solution".

    2. Solid product that produces results.

    3. Solid sales copy! - HIRE someone who gets results if you are unsure about
    writing copy yourself.

    4. TEST your copy first.

    5. If your test produced HIGH E.P.C. rate then you can start attracting affiliates.

    6. Tell them what your E.P.C. rate is.

    7. Offer them JUICY 100% commissions at the F.E.

    8. Create an irresistible BACK END.

    9. Offer CASH prizes to your affiliates too.

    10. Launch that baby!

    Affiliates want to know one thing and one thing ONLY......

    ...How much Money they are able to make from your launch.

    And depending on the affiliate as an individual........will your product
    produce the goods?

    And then of course LOW REFUND rates are always good too.
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  • Profile picture of the author tristatemedia
    thank you. very interesting view and so true..
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  • Profile picture of the author gmarklin
    I am a retired executive from a manufacturing firm, and we always first determine a particular nneed in the industries we served, then developed and tested a new product, and then determined what the best way to sell in the market place. So the XponentSYS is correct in what he says.
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  • Profile picture of the author firehawk
    1.Problem is the market assuming discovered after research.
    2.Solution is your PRODUCT that's superior and unique.
    Now how does the product reach the desperate market to solve the problem?
    3.Affiliates as an effective option to reach the target group.Next is how do you recruit the necessary. army of affiliates to promote the product?
    The most important thing to understand is that you can choose to get your hands wet directly or opt to transfer the traffic generation job to affiliates.Basically you're always trying to solve a problem with the market but you simultaneously have to tackle the traffic generation issue as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author gluckspilz
    The problem with this thread is that it is pretty much only focused on the IM market.

    Want to know the REAL, REAL way of affiliate marketing.

    1. Research Your Market
    2. Find ways to present an offer to your market (PPC, PPV, Media Buy, ETC)
    3. Measure ROI

    Obviously list building is an option depending on the niche but yeah!

    Keep an open mind when it comes to affiliate marketing. At the end of the day we are selling solutions so it SHOULDN'T be too hard ..
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    • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
      Originally Posted by gluckspilz View Post

      The problem with this thread is that it is pretty much only focused on the IM market.

      Want to know the REAL, REAL way of affiliate marketing.

      1. Research Your Market
      2. Find ways to present an offer to your market (PPC, PPV, Media Buy, ETC)
      3. Measure ROI

      Obviously list building is an option depending on the niche but yeah!

      Keep an open mind when it comes to affiliate marketing. At the end of the day we are selling solutions so it SHOULDN'T be too hard ..
      You're right about finding a market, identifying a problem and providing your solution. There's nothing wrong with your post. In fact, it's solid and I appreciate it.

      However, the part where you suggest that (as for aft marketing) this thread is best suited for the IM space?

      Well, I have a different point of view, having used affiliates in many a market. Affiliate marketing, and the method in this thread are all about traffic generation at the end of the day.

      I can assure you..... it works very well in many a market.
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  • Profile picture of the author dariusdarius
    I agree with the OP and thank him for taking the time to share his experience.

    Also,I would like to add that from my point of view he is lacking the main point --> HOW TO ACTUALLY GET RELIABLE JV PARTNERS.

    Of course, there are several ways to attract partners and I personally use facebook ads lately.

    After this point, you should use some BIG incentives, like a sales contest with big cash prizes and maybe 100% on the frontend product. To make a name for yourself and gain trust.

    Before advertising your jv page, I also suggest you optimize it.It is very important for the affiliates to quickly understand how much they can earn per sale and why would they promtoe your course instead of others? The JV page should also be like a sales page because you are selling your course to the affiliates and jv partners.

    I hope this helped,
    Darius
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  • Profile picture of the author sscot
    Ben, this is a brilliant post. That was an idea there was in my head since long time with some confusions. It's time to implement.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Del
    Learning how to create your own product definitely beats learning how to generate traffic. Great post!
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    • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
      Originally Posted by Chris Del View Post

      Learning how to create your own product definitely beats learning how to generate traffic. Great post!
      What good is your great product if no one will ever see it?

      I would rather know how to generate traffic so once my product is ready, I can gain instant market share without kissing up to affiliates.

      Besides, if you want affiliates who can actually do volume or any respectable affiliate to promote your product, you're going to need metrics first.

      How do you get metrics without affiliates?

      By generating your own traffic. Better make sure you know how to do that as well or first before you spend all of your energy and resources creating a product nobody may end up seeing.
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      • Profile picture of the author Chris Del
        I agree with you and maybe I shouldn't of used the word "learning" in my comment. I didn't think anyone would reply or notice lol

        So allow me to elaborate. Obviously traffic is important, that's a given. Anyone viewing this thread must have some sort of knowledge of getting traffic, hence, the title of Bens post. If you clicked that then you are somewhat an affiliate marketer so you must know how to get traffic somehow. What I'm saying is traffic is hard to learn for newbies. I'm not saying don't learn how to get traffic, I would assume people viewing this thread already know that. I'm just saying learning how to create your own product does help with your long term success. When you learn how to create your own product, you are also learning how to get JV traffic as well and JV traffic is IMO, one of the best traffic sources you can get.

        The product you create should have a capture page, so when JV affiliates promote your product you're getting their leads too. Everybody is busy working hard on traffic to build their list while you're working hard to create your product so you can promote it through their list that they worked so hard for. They've already built their relationship with their list so that saves you time.

        I know it may seem like I'm new to this forum but not to IM. My first 5 months I generated over 10000 leads through free traffic, but I did ALOT of work to achieve that. I don't like doing the traffic work, but that's just me. Again, I'm not saying don't learn traffic, please do. But after you get that down, learn how to create your own product, that's where the BIG money is at and traffic comes easier. You educate yourself so much by learning how to create your own product anyway and everything comes in to place. So ultimately, after a while of affiliate marketing success, you should learn to create and launch your own QUALITY PRODUCT.

        What Ben is saying is the REAL marketers are starting backwards. He just pretty much spilled the goods here to you all and I agree with him completely. I would rather learn how to create my own quality product than continuing to learn how to get traffic. Both take time and hard work to do, and I'd say learning how create your own product is the more valuable thing you can do because you learn so much more. Traffic is inevitable if you have great products to promote, there's plenty of traffic online so I'm not worried about that.

        But then again, if your product is crap, your traffic skills don't mean anything lol

        Don't want to get in a feud with you because I do agree with your comment. This is just my opinion
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        • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
          Originally Posted by Chris Del View Post

          I agree with you and maybe I shouldn't of used the word "learning" in my comment. I didn't think anyone would reply or notice lol

          So allow me to elaborate. Obviously traffic is important, that's a given. Anyone viewing this thread must have some sort of knowledge of getting traffic, hence, the title of Bens post. If you clicked that then you are somewhat an affiliate marketer so you must know how to get traffic somehow. What I'm saying is traffic is hard to learn for newbies. I'm not saying don't learn how to get traffic, I would assume people viewing this thread already know that. I'm just saying learning how to create your own product does help with your long term success. When you learn how to create your own product, you are also learning how to get JV traffic as well and JV traffic is IMO, one of the best traffic sources you can get.

          The product you create should have a capture page, so when JV affiliates promote your product you're getting their leads too. Everybody is busy working hard on traffic to build their list while you're working hard to create your product so you can promote it through their list that they worked so hard for. They've already built their relationship with their list so that saves you time.

          I know it may seem like I'm new to this forum but not to IM. My first 5 months I generated over 10000 leads through free traffic, but I did ALOT of work to achieve that. I don't like doing the traffic work, but that's just me. Again, I'm not saying don't learn traffic, please do. But after you get that down, learn how to create your own product, that's where the BIG money is at and traffic comes easier. You educate yourself so much by learning how to create your own product anyway and everything comes in to place. So ultimately, after a while of affiliate marketing success, you should learn to create and launch your own QUALITY PRODUCT.

          What Ben is saying is the REAL marketers are starting backwards. He just pretty much spilled the goods here to you all and I agree with him completely. I would rather learn how to create my own quality product than continuing to learn how to get traffic. Both take time and hard work to do, and I'd say learning how create your own product is the more valuable thing you can do because you learn so much more. Traffic is inevitable if you have great products to promote, there's plenty of traffic online so I'm not worried about that.

          But then again, if your product is crap, your traffic skills don't mean anything lol

          Don't want to get in a feud with you because I do agree with your comment. This is just my opinion
          Chris says it nicely.

          I'll add that this method is, in and of itself, a traffic generation strategy. One giant tool that's not mentioned enough here is leverage. In this case, you're getting your leverage from affiliates but leverage is all around us. Think about how re-targeting works.

          At the end of the day, most of the time it's the marketers who know how to leverage their efforts who are pulling big statistics

          Leverage = traffic. Now traffic = money.

          This method is a traffic generation method built on leverage.

          You're creating the product and setting out to leverage it for affiliate traffic in exchange for commission.

          To more directly respond to the question at hand "shouldn't a product creator learn now to get traffic on his own WITHOUT affiliates?"

          Well, of course.

          The reality is that affiliate marketing IS a traffic generation method.. By developing and deploying an affiliate program in the manner I outline... you ARE generating traffic

          In terms of building wealth at a high rate of SPEED (the way I prefer to do it) would you rather.....

          A). Create your product and let it sit while you master traffic methods

          OR.....

          B). Create your product and get it to market using affiliates and their traffic so you can start getting paid while you develope your other traffic-getting skills?

          Though I recommend "B" every day of the week..... it's preference.
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        • Profile picture of the author GodOfCPA
          Originally Posted by Chris Del View Post

          But then again, if your product is crap, your traffic skills don't mean anything lol
          In my experience, it is the other way around. It isn't the best product that wins, it's the one that gets the "mindshare" of a market most efficiently. If you understand how to drive traffic (as in, targeting and scaling) at a profit, then you must have a deep understanding of where demographics are and how to reach them in an efficient (cost-effective) way.

          Product development has a lot more to do with identifying cost-effective marketing angles and channels, than it does with creating "quality." I mean, it is clear that marketing is 70% of a product's success with the other 30% being related to scaling and developing the business itself. Product quality doesn't really come into (unless we're talking limited niche products or the service-as-a-product industry).

          Also, outside of MMO affiliates are mostly used as either a way to reach into smaller hidden traffic sources after the low hanging fruit (big media buys / simple PPC) has already been saturated by the internal team, or as a way to encourage loyalty / word of mouth. If you're a regular product creator, you'll have a very hard time getting affiliates with the will and means to do the big media buys and PPC for you.

          I believe any product owner is going to realize that traffic driving skills really do trump product quality when confronted with how much kissing up and bribery is required to get high-volume affiliates to work with you if the product isn't already doing well at scale.
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  • Profile picture of the author Avocado Plugins
    Absolutely agree. If you want to have a lasting long term business start building it from ground up and it will take a long time but will DEFINITELY be worth if for sure. Affiliates is one MAJOR plus for that right off the bat! Thanks for share.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ahsan C
    In order to attract big affiliates....

    - Your Earning per click (EPC) should be high, that is, if he sends 100 visitors to your site how much will he make per visitor? This also means your Conversion rate should be pretty good, that means, out of the 100 visitors that were sent to your site how many actually bought the product? How many actual sales have been made till now on which the data is based? 50 sales or 50 thousand sales?

    - Either the product should pay a high commission, starting from $200 and above
    or
    - It should be a reasonable valued lifetime monthly recurring commission with a long customer retention period. Example, membership sites, as long as the customer pays the monthly membership fee to the site owner, the owner will continue to pay a percentage of that fee to the affiliate till the customer cancels his membership and stops paying. The site owner should be able to hold the customer for a long period of time.

    Hope this helps,
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  • Profile picture of the author bassem
    Exactly ! Affiliates generate most of the traffic that's why we do launch ...

    Bassem
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  • Profile picture of the author pauljones99
    Chicken or Egg.

    There's huge money/success in both. You can only do one or do both. Doesn't have to be one or the other.
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  • Profile picture of the author bfacedon
    Very good advice here. I'm making money with my products but I've realized the top dogs with 10k+ sales are all doing software for the IM niche. Not hard to understand why but interesting.
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