Clickbank failed me

I can very much understand your frustration - it's not a nice experience to invest money, time and effort and not see any results. Did you do a market research before developing your product? What product are you marketing? Sometimes there's a big market for something and then all of a sudden there is an oversupply.

You will almost always convert better than your affiliates.

You understand your market the best. You have the data from sales tracking. You know the numbers. You created the product, know it's sales copy, and can use that to align your message to your traffic.

Your affiliates are at several disadvantages. Most affiliates don't really understand the importance of good copy. Even in writing presell's and articles, most fail to really understand - thus convert - people.

Preselling is an artform of copy in and of itself. Most will just slap up a review page and drive traffic to it.

Not many will build email lists (which can have a profound effect on conversions)

There are some affiliates, known as super affiliates, who really know what they are doing - they will sell well, have consistent traffic for a long time, and make lots of money.


But they are in the minority. The weight in your cash is the shear amount of affiliates you can get promoting.

So don't feel bad if a majority of your affiliates convert way less than you. You aren't failing them. It's just the way it is.

You can help by giving them good training and tools - but even then, you can't force them to do things perfect.

Don't beat yourself up. As long as they are getting the money they make, and you show that you care, they'll be happy.

Rob

How did Clickbank fail you?

Do you have an opt-in on the same sales-page to which your affiliates are sending their traffic?

If you do, then the overall proportion of your affiliates' traffic converted will, I'd imagine, necessarily be much lower than is the case with your own traffic, by definition, i.e. simply because you're dealing exclusively with affiliates who are willing to promote a product with a vendor's opt-in on the sales page.

I don't mean it as a criticism of anyone - this is just factual: very many of the more successful, professional affiliates are not willing to promote such products, obviously leaving their vendors, overall, with a preponderance of less successful, less professional affiliates. I think it would be naive not at least to wonder whether this is what's happened here.

A long, leisurely read through this thread may possibly give you food for thought?

Of course, I have no idea what your product is, but even from my own fairly narrow field of clients there are certainly some who improved matters a lot, on the affiliate sales front, by having available a version of the sales page without the opt-in, simply because doing so enabled them to attract an altogether different sort of affiliate who wouldn't otherwise promote the product. You can still use the one with the opt-in for your own traffic, of course, so it costs nothing to try. Giving the affiliates a choice may attract some more serious ones.

Respectfully, I think it may be that your expectations of Clickbank weren't altogether realistic, rather than that they "failed you". Don't expect them to find affiliates for you: you need to do that part - especially if you want good ones.

Alexa is right as well.

I would create (if you don't have one or are doing this) a second sales page without an opt in on the page and see what that does for you.

Also, don't be afraid to go out and search for affiliates manually. Find people with large sites, lots of traffic, and offer them a deal.

Rob

I don't see too much wrong with an opt-in form on a clickbank vendor's page as long as they are clear that they will send traffic directly back to the sales page so affiliates will still get the sale, taking advantage of the 60-day cookie policy. It's not full-proof but it could actually perhaps increase the likelihood of a sale for the affiliate, in the end. Just may have to wait a bit longer for it.

I've seen Alexa slam this tactic by Clickbank vendors time and time and time again, so I know what she thinks about it, heh heh. Then again not all affiliates that dislike this would probably take the time to find out if the merchant will be faithful in promising to send affiliates' prospects straight back to the sales page, so you'd have to think about that as well.

edit: And probably you wouldn't want to trust all vendors to follow up faithfully, from an affiliates' perspective. So I agree that leaving the opt-in means you are probably missing out on affiliates promoting your product, regardless of how faithful you would be in sending traffic back to the sales page so they get sales.

Alexa is right - and the solution is really easy. Create 2 pages. One for you to promote and one for affiliates.

And if you are worried about building a list or failing to sell these people that get sent, then consider this:

The strength of having affiliates has nothing to do with gettings sales on the front end (though it is important), the real strength is in the BACKEND.

If you have tons of affiliates promoting you, and they don't want the opt-in on the sales page, then don't include it.

I'm more concerned with a buyers list anyway. It is way more valuable than a prospect list and with plenty of upsells and backends, you'll be wise to let the affiliates build your list for you.

This is why 100% commission is so powerful. Who cares if you don't make a dime on the front in...you are making way more by having quality buyers on your lists and bigger, more expensive products.

Rob