Affiliate sales convert better from impartial or presell?

by Anton543

Posted: 13 years ago 9 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Do affiliate products sell better when the reviews seem impartial or when it pre-sells where people are bound to know that it has basically been written to get them to buy?

Interestingly, one of the affiliates suggests the url of the link should look regular and not carry the affiliate ID, but most affiliates say you should write reviews that pre-sell the product with quite aggressive selling tactics. Does it really then matter whether you hide the ID when people know that you are basically trying to get them to bite. I am in quandary here because main site is geared towards providing impartial information, but I have been thinking about adding reviews of some affiliate products and posting them on the site. Should I make these reviews honest and impartial as possible or should I write to convince to buy?

#affiliate #convert #impartial #presell #sales

travlinguy

13 years ago

I don't agree that aggressive selling tactics work. They can but only in particular markets.

As for reviews, it's almost impossible for a good review to be impartial. Someone bothering to write a review usually has a good or not so good opinion. That's reflected in the review. There's definitely a skill to preselling. I've found that an honest, positive review is best. But you need to take it a bit further. Whenever possible incorporate a sincere personal story about how the product has made a difference to you. If that's not possible then find someone. a friend maybe, with a personal story where the product performance was exceptional. And if you can't put your own or a friend's experience with a review then seek out an athlete, celebrity or someone others can identify with.

The problem with this type of review is that it most often takes a skilled writer to pull it off because blending a review with a personal account of someone's satisfaction with the product isn't always easy.

The other potential problem is that when people realize how powerful the personal touch is in a review they will sometimes lie and make something up. I'd never suggest doing that because there is nearly always a way to do it legitimately. And if there's not, then don't do it at all. Find something else to market. Good luck.

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wordwizard 13 years ago

I would think you should make them honest. However, since you really should only promote products you really like and believe in, "honest" means quite positive. And I agree with travlinguy that personal experience (or that of a friend) will be helpful too.

As far as affiliate links are concerned - sure, people will usually know these links are affiliate links. The advantage of cloaking them is that it makes it much more difficult for people to find the non-affiliate link, at least without first clicking on that link, and getting that cookie.

This is especially important if you promote Clickbank products.
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Anton543

13 years ago

Originally Posted by travlinguy

What I mean by impartial is being honest and that includes writing negatively if you felt it was deserved. But that will probably put people off from clicking on to the product page.

Thanks
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shane_k

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Anton543

What I mean by impartial is being honest and that includes writing negatively if you felt it was deserved. But that will probably put people off from clicking on to the product page.

This is what I was going to say. And why I think that if it is you that is writing the reviews yourself, then it is pretty much impossible to be impartial.

Because you have an invested interest in getting the person to click on the link and buy.

The only way a review can be truly honest and impartial is if there is no benefit in any way for the reviewer.

However, that does not mean that you still can't build up trust with people.

One thing that I have found works is being up front with people letting them know that I get a commission if they click through my link. But I do offer another link that is commission free. (non affiliate link)

When writing a negative review I will even say something like, "just to remind you guys that I do get a commission for this product, however, after looking at it, I do not recommend it. So save your money"

It's interesting when you tell people you could get a commission for something but you tell them not to buy it, for some reason it creates trust in them, maybe because they feel you are putting their interests ahead of your commissions, by telling them that it is a crappy product and to not buy it.

A combination that seems to work is to say, "it's a crappy product, save your money, or purchase this other one instead."

So they don't click on the crappy one, but possibly will on the other one you do recommend.

Obviously you do this sparingly and you will want to test your results.

Thanks

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talfighel

13 years ago

There are people who just write reviews for the sake of writing them and not ever trying those products out. They have one thing in common and that is to get their review site ranked high so that people will read that review and hopefully buy the product.

A lot of people don't realize that these reviews contain affiliate links and to be honest, they could care less if they made the mental decision that they want to buy that product right away.

If you can get your reviews ranked on page one of Google, it does not have to be a master piece.

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Anton543

13 years ago

Originally Posted by talfighel

I agree. Most reviews are not tested prior.

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HappyPanda 13 years ago

Affiliate products sell better when you can push the reader's emotional hot buttons, and pull their heart strings so to speak.
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weston2012 13 years ago

Actually sales coming on the word presentation. How you show nicely your product to consumers?

If you can present the product nicely then they will more interested to buy.
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- PotPieGirl 13 years ago
  
  Have you ever shopped online? Looked for reviews before you bought?
  
  Let me ask, what do YOU look for? What pushed your buttons?
  
  It's funny to me that when we come online to sell we forget that we are all consumers.
  
  Be what YOU would like to find.
  
  Jennifer
  ~PotPieGirl
  
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  These 15 simple tips worked wonders for my Amazon affiliate earnings =)
  
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Affiliate sales convert better from impartial or presell?

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