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My Affiliate Marketing Set-Up

by gwpmike
11 replies
I have just started building a list in the self improvement/self help niche and plan to monetize it, while building a valuable relationship with my subscribers.

Here's how I currently have everything set-up:

Squeeze page (with incentive to download free ebook by opting-in)
Follow-up emails (about 1 per week) with valuable content
Follow-up emails also contain a link to my blog to read the full article
Every other week I will send a product recommendation containing my affiliate link (usually via Clickbank)

I am currently in the process of adding the follow-up emails, but my squeeze page seems to be converting quite well. (about 1,000 opt-ins the first month).

I plan to use solo ads and ad swaps to send traffic to my squeeze page and build my list.

The squeeze page can be seen at: Global Wellness Guide
The blog can be seen at: Global Wellness Blog

I would like anybody's advice, tips and suggestions on this set-up, and any ideas you have to improve it.

Best regards,
Mike Sheehan
#affiliate #marketing #setup
  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Is it set for double optin? Or single optin?
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    • Profile picture of the author gwpmike
      Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

      Is it set for double optin? Or single optin?
      Yes, single opt-in.
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      • Profile picture of the author writeaway
        Originally Posted by gwpmike View Post

        Yes, single opt-in.
        Have you considered the possibility that someone might seek to mess with your list by signing up then complaining of spam using a VPN? Aweber and many ARs are very sensitive about spam complaints.
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    Hi

    The content looks good. The Oil Pulling article was good, but most sources I find say pull for 15-20 minutes but you recommend 5 minutes so you don't 'reabsorb the toxins". I think 5 minutes is not long enough and I pull for 20.

    I think your blog looks too corporate. It has a very slick business feel rather than a health feel.

    It could be more 'unique' and brandable- it looks a bit like a default theme for business with little customization. The first impression is not "wellness and health".

    Also, the health tips discussed are mostly natural and alternative therapies. I think for that angle, you need a design that projects a more "natural health" feel than corporate. Pictures of smiling, healthy people would add a lot. You can find many suitable stock images.

    You have no opt-in on the blog home page. You are probably driving traffic to your squeeze to build a list, but you do not have an option to capture emails on the blog.

    Your tag cloud is doing nothing and does not help the appearance of the blog. I would replace that with an opt-in form in the right column like you do with the articles.

    You should have an opt-in at the end of every article in addition to the opt-in at the top right: For more health tips and updates subscribe...

    I don't think you are mailing your list frequently enough. You should be emailing at least once per day.

    Send a "health tip of the day" email. Something very brief reminding them about something like doing their daily oil pulling, or promote upcoming activities- this weekend "natural forest run". Tie the tips to content on the blog (i.e. remind them which article gives more details for the tip) or products.

    You can promote in every email by adding a few 'sig' style links at the end.

    Some emails will be direct promotion- you are emailing to tell them about a specific product or service you recommend.

    Others will be content or soft-sell but will still have your links at the end.

    You can preface the links with something like: See what else we recommend, or Check out our sponsors.
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    • Profile picture of the author gwpmike
      Originally Posted by onSubie View Post

      Hi

      The content looks good. The Oil Pulling article was good, but most sources I find say pull for 15-20 minutes but you recommend 5 minutes so you don't 'reabsorb the toxins". I think 5 minutes is not long enough and I pull for 20.

      I think your blog looks too corporate. It has a very slick business feel rather than a health feel.

      It could be more 'unique' and brandable- it looks a bit like a default theme for business with little customization. The first impression is not "wellness and health".

      Also, the health tips discussed are mostly natural and alternative therapies. I think for that angle, you need a design that projects a more "natural health" feel than corporate. Pictures of smiling, healthy people would add a lot. You can find many suitable stock images.

      You have no opt-in on the blog home page. You are probably driving traffic to your squeeze to build a list, but you do not have an option to capture emails on the blog.

      Your tag cloud is doing nothing and does not help the appearance of the blog. I would replace that with an opt-in form in the right column like you do with the articles.

      You should have an opt-in at the end of every article in addition to the opt-in at the top right: For more health tips and updates subscribe...

      I don't think you are mailing your list frequently enough. You should be emailing at least once per day.

      Send a "health tip of the day" email. Something very brief reminding them about something like doing their daily oil pulling, or promote upcoming activities- this weekend "natural forest run". Tie the tips to content on the blog (i.e. remind them which article gives more details for the tip) or products.

      You can promote in every email by adding a few 'sig' style links at the end.

      Some emails will be direct promotion- you are emailing to tell them about a specific product or service you recommend.

      Others will be content or soft-sell but will still have your links at the end.

      You can preface the links with something like: See what else we recommend, or Check out our sponsors.

      Thank you very much for the advice.

      However, yes I do have an opt-in form on the blog (on the sidebar on every post).

      I know the blog does look minimal and somewhat corporate, but I was going for a "minimalist" feel. However, I do like your suggestions and will mess around with some other themes. I will also put an opt-in form on the home page in place of the tag cloud.

      I'm not too sure if I agree with mailing once a day. I've done some split testing and mailing EVERY day only gets my subscribers to unsubscribe. After doing some research, it seems that post people recommend about one mailing per week but never every single day. I will also consider putting the "sponsor" links at the bottom of the follow-up emails.

      Thanks again for your suggestions, you have some very good ideas.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicholasb
    fundamentally everything seems fine, I would follow up more than once per week, I like to follow up with my list every single day sometimes two times a day.

    I would also add some videos to the mix and not use just articles, videos convert well and will build a better relationship with your list.

    Adding a live component like a Google hangout or a webinar will really help build a relationship and conversion with your list
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    • Profile picture of the author gwpmike
      Originally Posted by nicholasb View Post

      fundamentally everything seems fine, I would follow up more than once per week, I like to follow up with my list every single day sometimes two times a day.

      I would also add some videos to the mix and not use just articles, videos convert well and will build a better relationship with your list.

      Adding a live component like a Google hangout or a webinar will really help build a relationship and conversion with your list
      Hmm.. okay, I will try following up a few times a week. Yes, I do use videos on my blog which I link to in the follow-ups.

      The Google hangout is a pretty good idea, I will try implementing that. Thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author writeaway
      Originally Posted by nicholasb View Post

      .... I like to follow up with my list every single day sometimes two times a day.
      Wouldn't that burn out the list though? Even if it is topnotch content, the frequency might be too much, no?
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      • Profile picture of the author gwpmike
        Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

        Wouldn't that burn out the list though? Even if it is topnotch content, the frequency might be too much, no?
        Agreed, I think I'm going to stick with twice a week and occasionally 3 times a week.
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      • Profile picture of the author onSubie
        Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

        Wouldn't that burn out the list though? Even if it is topnotch content, the frequency might be too much, no?
        It depends a lot on the list, the niche and the purpose of the list.

        A prospects list can be emailed much more frequently than a buyers list, or example, because you want those people to either buy or unsubscribe.

        People who don't buy, don't want your offers and have no interest in a relationship with you only take up a spot on your freebie list you are paying Aweber to maintain.

        If you are a working and successful person, why wouldn't you email your list every day to motivate them, talk to them and let them know what you are doing?

        If someone paid you $5,000 for coaching and you said "I don't do daily emails because I don't want to flood your inbox with emails from me", you would be upset at the "lack of service" and "less than personal" coaching.

        Do you not look at your list as people you are "coaching"?

        Or are they just numbers you need to massage with the correct frequency algorithm to maximize the amount of cash you can suck out of them?
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        • Profile picture of the author gwpmike
          Originally Posted by onSubie View Post

          It depends a lot on the list, the niche and the purpose of the list.

          A prospects list can be emailed much more frequently than a buyers list, or example, because you want those people to either buy or unsubscribe.

          People who don't buy, don't want your offers and have no interest in a relationship with you only take up a spot on your freebie list you are paying Aweber to maintain.

          If you are a working and successful person, why wouldn't you email your list every day to motivate them, talk to them and let them know what you are doing?

          If someone paid you $5,000 for coaching and you said "I don't do daily emails because I don't want to flood your inbox with emails from me", you would be upset at the "lack of service" and "less than personal" coaching.

          Do you not look at your list as people you are "coaching"?

          Or are they just numbers you need to massage with the correct frequency algorithm to maximize the amount of cash you can suck out of them?
          You make a very good point. I'd like to be able to say that my list is people I am "coaching" and not just trying to make a quick buck from. My follow-up emails and blog content focus a lot on "finding your passion and living it". It also focuses a lot on self-improvement information, tools and techniques.

          However, my subscribers are not necessarily opting-in for coaching, but rather for my free ebook. Because of this, I feel like many of these subscribers would rather receive an email 2 or 3 times a week, than every day.

          More importantly, a lot of the information I am sharing with my list can be either lengthy or take extra time for subscribers to fully comprehend. So I do not want to flood them with information, but instead give them a couple days in between each email, so they have time to think about what I've taught them (and "integrate" it) before moving on to the next subject.
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