Hey Fred,
The first thing I do whenever launching a new product is to look for
"power affiliates" who may want to JV with me. Having even just 1
or 2 super affiliates promoting your offers can have an astounding
impact not just on sales, but alluring additional affiliates as well.
The next thing I do, and this may sound odd, but, I actually never
try to sell my own products. Instead, I sell the affiliate program.
Seriously, I will post a new product on one of my sites and instead
of me promoting IT, I promote the hell out of the affiliate program.
The way I look at it is that it's just as easy (or difficult) to sell the
affiliate program as it is to sell the product, HOWEVER, by selling my
affiliate program, I'm more likely to reach a larger number of people
who would be interested. And since, most of my lists are those that
are looking for ways to make money online, my offers appeal to every
one of those that are on my list (well, almost all. not all affiliates will
promote just anything, but you get the point).
When I first started creating my own products, I would bust my ass
looking for buyers. It wasn't until a year or two in that I realized:
Hey, if I put in just as much effort in finding affiliates as I do in trying
to find buyers, my sales could sky rocket.
If I "SELL" an item, only 1 person knows about the product, the buyer.
If I sell my AFFILIATE PROGRAM, now I have MULTIPLE people trying to
SELL MY PRODUCT for me...
When I realized that, my entire selling technique changed to what it is
today. Like I said above, I never try to sell my own products, instead,
I sell my affiliate program.
I actually spend more time setting up affiliate pages, bonuses, swipes
and banners, etc., than I do on the actual product sales pages.
Again, by taking the same amount of time and energy, to create a sea
of affiliates, now I have an army of people selling my product for me
so I can sit back and worry about other stuff like revising the product(s),
based on buyer feedback of course, gathering ideas for my next project
and finally, getting started on the creation of the next product so that I
can, once again, sell the affiliate program of the newest product as well.
P.S. When trying to find, and secure, POWER/SUPER AFFILIATES, do NOT
be afraid to offer them upwards of 75, to even 99,% commissions. With the
amount of sales they generate alone, you'd be surprised at how MUCH you
can make. Even though you're making so little (1-25%).
The number of sales will definitely make up for the amount of commission you
give away. By giving your power affiliate such a high commission, they are,
obviously, more likely and more willing to promote the product for you making
it a WIN-WIN for everyone...
AND, when you do land a power affiliate, be willing to offer a custom sales page
for him/her. And be sure to use a little "black hat turned white hat" method and
stuff his/her custom page with his/her own cookie, ensuring and guaranteeing
that they receive the commission for any/every one they refer.
If you don't understand my whole "stuff cookie" concept, just let me know and
I'd be happy to explain it further.
