The most common question I receive practically every day is how to generate that all-important first sale as an affiliate marketer. The process can feel quite overwhelming to many, especially those with little to no experience or expertise in the field. Theory and concepts can only get you so far. The bridge between rhetoric and results can seem quite long once you enter the cut-throat world of online marketing.
How to start? What products should I promote and where should I promote them? Who should I consult? How do I generate traffic and convert prospects? Questions, questions, questions, but how about some answers?
Ok, so I just answered a question with another question, but bear with me. At the end of the day you want to learn…no, master, the tried-and-true techniques required to generate sales quickly, easily, and effectively. You want to generate a long withstanding revenue stream and perhaps expand into other sectors of marketing as you grow as an online marketer. But you need to start somewhere, and this is it.
First, you will be using Marketbay as your online vendor. Let us assume that you’ll be using a BlogSpot blog for your website and are fairly well versed/adept in search engine optimization proceedings. If you are not, please visit the following websites (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/ and (http://www.seochat.com/) for more details.
Step 1 - Find products you are actually interested in
- MarketBay is a great place to get started on your product search because they have a variety of products to choose from. Begin by opening a MarketBay account and then click on the “Marketplace” icon to get instant access to their product database. Select products that you think you or someone you know would be interested in buying.
- Keep detailed notes of the products you’re interested in, including their websites’ sales pitches, design, layout, and writing style. You should also keep notes on the custom HopLinks you’ll use to promote those websites. To access HopLinks simply click the “Promote” icon next to the Marketplace listings.
Step 2 - Create a keyword database using Google’s Keyword Tool
- Click here to access Google’s Keyword Tool.
- Using the product list you created in step 1, type in keywords that you think would be relevant to those products. For instance, if you are thinking of promoting a weight loss product you could type in “weight loss” or “lose weight fast.”
- Once you enter in a keyword and click on “Get keyword ideas” you’ll be redirected to a list of keywords that are relevant to the words you entered. Next, click on the “Match Type” scroll bar with the bottom facing arrow (next to “Global Monthly Search Volume”). Change it so that it reads “Phrase” instead of “Broad.”
- Next, click on the blue “Global Monthly Search Volume” icon so that the list of keywords are arranged from highest to lowest.
- Make a list of keywords that generate between 15,000 and 30,000 global monthly searches and that are relevant to the product you’re interested in promoting.
- If you don’t find any relevant keywords then try entering in new keywords that are relevant to the product you’re interested in or try a new product altogether.
Step 3 - Analyze the SE0 competition
- Once you’ve compiled your keyword list we need to check if those words would rank high on Google’s search directory. Take the keywords that you’ve compiled and enter them into Google, individually, using quotations. For instance, you can type “weight loss” and see how many website searches appear.
- The search results will appear on the right-hand side of your screen. You should see a “Results 1-10 of about…” followed by a number. If that number is below 150,000 then move on to next step. If it is above 150,000 then discard that keyword altogether and move on to the next one.
- Next type “Inurl:” followed by your keyword phrase. For instance you could type “inurl: weight loss” if you wanted to promote a weight loss product. Next, hit “Search” and take a look at that search result number again. It should be lower than before. If the new number is below 1,500 (not 150,000) then it’s a great keyword. If not, you may want to discard it.
Step 4 - Build a BlogSpot blog using the “winning” keywords you’ve compiled
- BlogSpot blogs are great because they are easy to create, look professional, and rank quite high on Google.
- Pick the top keywords you’ve compiled. Remember: they must be relevant to the product you’re promoting and rank high according to the criteria we outlined in Step 3.
- Sign-up on BlogSpot and watch the how-to videos that appear after you register. Also make sure that the title you use for your blog contains the keyword or keywords that you compiled for that particular product.
- The URL (website title/name) you choose for your website should also contain the keywords that you compiled for that particular product. Check out www.domainname.com to see if the URL you selected is available. If it not, you can usually bypass the problem by adding dashes, underscores, or numbers to your URL. For instance, if www.weightloss.com is not available you could rewrite it as www.weight-loss.com or www.weight2010loss.net
- When you write your blog make sure that it isn’t completely sales oriented. You want to inform your visitors about the product’s features and why you think it’s worth purchasing. You can provide additional resources as well that can provide them with more information about your product (i.e., Wikipedia, eHow). You can even add your HopLink to the product using images or plain text. If you want to use images of the product you’re prompting, you can usually get them from affiliate pages for the product. For instance, you can check out the product’s “Vendor Spotlight,” which can found in the Clickbank Marketplace.
- It is also important to never falsify information about the product. The best way to avoid blatant lies is to actually purchase the product you’re prompting yourself and test it out. You can also get an unbiased friend or family member to purchase it for comparison notes…or if you’re broke. Thus, buy the product and write an honest, insightful review.
- Check http://www.skinnyhollie.com for an example. Notice she’s reviewing a weight loss program without coming off as a saleswoman.
Step 5 - Build links
- The key to search engine optimization is link building. If you want your blog to rank highly on search engine results then you need to build links as soon as possible for the keywords you’re targeting.
- You need to begin by generating a link to your website. You should use your keyword in the tag or description whenever you use a bookmarking website. You can also use your keywords as the “anchor text”, which is basically the text that can be clicked on by visitors and links them to your website.
- You can also generate backlinks via “blog comment postings.” Click here for a great article that shows you how to create them.
- Another great way to generate backlinks is via social bookmarking. Click here for a massive, free database of them. It’s completely free!
- You can also try community websites to generate backlinks. They provide ample space to add content/details on your product followed by a backlink to your website. Click here for the entire list of major, active, social networking websites.
- For some quick tips on how to create backlinks click here.
- Try and create 6-12 backlinks daily. This will generate the fastest results.
Closing Comments
At the end of the day, it is imperative that you generate the best keyword list possible. Keep at it and never give up. When you find the winning combination stick with it and the rest will fall into place. If you followed the steps outlined above you will be rewarded with a high ranking on Google’s search results. As soon as you generate that much needed exposure the sales will start flowing in like wine. I wish you all the best in your marketing endeavors!