The Instant Guru Blog

How To Promote Affiliate Programs With Much More Success - Part 2: Getting Better Performance From Your Downline

Copyright 2005 Jim Boere


In Part 1 of this training article series I showed you several ways you can create your own, unique promotion material and use it to bring in more affiliates and grow your downline.

But that's only part of your 'success formula'. Most people focus only on bringing in new affiliates, and stop there. I say that's a mistake. It's crucial to realize that you will have much more success when you assist and coach your downline!

You want to actively help your affiliates. Follow up with them regularly and give them tips. Ask if they have any questions. This will be the key to your success... Why?

Well, you can have a large downline but if your affiliates aren't building a downline of their own and/or selling the retail products, how are YOU going to earn any commissions?

Right...you're not.

So don't forget about people once you got them to join. That's only half of the 'success formula'.

Here's a few tips for 'coaching' your downline:

1) Ask them every now and then if there's anything you can help them with.

2) Make sure they know how to contact you. Make yourself available. Ideally you should give them your phone number, alongside your email address. Even though most people will never actually pickup the phone to talk to you in person... Just knowing that they CAN, will instantly create a higher level of trust. Because most people online 'hide' behind their websites and email addresses. If YOU don't, you already have an edge over your competition. It's another opportunity for you to
stand out from the crowd.

3) Share what is working for YOU. You could create a small eCourse with all your best tips, for example. Or you can add a training page to your site. If your tips improve your affiliates' results - your own results will improve too!

There are Internet marketers who make a very nice living online just from promoting affiliate programs. They understood this concept and acted on it. After putting in the extra effort, they reap the rewards...

Strangely enough, most affiliates still neglect this part of their business, and it is - without a shadow of a doubt - hurting their business.

The whole idea is to build a relationship with the people in your downline. Think of them as your staff if you had an offline business. It's the same principle, really.

*) You want your 'workforce' to keep working and stay motivated. If they have some success they automatically will. So you genuinely do want them to have that success, because it's in your own best interest! Their level of success directly influences YOUR level of success. So by investing in your 'workforce' you are effectively investing in your home based business.

*) You want them to pay attention whenever you make a recommendation. You want people to really take note of what you're saying and act on your advise and recommendations. They will only do that when they 'know' you, and 'trust' that you will only recommend a product or program to them that is useful. That will be beneficial to them. Because you've proven that time and time again.

By staying in touch with your downline, by making yourself available to answer their questions, by giving them good tips and by recommending only useful products, you will build that trust naturally.

Then when you find for example an eBook, a software program, an advertisement program or something else that you purchased or joined and that is helping you...you can recommend it to your downline.

This is where all your hard work starts to really pay off! Since:

1) Your affiliates will be tempted to buy the product or join the program, because it's YOU who's recommending it.

2) If this product or program has an affiliate program of its own (which you joined of course), you've just created a second stream of income for yourself.

I could go on and sum up many more ways to help your downline, and many more ways you can capatalize on that...but I think you get the picture. I hope you will try this. Because it will work for you like it's working for me.


About the author:
Jim Boere is a published author and fulltime online (affiliate) marketer. Visit http://www.onlinebizpromotion.com/RecommendsSFI.htm to join the affiliate program he recommends for building a residual income. To (re-)read Part 1 of this article series, please visit: http://www.onlinebizpromotion.com/homebiz.htm
For more information

Click Here.

How To Promote Affiliate Programs With Much More Success - Part 1: Creating Your Own Promotion Material

Copyright 2005 Jim Boere


Create your own promotion material.

I realize that may sound like a strange thing to say. After all, you probably found a whole range of ready-to-use ads and websites in all shapes and sizes when you logged in to your affiliate account! And I'm not saying you shouldn't use those. But I do advise you to create your own variations on them as well.

Think that's too difficult? You'll be surprised...
Let me explain the why and the how.

Most affiliates use the exact same ads in the exact same ways, in the exact same places. Now, I believe over time that inevitably makes those ads less effective. Especially if the program is well-known and has who knows how many thousands of members!

People will get used to seeing those same ads over and over again, and so they loose their impact. People will grow immune to them, so to speak...

But that can actually good news! You can use this fact to your advantage...

By being original.

You see, the vast majority of affiliates does not realize the importance of what I've just told you. And even those that do; some of them aren't very creative and simply don't come up with their own ideas. Others are just plain lazy... The result is the same: they use the same ads for a long time, often even for as long as they remain an affiliate.

And that gives you a brilliant opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

Create your own promotion material!

Present prospects with something fresh, something new. Replace the 'same old stuff' they've already seen ten times before and have grown immune to.

You'll find that people will pay much more attention to your ads. Result: a higher response rate...and more affiliates in your downline.


Let's look at ways to easily create your own promotion material.


1. Write your own articles.

For the 'why' of writing articles, I refer to my article "Why You Should Write An Article, Today!" which you can read online at:

http://www.onlinebizpromotion.com/homebiz1.htm

I also suggest you subscribe to my free eCourse on affiliate marketing. It covers the 'how' of writing articles, and it comes with six fully rebrandable and rewritable articles you can instantly use to promote any affiliate program you want.

Go here to subscribe:

http://www.onlinebizpromotion.com/makeaflyingstart.htm


2. Add an original incentive to your opt-in form.

The opt-in form is the most direct approach. You put an opt-in form on your website, and people can sign-up. For this to work well though, there will have to be 'something in it' for your visitors. They aren't likely to sign-up for anything just to do you a favor...

You'll want to give them something of value, for free. A powerful encouragement. Ideally, it's something that other affiliates can't offer. For example:

* Write a special report on how to be successful with the program in question, and offer it as a PDF file.

*Write a "How to Get Started with ..." eCourse.

*Offer a report, eBook or software program that is relevant for, and complimentary to, the affiliate program you're promoting. This should not be a product that can easily be found elsewhere. Or at least not for free.

*Offer one-on-one coaching, either by email or by phone.

*Offer a combination of the above.

*Maybe you have another idea? Then go ahead and try it!


Maybe you have another idea? Then go ahead and try it!

A more indirect approach is the...


3. Warm-up page, with a personal touch.

This can be a single page, where you tell the visitor about your own experience with the program. You'll want to focus on a few of the biggest benefits of the program - and/or the program's retail product(s), and elaborate on those. What did it do for you?

Don't bother listing a ton of technical details or fancy features, but stick to the benefits. Those are your most powerful selling points.

Here's an example. I have this page on my own website, and it's promoting the program that I personally started my online venture with:

http://www.onlinebizpromotion.com/NoteOnPIPS.htm

You can see how I've made it personal by explaining how the program helped ME. And how that adds credibility to my 'story'.


I hope I've given you some new ideas that you can use to improve your results with affiliate programs. Look out for future articles in this series. Or, if you want to receive them automatically, add yourself to my mailing list. Simply send a blank email to this address and I'll keep you updated:

onlinebizpromotion@getresponse.com

(It's double opt-in, you will be asked to confirm.)


About the author:
Jim Boere is a published author and fulltime online marketer. Visit http://www.onlinebizpromotion.com/RecommendsSFI.htm and join the affiliate program he recommends for building a residual income. You will be (automatically) contacted and offered his personal assistance within 48 hrs after joining. Free of charge.
For more information

Click Here.