I was doing some thinking on our job as affiliate marketers, and I know that a few people still find it difficult to define what it is we are supposed to do.
Sell products? Sell services?
What are we selling exactly?
See, that’s when I stopped and had an “AHA!” moment. I suddenly realized that we are not supposed to sell at all.
I used to work as a project manager in marketing agency once, and I don’t remember any of us selling anything to the customer. Why should online marketing be different?
We are not online sales reps. Marketing has a different purpose.
We are to inform a potential customer that a product he wants or needs is available for him at a certain location. That’s it. No selling!
The customer you want to grab is already holding his credit card in his hand. He wants to buy. He’s online to see whether or not he’s being suckered into something, and to know if there isn’t a better deal for him.
So, you don’t go: “Can I interest you in a great Red Widget? Only $27… All your friends would be jealous! Buy NOW!”
You should be more in this direction:
“I have a Red Widget that is making a lot of people happy. All their friends are jealous because this red widget has this and that advantage over the other red widgets. You can find out more here…”
You see the difference? Why sell anything to someone who’s already a minute from signing the deal? You just need to nudge him in the right direction…
Of course, you can choose to target a different audience. Let’s take those who are looking to compare stuff first and have not yet decided. But, it’s all the same…
Don’t sell. Be of service to them and they will appreciate your treating them like people instead of like a herd of sheep.
Have a different perspective? My comments are open for you 
- Alex
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straight to the point, plain and simple “how to” type of post, i like it alex.
why beat around the bush and start trying to sell something by means of a style that don’t really sell nothing?
in my opinion, there’s really no big secret to affiliate marketing, it just depends on how much you wanna make, and how hard you wanna work to make it.
if you’re new to the whole AM, then it’ll take some time to get used to, you just gotta find that niche and style of marketing that’ll work for you. I’m an AM myself and I’ve finally found a niche that works for me, plus a style to go along with it to make things work, i’m not making $10g’s a month or even 5gs a month, but im making good money to equal out my full-time job.
like alex said, you’re to inform a potential customer of where the product is and that’s not. no selling. if they’re interested they’re already ready to purchase =]
Pheak Tol’s last blog post..Squeeze Page – “The Money is in the List”
The big secret is that there is no big secret.
yep, couldn´t agree more with you there, our job as I see it is bringing targeted traffic (with cc in their hand LOL) with a “problem/need/desire” towards the product and let the selling company do their job and sell their stuff.
wow… you think there is only one Big Secret?
MIrjam’s last blog post..My One Week Marketing Projects are Starting to Take Off!
yea, maybe I’ll make it into a Big Secret series of posts.. coz obviously I can think of a couple more…
hey man, don´t hold back, it could make for some good discussion
MIrjam’s last blog post..Using Massive Traffic Techniques – a Long Shot or Big Money Maker?
I think sales and marketing are related, but your pitch depends on your audience. Sometimes you need to sell creatively, and sometimes you just need to provide the features v. benefits. Not everyone signs online with the intention of purchasing a product; sometimes the right pitch convinces them.
True, not everyone will be with a credit card in their hand.
But isn’t it the best audience to market to?
They already have made the decision. And looking for the deal-breaker… Easy.
p.s.
You should come by more often, Dina
The thing is we have toinfluence the minds of ppl already interested in our types of offers…
Caleb (Market Secrets Blogger)’s last blog post..By: Review My Blog and Get Linkback! | SoniaManuela.Com
Hey Caleb,
It seems that your comment went straight to my spam folder. Sorry for that, I rarely go through it, because it has 100s of spam comments… anyway, I’m glad I did this time
Yes, you are right. But in this case those people minds are already set in the right direction..
That’s very true! I’ll try to stop by more often.
Yep yep yep. Just be one of the first in line saying, here it is!
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Blog Comment Tip: Add A CommentLuv Link With No Plugin (sneaky!)
With some creativity you don’t even have to be the first in line
oh no…. now you are saying we don´t even have to be first in line anymore??
Mirjam’s last blog post..Using Massive Traffic Techniques – a Long Shot or Big Money Maker?
yea, have the right presell copy and you can be down the line with plenty of sales…
Thanks for those article tips, btw….
I was really banging my head on the wall with this.
For me it’s just a marketing tactic to make you click.
Thanks for the info!
Salwa’s last blog post..My New Custom Twitter Background
Hi Alex, nice post about affiliate marketing . How do you see the usage of Twitter for affiliate marketing? Any tips and tricks to share?
Problogger Making Money Online With Blogging’s last blog post..By: rampantheart
Hey Mert,
Nice seeing you here. I first met you a year ago, somewhere online
I hate Twitter. Many reasons for that, and I know many bloggers swear by it. I’m yet to have a solid formula to explain why exactly I hate it, but currently it is the case…
Come back again, Mert!
Cheers,
Alex