Remember The Real Power Of Affiliate Programs Is Not "Getting Rich Quick", But Instead Building A Loyal Base of Customers Who Trust You

Dear Friend,

In the year 2000, you have to challenge yourself. I just came back from a 4 day Summit that showed me ways to improve I never thought of... and I challenge you to take the next step with me.

Last week I had the honor of presenting at Jay Abraham's Billion Dollar Internet Strategy Summit. It was one of the most powerful events, not just for those attending (remember that Jay's Summit runs over $5,000), but for my own business.

No matter how far you go, it is never good to skip the basics. Some of you may not even know who Jay Abraham is... believe me, you are missing out. Among the many business techniques Jay shares, three of the most important to grow your business are:

1. Increase the number of customers you have. Seems simple? Most people on the Internet focus solely on this, the most expensive customer acquisition, and ignore the real value right in front of their eyes.

2. Increase the purchase value your customers make; it's simple, increase the dollar amount of the sale, and the profits you are making.

3. Increase the frequency with which they purchase to maximize the value of your customers.

What is amazing is that most people who act like affiliates ONLY look at the first sale. Every where you look on the 'Net people are making that mistake.

I know you will be different, because you will apply the following formula to your business:

(NOTE: The following is a short excerpt from Patrick Anderson's breakthrough marketing book, Right on the Money: Drop Me Off In the Middle of the 'Net With Nothing But Dialup Access and I Can Make Money in 5 Hours )

After four years of Internet marketing we have discovered the secret for creating online sales. We call this the ActiveMarketplace Formula. Here it is: Existing Traffic Plus Effective Merchandising Yields Net Profits. It sounds simple, but it is worth repeating…

Everything we are about to teach you revolves around this formula. Many people have been frustrated after spending thousands of dollars on Internet projects that went belly up. It is because they failed to understand the fundamentals of building an Internet business. You are about to learn secrets that have been jealously guarded by Internet marketers who have been quietly making money while others complained that "the Internet does not work".

Even well-known computer magazines have loudly bragged about their e-commerce failures, while people applying the ActiveMarketplace formula have silently laughed behind their backs...

1. The first thing to understand is that you NEED traffic -- but, you do not need to create your OWN traffic!
   
2. The second part of the formula focuses on the age old principles of merchandising -- positioning product in a way that generates sales.

We will develop these ideas over the next few pages to show you how to increase your sales using tested advertising methods.

First of all, what is traffic? In retail terms, it is the number of shoppers walking by, or driving past, your store. In Internet terms, it is the number of "visitors" at your website. The more visitors you have, the more you can convert. The key is to get quality traffic, not just quantity.

Higher conversion rates come with targeted traffic.

The three most important things to a retailer are location, location, location. For an online merchant it is traffic, traffic, traffic. For many people this seems obvious, but the mechanics of building traffic are rarely understood. Let's look at what it takes for a typical website owner to generate traffic. You need three things:

1. A compelling offer OR interesting content
2. Time OR money
3. Knowledge of Internet marketing

Or put another way -- the better your offer is, the less need you have to create interesting content. If you have lots of time available you won't have to spend as much money -- and vice versa. And finally, knowledge is power.

So what is a new merchant to do? First, determine your assets:

1. If you can assemble interesting information, or can write articles, then focus on creating content to attract visitors. Otherwise, look for opportunities to bundle other companies discounts, specials, coupons and free stuff with your offer.

2. If you have money, then start testing various advertising methods and simply "buy" your traffic. Otherwise, learn all you can about building an affiliate network, pulling traffic from search engines and testing free or low-cost advertising methods.

3. If you enjoy surfing the web and want to learn all about Internet marketing techniques, then get your hands on every resource you can. Otherwise, consider hiring or partnering with someone who has the drive and ambition, and put the knowledge in their hands. We have had great success mentoring high school and college students. They grew up with the Internet and have a desire to learn and study. Just buy the marketing books for them and sit back to see what they do with it...

As you probably know, building traffic to a new Internet business is hard. So what's the alternative? EXISTING traffic! Look around… you will see traffic everywhere. Thousands of people visit web sites everyday. Instead of creating your own traffic from scratch, wouldn't it be a lot easier to simply tap into other peoples traffic?

Clever tip: Offer to manage a store on behalf of a high traffic site in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Brand it as THEIR store and have the links point back to them. This allows you to learn about Internet sales and test different merchandising techniques without worrying about generating traffic. Simply put -- if you do not have existing traffic to your store, then bring your store to people who ALREADY have traffic. In other words, make your store part of their web site by having them link directly to it from their homepage while you do the work of merchandising.

Develop your sales process that quickly lets them know what you offer, who you are, why to trust you, and where to go to buy now.

1. Sales Letter Page: Focus on One Product (3-5 for shopping carts)
2. Buy Now Page
3. Guarantee Page
4. Testimonials Page
5. Free Report Page: Give them a free report or gift certificate in exchange for their email address, and follow up automatically.
6. "Thank You" Exit Strategy: Instead of just saying thanks, take advantage of your online checkout. Since your customers will leave, identify those pages that they will likely leave from and point them to sites or other affiliate programs.

Here's how you do it:

• Write a one-page sales letter that describes your product and scan a photo of the product.

Now you have an action plan; you have a complete presentation I have delivered. You have all the tools.

Back to Affiliate directory

Next Article