Affiliate programs can be great. Sure, you might not become rich overnight like some ‘gurus’ claim in their 19.95$ e-books (actually, we have one of those, except it’s doesn’t feature any wild claims and it’s free), they can be a great way to make additional income, or, if you are really dedicated, they can even grow into a steady full- or part-time business. But, just like in life, the main requirement for becoming successful in affiliate marketing is patience, dedication (did I already mention it?), and hard work.
We know that there’s a lot of you out there who are either considering or already using Fortumo Affiliate Program - we received a lot of feedback and questions ever since we launched it back in February. And since you asked, we gave you some tips and finally created a growing Affiliate Advice section that sits right in your Affiliate account. The response was positive, and we figured there’s never too much of a good thing, so we’ll continue with the practice of publishing tips for affiliates – this time, I’ll try to focus not so much on our own affiliate program, but some of the best practices and general advices that should work for anyone trying to be effective in affiliate marketing. Read it all after the break.
First of all, I think that it’s important to define what differentiates affiliate marketing, or how it’s different from other ways of internet advertising. In my mind, it’ can be summarized in one sentence:
Affiliate marketing is as much about YOU as it is about the product you are advertising.
That’s right – one of the main reasons why affiliate marketing is working for everybody is that it functions more like one friend recommending a product to the other than a regular ol’ advertising campaign (unless you have huge audience – but even then, you should try to give it a personal touch).
What does this mean in practice? Basically, it means that you shouldn’t just rely on a banner or an ad to bring you clicks and joins. Keep in mind that the people reading your blog, visiting your web site or the people you communicate in social networks have established a personal relationship of sorts with you – they want to hear what you like and why, not just look into banners. Try to address them on a personal level – if you run a blog, publish a post about the product you are promoting, and put your affiliate link in the blogroll or in ‘Our Friends‘ section instead of just placing a banner or an ad somewhere. If you are promoting on a social network, or a forum, try to devote some time into writing a post explaining why you like the product you are advertising – people will be much more interested if you show some genuine enthusiasm towards it, and your message will become much more effective. And don’t forget to mention any special offers or coupons you might have to offer (like Fortumo’s bonus 5 € for new signups) – they are an efficient incentive, and can make your call to action much more attractive.
If your website doesn’t feature a blog, or you don’t feel that a post about the product in question would is a good fit to your website’s overall theme, you can still differentiate your affiliate offer from other ads you might have. Try to put it in a special category, or advertise it as an ‘offer from our partners’, or ‘our friends’ – in this way, it will stand out and it will be clear to the reader that this particular ad is important to you or different from the rest that you might have. And don’t be afraid to tell people that it’s an affiliate offer, and that you will have some benefit if they get involved – if your readers like your website and the content you are bringing them, they will most likely be interested in things you like and personally use, and if they can help you out by doing that, they probably will.
A great example, and a living proof of this concept, is one of our affiliates from Croatia (we wont link them right now, there will probably be a longer user case about them in the future). It’s a blog devoted solely to various affiliate and monetization programs for webmasters, and though their audience is much smaller compared to some other Fortumo affiliates, their conversion rates (the percentage of readers who actually sign up) are way above the average, and the clients that come to Fortumo through their affiliate link tend to make money using Fortumo, which benefits the affiliate as well. All this particular Fortumo affiliate did was to create one blog post where they are discussing Fortumo’s SMS services & Affiliate program and put their affiliate link in their blogroll. The reason it’s working out for them is the fact that they have managed to build a relationship between them and their readers over time, by giving solid, sound advice on one particular topic of interest – so now, when they recommend something, their users listen.
If you liked this post, and want to read more tips like it in the future, drop us a comment – we would love to keep them coming, but some encouragement is always appreciated :)
