Over the years, strategies to make affiliate income online have come and gone, but are there any long term strategies for making affiliate sales.
Some were built on questionable practices and, not surprisingly, didn’t endure.
One method that has stood the test of time, however, is article marketing simply because, if done right, it provides real value to people; that is, it gives people the information they are seeking.
Article Marketing Can Help With Affiliate Sales
My preferred strategy to increase affiliate sales is to use article marketing in a laser focused manner and apply it to lifetime income programs to build up significant recurring income as opposed to one off sale commissions.
However, whereas some people wildly succeed with article marketing, others fail and quickly give up.
So what’s the difference between these two types of affiliate marketers?
Well, leaving aside such technicalities as keyword research and identification, I’d like to touch on a more philosophical strategy that is often overlooked by most article marketers and, indeed, affiliate marketers as a whole.
Become the Prospect
Most of us are familiar with the famous Einstein quote “Imagination is more important than knowledge” but few of us have ever stopped to dwell on it.
What does Einstein’s rumination have to do with article marketing? A lot, actually.
Most affiliate marketers are concerned with themselves first and foremost. They are thinking in terms of “how can I generate affiliate sales/commissions/passive income?” Me. Me. Me.
That’s how we’re wired, of course; to think of ourselves. Dale Carnegie, no personal success slouch, once quipped: “They people are thinking about themselves–before breakfast, after breakfast, and right on until ten minutes past midnight.”
On the other hand, success in life is often counter intuitive. If you think the same way and do the same things most people do, you will achieve what most people achieve, which is mediocrity.
Increased Affiliate Sales Is About Being Counter Intuitive
Because success in business–affiliate marketing and article marketing being no exception–is to do the counter intuitive, you must train yourself to think about the prospect first. In fact, don’t just think about the prospect, imagine being the prospect.
Close your eyes and imagine what your potential visitor is thinking or feeling. What problem does he or she have? Imagine typing that keyword in Google.
It could be someone lonely looking for a date. Is your article connecting with that person so that you can realistically convey what that person is feeling themselves?
Does the person have a health issue they want a solution for?
When you combine this type of imagination with your knowledge–providing the useful information they are seeking–in a way that shows you really understand what they are going through on an emotional level, your conversions and affiliate sales will climb dramatically as a natural consequence.
Which type of article do you think would connect more with someone who had acne?
One filled with scientific jargon about sebaceous glands, skin oiliness, and genetics, or one that discussed the pain and embarrassment people feel when they have this condition? And then provided the information and solution they want?
I am personally involved in the fish oil supplement market as one niche example. One group of core customers are pregnant women who are researching the benefits of omega 3 for their fetus’s health.
Let me tell you this right now. These women don’t buy fish oil because it has omega 3 fats. They buy them because they want to give their children the best start in life they can, and that happens through optimal brain development, of which omega 3’s are vital.
As a man, I may not be nor ever will be a pregnant woman, but if I used my imagination a bit I can certainly apprehend on an emotional level how concerned such women are about the health of their children and this at the end of the day can convert into affiliate sales.
Try this strategy for whatever niche markets you are in. Imagine being the prospect, having their problems, and typing key phrases in the search engines as you look for solutions to those issues, and write your content accordingly.
I think you’ll be surprised at the results you’ll achieve, and you’ll become one of the few Zen masters of article marketing and increase your affiliate sales.
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