The Internet Money Blog

The typical affiliate ‘marketer’ has no clue how to create deep, long-lasting relationships with their potential customers.  Now I know you’re asking, “What the heck does that have to do with anything?  I don’t want to marry ‘em, I just want to make money off of ‘em!”

That’s the very thought process which dooms most affiliate marketers to consistently dismal results for their efforts.  In other words, if you’re gonna treat your customers as if they’re nothing more than just another pocket you can jam your money grubbing hand into, then you’re guaranteed to be a marketing failure.

Here’s a prime example of the self-serving jackass mentality I’m talkin’ about ….

I personally know of at least 11 so-called internet marketers (Ken refers to them as ‘pseudo-marketers.’) who fall into this camp … some even associated with the top professional internet marketers in the business. Now let me be clear, the top professional marketers are what most people in the business would call ‘gurus.’ These guys are not the ones I’m talking about … they know how to do all the right things and make a fortune doin’ them!

I’m specifically referring to the pseudo-marketers … 11 that I’m familiar with through their incessant email promotions with which I’m constantly bombarded. And this is exactly what I’m talkin’ about.

These knuckleheads flood my inbox 2 to 3 times a day … every day … with a load of crap that … and here’s the rub … that they think I’m gonna get so excited about … that I’m gonna wet my pants!

These boobs are cramming sales pitches up my wazoo without even thinking about … what I want !

So, now I have to sort through all the garbage sales pitch laden emails from people who are supposed to know what they’re doin’! You wanna know the kicker?  They’re tryin’ to sell us information on how to do internet marketing and make millions! Imagine that!  Big Dopes!

If you’ve ever gotten an email from some internet marketer that starts out like this ….

Hello {first name_fix}-à  (These guys are so lazy … they can’t even change the autoresponder code to at least include your actual first name.)

And this is how it continues:

My good friend so-and-so has cracked the code to amassing a fortune with ClickBank by using his secret formula that’s guaranteed to make you $100,000.00 a month! If you act now, he’s willing to let my email list get it cheaper than anyone else … (That’s mighty nice of him.)  For a limited time you’ll be able to grab a copy hot off the press for only $47.00!!!

Now let me ask you, “Who the hell in their right mind is gonna sell us a truly actionable system that really brings in $100,000.00 per month for only $47.00?”  “N-O-B-O-D-Y, that’s who!”

These guys must really think we’re a pack of droolin’ idiots!

Here they are, sending hundreds of sales pitch laden emails without ever offering us anything useful. To me, this demonstrates that they’re not willing to do a little give-and-take with us.  Unfortunately, all they want to do is take … take our money, that is. This is why they don’t make any money … they just don’t care enough about us to at least address our wants or needs; they just want our money!

Okay.  this is how the typical marketing moron goes about getting an affiliate campaign started:

Let’s take Chuck — not his real name — Chuck the schmuck goes out and finds a product … any product that has a high commission … and throws up a link, then sits back and HOPES that someone will click on it and buy the product. Real smart move, Chuck … just go for the highest commission and to hell with giving any thought to what we really want! But that’s exactly what most wannabe marketing misfits do — they just look for the money.

What follows is the process they should be pursuing if they want a remote chance at digging something out of my pockets besides lint!

Listen, when you’re deciding what product to add to your affiliate marketing business, you really shouldn’t be looking at products at all!  Instead, you should be looking at people!

Products don’t buy products … people buy products! If you don’t know what the people are having problems with, are interested in, are talking about … then how can you sell something to them?

Once you’ve decided upon a niche, you need to be a part of that niche … even if it’s just briefly. Learn to talk the talk and walk the walk. That’s extremely simple. Just do a search for forums that relate to your niche.

Here’s an example of a forum search: Go to Google and type the following in the search bar: “Model planes forum”.  (Remember to include the quotes.)  You can use any area of interest you want. Just be sure to follow it with the word forum. Google will return a list of forums related to the area of interest that you want.

Next, go to them and sign up. Read the posts on that forum. See what problems people are complaining about … see what topics are getting a lot of posts … see who the experts are in that niche.

Do the same kind of search for newsletters.

Sign up for a newsletter or two. That will give you a good idea of the level of marketing in that niche and will also let you learn the ‘lingo’ of the niche. See what products they are talking about and trying to sell. This will also give you an idea of with whom to JV when you start your own affiliate program for your own product!

Ask questions on the forum. Get to know some of the people. Build relationships with them. After you’re an accepted member of the forum, ask them if they’d mind doing a survey for you in exchange for a nice gift. That’s when they actually tell you what they want and will buy!

These are YOUR customers and YOUR business!

This philosophy will definitely make you an above average affiliate marketer and increase your affiliate sales. Making a connection with people first will almost assuredly create satisfied customers, buyers singing your praise and repeat buyers … all because you went that extra mile.

The average affiliate marketer looks at products first, sees what product has the highest commission and then just throws up a page with a bunch of links and tries to direct traffic to it. Is it any wonder that they’re not making very much money? Don’t be that marketing moron … you’re better than that!

If you’re just throwing links out there, and maybe a picture now and then, all you’re trying to do is sell, sell, sell! Do you like it when someone tries to push you into buying something? Of course not!

Are you the type that wakes up in the morning and says, “Hey, I feel like going down to my local seedy used car lot and getting my pockets turned inside out by some high-pressure, hair greased back slickster of a salesman?”

You’re not that kind of person, are you? ‘Cause if you are, then you’ve got some issues to work out with a shrink … I’ll make an appointment for you!

Wouldn’t you rather go into a store where the salesman tells you all about a particular item you’re interested in? He gives you a chance to touch it and play with it … to look inside?

The good salesman gives you his opinion on the product and tells you novel ways to use it. He tells you stories about other customers that are using the same product — what they’ve discovered and what they like … and dislike. He tells you the good and the bad about the product and compares it to others.

He finds out what you’re planning to do with the product and gives you great tips on how to do just what you want to do. He builds your trust and builds some rapport with you. He’s just talking and educating you, not selling you!

That salesman is doing exactly what we need to be doing with our affiliate products. He’s telling, not selling. Learn to tell … not sell … and you’ll see a tremendous increase in your affiliate marketing income. Think of times when you, as a customer, were told … not sold … and try to incorporate that style into your affiliate marketing business. You and your affiliate check will be glad you did!