Affiliate Marketing Blog

How to find profitable Clickbank niches

MarkLing — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:23:32 +0000

Hi there, a few days ago Sam wrote a blog post on How to Find Hot Physical Product Niches, and to follow on from that, today I've recorded a video for you which shows you how to find great digital products to promote through Clickbank.

The good thing about Clickbank products is that they often have high margins and some also offer recurring billing too, which means you get paid over and over once you make a sale until the customer cancels their membership of the site you recommended.

Just click play on the video below and you'll see me walking you through how I go about finding profitable Clicbank niches:

I hope you enjoyed this video, please post your comments, questions and suggestions and I'll reply through this blog

Kind regards,

Mark Ling

PS: Make sure you are following Affilorama on Google

How To Find Hot Physical Product Niches

sam.frost — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:16:43 +0000

Many affiliate marketers tend to skip over promoting physical products. If you aren't promoting physical products, and are just focusing on digital products such as eBooks sold through Clickbank, then you are leaving a lot of potential niches (and money) on the table. In fact, when done properly physical products can often be more profitable to affiliates than digital products, it depends on the affiliate and the plan that they have.

Today you're going to learn how to find hot physical product niches that are overflowing with eager customers; and how you can profit from them.

One of the biggest reasons you should promote physical products is because the conversion rates are often higher. There are reduced barriers to sale when promoting physical goods for a few reasons:

Familiarity. Everyone knows brands from Adidas to Zippo. We are bombarded by advertisements from brand-name physical product companies every day. We buy their products, and we feel familiar with them. Therefore, people are much more likely to feel comfortable buying something they feel familiar with online. Most people are not familiar with digital information products, however.
Trust. Your visitors will probably have dealt with a large website like Amazon before, but may feel unsure about handing over their credit card details to a digital product publisher.
Tangibility. This is something you don't hear many people discuss. One of the biggest draw cards of physical products is that they are tangible. If you buy a home gym kit from Amazon, you get something physical delivered; it is highly tangible. However, a weight loss eBook is not very tangible, as it just exists on the computer as a digital file.

So now you know the big benefits of promoting physical products, how do you find hot niches?

Here are some powerful ways of researching physical product niches, and that are also very easy:

Using Google Product Search

Google Product Search (http://www.google.com/prdhp) gives you a great overview of what products are hot right now. It also provides seasonal insights into popular physical products.

For example, we are still in the month of January, which means all those New Year's fitness resolutions are in full swing. A quick look at Google Product Search seasonal products shows us that fitness equipment is a big seller right now:

You could build a number of smaller physical product websites around seasonal products, maintain them throughout the year, and then really work on promoting each one so it hits the "boom time" for sales. For example, you might have a Christmas gift idea website, a Valentine's Day site, and a "Black Friday" site (tech products do well here) Shift your focus around each site whenever the season calls for it.

Using Amazon to Find Hot Product Niches

The Amazon Bestsellers page (http://www.Amazon.com/bestsellers) is a really effective way of finding hot physical product niches with large demand.

It lets you see best-selling products, and sort through them by category. You can even see how many days the particular product has been in the top 100 in its category; if a product has been there for a while then it could be a good item to promote.

Another way you can use Amazon to help find physical product niches with high demand is to look at the Most Wished For items in any particular category. These are "hot" products in their own right, and are well worth investigating.

Remember to sort by category so you can actually drill down through the niche.

Using the Google Keyword Tool

You should also use the Google Keyword Tool ( to help you find great niche ideas and hot products. Start by entering some generic "product niche" terms like 'toaster oven' or 'smoothie maker'. You will then get an idea of the sort of terms and items people are searching for in that particular niche.

Using the Alexa "What's Hot" Page

One more site you can use to help you find physical product niches is the Alexa Internet "What's Hot" page (http://www.alexa.com/whatshot) It has a convenient guide to the top ten hot products right now.

Using eBay Pulse

eBay Pulse (http://pulse.ebay.com/) is another great way of seeing what items are hot and popular right now. You can filter your results based on category, and if you scroll down the page even see what items are the most watched in any particular category. It can be used alongside the Amazon Bestsellers list to give a more holistic view of what products are popular.

Using Google Insights for Search

Another tool you should be using for physical product niche research is Google Insights for Search (http://www.google.com/insights/search/). Although this is currently a beta service, it allows you to see geographical demand, as well as interest over time for particular keywords and products. It is handy for determining if a niche is seasonal, or whether it is a niche with consistent demand.

For example, as search for 'rose bouquet' shows double the interest in February (when everyone is panicked buying roses for Valentines Day)

Searching for 'mp3 player' shows that this is not a seasonal term, although interest peaks slightly around Christmas time, which means that mp3 players are probably very popular gifts:

Make the most of Google Insights for Search to help your niche research.

You want to be looking out for product niches where there is plenty of demand, and where you stand a strong chance of hitting page one of Google. Because the commission rates are generally lower on physical products it is important that you are promoting multiple products over a few different niches. Unless you are an affiliate for hugely expensive physical products where you earn lots of money per sale, you want to ensure that there is lots of demand so that you can keep making plenty of sales.

This is particularly important for Amazon affiliates, because of the tiered commission system. The more sales you make, the higher your percentage commission (although some categories are actually capped) This means that you need to be selling plenty of items to boost your commission rates. Here's a little bonus tip - build a site that sells inexpensive items on Amazon in a very high volume, and these will count towards your sales total. You can then earn greater commissions on more expensive items that are harder to sell in a high volume!

Health supplement products often provide some of the highest commission rates in the physical product niche. Websites like CommissionJunction.com and MarketHealth.com are good avenues for finding health supplements. When promoting health products it is very important that you do solid research into whether the product is effective, or if it is perceived as being a scam (look up the Acai Berry scam for a great example of this)

Promoting physical products as an affiliate requires a different approach to digital products on networks like Clickbank. Starting at the very beginning, with niche research, you have learned a few different methods that will help you find profitable physical product niches. Try all of them, and see what sort of niche ideas you come up with.

Just to recap, you learned how to find hot physical product niches with:

Google Product Search
Amazon Bestsellers and Wishlist
Google Keyword Tool
Alexa "What's Hot" Page
eBay Pulse
Google Insights for Search

If you have any questions, comments, or tips about finding physical product niches then share them in the comments section below!

PS: Make sure you are following Affilorama on Google

Is Article Marketing Dead?

sam.frost — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:17:17 +0000

If you browse the big Internet Marketing forums like Warrior Forum or Digital Point, there is one question that always pops up:

“Is article marketing dead?”

Those of us who have been involved with affiliate and Internet marketing for a while probably remember the “glory days” of article marketing. Around 2007/2008, you could make massive profits with just an Ezinearticles account, and a simple landing page or URL redirect to an affiliate offer.

This approach, immortalized in Travis Sargo’s Bum Marketing Method, involved writing short articles with lots of keywords and a strong call to action in the resource box. The aim was simple; piggyback off the authority of article directories and Web 2.0 sites to get first page rankings, and watch the money roll in.

Then, in 2011, the article marketing world took an almighty sucker punch from a Panda. The Google Panda, to be specific, brought on the end of article directory marketing for most. As Google sought to improve the quality of search results, article directory listings disappeared from the front pages. Many lost incomes and clients overnight, with the fallout still being felt to this day.

But enough with the history lesson- we’re here for a reason. Does article marketing still work? Yes, but you have to get “smart” about it.

It’s no longer enough to write mediocre articles that don’t offer anything of value, and then submit them to article directories hoping for a miraculous first page ranking. Instead, here’s how you should be tackling article marketing in the post-Panda wasteland:

Focus on quality – This is the key “metric” for all content these days. No amount of clever SEO or keyword-stuffing is going to be able to replace honest, quality content. Make sure you deliver stellar content that meets the promise of the article headline, and actually offers something of value (for example, if you promise to teach ten cool iPhone hacks, actually teach them, and don’t just waffle for 500 words then point to a landing page) As a caveat, longer articles are not necessarily better quality. Avoid the temptation to pad out a short article with lots of meaningless sentences and “weasel words”, as there is no magical article length that guarantees success.
Look for syndication opportunities – There is still lots of power in article marketing, but it comes not from the directories themselves, but actually getting your content syndicated. This means that other webmasters pick up your articles, and republish them on their own blogs or websites. You need to actively encourage syndication by writing articles that deliver massive value to readers.
Here’s a little bonus tip – Search for your article headlines in Google and then visit the sites that have republished your articles. If they look like human-edited websites, and not just automated scraper blogs, contact the admin and offer your articles personally (so they can cut out the middleman directories) In exchange, request that you get to add an anchor text link to your website in the body of the article. Voila- more links from higher quality sources!
Move toward guest posting – Reaching out and connecting with quality blogs and bloggers in your niche, and then offering your best (unique) articles as guest posts is a powerful way of leveraging a hybrid form of article marketing. While everyone else is running around like headless chickens, trying to work out why they aren’t seeing results from article directory marketing, you will be laughing all the way to the bank with a proper guest posting campaign. Keep an eye on this blog for my next post, which is going to show you how to make the most of guest posting!
Research keywords thoroughly - “He who fails to plan, plans to fail”. This rings true when talking about article marketing and preparation. Research your keywords thoroughly, so you are sure that you have the best phrases possible. If you aren’t sure about keyword research then make sure you watch the Affilorama how to do keyword research video. If you can do proper research for your articles, you will experience
Put content on your sites first – One of the biggest ways that people were stung by the Google Panda update was through having their original content wiped out of the search engines, because it was all on article directories. It is crucial that you focus on putting quality articles on your own website or blog first, so that you build up a base of content. The ultimate aim is to get your sites ranking well, and not someone else’s!

Article marketing isn’t dead per se. What has departed is the era of being able to churn out dozens of cookie-cutter articles and submit them to a few article directories, and then forget about it and watch the money roll in. This is bad for affiliates who want an easy way, but if you are willing to work diligently at creating content then you actually stand to benefit from the drive for better quality.

Rather than writing three or four 300 word articles of ‘average’ quality, spend that time creating one amazing piece of writing that will attract readers, captivate search engine spiders, and generate links to your website. I promise that you will reap the rewards.

How have your experiences with article marketing changed over time? What do you find works effectively in our post-Panda world? I’d love to hear your opinions, comments, or article marketing tips, and I’m sure other Affilorama members would too. Just leave a comment below!

PS: Make sure you are following Affilorama on Google

7 Ways to Boost Your Conversions

sam.frost — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:58:12 +0000

Getting traffic to your website is only half the battle with affiliate marketing. You also need to have a healthy conversion rate if you want to maximize your profits.

Think about this little math problem:

You have a website that receives 100 visitors a day. Of those visitors, 5 buy your offer.

I have a website that receives 1000 visitors a day. Of those visitors, 15 buy my offer.

Who has the higher conversion rate?

You do! Your conversion rate is 5%, whereas mine is only 1.5%. Even though I am making more sales in terms of number of products sold, your website is performing better in the key metric of conversion rate. If your conversion rate held at 5%, and you increased your traffic to 1000 visitors a day, you would be making a whopping 50 sales a day!

Now do you see the power of a good conversion rate?

Here are seven ways to boost yours:

1. Write catchy headlines

Having an eye-catching headline that encourages people to read on further is crucial for a high conversion rate. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, here are some time-saving ideas for effective page headlines that really work:

Get [desired result] in [desirable time period] - "Get rock hard abs in 4 weeks"

[ X ]ways to [desired result] - "7 ways to boost your conversions (oh the irony)"

[desired outcome] + [undesired result] + [mysterious/secretive solution] - "Cure acne with this secret herbal remedy"

[social proof] + [hard-hitting question] - "Hundreds of happy affiliates: Is it your turn to make money with Clickbank?"

Experiment with different headlines to find what works well for you. Article pages probably won’t work too well with “promotional” headlines, but the [X] ways to [desired result] formula is a good option.

2. Appeal to Emotion

We humans are emotional creatures. It is in our nature to act off emotion, rather than pure logic. Emotion is warped and controlled by people who want to sell to us. Take the fragrance industry, which sold $30.5 billion worth of product in 2006. Logically speaking, fragrances are all manner of odd chemicals placed into shaped bottles, designed to make us smell “better” (even though it is an unnatural smell).

However, smelling pleasant makes you feel better about yourself.

Humans like to purchase based on emotion. Therefore, emphasize the emotional benefits of any product you are promoting or selling.

Cold, hard facts are useful of course, but you want to wrap them up in such a way that there is emphasis on emotion.

3. Study copywriting

You probably spend lots of time studying traffic generation methods, SEO strategies, and maybe even PPC marketing tactics. However, you should dedicate some time every week to learning the skill of copywriting.

Being able to persuade others through your words is a valuable skill, not just for Internet marketing but also for all aspects of life. As your copywriting knowledge grows, you will be able to adjust and improve your pages, and see increased conversions.

Affilorama's copywriting blog category is a great place to start.

4. Use bullet points/lists on page

The majority of visitors to your website will not thoroughly read every single line of content. When reading online, people tend to skip and skim-read. Therefore, make sure all of your important content (whether it is informative or promotional) is included in bullet points or lists.

A good structure to use is “sub heading” à “introduction” à “bullet points/list” for each main part of your content.

5. Use graphics and images

“A picture paints a thousand words”. Sure, that’s a bit of a clichéd saying, but it really is true for boosting your conversion rates. Using eye-catching graphics and images will help break up boring text and draw your readers down the page. A few simple images can save you dozens of lines of text, which in turn reduces buyer resistance.

Another benefit of using images when selling information products is that it makes the product seem more tangible and real to the customer. There is a good reason why the highest converting Clickbank sales pages have quality graphics of their products – it helps reassure the customer that they are getting something real, which in turn boosts conversions.

Try placing an image linking to your offer above the page fold. This means that whenever a visitor loads your page they will see the image without having to scroll down the page.

Go to the Clickbank Marketplace and look up the sales pages of high gravity products in any niche. They will all use lots of images, pictures, and graphics.

6. Provide Proof & Credibility

Your visitors will not believe your claims until you provide solid evidence to back up what you are saying. The vast majority of people are sceptical of big claims, especially online where the personal element of selling is not present.

Testimonials, especially video testimonials, are hugely important for selling information products online. The best testimonials are ones that demonstrate how your product solved a problem. When promoting products as an affiliate, contact the product owner and ask if you can use their testimonials on your own pre-sell pages. Social proof is hugely important for good conversions, so you need testimonials.

Another way to add credibility is to make sure you emphasize “safe” website features like encryption technology. Actively tell your readers to look out for the little padlock symbol in their browser window, so that they know everything is safe. If you are promoting as an affiliate, then make sure the products you promote offer some form of safety net for customers; Clickbank addresses this automatically, but other affiliate programs may not.

Finally, consider adding social proof statistics to your pre-sell or sales pages. If the product you are promoting has been around for a number of years, tell visitors about its proven history. Another useful statistic is the number of sales of the product – people tend to buy what other people buy.

Important – The U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently updated their rules for testimonials and consumer endorsements. Many policies were changed, and it is crucial that any testimonials or social proofs you provide follow the FTC’s requirements, which you can find here.

7. Offer Exceptional Value

One of the best ways to boost your conversions is by offering truly exceptional value to your customers.

The problem with value is that it is subjective. Value can change from person to person. What I think is good value is probably going to be very different to what you think is good value.

You can provide value by:

Teaching people what you promised to teach
Meeting customers’ expectations
Offering good support and contact
Understanding the problems of your target market and offering great solutions
Explaining difficult concepts and ideas thoroughly
Take your information to the next level – offer information that other sites and products aren’t offering
Go the extra mile for your visitors and customers

Remember that value and price are two different concepts as well. Just because a $30 eBook is cheaper than a $3000 training course, it doesn’t necessarily mean the eBook is better value.

How can affiliates offer exceptional value? This is a bit trickier, because as an affiliate you cannot really control the value of a product. Here is how to give value as an affiliate:

Make sure your website teaches visitors something useful or solves a problem. Don’t just use it to funnel people to your affiliate sales page. You want people to click through, view the offer because they liked what you told them, and want more information. If you are just funneling visitors to your affiliate page, your conversion rates will be very poor.
Offer your own bonuses. If you can offer bonuses to your customers then you will make more sales than affiliates who just sell the product and offer nothing extra. How do you implement bonuses? Create an awesome report that solves common problems your visitors might be having, then use a program like Easy Clickbank Bonus Manager to automate bonus distribution. Get a fully featured trial version free here.
Let your customers and visitors contact you. Providing contact details on your website where you can personally address problems (or answer questions about the products you are promoting) is a great way of adding more value as an affiliate. People want to know they are dealing with a real person who cares about their problems.

We’ve covered a lot of material in this post, but it is all important stuff. Increasing your conversions is important for making more money, whether you are an affiliate or a vendor. Let’s quickly recap the seven ways to boost your conversion rates:

Write catchy headlines
Appeal to emotion
Study copywriting and improve your skills
Use bullet points and lists
Use graphics and images
Provide social proof with testimonials
Offer great value

Implement these concepts on your website and watch the extra cash roll in!

Do you know any other ways to increase your conversion rates? If so, I'd love to hear from you. Just leave a comment below, and let others know your conversion boosting tricks.

Introducing Caleb Johnny Ling :)

MarkLing — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:45:18 +0000

Hi Everyone,

I meant to get this post out several weeks ago, however I've been taking a lot of time out to be a full time dad lately, so I thought I might as well wait till I had some Christmas snapshots to share also before announcing that I'm once again a proud father :)

Here is the story of what happened:

Six weeks ago, on November 16 my 2nd son, Caleb Johnny Ling, was born (pronounced 'Cay-lib').

When he came out I thought he looked so much like my other son Benjamin, here is a photo of Benjamin when he was a newborn - notice the similarities?

For the first 20 hours or so, everything was fine with Caleb, then after that he started breathing really fast (120 breaths per minute, normal is 40-60). He then got rushed into intensive care, which was very frightening for my wife Michelle and I as we didn't know what was going on.

They tested him for all sorts of things from Pneumonia to Meningitis, and concluded that there was not foreign bacteria and that the problem was that he had a small puncture in his lung which caused a lot of trapped oxygen to escape. That was a good thing as this is quite a common problem apparently and was one that healed itself over the 10 nights that he was in hospital.

The intensive care unit people were amazing and who knows what would have happened if they didn't get on to this right away, as they needed to help him by putting him on a ventilator, plus all sorts of other stuff like morphine to help with the pain. Now you wouldn't know there was ever a problem as he is totally healthy and doing really well! :)

Here are some more pics, this is one of Benjamin showing his interest in his new brother (he has been giving him lots of kisses every day and has been a really good big brother):

Here is one of Caleb having his first bath at home (almost 2 weeks old):

Caleb catching up on a bit of light reading :)

Benjamin loves his wee brother:

While Ben is way too young to know what was about to come on Christmas day, he sure did love the Christmas tree! As you can probably imagine, he is usually on the outside of this playpen :)

Caleb sleeping (3 weeks old):

Grandad (my dad) spoils Benjamin with a bike for Christmas - yes Ben is only 20 months old riding it, though my dad is assisting him with the help of a special attachment :)

Ben loves his little digger from his Santa sack - Lucky boy got so spoilt by all his family!

Caleb chilling out, now 6 weeks old:

I hope you've enjoyed seeing these photos of my 2 wee boys, and I wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous 2012 ahead!!

All the best,

Mark Ling

Founder of Affilorama and Traffic Travis