How Merchants Could Make An Affiliate Marketer's Life Easier

By Kim Ross
How Merchants Could Make An Affiliate Marketer's Life Easier

 

I've been kept rather busy lately piecing together a year-long auto-responder email series for my subscribers. Let me tell you, it has been a mind-numbing task at times, requiring a lot of ‘suck it up Kim and just get through these next 50 days of newsletters' self encouragement talk.

Luckily, I'm happy with the end result :)

After taking a moment to bask in the relief and glory of having a WHOLE year's worth of emails set up and running (cha-ching!), the memories of exasperation returned. Why oh why do some merchants make it SO hard for us to find the benefits of their product and promote it??

In this post, I'm having my revenge by outlining a few things that merchants could do for us affiliates to make our lives just that bit easier...

Dear Merchants

I have recently spent time hanging out on many of your sales pages and affiliate areas, and I thought it might be useful for you to know how you could make it easier for affiliates to promote your products (we are partners after all):

  • If you've only got video sales copy (and no pause button!), we don't really want to listen to your entire video while frantically typing all the fantastic points that you're making. Yes, I'm aware that a handy shortcut would be to Google what others are saying about your product, but I'd like to form my own opinion. Be a Good Samaritan and give us some resources to use, it's a win-win for us both.
  • If you have had the good grace to create some affiliate resources, may I suggest that you at least get the content proof-read before pinning them up for all affiliates to use? I don't think you really want your products to be poorly promoted if you can help it. Providing quality resources is of benefit to both parties.
  • If your selling point is your own expertise, please supply your name and credentials (I am hoping the merchant I found guilty of not supplying these is a rarity). Firstly, it doesn't inspire much trust from potential customers when you are Mr. Anonymous - I mean, why would anyone want to send him their hard-earned cash? Secondly, it makes it very hard for affiliates to promote your product too - "buy this nameless guru's product" doesn't have a great ring to it.
  • Keep your sales page and bonus material up to date. Your bonuses aren't much use to me if they expired last year and don't increase my conversions.
  • Just how great are your bonuses? In some cases I felt the bonus was actually more exciting than the product, which is  kind of ok for affiliates because we can place more emphasis on your bonuses when we write our  material, but again, it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in your overall savvy-ness if your marketing priorities don't seem right!

I'm not sure how many merchants will be reading my blog post, but I do feel much better for getting that off my chest.

Have you experienced frustrations like these when writing promotional material? Share your thoughts below.

Remember too that we have just released our huge problem-solving product, AffiloJetpack. Included in the perks of this package are 100% good to go year-long auto-responder newsletter series for each of the jetpack niches (of which you get 5) - all you need to do is insert your affiliate links.

So if going through the mind-numbing frustrations that I have just been through doesn't sound like your thing, and the several-thousand-dollar outsourcing price tag is out of the question, then you can save yourself, and your sanity, with AffiloJetpack. Be in quick, it's only available until this Sunday August 1st.

11 Comments
David Collins 14 years ago
Hey Guys just joined taking all the info in seems very well organised cheers Dave
James Pruitt 14 years ago
Great Post here. I agree. I hate seeing a swipe email that is full of bad spelling and grammar.

Also, If you have special criteria, or dont give out review copies please state it in the affiliate areas so that we don't waste your time or ours by requesting them.

Answer affiliate support emails. Ihave had a few that I emailed and never got a response. if that happens to me as an affiliate, I will assume it happens to your customers too, and i will drop you like a rock.
Holly Wadden 14 years ago
Thanks, Kim, as a newbie you have given great pointers of things for me to check out BEFORE I promote a product! I wouldn't have thought these were issues, and might not have even proof-read the promo materials.
megachile 14 years ago
I agree, some merchants are pretty poor at providing affiliates with quality resources to use. I now thoroughly check for quality products with good affiliate programs before going in to a new niche.

A nice plug for affilojetpack too. I agree that writing content (website articles, articles for linkbuilding, email newsletter series, free ebooks) takes a serious amount of time and/or money. I am really happy with the content you get with affilojetpack, it just needs a bit of a tweak depending upon the microniche you choose which is much easier than starting from scratch. Great value.
luciya helan 14 years ago
I've been kept rather busy lately piecing together a year-long auto-responder email series for my subscribers. Let me tell you, it has been a mind-numbing task at times, requiring a lot of ‘suck it up Kim and just get through these next 50 days of newsletters' self encouragement talk.
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Andrew @ Blogging Guide 14 years ago
One to add...those affiliates who provide...nothing!

Over the years I come across several products I'd like to promote but the owner provides no banners, no emails...

Andrew
Stephen Anderson 14 years ago
Hi Kim,

I am going to show my extreme 'Newbieness' lack of lingo understanding here --- Would you please explain what you mean by your statement---"Be a Good Samaritan and give us some resources to use, it's a win-win for us both." (In particular the 'resources' part.)

I have been surfing since the late '90's and probably will understand, maybe.

Thank you,

Gramps
orangeboxes 14 years ago
How about merchants providing a video specifically for affiliates that's different to the one on their sales page.
Kim Ross 14 years ago
Hi Spander,

Some merchants will provide affiliates with resources to use on their website, for example banners, articles and emails that affiliates can use. It's very time-saving to promote a merchant with useful resources!
william eckard 14 years ago
Nice post Kim. I agree with Orangeboxes too.

There are some merchants that go to a lot of trouble with their affiliate resources, but then again many merchants do not seem to understand the importance of their affiliates in their lives. With many of them one gets the feeling that the resources were set up years ago and they haven't bothered too update the resources with new technology etc


Virginia Perl 14 years ago
Kim, You are right on! "...we don't really want to listen to your entire video." It is so frustrating when there is no link to the affiliate's page and no way to shut off the video! I am very happy to be a premium member!