Questions From A Struggling Affiliate Marketer

Hi Lynn,

My name is Scarlet and I have a few questions for you. I've been on clicknewz reading your information and thought of something. Recently I've tried to get into mini sites. I don't know much about them but I heard it was a good way to earn money quick. I'm confused on what the mini site is supposed to do or say. What should it look like? What should it have?

I thought about affiliate marketing and read that you said you have a list for every affiliate product you promote. How do you keep track of the lists with having so many different niches you're promoting? Once you promote the affiliate product, how do you follow up with the customer? What more is there to tell them once you've sold them the product? How do you keep emails going to those customers once you've sold them the product.

I've been confused for a long time now. I've read just about everything on the Internet that has to do with affiliate marketing. I think I won't get it unless I get walked through step by step. Sometimes I wish I could physically get the help. Like have someone beside me, guiding me. That'll never happen, so in the meantime, I'll have to figure it out somehow. I have my own information product which I tend to start promoting soon. Don't most people use squeeze pages to promote information products? My site won't have multiple pages, it will only have one.

I really need some advice Lynn. What approach should I take, what should I do? I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.
Scarlet

Hi Scarlet,

There's not really a step-by-step process that will be a guaranteed solution from start to finish, since every online business model is slightly different. What works in one niche may not work as well in another. Likewise with different types of products, or even with the different keyword phrases that you target. You're on the right track by studying affiliate models... and asking questions. 🙂

That said, there are some basic guidelines, and I can give you some examples and resources to help you get things moving in the right direction.

Recently I’ve tried to get into mini sites. I don’t know much about them but I heard it was a good way to earn money quick.

"Quick" is relative. Almost any online business model is going to require one of two things upfront - time or money - if not both. Any type of mini-site, whether it's a sales letter or a Squeeze Page, will need things like: high quality graphics, compelling sales copy, an info-product, an email follow-up series. And of course marketing.

The two fastest ways I know of to make money are to 1) get a job, or 2) freelance. Don't let that discourage you, though. Like any business, being an online entrepreneur is well worth the time invested!

I’m confused on what the mini site is supposed to do or say. What should it look like? What should it have?

To get a complete course on creating mini-sites (and/or squeeze pages) you'll want to see Mini-Site Profits Exposed. This is a free series by Michael Rasmussen, and should answer all of your questions about mini-sites from start to finish.

A mini-site has ONE objective: to get the visitor to take a specific action, whether that is buying a product or subscribing to your mailing list. The entire page will be designed around that one objective, with no outgoing links or other options (ie no distractions).

Check out Michael's free course for instructions and examples.

I read that you said you have a list for every affiliate product you promote. How do you keep track of the lists with having so many different niches you’re promoting?

I use a service called Aweber to manage all of my mailing lists. They allow you unlimited newsletters, autoresponders, blog notification lists, etc under the one account. All I have to do is log in to my Aweber account to manage any or all of my mailing lists from that one page.

When I create a new affiliate site, I simply log in to my Aweber account and set up a new list to go along with it. You can sign up for a free trial and check it out for yourself.

Once you promote the affiliate product, how do you follow up with the customer? What more is there to tell them once you’ve sold them the product? How do you keep emails going to those customers once you’ve sold them the product.

As an affiliate marketer, you build a list of prospects or "leads". Merchants actually sell the product and build a list of buyers. To build that list of leads you offer something of interest to your target market, related to the actual product(s) you plan to recommend. This is usually done with a Squeeze Page, or by offering a newsletter or mailing list on your affiliate site.

Let's say for example that you are an affiliate for a great web host. You plan to recommend their web hosting services to earn commission on each sign up. You might create a free or low-cost report titled "Web Hosting Checklist: 10 Things You Need to Know Before You Choose Your Host". People who are interested in choosing a web host will request your report, and subscribe to your mailing list to receive it.

You now have a mailing list of prospects, people who are specifically interested in the very product you want to promote. What more is there to tell them? You continue sending them tips, you make your recommendation, and you give them exactly what they need: help selecting their web host.

This is done using an autoresponder series, which you set up in your Aweber account. The autoresponder will automatically send out your follow-up messages in sequence, which contain your recommendations and affiliate links, so once you set up the squeeze page with the report it actually does the "promoting" for you.

I have my own information product which I tend to start promoting soon. Don’t most people use squeeze pages to promote information products? My site won’t have multiple pages, it will only have one.

If you only have one web page on the internet, and no other content at all, you won't be able to get very much free traffic from the major search engines. That means you'll have to use pay-per-click advertising such as Google Adwords, and/or you'll be busy promoting your web page manually through social media and other means.

Free search engine traffic is great, and it's a good way to enjoy passive income. People will do searches, find your site, buy your products (or click your affiliate links) and you'll earn money even when you're away from your computer - without managing and paying for advertising every day.

If you only plan to have a one-page site, such as a squeeze page or mini-site, then you can always publish content in other places that links back to that one page. Those content pages can be optimized to rank well, and then you would funnel that traffic into your site using a link and a strong call-to-action.

You'll also want to set up an affiliate program of your own, so that other people can promote it for you and send traffic to your sales page. For an info-product, ClickBank.com is a simple option.

I really need some advice Lynn. What approach should I take, what should I do? I look forward to hearing from you.

My advice is that you complete your own product first, and get it online so that you can start making sales. Once you finish developing the product, set up the web page, set up your affiliate program and of course set up your mailing list to follow-up with your buyers... then you might want to look into Affiliate Marketing.

Consider products that you can promote to the same people who would buy your info product. What else would they buy online? If there are products or services you can recommend to that same target market, you can set up those recommendations in your email follow-up series.

Best,