Archive | April, 2022

Actually, I wanted to title this… “How to get the best affiliates to promote your products, put your links on their download pages, give you free solo ads, place your products in their funnels and send you lots of money and prizes.” …but obviously that title would be a bit long.

If you’ve ever promoted a product with a big launch, then you’ve probably seen those things called a ‘leader board.’ Usually it’s the top ten – although it could be top 15, top 20, etc. – affiliates at any given moment during the campaign.

Here’s the thing about leaderboards – everyone who is in on the launch can see them. And everyone knows who is at the top and who finishes at the top, too.

Being at or near the top of a leaderboard means of course that you are making good commissions, but it can also mean prize money. Some affiliates and list owners make five figures a year in prize money alone.

But being at the top of a leader board gives you a lot more than money – it also means you’re going to get some great offers from other product owners who want you to promote their products.

They’ll contact you asking you to mail out for them, and in return they’ll offer to mail for you when you launch products.

These reciprocal mailings can get you a lot of money, and not just from the people who ask you to promote.

When a product launches, there is a group of affiliates who are in on the initial launch, and another group who sees the launch happening and decides to jump on board at the last moment.

So having even one or two big name marketers promoting your product can result in dozens of other affiliates promoting as well.

But what if you don’t want a reciprocal mailing? Then you can ask for something else, like a free solo ad to their lists, an ad on their download pages, or you can ask that they promote one of your products in their product funnel.

Frankly, you can ask for anything you want. Free membership for life? Sure. Special deals for your readers? You bet. Advice and coaching? Yes.

Getting onto the leaderboards can do wonderful things for your business besides earning you commissions.

So how do you get on the leaderboards?

Obviously having a large responsive list full of people who trust you is one way.

But what if you don’t have a large list yet?

Then you might want to team up with other marketers. You’ll have to share in the commissions, but then you’ll also get to share in the perks as well.

Just make sure that your name appears on the leaderboard, and not some generic business name.

You want everyone to know that you’re on that board so you can get some of the perks that come from being a top dog.

Let’s say you’re reopening a membership for a limited time, or you’re launching a product just for your list.

And by the way, this is a great way to test the waters on a product and see how well it converts. Once you go through this sequence, you’ll then be able to tell future affiliates what you did and how well it converted.

Okay, so you’ve got a product you’re going to be offering to your list for a limited time – let’s say three days.

After the three days, either the product is no longer available, or the price goes up.

Yes, there is nothing wrong with offering special deals to your own list on your own product. In fact, I think it’s a great idea, because people on your list should be rewarded with special deals no one else can get (hint hint!)

In this example you’re going to be sending out a total of 6 emails. Yes, you could do 5, or 7, or… but I’ve found this sequence works well, so it’s what I do. Your mileage may vary.

I suggest you write all 6 of your emails ahead of time, and here’s why:

First, you can schedule them and forget them. Nice.

Second, you can see if the entire sequence flows and makes sense.

Third, you won’t forget to write and send one of the emails (I learned that one the hard way) because they’ve already been written and scheduled.

Your first email will go out the day BEFORE your launch, and it will say something like, “Watch your email tomorrow for a very special limited time offer for my subscribers ONLY. I think you’re going to love it!”

This first email is low key, short, fun, and only sells them on watching for the next email.

On the day of the launch, you’ll send out two emails, one first thing in the morning and one in the evening.

How much selling you do is up to you. Generally, if I’ve got a great sales page, then I’m mostly selling them on clicking that link.

But if my sales page is lacking, then I do product selling right there in the email.

The first email of the first day of the launch gives all the great reasons to buy, only abbreviated. I like my sales page to do the heavy lifting.

The second email of that first day tells them how the launch is going, how many people are buying… that sort of thing.

Yes, it’s written ahead of time, so yes, you now know one of my secrets – I’m guessing how well it will be going when I write it. 😊

On the next day I send one email in the middle of the day to remind them that this offer isn’t going to last, and to remind them of the big benefit they’ll get from the product.

On the final day I send two emails. The one in the morning says something like, “Last 24 hours.”

The one in the evening says, “Last chance, last email.”

I get a LOT of my sales from that final email. In fact, that subject line, “Last chance, last email” gets more opens than any of the other five. Some people ignore the first 5 emails, open that sixth one and buy.

I’ve used this same sequence of 6 emails many times because it’s effective. It works. And it gives me plenty of sales which I can then show to affiliates to get them to come on board and do their own launches.

As mentioned earlier, I recommend you make a special offer that is available only to your own list, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a special price. It could mean a special bonus that only they get. That way your affiliates can offer it at the same price point to their lists, too.

One more thing: If you’re only working with a handful of affiliates, you can make a special page for each one that says, “Special deal for Jane Smith’s subscribers only.”

I’ve found that using this technique boosts conversions by about 10%, depending on the offer and the list.

The great thing about online marketing is you can do it from home.

The bad thing about online marketing is…

…you can do it from home.

Which often means endless distractions from the internet, the kids, the pets, the neighbors, the housework and so forth.

Here’s how to improve your focus and get productive, starting today:

1. Follow your own natural rhythms. Some people are more productive and focused in the morning while others do better in the evening. Figure out which hours work best for you, and then block those hours out. Schedule nothing during that time except for work.

2. Notify your family, friends and anyone else that you have working hours and don’t want to be distracted.

3. Have a place to work where you do nothing but work. If your workstation is also your play station, your browse-the-internet station and so forth, it will be too easy to get distracted.

4. Put on music or tones that help you to focus. You’ll find these on YouTube when you search for focus music, or tune in to your favorite commercial free music radio station online.

5. Set deadlines for everything you do. If you have deadlines to honor, you’re more likely to get the work done.

6. Plan your breaks. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and when it goes off, get up and walk around or do jumping jacks for a minute. You’ll be re-energized and ready to get back to work with clearer focus than if you just try to power through.

Working from home is fantastic in its flexibility, as long as you manage to focus your time.