Advanced Affiliate Marketing

While most people are searching for information online, many people are resistant to outright selling.  Some of that is due to the connotation of the stereotype of the “out to get you salesman,” but that is still the reality of how people feel about outright selling. This is especially true in certain fields, including car sales, where the stereotype comes from. And we all know that they are many scams online that people should be wary of. That is why I prefer to teach people to sell something that they know, so that their passion for the topic will be genuine.

One way to get around the resistance for outright selling is to sell items in the context of a “how to” article.  Your “how to” article can instruct the reader how to do just about anything.  You will then be offering valuable information to the reader, and then along with that information you can recommend products that will help them. Some examples are how to:

• start a new hobby
• follow a recipe
• make a craft
• travel in France
• become a better dancer
• add exercise to their life

The list of “how to” ideas is endless.  The way this idea works is that the purpose of your article is to teach a lesson.  In the course of the lesson, you will be showing your reader how to do something new, for which they need specific tools or ingredients.  These tools or ingredients are the items that you will sell on the lens.

The best way to do this is to recommend your choice of that specific tool or ingredient, and tell the reader why you have chosen it.  For instance, I could recommend a specific Kitchen Aid mixer on a lens for making biscotti because I know that it has performed well for me over the years.  It is durable, it holds up to the biscotti dough, and it is not expensive.

Depending on the length of your article, I would probably only recommend three to four items.  And if you want, you can actually link to another article which talks more about the item you are recommending and also links to the affiliate vendor.  You need to have an article worth of stuff to say about the item if you do this.  Or you can make an article about tools for that hobby or recipe and list several items on that article that interlink with the “how to” lens.

The assignment for this lesson is to create one “how to” lens using this selling technique.

Picture is from: norwichnuts

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