TOS Affiliates' Corner

Am I the only person who remembers that annoying song “Supermodel”? You know the one, right?

You better work (cover girl)
work it girl (give a twirl)
do your thing on the runway

Oops . . . is it in your head now? I’m very sorry.

Growing up I had this insane fantasy of becoming a supermodel, or at least Miss America. It turned out there are some things you need to have to become a supermodel, and I lacked most of them.

Supermodels need height. Stretching until it causes pain, I can maybe pull off 5’1”.

Supermodels need to walk the runway with grace and confidence. Well, I can walk. I’m not sure I’d qualify it as graceful, but I can get places.

Supermodels need to look exceptional. Extra points are given for exotic features. As for me, I’m no “dog,” but I’m pretty plain-Jane ordinary.

Supermodels need great personalities. Alright, alright, I could take a hint. Between my stunted growth, my clumsy walk, my ordinary looks, and my tell-it-like-it-is Irish personality, I quickly determined that I (like most breathing people) didn’t qualify.

This is how we tend to view “super affiliates” too. We hold up the perceived requirements of a business degree, tech know-how, a huge readership, wads of investment cash, and a super-savvy expert persona and we find ourselves lacking.

Yes, supermodels are pretty, but who decides what pretty is? Sure, super affiliates are smart, but who decides what makes a person smart? The truth is, success cannot be controlled by subjective factors like these.

If we’re honest, there is something about the word super that just seems unattainable. Let’s work to break down this fallacy.

If you are willing to learn and apply yourself, you will find that there are always exceptions to the rule. Look at Devon Aoki. She’s only 5’5” and strutting her stuff on the runway with the best of them.

When it comes down to it, it’s not what you have that matters, it’s what you do.

If you want to be a super affiliate, the only thing standing in your way is, well . . .you. With hard work and determination you can do this.

• Begin by building your readership and knowing your market. Don’t promote products your audience can’t relate to. Follow their interests and build your knowledge of who they are and what they need. Then supply them with the links to meet these needs.
• Next, take your role as an affiliate seriously. If you want to make money at this, it will take some work. Roll up your sleeves and invest some time. Keep your priorities relevant and manage your time effectively.
• Test banners, don’t just place them and forget them. Watch what generates sales and make a note of what is working.
• Develop a nice looking website or blog. Pay attention to the visual attributes of your site. Don’t invite banner blindness by filling up your sidebar with unproductive banners. Stay current and visually appealing to your reader. Extra points for a personal domain name.
• Have a personality that people can trust. Work to develop a quality readership that accepts your quirks and hears your passion. If they read your blog enough, your audience will learn to spot products that inspire you. They will gravitate towards these promotions with very little prompting from you.

Remember, super just means excellent or first-rate. Anyone can be super. You already are.

Work it girl.

Remember the old motion chant that begins “Hello, My name is Joe. I have a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory”?

Poor old Joe just wears himself out pushing all those buttons. Day in and day out, Joe works himself silly with the repetitive task of pushing buttons. Considering all he does, you’d think it was time Joe got a promotion. On the contrary, Joe never seems to catch up or go anywhere. He is stuck. Whether pushing buttons with his hands, his feet, or his head, he never gets a rest.

Does your affiliate strategy resemble Joe’s?

Are you:

• Pushing buttons with your hands, uploading them to your website or blog at rapid speed . . .
• Pushing banners with your feet, telling people about TOS when you’re out and about . . .
• Pushing banners with your head, trying to wisely apply everything you know about affiliate marketing . . .

. . . but getting NOWHERE?

Are you pushing banners like Joe pushes buttons, investing time and precious energy with little or no result? Before you throw your hands up and scream “I quit!” let’s examine the cause of your frustration and review some alternatives.

While checking up on affiliate reports recently, I noticed that a handful of affiliates are getting loads of clicks that are not converting to affiliate commissions. Why? Well, in most cases it was because they were using Molly buttons.

In case you are not aware, Molly and DNG products are not eligible for commissions. We don’t have any banners in ShareASale for these products, but some affiliates are creating them with the custom link form.

Though Molly’s Digest is a wonderful product and definitely worth telling your visitors about, doing so will not generate any income for the affiliate.

Sometimes it’s the placement of a banner that can increase or decrease the number of clicks and potential sales it produces. Try moving unproductive banners around and TEST, TEST, TEST.

If a banner isn’t producing, delete it. Replace it with another. Don’t waste your time.

Okay, enough about banners already! Are you ready to try something different?

Statistics show that text links often convert better than ad banners. Your readers know that your side bar contains banners that equal sales pitches. This assumption may cause visitors to develop banner blindness where they tune out sidebar information entirely and focus on content.

That’s where text links come in handy. Well-placed text links inserted into your blog content or the body of your website can have wonderful results. These links feel less pitchy to readers. If interested in a product, they will click to learn more. This changes your text link from a sales-driven ad to a channel of information.

I believe part of the success of text links comes from true interest. Banner ads look pretty and people are often enticed to click a banner out of curiosity rather than a genuine interest in the product. In the case of the text link, people who click are truly interested in the information or they would not have clicked it in the first place. Their motivation is already opened up to a sale, so pitching a product isn’t even necessary.

“I know text links work” you say, “but I’m just not a writer. I can’t come up with great content that will catch the attention of a reader and keep her at my page.”

Writing is not second nature to all affiliates. If you’re intimidated by writing quality content, don’t worry—we have you covered. The talented writers and editors on the TOS staff have worked hard to create great copy. We also have amazing graphic designers who build beautiful landing pages that provide excellent information and content on a classy background.

Simply write some very brief copy (or copy and paste text provided in newsletters) and incorporate our landing page text links into your post. Clicking these links will take your visitor to a well-designed landing page full of all the necessary information you don’t want to write. Let these pages do the work for you, providing information and details and then leading them gently to the final sale.

Swing by ShareASale to find landing pages for Teacher’s Toolbox (banner 301986), 19 Gifts (banner 301987), 2011-12 Schoolhouse Planners (banner 301988 and 301989), The Homeschool Dollar Store (banner 300361), The Curiosity Files™ (banner 300381), 2011 Freebie Directory (banner 300384), and Free Resources for Homeschoolers (banner 301990).

If you are skilled at writing, consider posting reviews and inserting text links into them. This is another great way to create an environment of information and expertise rather than the high-pressure feel of a sales-heavy site.

I’m always happy to brainstorm new ideas. Feel free to contact me anytime. We are a TEAM—no one should feel stuck.

Have you found something that is working great for you? Please share your successes. Let’s learn from each other so we don’t end up like Joe.

So you’ve decided to promote The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine by becoming an affiliate. Do you homeschool your children? Are you a current subscriber to the magazine?

Not all of our affiliates can say yes to those questions. That requires real creativity if they are going to find any success as affiliates. They need to think outside the box and somehow blend the goals of their site with the creatives that we have to offer.

This is where homeschoolers have a real advantage. We know how to tie unrelated subjects together by finding the tiniest connection and stretching it as far as it will go. Teachers use the pretty name “modulate” to explain this seamless merging of ideas.

For example, one year in my homeschool I managed to link Thomas the Tank Engine and Thomas Edison. In my research, I found a story about Thomas Edison saving the life of a station official’s child by rescuing him from a collision with an oncoming train. The station official was so grateful that he repaid Edison the kindness by teaching him how to use the telegraph. Thomas the Tank Engine and Thomas Edison have the same name, but they also had other things in common. Both stories occurred in the same location, and they had the similar theme of kindness. Now, when my kids see a Thomas the Tank Engine toy, they remember the story of Thomas Edison.

That’s what you want your visitors to do. You want them to see your site as it is, without changing who you are to fit our offers (since you are what your visitors and followers come back for). However, it is necessary to have just enough of a connection to our products that it will make sense to those reading your site. If you do this really well, whenever they see your site they will think of the affiliate programs you promote.

Another way to use this modulating principle in your affiliate marketing is to link products we offer to current events or holidays, even if it requires a stretch on the idea. Let me give you an example.

According to the “This Day in History” feature in the Teacher’s Toolbox, today is National Paper Airplane Day. Why not grab a banner for the WannaBe™ Series (say banner 211291) and pitch the When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Pilot E-Book? Is anyone going to pilot a paper airplane? Well, no, but it might give moms an idea for using the day and the product to their advantage. Your effort to expand the product’s reach could be what makes the sale.

Sometimes opposites attract. Like complementary colors on the color wheel, differences can add variety and interest to your site.

Recently, we’ve had several coupon sites apply to our program, but we don’t offer coupons as a creative. How will they promote our site? Well, first they could look at their audience. Their visitors are clearly interested in finding good deals. What could be better than free, right? These affiliates could put up a banner for our freebie directory. “Yeah, but there is no commission on free,” you say? Think again! Remember, you have 45-day cookies with that visit to our freebie directory and any sales commissions (minus Molly and DNG) during that time period will go to you. Another creative they could use would be the Homeschool Dollar Store. If those products aren’t a deal, I don’t know what is!

Here is another example: Recently, an affiliate applied who had a site that was primarily cell phone ads. At first I thought what you might be thinking: How is this going to work?

Then my cell phone rang and I couldn’t help but giggle. Homeschoolers use cell phones. In fact, the iPhone is a big hit right now with all of the educational apps they offer. If this affiliate was willing to do a little modulation, without compromising the pre-existing look and mission of his site, he could really make this partnership work. He could put up a banner or text link for our Winter or Spring issues. In those issues, his readers could find relevant articles relating to the use of technology in education.

As always, if you feel like you’ve hit a brick wall and you need some help with promoting our products, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m happy to brainstorm with you on how to make your affiliate experience a success.

Let’s start thinking outside the box.

Have you ever seen a little kid beg at the very first note from the ice cream man’s truck? I witnessed my own in such an act just yesterday. These moments begin with a demanding statement, something like “I want . . .” or “Give me . . .” and often end in tears, hysteria, and my stubborn dedication to not give in.

Affiliates can be like children. We get tunnel vision. We see what we want, whether it is a little extra pocket change or a hefty increase to our vacation fund. We set our goals and we turn our readers into obstacles. The more we establish our goals, the more intensely vocal we become. We stop referring customers and start pitching products like a door-to-door vacuum salesman. The pressure we put in our tone make us unreadable, intolerable, and ineffective.

That’s why we need to think outside the box. Stop thinking about your personal affiliate goals. Start considering your readers’ goals. What do they need? What resources would appeal to them? What would make their life easier, better, or more rich?

When my 3-year-old screams for ice cream, I’m not likely to give in. However, what if my 9-year-old says, “Mom, I have three dollars I earned last week. If we each get a Popsicle for one dollar, I’ll be one dollar short. I know you hate when people leave garbage in our bushes as they walk by the house. If I clean up the garbage from the yard can I get a dollar?” Hmm . . . now I’m tempted. Why? Because I’m not just giving something I’m not sure I want to give. I’m getting something I need. It’s a win-win.

When you are evaluating your financial and marketing goals as an affiliate, remember that it pays to consider your readers’ goals too.

Look for ways to meet their needs while meeting your own. Don’t be afraid to pitch the products that will appeal to your readers the strongest, even if they aren’t the big-ticket items.

Maybe your readers don’t have the time to sit and read a magazine cover to cover. Maybe they only have a nano-byte of free time. Tell them about WeE-books. Yes, they are low-cost items. However, if they meet a need, they can be your ticket to success. Your reader might buy that WeE-book, earning you all of 30 cents. You think “Big whoop!” right?

Wrong! You just proved yourself to your reader. You gained her trust and showed her that you put a higher value on her needs than on your bottom line. Guess where she is going to turn when she is looking for bigger ticket items . . . to you, silly!

Now everything you recommend has a higher value to her because you showed character, and character is always rewarded.

Decide now which is most important to you: establishing your goals or getting what you want. People who get, tend to give a bit too.