Landing pages or content sites

Landing Pages or Content Sites?

One of the decisions you will need to make in approaching your affiliate marketing decisions is whether you will use landing pages or content sites. Both methods have their advantages as well as their disadvantages. Some affiliates have found that landing pages have proven to be more effective while others have found that content pages are the safer and more effective option.

One thing to keep in mind is that when it comes to choosing how you will promote your affiliate products, there is really no wrong way or no right way. The key is to make sure that the method you choose is working and stick with it. If it’s not working then you may need to consider tweaking it until it does work or try a different method.

Landing Pages

A landing page is a special type of page that allows you to pre-sell a product or service. The key to the landing page working is the assumption that you will be able to convert the prospect in a more effective fashion than the actual merchant site. In order for this method to work, you are also banking on the assumption that you will be able to convert the prospect before they even arrive on the merchant’s site. Keep in mind when considering this method in most cases you will have better results with fewer clicks. Generally speaking, the more clicks that a visitor must make to arrive at the check-out, the greater the chance that the visitor will change their mind.

Of course, that does not mean that landing pages cannot work. If you have a site that is really great and does an excellent job of pre-selling the product or service then you have a good opportunity to make the sale and earn a commission.

Content Sites

A content site works to obtain the same goal as that of a landing page; the ultimate result being a visit that has been converted to a sale. The key to making this method work is ensuring that your page is relatively simple, has a sufficient amount of solid and interesting content and is fast loading.

In order for content sites to work well, you must have plenty of content that is interesting, unique and relevant to the topic. This can be time consuming and is one of the primary factors why many people choose not use content sites or use them and fail with them.

If you do not feel that you have the time and the patience to develop a high quality content site then it is best to avoid using this method altogether. Opt for a landing page instead.

One option that you might choose to use is to set up a landing page campaign first in order to get some income rolling in. The benefit to this is that it does not take as long to build a landing page and you have an opportunity to get started working with affiliate merchants. In the interim you can then begin working on some solid content sites.

Succeeding with the Pre-sell

Developing a successful pre-sell is a skill that you must be able to develop if you are going to succeed as an affiliate marketer. The basics involved in the pre-sell are making sure that your visitors are warmed up and that they are in the frame of mind to buy the product or service. This is crucial before you send the visitor on to the merchant’s site. In the end, pre-selling is an essential skill that can either make you or break you.

The words that you place on your page are essential. They are the means by which you connect with your visitors. Keep in mind that people prefer to buy from people that they know, people that they like and people that they feel they can trust. Learning how to get your visitors to get to know you as well as like and trust you is a skill that you can learn and it is a skill that you must learn if you want to succeed at affiliate marketing.

Developing your Message

First, you need to make sure you have a message on your website that is clear and focused. One of the biggest mistakes that many beginning affiliate marketers make is developing a message that is lacking in focus. Such messages tend to stray toward too many topics and are anything but concise and to the point.

Also, it is essential to work toward developing your own voice that can be used on your website or landing page. This is one of the ways that you can help your visitors get to know you. Remember to write as though you are talking directly to someone. This technique can go a long way toward helping visitors get to know you as well as like you.

Look for a unique position in which you can place the product or service that your are promoting. This is critical if you have a fair amount of competition. Everything that you can do to make the product or service stand out from the crowd will improve your chances of conversion.

Finally, make sure that you are working at honestly convincing visitors to trust as well as like the product that you are promoting. Never resort to dishonest tactics just to try to make a conversion. It will always come back to haunt you in the end. Remain honest in all that you do and you will be rewarded.

Removing the Roadblocks

In order to succeed, you need to make sure that you remove any potential roadblocks that could prevent visitors from converting to buying customers. There are several things that you can do to succeed at this.

First, consider providing additional information about the products that you are promoting that may be necessary to help remove any hesitation on the part of the visitor that is holding them back from making a purchase.

It is also important to make sure that you provide links on your page that links to the most appropriate page on the merchant’s site. Pay careful attention to where you link in order to have the best results.

It is also crucial to your success to make sure that you have a good call to action on your page or website. Remember that it is not enough to simply encourage people to make a purchase. You must tell them what it is that you want them to do.

If you take the time to follow these guidelines and steps, you will find that you have a much greater opportunity for succeeding with your affiliate efforts, regardless of what product you promote or how much experience that you have when you get started.

Developing your Plan

The most important thing that you can do is to develop a plan and see that plan through every single step of the way. In business, it is often said that if you do not have a business plan you plan to fail. This is certainly true to a large degree when it comes to affiliate marketing. Even if you are starting out small, it is critical to have a well developed plan that will allow you to see that single product through from start to finish.

Sit down and develop some short term goals as well as define some action steps of what is necessary to help you meet those goals. Where do you see yourself in six months with your first product or service that you have chosen to promote? If you do not have any clearly defined goals, it can certainly be hard to reach them.

Do not stop there; however. Beyond developing a plan for your first product, it is also important to develop a plan for the future and where you see your business heading. What is it that you want to accomplish within the next year? What will it take to allow you to leave your full-time job? How much money do you need to earn? In what time frame do you need to earn that amount of money? What will be necessary for you to earn that amount of money?

Do you see how this flows? By developing a plan today, complete with goals and action steps that must be completed in order to accomplish those goals you set yourself up for success rather than failure. This is critical to succeeding as an affiliate.