How To Use Affiliates To Build Your Email List

In my last article, I discussed how investing in search engine optimization was a sure way to increase your subscriber list. Today, I will discuss another tactic that you set-up once and then allow the system to run on almost auto-pilot.

Have you ever noticed that most business owners who manage an affiliate program tend to have huge subscriber lists? And the more active their affiliates are, the faster their list grows.

It's not just good luck. It is part of a plan. There are two main ways to use an affiliate force to grow a list for you. The first is straight-forward: you have an affiliate network to sell your products/services and you encourage the affiliates to get visitors to sign-up to your opt in list. You tell your affiliates the repeat-contact through your list will increase the chance of a sale for the affiliate.

The second tactic is to have affiliates send you visitors who subscribe to your opt in list. You pay the affiliate an agreed upon amount for each subscriber.

If you choose to, you can use both methods to build your list. The first strategy works most effectively for business owners who sell multiple products and services and use email marketing to generate sales. The second tactic works well if you do not yet have your own products or services to sell.

At first glance you may think both tactics look to be relatively easy ways to grow a list but be forewarned, without proper preparation they can be quite tricky.

Why?

Well, in the case of the first method where you get your affiliates to send you subscriber after subscriber so you can convert them into buyers, you'd better convert. If your affiliates see no commissions, they will simply stop sending you visitors. You need to have an effective email follow up campaign that works before you set-up this strategy.

With the pay-per-lead tactic, you have to know your exact subscriber value. Paying-per-lead can become very expensive if you're not prepared so make sure you have the numbers worked out first.

I will stress this again. Do not attempt to run a pay-per- lead affiliate program to grow your email list if you have no idea what the worth of your subscriber is.

How do you determine that? Personally, I like to have six months to a year's worth of data to help me make the financial calculation.

So, if you are just starting up your email list, the pay- per-lead option is a risky gamble that I would suggest you undertake with serious caution.

If you have a list, however, you may want to consider the pay-per-lead option as it can be very lucrative. Here's how you can make a decision to see if this tactic will work for you. First you'll have to have tracked and kept records of your emailing campaigns.

Next look over the numbers and determine the worth of a subscriber. Over a one year period, look at how much money you made from your emailings then divide this by the number of subscribers.

You want to see in your records, consistent results on a mailing to mailing basis. You should feel comfortable predicting how much money you typically make each time you send an email out.

So let's assume that you make about $1 off a subscriber a month. And most subscribers stick with you for an average of 6 months. So in total you will earn $6 per subscriber over a 6 month period.

Would you be willing to pay up to $0.50 to get a quality subscriber? If you can afford it at the moment (because you will not get the 6 bucks in one shot but over a 6 month period) then by all means, do not waste time and get that affiliate program up.

Of course, along the way there will be people who will try to cheat but if you get a good affiliate program service, you will be fine. And be sure to track the source of your leads.

Not all leads will be the same. You will quickly notice that some affiliates send you subscribers that never read your emails, never do anything and basically are an expense. You will also find situations where a given affiliate can send you a small number of subscribers but they will be very active (read: profitable).

It does not take rocket science to figure out that you need to take care of good subscribers sources and politely dump the rest. After all, its your advertising money.

Jean Bim is not an Internet marketing guru. Just a regular online business operator that tries, tests then reports his results with you.

Getting Higher Conversions From Your Order Forms
by Karon Thackston © 2004
http://www.marketingwords.com I

t’s happening! Your home page copy is exceptional… your visitors are responding by going deeper and deeper into your site. Droves of these visitors are making their way to your order form every day. But then… they dump out of your shopping cart leaving you high and dry. What happened?

There are several elements that can contribute to an order form that consistently converts. Let me show you a few insights so you can get higher conversions from your order forms.

Shipping Costs

BEFORE visitors get to your order form, give them an opportunity to view shipping costs (if applicable). This is one primary factor that stops buyers dead in their tracks. They may want very much to order from your site, but - once they see how much shipping will cost - they stop their purchases and decide to find the product locally. Giving shipping information before visitors get to your order form can help them be prepared for the additional expense.

Guarantees

While your order form should be clean and easy to use, offering links that will open pop-up windows with valuable information can help close sales.

For instance, information about guarantees helps ward off “cognitive dissonance” or “buyer’s regret.” Having a link to a pop-up window that displays your guarantee will help support the buyer’s decision that he/she has nothing to fear.

After-Sale Support

This same principle applies to support issues. People are more comfortable buying when they know they’ll be able to reach someone if they have a problem with the product/service. Offer contact information on your order form (or in a pop-up window) that clearly states your company name, contact name, email, phone number, and physical address. That way customers know they’ll be able to reach someone if they need to.

Coupon Codes/Discounts

Many times, when sites include a field for “coupon/discount code” on their order forms, it works against them. Some studies show that customers actually leave after seeing a field for a discount code. Their thinking is that they could have gotten the item for a better price and they go off in search of just that.

An alternative? Ask visitors for a coupon code at the very beginning of their shopping experience. That way, when they reach the checkout module, all discounts will be displayed for customers using coupons. For those who are not using coupons, no hard feelings will occur.

Selling and Upselling

Once the buyer makes the decision to buy… leave him/her alone! If you go too far by continuing to sell on your order form, you stand the risk of instilling suspicion in your buyers’ minds.

However, upselling is an entirely different story. Your customers are on your order form. They are obviously in the mood to buy or they wouldn’t be there. While they have their credit cards handy, offer them some special deals if they purchase more products or services at the same time.

Amazon.com is a pro at this. So are sites like LandsEnd.com and OmahaSteaks.com. Each of these sites will offer you the chance to receive great discounts on additional purchases once you reach their order forms.

For instance, if you buy a pair of sweatpants from LandsEnd.com, the order form will likely offer you a 20% discount on a sweatshirt, jacket, or some other related item if you buy it at that moment. This approach works wonderfully, too!

As you can see, the information you include (or choose not to include) can make a big difference in the conversion ratio of your order form. Make one change at a time and then measure your results. I’m sure you’ll find the success of your order form improves when you give customers what they want.

Since I review business opportunities and internet gurus all day for a living, you can guess I know which ones work and which ones don't. Click here to see how I make my money.