LESSON #85: Affiliate Traffic

We’ve been talking about web traffic for the past 13 lessons, and finally we’ve arrived at one of my favorite methods of getting traffic. It also happens to be one of the most powerful traffic generation methods on the Internet…

(Watch this video - it may take a couple minutes to load after clicking it…)

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Outline:

  • Affiliate marketing is basically a form a marketing in which an affiliate gets paid for making referrals or sales of someone else’s product.
  • (See video for diagrams)

  • Vendor (aka Merchant, Retailer, Advertiser, Seller) = A person or company that is selling something.

  • Affiliate (aka Marketer, Publisher) = Sends traffic to the vendor’s website and is paid affiliate commissions for making referrals (usually sales or leads).

  • Commission rates vary greatly. A typical digital product might have a commission in the range of 30% to 100%. A typical physical product might have a commission rate of 1% to 30%.

  • Commission structures:

    PPS (Pay per sale) = get paid for making sales, or a “revenue share” of your overall sales volume for the time period. The most common affiliate commission structure.

    CPA (Cost per action) = get paid for referrals/leads. Also common, with many CPA Networks devoted to this model.

    CPM (Cost per 1000 impressions) = get paid for traffic. Commonly used in advertising but not in affiliate marketing.

  • (KEY POINT) Leverage is what makes affiliate marketing so powerful. Instead of you working to get web traffic to your site, your affiliates will do it for you by utilizing SEO, PPC, social media, and all the other traffic methods that we’ve talked about.

  • Two main options for creating and managing an affiliate program:

    1) An in-house affiliate program
    2) A 3rd party affiliate program provider (aka Affiliate Network, CPA network, etc.)

  • In-house affiliate programs

    Pros:
    Building equity in your own program.
    Easier to build a relationship with your affiliates.
    Not paying fees to a program provider.

    Cons:
    More work to manage it.
    Responsibility of paying affiliates, reporting earnings to the IRS, etc.
    Have to recruit all your affiliates.

    Self-hosted solutions (installed on your website):
    Amember
    Butterfly script
    Delavo
    IDevAffiliate
    Many others

    3rd party (hosted) solutions:
    1shoppingcart
    infusionsoft
    E-junkie
    Nanacast
    Many others
    (See also lesson #54)

  • Affiliate Program Provider (aka Affiliate Network, CPA network, etc.)

    Pros:
    Easy to setup and use.
    Tap into their existing affiliates.
    They handle all the tracking and affiliate payments.

    Cons:
    May be difficult to communicate with your affiliates.
    You pay extra processing fees to the provider.
    Not “building equity” in your own program.

    Commonly used by information marketers:
    ClickBank (Not “technically” an affiliate network)
    Plimus
    Digital River’s OneNetworkDirect (for software)
    PayDotCom (PayPal based)
    JVzoo (PayPal based)
    Digiresults (PayPal based)

    Other Affiliate and CPA networks:
    Commission Junction - www.cj.com
    LinkShare- www.linkshare.com
    ShareASale - www.shareasale.com
    Clickbooth - www.clickbooth.com
    Google Affiliate Network - www.google.com/ads/affiliatenetwork/
    MaxBounty - www.maxbounty.com
    NeverBlue - www.neverblue.com
    PeerFly - www.peerfly.com
    AdscendMedia - www.adscendmedia.com
    Amazon Associates - affiliate-program.amazon.com
    AND HUNDREDS MORE!

  • Why I prefer ClickBank:

    - They’re reliable.
    - They specialize in digital products.
    - They have a massive base of established affiliates.
    - They handle processing, security, taxes, affiliate payments, etc.

  • What about using one of the big Affiliate Networks or CPA Networks?

    There is often a big up-front cost, and there is more risk involved. Before you even consider it…

    1) You need have something that converts CONSISTENTLY.
    2) You need be a master of your numbers. (know your metrics)

  • Key point: You need to nurture the relationship with your affiliates. Get them onto a list if there’s not one built into your affiliate program.

  • Provide your affiliates with tools to make their job easy, such as…

    - Banners
    - Blog posts
    - PPC ads
    - Swipe emails (most important in my business)
    - Tweets
    - Social media posts

  • Consider hiring an affiliate manager with the following qualifications:

    - proven track record
    - excellent communication skills
    - knowledgeable at many methods of getting traffic
    - proficient at HTML and web skills
    - loyal and has integrity

    Action steps:

    1) Decide whether you want to implement an affiliate program in your business.

    2) If yes, choose an in-house or 3rd party solution (such as the ones I listed in this lesson) and set it up. (Lesson #53 and #54 and #32 may be helpful)

    In the next lesson we’ll be looking at how to recruit affiliates!

    As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below :-)

    Have a great day!

     

    Add Your Comment

    • 41 Comments

    • Perry Bird said:

      Thank you timing could not have been more perfect for me. Good to have you working a few hours again.
      Again Thank You
      Perry Bird

      [Reply]
      • Eric said:

        Yes good to be back thanks :-)

        [Reply]
      • richard said:

        Thanks for this great post! Keep it up

        [Reply]
        • Daniel said:

          I have been waiting for this the whole time

          [Reply]
          • Daniel said:

            i haven’t even pressed play and i am so excited. Thank you for all you are doing. You have no idea how big of a help you have been

            [Reply]
            • Jose said:

              Thanks for the insight. From this,it means one has to have a product that is to be offered for sale and for distribution by affiliates. If so, it is a wake up call for internet marketers to think of ebooks for sale.

              [Reply]
              • Laurie said:

                Hi Eric Thanks for such an informative video. As it happens, I have recently posted on my blog about this subject but it was an extremely abridged version compared to yours. I am a newbie so not up to your level just yet !!! :-) It made me realize that video is such a brilliant way to put your point across. I shall have to look into video making possibilities now, and thanks for prompting me. I am inspired! Thank you. Laurie.

                [Reply]
                • Eric said:

                  Thanks, yes video is a great medium for teaching!

                  [Reply]
                • David Vallieres said:

                  That’s a great post Eric. I agree 100% with you on ClickBank. I remember in 2002 they called me on the phone. “That’s strange” I thought - but they just wanted to tell me that my check would be late by 2 days because of an error by their check vendor. Since then they have paid every single time - on time. I’ve been an affiliate with other systems and have lost thousands of dollars over the last 12 years from vendors I was an affiliate for not paying me. They talk a good game then don’t pay. With ClickBank I never have to worry about it.

                  [Reply]
                  • Eric said:

                    Exactly. Hey you’re more of a CB veteran than me!

                    [Reply]
                    • Andrew G. said:

                      Whoa two of my favorite teachers in the same post, kinda cool welcome back Eric and Dave!

                      [Reply]
                    • Stephanie said:

                      Welcome back Eric! I’d love to know how/where to find affiliate managers! Thanks!

                      [Reply]
                      • Eric said:

                        That’s a very good question. I thought about addressing it in the video, but I didn’t have any great answers. There are many places you could find an affiliate manager… Google it, ask on the Warrior Forum, put out a craigslist ad, outsource it on Odesk, etc. But the problem is finding a good one. Therefore I think the best way is word of mouth. Talk to some vendors who have very successful products and ask them if they have an affiliate manager.

                        [Reply]
                      • Ray said:

                        Hey Eric,

                        Another great lesson. I’m really looking forward to your next lesson as I have several products to promote and all the setup in-house is done.

                        Just a suggestion, have you considered putting a page on this site that lists all lessons and what was covered?

                        [Reply]
                        • Eric said:

                          Thanks :) Yes I’ve considered it and might do it soon. In the mean time, I have such a page in my coaching club. Sort of a perk for members.

                          [Reply]
                        • Mark said:

                          Thanks, Eric. I was wondering what happened to you. I got an email every day from you and then nothing. I hope everything is well.

                          Thanks again! Appreciated.

                          Mark

                          [Reply]
                          • Yinka said:

                            Thank you for this lesson.

                            [Reply]
                            • David said:

                              Great video Eric, and it is good to see the here and it has help my more now and get in to it the bast thanks..

                              [Reply]
                              • mondo said:

                                I understand a subscriber list is important as an affiliate of promoting clickbank products, now, is there a way to promote clickbank products without this list, what sort of targeted traffic can we get at present without a list?

                                [Reply]
                                • Eric said:

                                  Yes there are ways to do it without a list. Basically you can use any of the other forms of traffic that I’ve already covered… SEO, paid traffic, social media, etc. However, my advice is to start building a list! If you’re going to go through the effort of getting targeted traffic, you might as well get them onto a list instead of just sending them to affiliate offers.

                                  [Reply]
                                • Sylvia Edwards said:

                                  Dear Eric, I have really learned a lot from you, and I think you are great. because of you I have learned how to drive traffic to my website and I am now making money. Thanks so much.
                                  I have a question for you. My Nephew is very interested in internet marketing. he is about to turn 15 years old. is he to young to make money online and does he have to be an adult? He really wants to know.
                                  Sincerely, Sylvia

                                  [Reply]
                                  • Eric said:

                                    Yes it is possible. My son is 12 and he is now starting to make money online. He may need an adult to approve and/or co-sign his payment processing accounts.

                                    [Reply]
                                  • Doreen said:

                                    Hi Eric
                                    Doreen here I received lesson 85 and it was brilliant as were all the rest of the training up to now but for some reason I have not heard from you for the last few days is there a problem I was getting the video training daily and they have just stopped I dont want to stop my training and thought it went to 100 waiting to hear from you
                                    Have a great day
                                    Doreen (http://premierinformationanddistributionsltd.com)

                                    [Reply]
                                    • Micah said:

                                      Hello Doreen,

                                      It looks like you’ve just caught up to the latest lesson. Eric is hard at work on the next few lessons. They should be posted sometime soon!

                                      [Reply]
                                    • Doreen said:

                                      I have contacted your support center regarding futher training videos sorry to be a pain but I have learnt so much
                                      Thank you I know your busy with your own sites
                                      Doreen

                                      [Reply]
                                      • Richard Rodriquez said:

                                        Hi Eric

                                        The information you cover as usual, is fantastic.

                                        However I have not yet received Lesson 86 is that because it is limited to particular people in some way?
                                        If not then are you able to let me have the next lesson and subsequent lessons?

                                        Thanks for all the information.

                                        Kind regards
                                        Richard

                                        [Reply]
                                        • Micah said:

                                          Hello Richard,

                                          It looks like you’ve just caught up to the latest lesson. Eric is hard at work on the next few lessons. They should be posted sometime soon!

                                          [Reply]
                                        • Carol said:

                                          Thanks Eric! Great video. I have an idea to put together an ebook as a vender on Clickbank. You make it seem possible.

                                          [Reply]
                                          • Leslie Leftley said:

                                            hi Eric,

                                            I have been busy doing other things, so I have not noticed, until now, that this is the last Eric’s tips I have received (No 85).

                                            I have not been sent any other Eric’s Tips. Can you please investigate and re-commence my Eric’s Tips?

                                            Thank you so much

                                            Les Leftley

                                            [Reply]
                                            • Micah said:

                                              Hello Leslie,

                                              It looks like you’ve just caught up to the latest lesson. Eric is hard at work on the next few lessons. They should be posted sometime soon!

                                              [Reply]
                                            • Dorothy Marr said:

                                              Thank you Eric,

                                              Holding my lessons back for Eric’s Tips helped. Would your please send them again,I’m on Lesson #85.

                                              Thank You and God Bless

                                              [Reply]
                                              • Micah said:

                                                Hello Dorothy,

                                                Eric will still be completing 100 lessons. You’ve simply caught up to the latest lesson.

                                                The next lesson will be sent to you soon.

                                                [Reply]
                                              • Claes Staffansson said:

                                                I can not watch this video??? I only have sound but the screen is black. Anyone else have this problem? Have tried updating, waiting, upgrade and so on but no video. Older lessons is no problem to watch.
                                                What do do Eric?

                                                [Reply]
                                              • charles said:

                                                Hi Eric & Micah,
                                                What are some affiliate programs that have high price items, physical or digital?

                                                Thanks
                                                Charles

                                                [Reply]
                                                • tracy said:

                                                  Eric,How come I can only heard you talking but I can’t see the video playing.. All I see is black screen.

                                                  [Reply]
                                                • Ali said:

                                                  Please cancel my subscription

                                                  [Reply]
                                                • Kadhim said:

                                                  Hi Eric
                                                  I noticed that your lessons has been delayed ,before you were sending them by time .. but now you putting another stuffs , when its was the time for your email to come ,I was quickly opening it and watching that video tutorials ,with all attention , nowadays I got disappointing when I can not see as much is it promised , can I know way?

                                                  [Reply]
                                                  • Eric said:

                                                    I’ll post a new one soon :)

                                                    [Reply]
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