You want to spend money to make money. This is the most basic rule of online marketing.
The difference is that when you’re spending money to make money online, you’re usually investing in marketing products or services that can help you get in front of the right audience. The better you can identify this audience the more effectively you can target your marketing dollars and ROI (return on investment).
Since you’re probably reading this, it means you’re either considering or are already involved in an online marketing program. Maybe you’ve got a blog that you’ve built up over time and you’re looking for ways to monetize it. Or perhaps you’ve recently gone through a product launch and are looking for ways to grow your audience and turn your fans into paying customers. Whatever your reason for getting started in online marketing, this article is for you. Here are 12 tips on how to find the right online marketing partners for your particular needs.
1. The Most Important Thing to Consider Is The Revenue Sharing Percentage
This one may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many businesses forget about it. To put it bluntly, you’re going to be partnering with people in this industry. To get the most out of the relationship, it’s important that you both feel comfortable with the terms and the revenue sharing percentages. You’re going to be giving away some of your revenue for the benefit of the business. This is not a bad thing. In fact, this is how many successful businesses operate. But you do need to be aware of how this impacts you as an individual. If you don’t feel comfortable giving up a certain percentage of your revenue, then either find a different business partner or stick with what you know.
2. Never, Ever Underestimate The Power Of A Referral
Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to get in front of potential customers. If you’re looking to grow your business through affiliate marketing, then you need to understand the power of referrals. When someone recommends your product or service to another person, that person is most likely to buy the product or sign up for the service if they feel it fits their needs. To take advantage of this, you can either pay people to refer your products or services or encourage your current customers to refer your business to their friends.
3. Identify The Niche
If you’re new to the affiliate marketing world, it can be tricky to know exactly what products or services to promote. The easier route is to find a niche within a niche. For example, if you know that birding is a hobby of yours, you can create content around bird-related products or services (hats, feeding tubes, etc.). In this way, you’ll be able to build a small audience who is interested in your niche and might be able to become prospective customers. Once you’ve established a following, you can slowly broaden your focus to include additional niches.
4. Look For Affiliate Marketing Programs That Employ Traditional Marketing
Even though you’re focusing on online marketing, it’s important to remember that not all marketing is created equal. You’re probably already receiving marketing material through the mail or online. Sometimes this can be quite frustrating. You’ll want to find an affiliate marketing program that embraces traditional marketing techniques as much as possible to make the most of your efforts.
5. Use A/B Testing To Your Advantage
When you’re first getting started with affiliate marketing, it’s easy to become disheartened when your campaigns don’t appear to be yielding the results you were expecting. It’s important to remember that when you’re starting out, your campaigns won’t necessarily produce the same results as someone who’s been doing this for years. This is why you’ll usually find A/B testing when you’re doing research on the internet. Once you’ve learned to interpret the results of these tests, you’ll be able to target your efforts and grow your business accordingly.
6. Get To Know Your New Partner Well Before You Launch Your Affiliate Campaigns
You’ve just found a new partner who’s willing to pay you to promote their product or service. Congrats! Now what? Even though you’re going to be partnering with this person, you still need to maintain your autonomy and control over the operation of your business. Before you partner with someone, you need to make sure that you’ve got a good understanding of how the business operates and what their motives are. Ask as many questions as necessary to get a clear picture and make sure that you’re both on the same page before you launch your affiliate campaigns. If you follow these six tips, you’ll be able to find the right online marketing partners for your particular needs and ensure that your partnership is beneficial to both of you.
7. Perform Market Research Before You Jump In
If you’re going to be partnering with an affiliate marketing company, it’s important to do your research before you get too deep into the conversation. You don’t want to sign up with a company that doesn’t have the resources to provide the level of service that you’re looking for. Do your research online and read reviews of the different companies that you’re considering. This will help you make the right choice and ensure that you’re partnering with a company that’s going to be effective in helping you grow your business.
8. Consider All The Little Things
While we’re on the subject of research, it’s important to remember that there are many companies out there that are trying to scam you. They’ll often go above and beyond to convince you that they’re the best fit for your business. It’s important to keep in mind that even though they may seem like a good fit based on your research, there are still several things that you need to consider before signing up with them. One of the biggest things is support. Does the company offer support through email or live chat? What about training? Do they offer training materials or a mentoring program? You’ll want to make sure that the company that you’re considering has the resources that you need to offer the level of service that you’re looking for. If you can’t find the answers to these questions online, then you probably shouldn’t be dealing with them in the first place.
9. Look For Affiliate Marketing Programs That Can Be Managed Locally
If you’re looking for a way to get in front of potential customers without having to worry about shipping products or taking care of logistics, then you should consider an affiliate marketing program that can be managed locally. There are several reputable companies out there that can manage your affiliate campaigns for you. They’ll take care of getting the products to your customers and processing payments. All you have to do is promote the products and get paid when people click or buy the items displayed on your website.
If you decide to go this route, make sure that you work with a company that’s been established for years and has a record of delivering exceptional service to their customers. Local affiliate marketing can be a great way to get in front of potential customers without having to worry about shipping products or taking care of logistics. Plus, you won’t have to spend a lot of money on ads since you’ll be able to target the local area.
10. Consider The Most Luxury Items First
If you’re looking to invest in products or services that are going to generate revenue, then it’s important to think about how long these products or services are going to be worth your investment. One way to solve this problem is to consider the most luxurious items first. When you’re investing in expensive products and services, you’ll want to make sure that these items will be worth it in the long run. This is especially important if you’re looking at purchasing an expensive piece of equipment (like a fancy desk lamp or computer).
11. Learn To Ignore The Noise
Noise is going to be one of the biggest problems that you’re going to have to deal with as you try to grow your business. There are just so many people and companies out there trying to scam you or get you to invest in useless products or services. To make matters worse, there are a lot of buzzwords and flashy marketing phrases that can confuse you even more. All of this is noise that you need to ignore. Focus on creating quality content and utilizing proven online marketing techniques.