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How to choose  affiliate products to promote

All products are not created equal

 

The process of choosing affiliate products to promote is critical to your success. When possible you want to choose products that align with your personal interest. The reason this is important is that you will bring a level of knowledge to the niche and it will make the process of researching and writing easier. I have an interest in small business development and marketing I also have a degree in economics and 20 years working in marketing and finance. That experience is valuable. The products I promote provide solutions to small business owners.  No, you don’t have to be an expert in your niche but you should have an interest and the willingness to learn as much as possible.

 

The Evaluation Process

After choosing your niche, it’s time to find out what products or services are available. Log into your affiliate program dashboard and search google. As an example, your niche is in the fitness and weight loss space and there are over a hundred different products and services. Don’t just blindly choose products that have high commissions payouts. Review the 7 day and 90 day EPC metrics are important. The definition below comes from the CJ Affiliate Network, which is the affiliate network with whom I work.

EPC 7-day  Your EPC (Average Earnings Per One Hundred Clicks) is a relative rating that illustrates the ability to convert clicks into commissions.
EPC 3-monthYour EPC (Average Earnings Per One Hundred Clicks) is a relative rating that illustrates the ability to convert clicks into commissions.

Example: WeightWatchers.com

Category: Weight Loss

 Network Earnings:

 3 month EPC:65.41 USD
7 day EPC:99.16 USD 
Sale: 10.00 USD
The Weight Watchers affiliate program is currently paying $10 per new online subscription. The data is reflecting that for every 100 clicks you are able to send to the affiliate offer it is converting into $99.16 in commission for you over a 7 day period and $65.41 over a 90 day period. The 7 day period numbers are higher because we are in the first part of the year where people are trying to transition to a healthier lifestyle. 3 months ago it was all about the holiday season and not so much about eating healthy. Which leads to another item to consider the seasonality of a product. There will probably be another uptick in this program in mid Spring when people start working on their “beach body.” After, that it will probably slow down until new resolution time again.

 How reputable is the company you are promoting

After choosing which products align with your niche research the company offering the product or service for any red flags. Online reviews, Better Business Bureau, and the advertiser’s website are all good places to research. As a promoter, your reputation and credibility are on the line as well. When possible, try to test out the product or service. A good affiliate marketing network will have already vetted the advertisers but you always want to complete your own due diligence. There are a lot of companies, good companies, that you may have never heard of before that have affiliate programs. Sign up with as many affiliate networks as possible to have a broad selection of products to choose. If you apply to an advertiser and get declined, do not get discourage move on to the next product on your list and apply again later.

 

Other Factors to consider when choosing affiliate products.

  1. Recurring commissions does your affiliate product continue to produce monthly
  2. Commission per sale- Sales 100 items with a $100commissionper sale is a shorter path to $10k in revenue than selling a 1000 units at $10 per sale.
  3. How popular is the product?
  4. How long does the cookie last. A cookie is a piece of software that is stored on a users computer when they visit a website. Your affiliate ID is stored via a cookie and tracks how many conversions you have made. The longer the cookie the better. A prospective customer may not be ready to purchase right away. A cookie with a short duration may expire before the customer purchases the product or service. In that case, you do not get credit for the sale

 

Jef Scot provides solutions to small businesses in website design and hosting, direct mail, e-mail, and online marketing. Solutions that don’t compromise. Please review our Solutions page for services that may help assist you in reaching your goals. Use the discount code: Business2018 for $50 off.

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