In an earlier post, I talked about the backend of your business. I was referring to the systems you have in place to handle everything behind the scenes, such as an automated series of emails that are sent to your contacts.
In this post, the Back End I am referring to is comprised of the subsequent offers you have for your prospects after the initial contact.
When it comes to filling up your back end with upsells, one time offers, order bumps, and so forth, you do not have to use only your own products. You can promote someone else’s product as an affiliate.
While it’s great for you to have more products to sell, adding other people’s products to your product catalog is very lucrative too. In fact, some people never create their own products. They only promote other people by being an affiliate.
So, let’s talk a bit about affiliate marketing.
What Is an Affiliate?
An affiliate is a salesperson for a brand or product. They earn commission on each sale that they make and often work as an affiliate for a variety of brands and products. When you are an affiliate marketer, you will search for and locate products and services that your ideal audience will love to use. You will tell them about it when they make a purchase. You get a small percentage of sales. The commission that you earn can range from as little as a few percent to even 100 percent.
Digital products usually have the highest commission rates, averaging around 50%. Physical product commissions vary greatly but are usually under 10%.
Find the Right Affiliate Products to Promote
The biggest job you have as an affiliate marketer is to find the right products that your audience needs to promote. You’ll want to consider how much commission you receive for each sale and if there is recurring commission.
This may seem obvious to some but make sure the offer is congruent with what your business offers. You may find this great product about “Fabulous Abs” that sells well, has 75% commission on the initial sale and has 50% recurring commission. If your business is all about “Dog Training” it is not a good fit. This is an extreme example but you get the idea. The affiliate offer MUST add to the value of your initial offer.
Also, what type of customer care does the creator offers buyers? You need to ensure that your customers will be well cared for. After all, once you send them to someone else they become that person’s customer too.
Try the Products First
With few exceptions, you should buy and try the product before you recommend it to someone else. You will discover a lot more about the product creator by doing it this way. You’ll see how their check out process works and know what the product looks like when you download it.
You’ll see the nitty-gritty details that only a buyer will understand. This means it’ll be easier to create bonus offers and also to know where this product fits in with your buyers and your business.
Make sure you contact their support to see if the response measure up to your standards.
Be Creative About Promoting Affiliate Offers
When you do use affiliate products to promote to your customers and list members on the back end, be creative about how you promote these products. You can work an affiliate offer into a one-time offer, a bump offer, an upsell, an add-on, and a bonus offer depending on your relationship with the creator as well as the technology you employ.
Sometimes the easiest way to offer the product is via an email marketing sequence or via a transactional email or download page. Adding affiliate products as part of any follow-up sequence is also a no-brainer.
By finding well-made products to promote that other people created and that you will earn a commission from is honestly the best of both worlds. You can fill in the gaps of information you offer with affiliate offers and then create more products that build off each other, whether they’re someone else’s products or yours.
Make More Money With Affiliate Marketing
Here is an example for you.
I attended this workshop from David and Jen live earlier this year. It was fantastic, as always. I go back and refer to the videos regularly. Since I started using some of the methods and tools they recommend, I have seen an increase ( about 45%) in engagement and in sales (about 20%) just from following their course.
While it is geared to those focusing on affiliate marketing, you can benefit from this workshop by using what they teach to really increase the value of your back end offers.
So, in keeping with what I said above, this affiliate offer is congruent with what my business offers:
- Product Seletion: It adds value for anyone interested in marketing products as an affiliate
- Try it First: I purchased it and attened the workshop so I know the value it contains
- Creative Promotion: I am promoting it here in this blog post as an example
Oh, here’s the link to check it out >> Make More Money With Affiliate Marketing
