Affiliate marketing can be tough. Every day when an affiliate checks into his or her account, the first thing they are looking for is the number of sales. Sure, all the other metrics are great, but it is that one number that puts us in a good or bad mood. After all, that is what brings in the commissions each month.
For those piling up the referrals, sales and commissions - keep doing what you are doing. For those who are not, stay tuned.
Why are you not seeing the number of sales you think you should be?
We hear that question time and again from affiliates that want to be compensated for all the hard work they are doing to promote SimplyCast.
Setting up a website, adding banner ads and writing catchy content takes time and energy and we don't want you to be doing it for nothing.
You have to keep in mind that every affiliate's efforts are different. If you're doing heavy promoting and not seeing sales, it's time to take a step back and re-evaluate your strategy. Don't keep doing what is not working and hoping for the best. Instead, consider the following reasons why you may not be seeing the sales (and commissions) you want:
- What is your strategy? Do you even have a strategy? For those who are new to affiliate marketing, maybe you saw big commission payouts in your future for just signing up and adding a banner here and there. Sadly, it is not that simple. Just like any other type of business, you need to have goals and objectives in place for your affiliate marketing to take off. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it and making a fortune.
- Your website just launched and you need to get more traffic to it. With traffic comes more potential leads who will see a banner ad or review, which means more potential sales.
- Your banner ads don't convert. Try a different banner ad whether it be in style or size. Some sizes do convert much better and it can easily be all about placement. Compare a variety ofa different placements and then go with what works best.
- You need original content to not only entice readers but to rank higher in search engines. That means more organic traffic. People hitting your site want valuable information, ideally something they have not read before. Write an original review or breakdown of the product and you will see more interest. People want to hear what other real people say before they try out a product.
- Is SimplyCast's service (online marketing) relevant to your audience? It will send a mixed message to your readers if you all of a sudden promote something that is out of line with your usual info. It will come across as paid for and not very genuine. The more relevance, the more likely conversion rates will increase. Would you buy tires off a pet food site?
- You have no call to action on your blog or website. Urge your visitors to do something with words like "subscribe", "unlimited free trial", and "click here to signup". Don't assume everyone knows what to do when they read your review.
- You place your best content "below the fold". No one should have to scroll all the way down to see your most relevant offers. Don't put banner ads at the bottom of sites and don't stick links at the bottom of a review.
- You are not incorporating social media into your promotions. Everyone is on Facebook and Twitter and that is a great place to find new leads. Drive people to your site to see those banner ads and clickable links. It costs nothing more than time spent and opens your market much wider.
- Your affiliate links are not working. Okay so this one seems obvious but we have seen people post banners or blog reviews that contain tracking links that don't work. Check your links and test everything yourself. The worst thing you want is to grab someone's interest, just to send them to a dead link. Check that you copy and pasted correctly. We have all made an error here and there. You also want to make sure your results are being properly tracked by the software. There is no harm to test out your hard work.
- Not enough time has passed. With SimplyCast, people don't always buy the first time they visit the service. There is a free trial that can be used for quite some time. That is why we offer 200 day cookies as part of the program. Someone will sign up using your affiliate link and then has up to 200 days to put their credit card info in and buy. That certainly increases your odds of a sale but it can also draw the process out. The more you can sell the service up front, the less the user has to learn for themselves.
There are 10 of the main reasons why sales may not be booming (yet). Try adjusting your strategy and keep these tips in mind for the next few weeks. We are almost certain you will see better results. Is there a feature or something we can add to help you promote SimplyCast? We are always taking suggestions for future releases and ways to help you out.
Email us at affiliate@simplycast.com
Not a partner yet? Sign up right now. There is no fee to be a SimplyCast affiliate, all we ask is you enjoy the large commission cheques in your future.
