Quote:
Originally Posted by SCOBAHCAN
I would like to get hold of a compact and straightforward explanation of how to sell with Clickbank .
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Craig,
I don't think your problem is ClickBank or any affiliate program specifically. I think the problem is you aren't generating enough targeted traffic who is interested in whatever you're selling.
When you generate enough interested visitors to your site, making money is actually the easier part. I know that may be easy for me to say on this side of the fence but it's true. I've found that people who struggle with selling are not struggling because of the product or affiliate program, it's one or more of the following reasons...
1) What they are selling is off target from their audience's needs and they don't realize it. They assume it should sell because they think it's a good product and the people that arrive at their site
should buy it.
2) They aren't coming across as a credible source so the audience feels "pitched" instead of seeing your site as a trusted source offering a recommendation
3) Not enough targeted traffic to the site period.
I tell this story a lot but when I first launched 2createawebsite I had a completely different focus. My main goal was to promote Site Build It! and other "how to make money products" In the first few months to a year I didn't sell much at all.
After evaluating my stats and using an online poll, I discovered that most of my audience could care less about making money online. They just wanted to learn the basics of creating a simple website or build a free site.
So I completely re-vamped my site and started focusing on things I learned. I put the content my visitors told me they wanted to learn about upfront and moved the "how to make money" stuff out of the forefront.
Also, I spend a lot of time evaluating my traffic stats. I look at my top 10 keywords my site gets found for and try to determine the mindset my visitor is in when they arrive at my site.
For example, if someone finds my site for "free website" they are not likely going to buy Site Build It!. They searched for "free website" so that's what they want. An ad for Site Build It! or anything is going to turn them off. So when my site was new, I removed a lot of the affiliate links and just started educating people.
So if I find that 30% of my traffic is coming from "free website" I'm going to try to capture those people by letting them know upfront why I think creating free web hosts are risky. Suddenly I've connected with that group and instead of leaving my site they may be more inclined to stay since I've educated them on this matter.... even though I don't promote free hosting.
I sell a few Clickbank products and do pretty well. But I also sell just as many products on CJ.com, ShareASale.com, AWeber, SiteSell, and many other affiliate programs. I find products that I feel interest my audience and write a review on them. So my point is, I don't think your affiliate programs are the problem. It may be your approach to selling.
My methods have always been straightforward. Buy the product. Explain to my audience how it will benefit them specifically.
I'm wondering if the products you are trying to sell on Clickbank are off base in terms of meeting your audience's interest. And since your site is about travel, I'd be curious to know what kind of products you're selling from ClickBank. (Or are you talking about another site you own?)
I'm wondering if your content and the products you are promoting are connecting with your audience? When Ken Evoy talks about "knowing your audience" that's what he means. I think we often assume our content is right-on but when you really start to analyze the keywords people use to find you and the pages they exit from, it can really help you fine-tune your content and offer better products to sell.
I learned my content wasn't matching my audiences needs and that's why my bounce rates were so high years ago. Pay attention to your visitor stats and especially the keywords people find you with. This can tell a lot.
Making money online is very straightforward when you have enough targeted traffic and know what products will interest them.
Take Allan Gardyne for example. Almost anything he recommends in his newsletter earns him a ton of money just from a small recommendation. I remember back in 2000 when SiteSell launched Site Build It! Ken Evoy reported Allan sold hundreds of copies in one day.
But the point is, Allan can do that with almost ANY affiliate program or product because he has the traffic and credibility. He knows what his audience is interested in.
You ask for straightforward. That's as straightforward as it gets with affiliate marketing. And to be honest, that's exactly the same approach I use (except I'm not nearly as successful as Allan... but I do pretty well out here.
So there's no big secret or one right affiliate program that's going to make money. It's the concept of developing the right kind of traffic. Once you do that, you can sell almost anything.
So I'm wondering which piece you're missing. Is it the traffic? Do you know enough about your audience and what they want? Do they trust you?
So whether you're trying to sell clickbank products, promote residual affiliate programs, etc. the process is going to be the same and you will keep hitting a brick wall if you don't do what I mentioned above.
The process is very straightforward, but unfortunately generating the targeted traffic is not. That's where you have to pull out your creativity and try to find ways to get yourself noticed.
THAT's where I think many people struggle.
What do you think? Does any of this hit home when you evaluate your strategies for promoting your site? Or am I completely off base here?
What I really want you to understand that it's not the affiliate program. Leave ClickBank out of this for the moment. You could chase programs all day, but without doing what I mentioned above you'll just go in circles running from affiliate program to affiliate program. I don't think you are generating the right kind of traffic yet. And for the traffic you are generating, you may not be connecting with them.