What product should I sell - and the best way to go about it ?

SCOBAHCAN · #1 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 11:26 AM

I have been trying to earn an income on the computer, for about three years now with very little luck.

I have been suggested to look into selling Clickbank products, but I find that in the process for going about it and the learning curve are both too complicated to learn and to implement.

I would like to get hold of a compact and straightforward explanation of how to sell with Clickbank .

I have also been suggest to look for some kind of program that offers a residual income.

I don't mind working hard to make a good income. As long as it is straightforward, and I am obtaining the desired results.

I have had a Website up and running with a company for two + years now with no luck. It has been a long and detailed process.

I do not know if having a website is advisable or it is easier to sell with one?

Is it possible to have a website with just a few pages rather than one that has 40 + pages
(like the one I have) it has taking me two years to build it - with much time spent, which has ended up not doing very well. I have been promoting it in all kinds of directories , search engines, forums , classified ad sites, and traffic exchanges – but nothing.

I very much welcome and would appreciate very much any help or information that you can offer me.

Thanks a lot Craig

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCOBAHCAN

I would like to get hold of a compact and straightforward explanation of how to sell with Clickbank .

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.

ppcFanatic · #3 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 12:34 PM

Hi all (Lisa, long time no chat... I'm back!)

What a great response Lisa. This should be a blog post or sticky. Craig, you cannot go after the products until you fully grasp the concept of Internet marketing. With all due respect, not sure you're quite there yet. As Lisa said, if you had enough of the right kind of traffic you'd be selling.

So instead of asking "what should I be selling" you should be asking "How can I generate more interested buyers to my site?" That's the key. We could sit here and list the top 500 affiliate programs on the Web but if you can't sell them from your site, it won't matter much to you.

This is a collosol mistake made by Webmasters. They chase the money before they grasp marketing. I'm not trying to be hard on you because you represent the vast majority of affiliates but it's good you posted this 'cause I bet a lot of people on this forum feel the same way as you.

Making money online is straightforward. Produce a product and sell it (that product could be as simple as your content). As Lisa said the problem is people try to find the products and sell them before doing the in-between stuff like making a useful site that connects. Sure your content may be written very well and great but what are your visitors saying about it? Do you get emails with questions? Can you get a sense for what they may be interested in by the questions they ask?

40 pages of content doesn't guarantee sales so don't stress over the numbers or how many pages you need. In fact, it means nothing if you aren't selling the right products or connecting with your visitors.

I would love to tell you that there was a defined process to making money like....

1) Create a 12 page site on how to repair cars
2) Promote these three car affiliate programs from CJ.com on your site
3) Advertise your site on these 2 forums and 6 blogs
4) Wait 4 weeks and you should have 200 visitors per day
5) Spend $100/month on pay per click marketing and bid on these keywords
6) By week 8 you'd be making $500 per month

I think that's what people are looking for but it doesn't exist. In a perfect world that would be AWESOME if there was some guide out there like this, but it doesn't work like that. There are too many variables involved (your writing style, how well you market, the type of traffic you attract, how much traffic you attract, the niche you choose, etc.)

Marketing is complex, but once you figure it out making money is the easy part. Let me ask you about your niche. Are you truly passionate about it? Do you offer anything unique from your competition?

Stay away from the classified ads and all those freebie tire-kicking sites. Waste of time. Do you comment on other blogs related to your niche? Do you network with other webmasters? Write articles for other travel related ezines and blogs? Do you have a mailing list? How often do you communicate with your audience? Are you getting feedback from your newsletters? All these things help you get to know who you're marketing to. Networking and research is everything.

I do wish you luck, though.

Jewel · #4 (**permalink**) 04-19-2008, 12:20 PM

What a fantastic, informative reply Lisa. I printed it out to really READ it. Thanks.

SCOBAHCAN · #5 (**permalink**) 04-19-2008, 01:11 PM

yes ! Thanks Lisa & PPCFanatic for both of your very detailed - eye opening & informative replys .
I would say they were both the most helpfull replies that I have received in ANY forum (I am a member of approx. 50 forums & have done 1000 + posts over the last 4 years).

Thanks again & keep up those good worthwhile posts Craig___

lisa · #6 (**permalink**) 04-19-2008, 02:19 PM

Glad I could help.

drjerm · #7 (**permalink**) 05-03-2008, 01:35 PM

Wow, I read your very long, but very informative and helpful post Lisa about the importance of making sure your target audience is getting what they are looking for. I know this is going to be a challenge for me. My first website is about improving yourself, discovering your destiny, creating your legacy, that kind of thing.

I would say my audience are young people who are confused on what to do in life, older people (25 and up) unsatisfied with their careers, people who struggle with broken relationships, and those looking to better themselves. I look forward to the challenge of really targeting this market. You've given me some good insight with this post.

Lajocar · #8 (**permalink**) 05-03-2008, 05:17 PM

Great tips guys.

I like the detailed explanaition of affiliate products and making money online.