By the end of this article – you’ll be doing finger pushups at your keyboard whenever you get down to working on your affiliate marketing blog.
Like all skills, it takes time to become a master.
Your affiliate business content may be rough around the edges when you’re first getting your start but, over time, it hardens like a rock – enough to break boards over.
Sit in a lotus position and keep your ears and eyes open because you’re about to get a crash-course on content creation kung fu.
Developing Strength through Unity
Unity in affiliate content.
The ability to develop a strategy where each and every piece of content you touch becomes a power-packed piece that sells your offers (and products) each and every time. An hour to write off an article quickly becomes a platform for generating conversions.
Sounds good on paper but it’s the practice that makes perfect.
To unify your work – you must unify your unique selling point and most wanted response.
- Your affiliate website should have one goal: conversions.
- Each relationship you build should lead to bigger things: business partnerships.
- Every minute you put into your marketing efforts should yield a return: exposure.
It’s easy to become distracted by all the bells and whistles littering the affiliate marketing industry; going after each as they come through the door will quickly take your mind off the main objectives and leave you with a variety of skills yet no specific mastery in any (the jack of all trades route).
So, what I would recommend is that you take an hour of your time to figure out what makes your affiliate business unique (the USP) and what you want from your efforts. On a piece of paper, write down your BIGGEST goal, then branch off how you plan to achieve them – set it in stone.
Attacking with Tiger-Like Ferocity
Get into gear and begin implementing your content ideas with a clear and sound strategy.
Step 1: Devise a Content Strategy
Take one hour to learn what content you should be producing in order to generate affiliate sales.
- Research the competition as to their top posts
- Dig into keyword tools to find the big interests in your niche
- Browse product sales pages and look at the key points
- Ask the community
Affiliate blogging is not just writing fluffy articles for the pleasure of your reader – they’re tailored to spark interest in products you mention and use. For this reason, use traditional product research methods but aim it at content ideas.
Step 2: Set a Content Schedule
Set a schedule and stick to it – give people a reason to keep coming back.
- Select which days you’ll publish content (try for at least once a week)
- Align it with the moment when you have the greatest time to promote
- Set reminders for which social networks and followers will be used in the promotion
One of the easiest ways to utilize a content schedule is to work around “series” posts which forces you to keep consistent with your timing and topics.
Step 3: Align Product Promotions
Figure out which products/services will be promoted with each piece before you get to work.
- Tailor the articles around mentioning the product/service
- Include frequently asked questions the product/service answers
- Use a resource list at the beginning or end for easy clicks
The goal is to use each piece of content as a vehicle for delivering your product promotion. The content must be self-sufficient without the reliance of the product/service promotion but it’s this inclusion that gives the content an extra punch.
Step 4: Interlink and use Resources
Make each piece work in your favor by tapping into the inquisitive nature of human beings.
- Use links to interesting keywords, questions, quotes, and graphics
- Set up a resource page (which is frequently linked in the pieces)
- Don’t answer a question that’s already been answered – link to it instead
People want to explore a website if the content is good. Yes, they can use the sidebar and navigation but give them direct resources through internal links on your pages (and use them effectively such as pointing people to money pages).
Step 5: Promote, Promote, Promote
Do the rounds of promotion as you’re already aware of:
- Social networks
- Bookmarking
- Advertising
- Link building
Do whatever it takes to get your content out there and make this promotional phase part of your normal content production cycle. When you set a schedule for your content – you’ll find you have a TON of time to promote your work which is far more valuable, in the long run, than just blasting new stuff each passing moment because it gives people time to ingest the information.
Step 6: Track and Learn
Learn what you can about the success of your content and conversions.
- Use Google Analytics to examine the response
- Setup tracking goals for links
- Try out split testing for various elements to improve conversions
It’s a good idea to think of your content as a product – which you’re giving away for free. Like a product, you should gather as much information you can about it so the next “product” you work on will be even better.
Now let’s take it up to the next level …
Defending the Brand with a Choke Hold
No doubt, you’ll pick up a few haters along the way.
- You’ve got trolls.
- People that clearly don’t understand the subjects.
- Jealousy.
Don’t allow these items detract you from your focus on affiliate content. Sure, not everything you produce will be grade A material but at least you’re doing it. Each time you work on something new – you’re getting closer to mastering your form.
Let your followers defend your content. Don’t feed the trolls.
Get your brand into a choke hold by tracking the response from your community. Discover the areas you’ve yet to tap and make a move on your competitors where they have failed to explore. Every “hit” you throw out should come followed with a “defense” whereas you provoke people to react (follow through on an offer) and then you defend by providing these individuals with additional resources, help, and guidance.
The Yin and Yang of Content and Offers
Okay, so I mentioned that each piece should promote a product but here’s the kicker: you probably shouldn’t with each.
But not how you’re thinking it.
Each piece will promote a product/service either way especially if you have resource pages, reviews, and other forms of income generation. You can certainly sell a product/service with each post but you have to be mindful to your readers as they may not have the money to invest in yet another product nor do they want to be battered by offer after offer.
I would suggest doing a half-and-half approach. A yin and yang.
Send out hard selling content for every piece that you release that’s pure information or entertainment but then revise older, non-selly, articles after your core community have gone through them. You inject offers back into these pieces for future visitors but you don’t overload your devoted community. It’s win-win for everyone.
Now that you’ve got this focus on content – get out there, get to work, and give your brand a swift karate chop to spark some action.
