What is your experience/thoughts regarding affiliate programs?
I don’t think Google is directly targeting affiliate sites just because the CEOs woke up one morning with steam coming out of his ears and decided on a whim to destroy every small affiliate business on the planet. Google is targeting all low-grade sites. And the fact is that most affiliate sites add zero value to the internet as a resource. I’m also a www.revglue.com affiliate.
Whenever I train Affiliate Managers to find affiliates via the search engines, one of the things I tell them is “if it is a professional looking website, it is likely to be a merchant; if it is an amateur-looking website, with no content and a lousy logo, it is likely to be an affiliate site”. In 90% of cases, it turns out to be true. If only affiliates put more effort into their websites and provided the “high quality, unique writing”, they wouldn’t get a poor rating from Googlebot.
I have dozens of content websites, on which I may sweat on for six hours to write one book review, and they are doing better than ever in the SERPs. They are affiliate sites.
I, like LaRue, will only endorse products I use and trust. So it’s very important to appeal to the fitness professional as well as the public, especially with your website since that is the easiest way to reach so many people in today’s world. It’s also important to foster a healthy relationship with some form of communication. An e-mail blast or newsletter here and there helps keep us up-to-date on your products and promotions.
There are a lot of ways to do it, as far as marketing and linking the affiliate. Personally I would prefer a website banner to start. And if you would provide inexpensive marketing materials, I would be far more likely to market a product offline. I’m not going to invest my own money marketing your product when I only earn 5-15% on total purchases. With that being said, a discount for verified professionals would help get your product in our hands.
Essentially you need to make it as easy and simple as possible for us. Get it in our hands any way you can, and really sell the product to us. Make us want to sell your product, and wish all our clients had one.
I am affiliated with a few different programs. Not all Affiliate Programs are created equal, so I take great care in the details of the program before committing to one. I like them as a ‘value-added’ component to my business, but am careful to only support those that I truly believe in (for example, use their equipment).
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
Hi KewlFit,
I am part of an affiliate program as part of ShareASale which is okay. It is no work for me at all.
I looked at your web site and the description of the product that you have been developing. I think it is a great idea but I had a very different thought from the one that you have brought forward. I was thinking of people with MS. Overheating is one of the greatest problems, and the summer month, even without exercise, can be very challenging. I can imagine that your vest can help there as well.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com