10 Secrets Of The Super-Affiliate Mindset

by Anik Singal

Contrary to popular belief, super-affiliates don?t really DO things
differently than affiliate underachievers. Super-affiliates promote
the same products. They use the same SEO techniques. They have the
same headaches. And they work just as hard.
But super-affiliates THINK differently. Their minds and attitudes go
far beyond the commission check. For them, affiliate marketing is not
just a business. It?s a CAREER. And that professional mindset makes
a huge difference in how and when they take action in the marketplace.
I?ve worked side by side with many super-affiliates. I?ve even helped
create a few. They all share a special kind of mindset. So as you
read these 10 characteristics of affiliate super-achievers, ask
yourself, ?Could I learn to think this way??
#1 ? Super-affiliates think creatively.
You know what you?ll get if you do what everyone else does? You?ll get
what they get... only you?ll be splitting it with them, and all their
imitators.
In today's Internet marketplace, you need to be a leader, not a
follower. So super-affiliates don?t follow the crowd. They sell TO
the crowd. They take the most successful marketing techniques, apply
them to selling the most popular products... and then add a unique spin.
It could be as simple as offering one unusual, but highly valuable
bonus. It could be as sensible as using low-cost offline marketing,
while everyone else is breaking the bank on expensive PPC. It could
be as innovative as dumping the sales letter, and substituting a quiz
or contest. But super-affiliates always, always, ALWAYS look for ways
to be alittle more creative than their competitors.
#2 ? Super-affiliates learn the hard stuff.
Less than 10% of people who start their own business are successful.
Why? Most fail because they lack direct sales experience, don?t bother
with a marketing and business plan, or get into debt promoting products
that don?t have a market. In other words, they flunk when they get
tested on the really tough aspects of business.
Super-affiliates are different. They learn how to do all the ?hard?
things other people shy away from. They learn about selling and they
get good at it. They set goals, make daily and weekly plans, and
measure their progress. They don?t waste time creating huge content
sites unless they have hard evidence that those sites will eventually
bring them BUYERS (not just browsers or researchers).
And most of all, they keep their eye on PROFITABILITY. Not just traffic,
not just visitors. Super-affiliates look for a return on their investment
of time and effort, as well as money.
#3 ? Super-affliates follow up.
Most affiliates can attract prospects. A few can convert prospects into
customers. But only super-affiliates turn existing customers into repeat
customers.
Super-affiliates know that the person who has already bought from you is
the most willing prospect for your backend products, upsells, and cross-
sells. These current customers are also the cheapest to sell to. So super
-affiliates are always thinking of the lifetime value of a customer...
and always offering them the best value and deals.
#4 ? Super-affiliates give before receiving.
Super-affiliates invest time and money giving something of REAL value.
Before they ask for the sale... and before they seal a JV. Maybe they
give away useful content. Maybe they offer a valuable resource. Maybe
they offer to put in some sweat equity for a piece of the action. Maybe
they offer customers a chance to win something... or a smile.
But no matter WHAT they give, super-affiliates do business in a spirit
of openness. It?s not about beating the other guy. It?s about networking
and making alliances. It?s about viewing the Internet marketplace as one
great big ?small town.? It?s about saying ?let?s talk.? And it?s about
putting something ? money, effort, or reputation ? on the table BEFORE
making demands.
#5 ? Super-affiliates know how to receive.
Giving is the best first step ? but it?s only the beginning. Once they?ve
hammered out a deal or given something of value, super-affiliates also
know how to take what they rightfully deserve.
That means they don?t just pre-sell... they ASK prospects for the sale.
They?re not afraid to capitalize on a good deal. They LIKE profits and
don?t apologize for being successful. And if they?re working on a JV,
they state their expectations clearly, forthrightly, without a lot of
fuss... and don?t de-value their list or reputation with cheesy offers.
Yes, the best super-affiliates receive their just rewards graciously,
without throwing their egos around. And they not only say thank you.
They look for ways to turn a ?thank you? into an opportunity to generate
more customer loyalty and more sales down the line.
#6 ? Super-affiliates think strategically.
Affiliate marketing isn't a game of chance. It's a profession. Super-
affiliates are just as savvy about their industry, and just as uninvolved,
as other expert professionals.
Which means super-affiliates spend quality time thinking, planning,
preparing, and evaluating. They analyze their sites, products, and
sales. They try to understand WHY one technique works and another doesn?t.
They think about trends and ponder the mentality of their customers.
Bottom line is, super-affiliates LOVE their work.
#7 ? Super-affiliates test and analyze.
Profit, profit, profit... super affiliates are hard-headed about profits!
They split-test carefully. They think about WHY one ad pulls better than
another... and they try to duplicate the results. They analyze their traffic,
stats, and user purchase patterns. They?re fanatics about knowing their
visitor to sales ratio on a daily basis. And they?re obsessed with ROI.
If you want to say goodbye to the ranks of affiliate underachievers,
learn to love the numbers like the super-affiliates do.
#8 ? Super-affiliates know when to go for volume over commission.
Here?s a very well-kept secret of some super-affiliates: you can earn a
fantastic income from cheap untargeted traffic. Believe it or not, not
every super-affiliate is brilliant at creating content or opt-in marketing.
Some just concentrate on traffic -- more and bigger traffic -- and make
money off of sheer volume sales and contextual advertising.
Here?s the basic formula, oversimplified of course: Let?s say that on a
given web site you get 1000 unique visitors per day, or 30,000 visitors
per month. If your average monthly profit from that site is $1500, then
each visitor is worth 5 cents ($1500 divided by 30,000 visitors).
So in this example, if you spend 5 cents to attract a visitor, all you can
do is break even. But if you can spend a lot less to get a visitor -- say
only 2 cents -- you?ve got the potential to make some terrific profits on
cheap traffic! Sure, it?s not going to be tightly niched traffic. But it?s
also the kind of traffic that fits well with products that have mass-market
mass-appeal, or even commodity products.
#9 ? Super-affiliates work a plan.
Successful affiliates have a simple business model: they replicate their
success. Once they find something that works, they tweak it slightly, test, evaluate, and repeat. Some of the most profitable affiliate empires follow
this simple, repetitive pattern. Consistent effort tends to yield consistent results, especially online, where certain types of marketing (like SEO)
take time.
And more importantly, super-affiliates follow a schedule. So much activity
per month, so many promotions, so many sales. When they fall short of their
goals, they figure out why. If they can?t, they cut their losses and try
again.
Working a plan all boils down to discipline. Organization, tracking, and
daily project management are a way of life for super-affiliates.
#10 ? Super-affiliates never quit.
They may ruthlessly dump under-performing products. They may cut their
losses if the profits don?t flow. But super-affiliates don?t give up.
They assume that they?re going to have some bumps and hard times. They
look at setbacks as essential learning experiences that, in the end,
help them build a stronger business.
=====================================================
This article is written by Anik Singal, founder of
AffiliateClassroom.com. Anik Singal has developed
his own affiliate system that helped him earn well
over $10,000 in just 60 days. Now, he's looking
for a few students to train one step at a time.
Sign up for a FREE course and find out more:
http://tradeweb.com.au/affiliateclassroom.htm
=====================================================

10 Ways to Easily Sell Expensive Products as an Affiliate

by Anik Singal

One of the quickest ways to boost your affiliate income is to
offer high ticket products. Commissions as low as 5% can still
pay off handsomely, provided the item carries a big enough price
tag. Plus some pay-per-lead programs offer hefty bounties of
$50 and up for qualified leads.
So why don?t more affiliates build sites around high-ticket
products? Because the higher the price, the more likely your
visitors will experience ?sticker shock.? It?s only natural.
People?s internal resistance kicks in because they?re always a
little uneasy when it?s time to shell out big bucks online. This
is true no matter how badly they want what you?re selling.

But if there?s one thing super-affiliates know how to do, it?s
overcome buyer resistance. So here are 10 never-fail techniques
I?ve been teaching my clients and students. Apply each one to your
affiliate business, and you?ll soon see skyrocketing conversion
rates on higher-priced products and lucrative upsells.
#1 - Turn your pocket calculator into a salesman.
Numbers can almost always support of your selling proposition, so
put those numbers to work! Ask yourself how many ways can you
MONETIZE the benefit of your product or service. Then put those
numbers on the table.
For example, if you?re selling a $1499 teleclass that teaches
people options trading, calculate the LOWEST possible profit they
will make from your system in one year?s time. Say that even if
they got the most mediocre results, they?d still make an average
of $300 per day.
That means in a 5 day work week they?d make an average of $1500.
In a 4-week month they?d make $6000. In a 50-week year they?d
make $75,000. Now ask them to compare that to their current salary
or hourly wage. Don?t hype it up, just let the numbers speak for
themselves.
#2 ? Break the cost into easily digested chunks.
Ask yourself, what sounds better: ?$29.95 a month? or ?$359 a year??
Even if the prospect has to pay the entire sum up front, show them
how that big price tag isn?t so big after all.
A variation of this is comparing the price of your item with some
commonplace or routine expense: ?For less than the price of your
monthly double-lattes, you could be learning the secrets of
billion-dollar investment managers...?
#3 ? Word the price to make it seem tiny!
A $197 annual subscription sounds like a lot of money. But gaining
access to business-critical information for just 54 cents a day
sounds like, well... peanuts!
#4 ? State the value of each component, then add ?em up for dramatic
effect.
This works best for information products, but if you?re creative,
you can use it with almost anything, especially consulting services.
If your investment course sells for $599, make a list of everything
your buyers get: digital reports, videos, workbook, telephone
hotline, private site access, software, etc. Put a price tag on
each - make it realistic, please ? then show how they add up to
much more than $599.
Or let?s say you?re offering to install, configure, and customize
an off-the-shelf software package for a total price of $699. Simply
show how many hours you spend on each element, multiply by a
realistic but high-end hourly rate... and show how buyers are
getting $2500 worth of services for only $699!
#5 ? Bundle in bonuses or add-ons that your prospects can?t easily
price.
This takes some extra work, but I really love it because so few
affiliates are doing it.
Let?s say you?re an affiliate for high-ticket digital SLR cameras.
Tell your buyers that when they purchase any camera over $599 from
you, and they send you a copy of their receipt, they?ll get a bonus
CD-ROM packed with digital photography tips, imaging freeware and
shareware, and your handpicked online resources for supplies,
accessories, and photo printing.
Sure, you?ll need to contact freeware and shareware authors to get
their permission to include their software on your disk. (Guess
what? Almost none will refuse ? you?re promoting them via direct
mail for free!) And yes, you?ll have to write up some tips and find
photo resources.
But you can pack this CD with affiliate links. And you?ll be saving
your prospects a boat load of time. Your buyers can?t compare it
to anybody else?s bonus CD, since nobody?s offering one quite like
yours. You can put any realistic value on it, promote it heavily,
and get endless viral marketing value out of it.
And best of all, it?s a way to get buyers to VOLUNTARILY give you
both their email and snail mail addresses! Nice.
#6 - Show a huge return compared to the purchase price.
Spell out, in dollars and cents, how the cost of your product or
service is a drop in the bucket compared to the returns it generates.
Let?s say your $799 workplace safety review course helps businesses
pass inspections. Then calculate the exact cost of failing an
inspection. List fines, penalties, cost of business shutdowns, etc.
These will literally add up to five figures, a huge expense compared
to the price of your course.
#7 ? Make your prospects relieved that you?re charging so little!
This one?s so easy, I?m amazed more affiliates don?t do it. Show
higher prices for other products... then tell them your price, which
of course is much, much less!
Are you selling an investment course? First talk about $1 million
private investment accounts... and the huge commissions investment
managers charge. By the time you tell them about your $599 course,
your prospect will breathe a sigh of relief!
Sure, it?s an apples-to-oranges comparison. That?s the whole point.
You?re showing your prospect why your $599 course is the least
expensive choice for them... and maybe the only affordable one.
#8 - Preempt price objections.
Most sales pages for expensive products and services play on emotions
and benefits. They build desire and perceived value over several
thousand words and literally ?sell? the person BEFORE price is even
mentioned.
But sometimes you can do the opposite -? and reap big rewards by pre-
qualifying visitors. That?s right, tell people the price up front. Then
play on the drama and exclusivity of a big number to weed out the tire
kickers!
Here?s an example: ?This course is for serious investors only. It costs
$1299. If you?re scared by that price, or if you?re unwilling to invest
in your ability to create wealth, then our course is not for you.?
Sure, this approach is based on snob appeal. But it?s also very powerful
reverse psychology: the more you tell a prospect they don?t qualify, the
more some people will insist that they DO!
If you don?t believe this approach works, some of the greatest direct
response copy of all time has taken it all the way to the bank. One
fund-raising letter that generated millions for a bird-watching
expedition stated: ?It will cost you $10,000 and about 26 days of your
time. Frankly, you will endure some discomfort, and may even face some
danger.?
#9 ? Use a ?false close? to create suspense.
It?s a classic... and it still works. Establish the value and desirability
of your product without a doubt, but delay gratification for a few more
paragraphs while piling on even more benefits.
The most common false close is the old ?But wait, there?s more...? tactic.
Even though your case is made, you don?t stop and mention one or two more
irresistible benefits.
This is also a great place to meet possible last-minute objections by
pulling out the ?Warning! Don?t buy any investment course unless it meets
these 8 criteria.? If your prospects have gotten this far, they WANT the
product. So give them 8 or 10 or 20 more ways to justify that big expenditure!
#10 ? Sound like the leading expert in your field.
Price resistance diminishes in direct proportion to trust. If your visitors
believe that you?re an unchallenged expert in your niche, they?re much more
likely to make that big-ticket purchase.
How do you establish this aura of expertise. Offer UNIQUE solutions they
can?t get elsewhere. Show PROOF that your product or service works as
promised. Display prominent TESTIMONIALS and ENDORSEMENTS from respected
authorities in related fields.
And avoid hype at all costs. It?s far better to sound low key -- but
confident ?- than to scream for attention.
And remember, prospects aren?t stupid. If you back up your claims with hard
facts and data, they?ll gladly plunk down hundreds to thousands for your
affiliate promotions. But if you don?t, they?re smart enough to look to
your competitors!
=====================================================
This article is written by Anik Singal, founder of
AffiliateClassroom.com. Anik Singal has developed
his own affiliate system that helped him earn well
over $10,000 in just 60 days. Now, he's looking
for a few students to train one step at a time.
Sign up for a FREE course and find out more:
http://tradeweb.com.au/affiliateclassroom.htm
=====================================================

Add Multiple Language Translation To Your Website For Free!

by Kerry McNally

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the author's by-lines are included with the URL link. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated. Use of this article for email spamming is strictly prohibited.

This article will discuss my personal experience in setting up the Translingo script. A step-by-step guide with assistance for getting it to work the way that your want. As Translingo is Freeware, it is free for both private and commercial use however, some of the third party translation engines may have conditional terms but you are free to choose which engines you offer.
Half of the world either can't speak English or they prefer to search the web in their own language. If your website is not multilingual these people are never going to find you. Translingo provides dynamic translation ( real time, on the fly translation, without additional page or storage requirements ) of your website to and from over 30 languages.
You need to have CGI support and at least version 5 of the Perl interpreter on your system, which can be hosted on either a Windows or Unix (all flavours) server.
Download and unzip the Translingo distribution file. Copy the Translingo folder to your public web space, usually /public_html or /www, in ASCII mode except for the .jpg image, which should be uploaded in Binary mode. Open the translingo.pl script from the cgi-bin where you extracted it and modify ( if necessary ) the path to Perl. Modify the 3 variables according to the information within the script. Upload the translingo.pl script (in ASCII mode ) to your cgi-bin or where you can execute CGI scripts. Use chmod or your FTP client to set the script to executable. Point your browse to http://www.yourserver.com/cgi-bin/translingo.pl and run the code wizard to automatically create the html code for your page. If you are using the same format on each page then you simply use the same Translingo code on each page. You could use an shtml include statement to automatically add the code to all of your page footers. When new engines are added you just have to update the one footer text file.
In my case, I wanted to be able to translate pages in a sub domain regardless of how it was accessed. You may have a sub domain working as http://subdomain.domain.com/, which could also be accessed as http://domain.com/subdomain/. This is easy to accomplish as your main chi-bin will handle the conventional calls to domain/subdirectory and if you add another copy of Translingo to your subdirectory cgi-bin, it will handle calls to subdirectory.domain.com. An added bonus is that once a user translates one of your pages, any links they click within your website will automatically be translated in the selected language. You can see a working site by clicking the link in the resource box below.

Resource Box/About the Author:
Kerry McNally has 30+ years of Marketing and Management experience combined with ongoing, online research. Kerry is a member of the Australian Marketing Institute and he is an accomplished PC ( DOS, Linux, Windows & Web ) programmer. http://ozventures.com.au