How To Get People To Click Your Affiliate Links

Keller Flynn I was just having lunch with a friend of mine who is working on a
new affiliate program. She seemed very excited about it, and as
we ate our delicious cold lobster salad she gave me all the
details. I began asking her a few questions, and as the creme
brulee arrived she admitted that she's been a little
disappointed with her sales. "It doesn't make sense," she
groaned to me over her latte, "It's not like I'm trying to sell
long underwear in the Bahamas. I'm offering the hottest widget
of the moment for 10% less than anyone else on the web, and I've
already linked my site to several affiliates, but no one's
buying. What am I doing wrong?"

We went over the basics: good product, good price, good web
site, good affiliates. "It's got to be something," I said,
"what's your linking strategy?" She told me that she was using
three different banners, and assured me that they looked really
nice. "They're probably great," I assured her, "but the fact is,
no matter how nice they are, they're still banners."

So what's wrong with banners? Nothing really, except that
they've become a little too common and people have started to
ignore them. If you do use banners, you've got to make sure
they're eye-catching and professional. Try using rotating
banners as a nice improvement on the basic. These banners
download alternate images from a group each time the page is
accessed, making the ad look a little different each time. Use
rotating pictures of the different products you offer. This is a
nice effect which might grab the attention of a repeat visitor
who ignored you the first time.

Another effective link is the customer testimonial. Take a quote
from a satisfied customer and use it as a sales tool. Ask
someone who's been pleased with your business if you can quote
something nice they said, or just ask them to make a statement.
Set it in an attractive font with your url link at the bottom and
have your affiliates place it on their page. People will be more
inclined to read about someone else's experience than they would
be to read an ad, and you'll get more business.

If your affiliates need website content or if they distribute an
ezine, you may want to supply them with an informative article
about your business. This should not be a blatant ad, but an
informative article that the customer will benefit from reading
whether they buy from you or not. Something effective might be a
short piece about emerging trends in your line of business, and
how you are responding to those trends. Close the article with a
small business blurb and your url link. People like reading new
information, and you'll find you get a lot of clicks. And don't
worry if you're not a good writer. Talk to someone at your local
college English department. You may find excellent student
writers who are willing to work for pizza. If you're not near a
college, browse the web. There are all sorts of inexpensive
writing services available online.

You can also supply your affiliates with a catchy signature file
that links to your business. Write two or three lines about why
your business is great. Try to be a little witty. Include your
url link at the end. Dedicated affiliates could use this sig
file to close e-mail with, and you'll find yourself with even
more business.

What it boils down to is this: you've got to be proactive with
your selling program. You can't expect a very basic set-up to
make you rich. People are getting more and more web savvy all
the time, so you've got to surprise them with something original
to get them to go to your site. If one thing isn't working keep
trying something else until you get it right. If you spend even
a little time tweaking your link system, you may just find your
sales skyrocketing.

About the Author

Keller Flynn knows about Super Affiliates and what it takes to
find or help create them. Keller also knows the full spectrum of
tools, ideas and action steps needed to create and run a
successful affiliate program. Reach him at
keller@affiliatedirector.com or 801-328-9006. Get his Extra Money
Newsletter FREE at http://www.AffiliateDirector.com to learn more
about how YOU can profit from the affiliate boom