Five Sure Fire Ways To Fail As An Affiliate During a Product Launch

April 7 2009

Along comes another massive product launch and you decide take part as an affiliate because there are some major JV prizes on offer. So you prepare for the launch and on launch day you send out your emails and wait, and wait, and wait some more but the sales don’t come in.

What did you do wrong? Well if you made any of the mistakes listed below this is probably the reason for your failure.

1) You didn’t write your own email copy. Simply copying an email from the vendors affiliate page means you are sending out the same email as all the other copycat affiliates. During a product launch you need to stand out and if you send out the same promo email as everyone else you will simply blend in with everyone else. This is the number one mistake I see affiliates make.

2) You didn’t review the product. It is crucial you find out as much information as you can about the product you are promoting; this will help you write an honest review of the product. It will also stop you promoting a crappy product that will do your reputation more harm than good.

3) You hyped up your promotion. I hate hype and so does everyone else, hype is becoming less and less effective, especially during a major product launch. Be honest with your email promotions and stand out from the crap that is hitting most people’s inboxes.

4) You didn’t have your subscribers interests at heart. Do you try to help your subscribers or do you try to sell to them? Most marketers simply try to sell sell sell all the time. If this is you then don’t expect your subscribers to buy your recommendations. Try to provide value from time to time and don’t try to sell with every email you send.

5) You didn’t offer any bonuses. One way to stand out from everyone else is to offer a bonus related to the product you are promoting. I have done this myself many times with a lot of success so next time you take part in a major product launch try to offer related bonuses.

Becoming a successful affiliate marketer during a major product launch is all about standing out from everyone else. Stop being a sheep and think how you can be different from everyone else during launch week.

Be different, stand out and you will make more sales… Period!

Stuart Turnbull
Reply April 7, 2009

Hi John

I think the number 1 priority with any product recommendation is to have your subscriber’s interests at heart and not to promote just for the commission.

If you don’t do this your subscribers will soon ‘twig’ and hit ‘unsubscribe’

Thanks for the thought provoking content.

Stuart

Follow my internet marketing adventure
http://www.stuart-turnbull.com
http://www.Twitter.com/stuart_turnbull
BJ
Reply April 7, 2009

good points John…that’s why I signed up from you…because you offer the bonuses…that’s a BIG KEY that really makes the list feel good as well…

after i see you offer bonuses and someone else just promoting that link, i feel that other person is not trustworthy because they are just telling me about some new launch WITHOUT THEM telling me that they will make commission from me…

interestingly, in the last launch you ADMITTED you will make money from us buying from your link…and that was actually something that MADE ME want to buy from you…because it was 100% honesty and openess…nothing hiding from us…u know…

plus, the bonuses made another benefit as well…i’m going to start doing the same thing when i promote affiliate programs

thanks!
BJ
Hillbilly
Reply April 7, 2009

Bonus’s Bonus’s! We all love em’. If, as a prospective customer, I am lined up with a product that interests me, it can often be the bonus that will tip the scale (assuming off course that it has value to me). As it stands now, I am on too many lists, so a generic cookie cutter email will get deleted pretty fast. It is only a few of my favorites that I read, or sometimes a subject will catch my eye….
Point being, if you market this way, you list will likely respond the same. Build credibility, recommend only quality and offer only quality as a bonus. In between, offer lots of free tips/info applicable to your list.

Thanks John!

Jeromy (AKA Hillbilly)
Paul Hooper
Reply April 7, 2009

Hi John,

Wise words. To much hype is one sure way to get your subcribers to click on the UN-SUBCRIBE button. And using the same promo’ emails that everyone else does will not entice anyone to click through your link either.

Cheers John,

Paul Hooper
http://www.paul-hooper.com
Gary David
Reply April 8, 2009

Hi John,

Thanks for the wonderful post. You’re right, we have to stand out from our competitors, that means, be unique! One thing to consider especially during affiliate promotion, is we need to edit or change the content a little bit, as long as the meaning stays the same, that is also including the email copies that we are sending.

Thank you again John, you rocked on this!

Regards,

Gary David
http://www.privatelabelunlimited.com
Paul J L
Reply April 8, 2009

Very good points there John, “1) You didn’t write your own email copy.” had me nodding, I’ve often had the exact same email subject lines flooding my inbox on big launches, obviously after I’ve read the first email the rest get ignored.

Thanks for that John, tips like those come in very handy for us newbies.

Paul.
Paul Guilfoyle
Reply April 8, 2009

John
Great post
You have identified the main reason that
my inbox is full of emails that I never open. From time to time I go through them and delete- 99% are unread.Your posts on the other hand are 99% read.

all the best,
Paul
Matt Garrett
Reply April 9, 2009

Excellent Post John!

the first one is a common mistake, I even remember seing an email from a very famous markerter (he recently launched a hardcopy book) that had one of the default link place holders still in the middle of the copy, he’d obvously just grabbed the standard promo email and rushed it out without checking it thoroughly…
lol!

cheers,
@MattGarrett
Ray Johnson
Reply April 19, 2009

Hi John

Superb post JT…

I’ve learned ALL the above tips you mention by simply watching ethical marketers like yourself.

Remember my promotion for YOUR mentoring masterclass for example?

1. I looked out for my subscribers BECAUSE I knew putting some of them under YOUR wing would be great not ONLY for them, but for me in the future as THEY would thank me for it. Everyone knows you online john, and you are a trusted name.

2. I prepared the MOST unique bonus out there throughout your launch week, which helped me finish in the top 3 affiliates and the #1 affiliate for the first month.

3. I got pre-promotion access for the masterclass and KNEW it would be a huge success, (I don’t promote CRAP).

ALL these tips have helped me see some great success, and I’m currently choosing an office premises to move into this week! (You can help me decide on my blog, just click my name!)

So apply what John says, and it could happen for you too, cheers John…

Regards

Ray
Franck Silvestre
Reply April 30, 2009

Hey John,

You are right. The best way to make sales to your list is to help them getting what they want. In fact, they should beg you to buy stuff from you.

Franck
master rights
Reply September 1, 2009

The price of a digital product is decided by the quality of the product. A good quality product even if priced very high may sell very well, whereas one of a low quality and a lower price may not sell at all. You will find similar types of product prices anywhere from say $25 to $50 or you may find some priced at $150. A comparison between the quality of the two will show you that the one priced higher may be of a better quality and has thus been selling well for some time now.