Some 5 Pillar Affiliates have really made great efforts in creating sites to promote our SiteSell products. And they are building some sales and traffic. But when I see a low Conversion Rate (i.e., CR under 2%), I know that something is amiss. Great efforts deserve greater results than 1%.
Yes, I agree that these efforts are better than banners. But remember. creating
these sites takes a lot more work than tossing up a couple of banners. We'll see
in a moment that it's misdirected work. (The good news is that this course will
redirect those efforts into high-profit areas.)
Time for a philosophical perspective...
In life, the vast majority of people just keep doing the "same old thing." Life
seems easier that way. But "doing the same old thing" guarantees the "same old
results." So in the long run, it's actually much, much harder.
In the movie, "The Renaissance Man," Danny De Vito's character makes a
profound statement...
"The choices we make dictate the lives we lead."
To paraphrase...
"Where you are today is the result of all the choices and actions that
you have made in your life."
When he said that, I remember thinking, "You know, he's right. Except in rare
cases of extraordinarily good or bad luck, people basically end up where they are
as a result of choices they make and courses of action they take."
People tend to blame a lack of success in life on "bad luck" or "poor timing" or
other people. And yes, at times, that can be accurate. A heck of a lot of factors
beyond our control can blindside us. In the long run, however, as long as we
persist in our efforts, these factors tend to even out and De Vito's statement
remains valid.
Now, here's the good news...
E-commerce is simpler than life. Due to its digital nature, there are fewer
variables... so the outcome is more controllable. Which means that we can boil
De Vito's statement down to "The #1 E-commerce Reality."
This Reality is almost self-evident, yet it's so easy to forget. Your success with
anything you do in the world of e-commerce flows from it. Internalize it and act
upon it... and you will succeed.
Yes, it's that fundamental. And that leads me to.
The #1 E-commerce Reality
"Nothing happens by accident in the world of
computers, the Net, and customer response.
There is always a reason for what happens,
good or bad, and that reason is YOU."
When I see some 5 Pillar ("5P") Affiliates with CRs over 10% (and a few over
20%!), I figure that those with CRs at 1-2% or less could be multiplying their
sales five-or-more-fold. How?
Not by working harder, but simply by channeling their motivation in a better
direction.
Let's continue with the case of 5P Affiliates who make "great efforts" but get soso
results...
As I reviewed many of these affiliate sites (those who are getting sales but have
CRs under 2%), I realized that almost half were basically one big sales letter for
SiteSell products and Ken. Which means that these affiliates are SELLING (with
sales copy) when they should be PREselling (with great, and related, content
that is of value to the reader).
There's really not much point in straight selling off your site -- that's what your
merchant's site needs to do. Picture this...
A visitor arrives at an affiliate's site that is really just one, big sales site. Yes, I
know that the words are sincere -- I owe all 5P Affiliates a big thank you for the
truly wonderful things they say. But put yourself in these visitors' shoes for a
moment. They don't see inspiring, editorial content. They see a sales effort.
But they were searching for content!
"CONTENT!" I said. (Sorry for yelling.)
People resist sales efforts, so your click-through actually goes down. And if a
visitor does click, what does she see when she arrives at an SBI! site? More
sales effort. And, in some cases, many of the words on SiteSell's site are similar
to the words that she's just read. Result? Poor Conversion Rate.
If your site is basically a "bunch of sales letters," you have not yet built your
credibility and likeability with this visitor. Your visitor ends up feeling "pitched."
And then she feels double-pitched if (chances are low) she clicks through to your
merchant's site. That's why the CR actually goes down.
To make things worse, as she "smells" a sales effort, she becomes less likely to
click! So referred traffic drops, too.
OK, let's see...
1) Referred traffic down.
2) And Conversion Rate down.
But these are the two ways to increase your income. (That's what we talked
about near the beginning.) We're going in the wrong direction!
Conclusion? Don't SELL!
Instead, warm your visitor up for your merchants by PREselling her with great
content that she values and respects. She'll click-through with pleasure, arriving
at your merchants' sites in an open-to-buy mindset.
It's your PREselling effort that will boost your traffic-to-merchants and
Conversion Rate, which in turn maximizes your income.
This brings us to our second philosophical premise.