Good Questions from a Subscriber for Affiliates

Published: Sat, 08/25/18


It's the weekend - yea! If I can stop myself from sleeping in TOO much, that'll be great. I've been so sleepy this week trying to get back on a 6 AM wake up schedule. I changed my work schedule so that six days a week, I have one focus. Yesterday I worked on affiliate reviews for the week. Today I'm doing fiction all day - Geoff Shaw is closing Kindling so it spurred me to get back on the horse and work on my genre. 

Good Questions from a Subscriber

Someone emailed me yesterday and asked some great questions, and she specifically said if I wanted to, I could answer in my email to subscribers in case others had the same questions, so I am!

Q #1: How much do you spend trying out products to determine if you want to promote them or not? Do you set a budget?

I don't have a set budget. It all depends on a few criteria. If the people are people I don't know, I don't want to spend a lot up front. I'm skittish like that - I don't want to waste money on bad products. This is why i LOVE launches when the front end products are typically pretty cheap. 

Now if it's someone I know and have respect for product wise, then I'm willing to spend more because I have that trust built in.  

I personally like to review products before I promote them. The only time I don't look at it all is if it's a long term vendor whose work I know really well and who has earned the satisfaction of my list combined with the situation of me not having time to review, where I know y'all will miss out on a good price if I have to wait until my schedule clears up. 

Otherwise, I review. 

Never spend more than you can comfortably afford to lose. For me, I've bought a $199 product before from someone whose work I greatly admire - and loved it, but the rights were so strict, I just deleted it because I didn't want to mess with the terms of service. I could afford to do it (I NEVER REFUND). It was my fault for not reading the terms up front on the sales page, so I ate the cost. Products like $10 or $17 - I expect to be trash (and am pleasantly surprised when they're not), so I never balk if it's a waste. As the price point goes up, like $27, 47, etc., I might get irritated a bit but always in terms of personal responsibility and usually more because I wasted TIME on it - it's not the money. 

Now do I sit there and spend thousands each week on products? No, let's move on to the next question, which explains that.

Q #2: Do you get products on a complimentary basis?

If someone wants ME to promote, and comes to me, then I expect a review copy. No review copy, no promo. Period. I shouldn't have to pay if someone else approaches me. That's like inviting me to dinner and expecting me to buy the groceries and cook it. 

But in many cases, like the one yesterday, where I personally wanted to explore and promote an affiliate course (in this case buyer keywords), AND I knew she had a stellar reputation, I will quietly go buy the product on my own. I don't approach the vendor and ask for a review copy if it's something I know I personally will use in my business. 

That's key. There are sometimes products I know many of my subscribers will enjoy, but it's not something I personally will be using in my business - OR, I think y'all will enjoy it but I'm iffy on the vendor - not sure of their quality or reputation. In those instances, I might approach the vendor and ask for a review copy so I can "vet it for you."

Q #3: What do you suggest for other affiliate marketers? 

The reason I can ask for and get review copies when I need them is because I have a long history of doing reviews. I started with my blog. I would write lengthy blog reviews of products with HONESTY. I would reject poor quality or poor ethics in vendors and promote quality and good people. 

That earned me the loyalty of subscribers, which helps me convert higher and puts me on leaderboards in instances where there's a contest. So there's lots of "proof" of the value of me being an affiliate, and when you're a vendor, you want quality affiliates because if those people who promote anything and everything send traffic to your offer, it makes your conversions sink and turns away good affiliates. 

So what advice do I have? Write lengthy, detailed (without giving away the product ideas) reviews of products. Build a relationship with your list so that they trust you. Don't promote just anything or just anyone - do your research. 

In the beginning, you'll probably have to buy the products. Don't get hurt over this - earn the honor of getting review copies. Understand that many freebie seekers contact vendors to get free copies just by saying they're going to review it, but they never do. (We talk about these people behind the scenes). 

Start by only buying front end products to review. If the front end is good and you want to promote the funnel and want to review the upgrade, go for it. But not until you know that quality is good enough initially. 

If you have any other questions, just ask. I love it when y'all reach out and I can clear something up for you!

Tiff ;)

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