Associate Programs Newsletter #320
I've been pestering the AdWords guy, Chris McNeeney, to write an article for us, giving some detailed tips on how he promotes affiliate programs on AdWords.
At last he's done it.
And Steve Diamond has come up with a way to automate Chris's "leech" method - solving the affiliate bonus problem.
CONTENTS:
1. Three techniques to boost your AdWords chances
2. Solving the flaw in the leech method
...the big problem with affiliate bonuses
3. Thought for today: A skilful leech
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1. Three techniques to boost your AdWords chances
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Many affiliates who try promoting affiliate products on AdWords rush into it, try a large number of keywords, lose a hundred dollars or a few hundred dollars and then quit.
AdWords maestro Chris McNeeney owes me a favor because I've been promoting his popular new books, so I was able to persuade him to share three AdWords techniques which he uses to promote affiliate products - VERY profitably.
Chris, as I'm sure you know, is the author of the hugely popular ebooks AdWords Miracle, Affiliate Project X, and - his latest and most ruthless ebook - Day Job Killer. They describe how to promote affiliate products using Google AdWords.
Chris has written an article for AssociatePrograms.com in which he describes techniques that will instantly boost your chances of success with AdWords "by a sizeable percentage".
Whichever techniques you try with AdWords, tread carefully and start slowly. While the rewards can be huge, AdWords can be a minefield for the over-optimistic. Chris describes ways to increase your chances.
Here's Chris's article...
To succeed with AdWords think differently
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/articles/547/1/To-succeed-with-AdWords-think-differently
(Just in case you're wondering about the section in Day Job Killer which I described as deceptive advertising... I'm relieved to report Chris says he followed my recommendation and deleted that section before the ebook went on sale. Even without it, the ebook still contains heaps of ruthless tips on how to entice customers to click on your links and buy through your affiliate links, instead of other people's links.)
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2. Solving the flaw in the leech method
...the big problem with affiliate bonuses
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If you've read Affiliate Project X (APX) and Day Job Killer, you'll know that offering a bonus is one of the big recommendations made by super affiliate Chris McNeeney.
Smart super affiliates lure customers to their affiliate link by offering a bonus report, a bonus email course, or a bonus of some kind, making their link much more enticing.
"The big problem is that it's completely a manual process," says programmer Steve Diamond.
"The affiliate has to check email constantly in order to give good service for bonus fulfillment and has to manually verify the customer's receipt number. It's also awkward and unnatural to capture the customer's email into an autoresponder during this manual process, so it's hard to build a relationship for follow-up sales."
This is ridiculous. You're a super affiliate and yet you're MANUALLY doing this stuff every darn day? That's nuts.
So Steve has created a product which automates the whole process of delivering a bonus to a customer who buys a product through your ClickBank affiliate link. No installation is required.
You can get it here...
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/bonus-manager
You may not have heard of Steve.
"I'm a mediocre online marketer but a top-notch logical thinker, software designer, and programmer," he says. "I've been online for 20 years (CompuServe, anyone?) and programming for longer. I currently make my living as a freelance developer, but I've been studying the Internet marketing community intensely for the last year or so...
"When I first read APX I saw the flaw in the 'leech' method immediately. I saw that if an affiliate is going to offer a bonus, then they are going to be tied to their computer day and night, with no vacations possible, and that they're going to have trouble building an ongoing relationship easily and naturally."
So he came up with a way to automate the process.
He initially launched his Affiliate Bonus Manager as a standalone script that had to be installed on the affiliate's web server. The response was not exactly overwhelming. Steve says he thinks many affiliates are intimidated by the idea of installing and configuring a script. Also, at the time there was much discussion in response to the APX launch, about whether or not ClickBank's policy allows an affiliate to offer bonuses.
The ClickBank Client Contract at http://www.clickbank.com/terms.html states:
"You agree to make no such promotions promising customers rebates, coupons, tickets, or vouchers in connection with their ClickBank purchase."
ClickBank has sometimes cracked down and banned affiliates who have done this, Steve says.
But ClickBank's language is ambiguous when it comes to bonuses that are not rebates. Last November, while Steve was developing Affiliate Bonus Manager, he asked for and received explicit clarification from a ClickBank executive, who wrote:
"Here is the policy we have agreed on:
"Affiliates may offer bonuses that are not cash or cash equivalents if they adhere to the following:
"1) Affiliate must state clearly and prominently that the bonus offer is not the responsibility of ClickBank or of the seller of the primary product.
"2) Affiliate must state clearly and prominently that ClickBank will not honor any refund requests that are based on non-delivery, quality, or functionality of the bonus materials.
"3) Affiliate must provide their own direct contact information (email address, etc.) and state clearly that any issues regarding bonus delivery, bonus functionality, or bonus quality must be addressed with the affiliate, not with ClickBank or the seller.
"It is not posted on the website yet, but our security team will be using this policy from here on out unless we experience any additional problems from affiliate bonuses."
So Steve went ahead with the development and even included the proper disclaimers automatically.
He has now re-launched an enhanced Affiliate Bonus Manager as a subscription web service, so there's no installation required.
After a quick, easy set-up by the affiliate, Bonus Manager lets the customer self-serve their bonus because it automatically validates the customer's receipt against the affiliate's ClickBank account. It also lets an autoresponder subscription be an integral part of the automated process, thus capturing leads for additional sales.
Here are the main benefits of Affiliate Bonus Manager:
* You wow the customer with your service because they receive their bonus instantly.
* You can take a day off any time because there's no need to check your email. The whole process is automated.
* You can stay offline for a day or a week or more if you want because there's no need to log in. Affiliate Bonus Manager checks the receipt for you, automatically.
* You can follow up and get repeat business because autoresponder subscription is part of the natural, automated process flow.
* You're always compliant because the prescribed ClickBank disclaimers are automatically included.
* There's a very small monthly fee, well worth it when you consider all the time you'll save, increased sales and the ability to follow-up easily to make future sales.
A couple of things I had doubts about...
First, you may wonder about the advisability of giving bonuses automatically. A customer could buy a product through your link, instantly receive your bonus and then demand a refund from ClickBank, while keeping your bonus. But really, so what? If your bonus is a free report or free e-course, producing one more doesn't cost you anything.
Second, to use this tool, you have to provide your ClickBank login details. I thought some affiliates might be apprehensive about this, so I questioned Steve about it.
He says he's just added a paragraph to the site's Privacy Policy that answers this concern:
"To utilize the Affiliate Bonus Manager service, subscribers enter their ClickBank login credentials. Passwords are encrypted for storage in our secure database. This information is kept at the highest level of security and is never divulged to anyone. It is used only to log into the subscriber's ClickBank account for the purpose of verifying customer receipts as valid affiliate sales."
"That statement is 100% true," Steve says. "For anyone who still has concerns, I would say that they can keep a close eye on their ClickBank account to make sure no one is hijacking it. I would also ask them to consider whether I have more to gain by running my service with integrity or by stealing commissions and going to jail for theft."
All the time online, we have to make decisions about trusting people. I have a good feeling about Steve. Anyway, many super affiliates have several ClickBank accounts. You could reduce any possible risk by setting up a new ClickBank account just for use with this tool.
Also, you may be wondering what bonuses you could offer. Here's an article by Dan Lok which answers that question...
Seven easy ways to create bonuses
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/articles/500/1/Seven-easy-ways-to-create-bonuses
QUICK SUMMARY: Affiliate bonuses increase sales. Now you can offer bonuses automatically.
If you want to save time and provide affiliate bonuses automatically, and faster and better, check out Steve's tool here...
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/bonus-manager
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3. Thought for today: A skilful leech
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"A skilful leech is better far, than half a hundred men of war." - Samuel Butler.
All the best
Allan Gardyne
