subject: Promote Your Favourite Affiliate Programme In 6 Simple Steps [print this page] Do you have a favourite product that saves you time or just makes your life easier? If the product owner has an affiliate programme then you could make money just by telling people all about it. Here's a simple-to-follow system to show you have to use articles to strategically promote an affiliate offer.
1. Choose the offer you want to promote
I'm sure you already have an affiliate offer lined up that you want to promote so this step should be simple. There is one decision you need to make though and that is whether you are going to send the visitors directly to the sales page (via your affiliate link) or whether you want to direct them to your squeeze page and encourage them to join your list.
Choose the first option and you'll only ever make a maximum of one sale from each visitor, choose the second and you can build a relationship with that prospect and sell them more products over time.
2. Make sure your article is useful but incomplete
Whenever you are giving something away for free, whether it's an article, a short report or an ebook, you should make it useful but incomplete. The information needs to be useful enough to provide value to the reader, but incomplete in that in order to better use the information they need to make a purchase.
Use your content to build up the desired response by providing information and then making an offer to the reader which allows them to gain extra insight or maximise that content in some way.
Here's an example:
Let's say that the offer you have chosen to promote is an autoresponder. You decide to write an article called "7 Ways to Make Money With An Autoresponder" which tells the reader all about the benefits, the different ways autoresponders can be used and how they can implement the ideas to make money.
The information you have given them is useful, but in order to actually make money using your tips they need an autoresponder, and of course you just happen to know of a great service you could recommend.
3. Use tips or a tutorial to pave the way
Let's stick with the autoresponder example for a little while longer. You need to come up with seven ways that lead the reader towards realising that they need an autoresponder.
Develop a list of "ideas" or "ways" or "tips", or even go ahead and write a step-by-step tutorial. With every new "step" that you share with your reader you are directing them towards the realisation that they need your upcoming offer, and laying the foundation for them to accept it.
4. Expand on each point to build your content
You now have your article outline all mapped out so now comes the easy part. Now all you need to do is "fill in the blanks"; complete the article by writing a couple of short paragraphs that explains each of the points.
Remember, the information must be useful to them. What you are trying to do here is presell the reader so you need to focus on providing quality information that they are going to want to put into action straight away.
Your article needs to light a fire in them. Motivate them. Challenge them. Give them nuggets of gold.
5. Close the deal
At your end of the article you should include a powerful resource box that shows them how they can take action with your solution and make it happen.
Going back to our example; you've already shown your readers seven different ways they can make money using an autoresponder service, now all you need to do is recommend the autoresponder and provide your affiliate link.
If your article did a good job of motivating them and convincing them that they really can make money with an autoresponder then they'll be chomping at the bit to sign up and get started.
6. Publish your article
All that's left now is to get the article in front of as many readers as possible. If you have a list then the first thing you want to do it send it out as an email. Then head over to your favourite article directory and submit the article to them for publishing. Don't forget that it's not enough just to write that article, you need prospects to read it.
See how simple it is? That's how you promote your favourite affiliate programme in just six simple steps using an article.
