Promoting WA? Or other affiliate programmes? Depends...
Should you be promoting WA, or focusing on other niches?
Of course, as a proponent of diversification, I highly suggest making your approach as varied as possible, in a number of markets; naturally, I will say, "YES! Promote WA... AND something in other niches!"
But what I would like to put to you is a subtle awareness, that there are slightly different dynamics involved when you're promoting an infoproduct / training programme, and other affiliate products.
While you can definitely get started by generating referrals to WA, you still need to learn the basics behind promoting ANY product as an affiliate.
Things like keyword research, blogging and setting up the website, content generation, and follow-up email campaigns through your auto-responder are all going to be the basics you will need to master, regardless of what you promote.
Here at WA, you have the advantage of an established and trusted brand. I spent months sitting on the fence, researching and following Kyle in blogs and scam reports (most notably, the Empower Network...where I DID make money, but that's another story.) he was active in unmasking. I was struck by the integrity I was consistently witnessing. So finally, decided this could be the community I was looking for.
So, as far as promoting WA, you can't go wrong.
The different dynamic in promoting other products lies in the actual selection of a reputable, and highly-converting product that has a low refund rate.
This is especially true, in the case of digital products (think "Clickbank"). At the end of the day, making affiliate sales when they're just going to get refunded (because the copy hype is good, but the product NO), is pointless.
Start familiarising with how to move in the realm of product selection. Check reviews on the products (a lot are by affiliates selling them, but it will give you an idea if they ARE worthwhile), and start checking what keywords might be ideal to target. Is there a lot of search volume? Do people want it? How competitive will it be, to rank? And especially: is it commercially viable?
I can think of a lot of search terms that have massive volume, and low competing pages... but have no inherent monetisation potential, unless you drive MASSIVE traffic to them, and can either publish AdSense or sell advertising on it. And I can tell you, that will NOT happen overnight... at all.
See, the thing is... not every product has a market... but every market has a product (and this relates to the keywords, as well). This is a very subtle difference to take into consideration. There is a lot of stuff out there that publishers created, thinking it was a good idea... but that nobody wanted; they failed the very basic market research tenet of, "Is there a market for this?"
So, until you can get up to scratch on product selection, and get a feel for what might (or not) be commercially viable, stick with something that DOES work, such as WA.
But, by all means, at that same time DO branch out into other niches. Not every campaign is going to be a winner (regardless what the "data" says) - but it's the only way you'll learn.
One last point - at least when you're starting out, and may not be in a position to outsource content creation - try to stick to something you are familiar with... provided it's commercially viable. There's a reason people always suggest this: if you know the topic, you can create your own content. And that's always a plus!
Hope this helps,
-Josh
Recent Comments
13
I feel this site has a lot to offer someone who knows nothing and is starting from scratch. WA is a good product to sell but all of the info on here can be found for free on Google. It takes a lot of research but it is out there. My main issue with the site is that it's geared towards people first promoting the site itself and writing original content and tutorials and pay a monthly fee to do it. This is great for the site and the site owners but if it's all about site creation I feel people may be led down a narrow pathway. Truth is you don't need a site to sell products. You can go where the traffic is (social media or PPC) and sell direct through affiliate links. The internet's a ever crowded space and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are the people's favourite watering holes. You can drag people away but expect a high bounce rate on your site as people like to get back to watering their digital gardens or going through their well trained Like this and Retweet that. And now the internet is moving towards pictures (think Pinterest and Instagram). Soon the drooling masses will have forgotten how to read and will have the attention span of a drunk flea. I only joined this site to have a quick look inside. Just now I noticed that when you're signed out there seems to be a lot of padlocks down the left. When you sign in it all seems to be replaced by far less options. Plus, when I canceled my membership through PayPal I got an email telling me my sites would be deleted and perhaps I should sign up again. Nothing wrong with this but there was no link to a tutorial on how to move my sites away fro WA. Not that I have any sites on here as I find that the Wordpress installations won't allow me to even use a plugin that I wanted to try out. Self hosting through Hostgator would allow more freedom. And this is where I have a problem with the site in that it'll only teach you how to be a loyal customer to the brand, which in this case is Wealthy Affiliate. Just my take and but while people also build sites like Facebook and input all the I like and dislikes so they can be served adds, they'd up and leave if they were pressed for payment. Adds or more affiliate could bring the cost down and make the community more open. I'm also sure that those that did really well from it would donate to the site as a way of saying thanks. A lower price would also bring in people who are on the fence. Most people who are looking to make money online are searching to make 'easy' or 'free' money. This is possibly because they're broke and think they can get rich quick. Trying to sell to this market is always going to be a uphill task. Going by the 12% ratio in the affiliate area! you'd have get 100 leads to get 12 sales and that the average stay is four months, though I may be wrong on this last point. Feel free to correct me on any of the above but it's my opinion and I tend to keep it regardless.
I have to thank you for your detailed analysis of WA, based on your opinions. It's always refreshingly welcome, when a person honestly speaks what they truly believe.
However, after wading through your wall of text, I find I do not share your views. And in just as detailed a manner (if not more), I will happily substantiate WHY.
I will include your original comments, and my answers therewith following; for sake of following the discussion, I've put our names next to each intervention.
****
Ad3y:
I feel this site has a lot to offer someone who knows nothing and is starting from scratch. WA is a good product to sell but all of the info on here can be found for free on Google. It takes a lot of research but it is out there.
JOSH:
Yes, it can indeed. Most ANYTHING can be found online, for free. The problem, though, is sifting through how much of it is actually useful and working NOW. A lot of material is outdated, and comes up only because it’s still indexed in the search engines; using this will end up being more detrimental, than beneficial to one’s online efforts. Moreover, the other hassle is finding it in the FIRST place! That’s why a lot of people are keen on the idea of “suites” or “packages” – it has the convenience of having everything in one place, and they’re happy to make the money-time tradeoff for that. I know I do. I do find it naïve to think that you would expect to find a high-end media buying course in here, or high-end CPA training. Advanced is advanced, and frankly, there is no way such material could be in here; it’s far too specialised, detailed, and involving… both for newbies, and experts alike. The idea, I think, is that far more people are at the lowest rung of the online marketing ladder, than there are experts, and they need a first introduction, indoctrination or overview, before moving ahead to more advanced realms of the Internet Marketing sphere. Chew before you choke, and walk before you run.
Ad3y:
My main issue with the site is that it's geared towards people first promoting the site itself and writing original content and tutorials and pay a monthly fee to do it. This is great for the site and the site owners but if it's all about site creation I feel people may be led down a narrow pathway.
JOSH:
Affiliate programmes are anywhere and everywhere. I have no problem with the idea of people being led to WA, as this builds a community. And community is not something that is beneficial only to its owners. There is KNOWLEDGE and support from like-minded people, who are experienced in the ways, and enjoy the networking / teaching / learning more. I have not found any hard-sell tactics, forcing one to promote WA (unlike, for example, Empower Network). And while Kyle & Carson do push the Premium upsell to their programme, who WOULDN’T? It comes with a value. Granted, I don’t think it’s something a newbie needs immediately; I’d say go with the free first, and see if it’s your thing. As for the writing and content creation, I don’t post anything here that I haven’t already written about in my various blogs over the years, in some shape or fashion (and I have no intention of shamelessly promoting myself either, so I won't list any here). I don’t host my sites here; I don’t need to. Admittedly, I am not a fan of platform-hosted blogs/sites – I prefer total control over my efforts. But if someone is looking for a complete package – including hosting – they can start here.
Ad3y:
Truth is you don't need a site to sell products. You can go where the traffic is (social media or PPC) and sell direct through affiliate links.
JOSH:
True… to an extent. Yes, you can direct link from social media, although not all types of affiliate links; you’re at the mercy of the Social Media platform accepting the website you are referring to. This doesn’t always happen – again, think Empower Network, banned by Facebook… just to name one. Or casinos? I earned money on a revenue share model with online casinos, but I could never do that with Facebook! But yet again, where are you going to direct-link PPV creatives, banner ads, and the likes, if not on your website? You could do it through content network placement ads, or media buying, sure… but while you and I may know about this, a newbie hasn’t the first clue WHAT this is… and it’s not the easiest thing to perfect. Plus, the whole era of direct linking your affiliate link via PPC has long since declined, and Google stopped permitting that YEARS ago. The last thing I would ask you is, just how much success YOU’VE had through leveraging social media traffic? Most people I know, and some are exceptional marketing minds, have had next to none… whether this was joining established groups and building a presence therein, so they could post affiliate links, or creating their own pages which would become ghost towns, or using FB Ads in such a way that they just burned through money. Sure, some people are very successful at using social media, while the vast majority AREN’T… just as it is true for making money online, overall.
Ad3y:
The internet's a ever crowded space and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are the people's favourite watering holes. You can drag people away but expect a high bounce rate on your site as people like to get back to watering their digital gardens or going through their well trained Like this and Retweet that.
JOSH:
I agree that social media is the phenomenon driving the Internet today. I don’t, however, agree with you that this is the reason for bounce rates on one’s website / pages. It comes down to TWO very simple elements: lack of engaging content on the site, and a poor UIX (user interface experience)… which is another way to say, the website design is crap, and no one is going to stick around trying to find what they’re looking for… no matter how many pearls of wisdom are hidden within its pages.
Ad3y:
And now the internet is moving towards pictures (think Pinterest and Instagram). Soon the drooling masses will have forgotten how to read and will have the attention span of a drunk flea.
JOSH:
While attention span is an issue today, because of the constant bombardment of stimuli and advertising, the way you present this is a cynical statement, at best, which I will not debate with you… merely out of disinterest in doing so. But insofar as Pinterest, there is a phenomenal trend that COULD be leveraged, if one knew how. But I think it’s mostly trend traffic, unless you really build yourself up as an authority. And even then, you will need traffic to your pins, via means such as other social media, etc., if you are to make any money with it. With Instagram, I currently fail to see any marketing potential for affiliates, through it.
Ad3y:
I only joined this site to have a quick look inside. Just now I noticed that when you're signed out there seems to be a lot of padlocks down the left. When you sign in it all seems to be replaced by far less options.
JOSH:
The padlocks are in respect of the premium members’ resources. If you’re not a premium, you won’t be able to access them. It appears to me, you have more than a basic understanding of online marketing; I am surprised you did not recognise this as the marketing teaser that it is, to entice upgrading.
Ad3y:
Plus, when I canceled my membership through PayPal I got an email telling me my sites would be deleted and perhaps I should sign up again. Nothing wrong with this but there was no link to a tutorial on how to move my sites away fro WA.
JOSH:
In respect of this, I don’t know what to answer you – I haven’t encountered this, so I am not in a position to offer any insightful comment.
Ad3y:
Not that I have any sites on here as I find that the Wordpress installations won't allow me to even use a plugin that I wanted to try out. Self hosting through Hostgator would allow more freedom.
JOSH:
Agree 100%. Since there are tutorials in WA on how to use WP (and this is ALSO something that can readily be found freely online), I don’t see any reason why anyone would NOT create WP websites, and NOT host them with their own hosting account… unless they couldn’t afford hosting and registering a domain name (which I highly doubt is the case with most people in AW – even the complete newbies). But, assuming this last scenario were the case, they could always host their blogs for free on Wordpress.org, and then migrate them over to their own WP site on their own hosting account, when they have the finances to do so.
Ad3y:
And this is where I have a problem with the site in that it'll only teach you how to be a loyal customer to the brand, which in this case is Wealthy Affiliate. Just my take and but while people also build sites like Facebook and input all the I like and dislikes so they can be served adds, they'd up and leave if they were pressed for payment. Adds or more affiliate could bring the cost down and make the community more open.
JOSH:
I do not share your sentiments on this matter, in the least. If you look at the joining dates of a few of the members, they go back a few years. That speaks for itself, in terms of brand loyalty. What you DO fail to grasp, however, is that brand loyalty is a result of value perceived / received by the client base. If they weren’t happy to be here… they WOULDN’T be. If they didn’t feel they were getting any benefit out of WA, they WOULDN’T be here. As for affiliate promotions here (or in mailings), Kyle explained in his introduction video (because you DID watch it, didn’t you) why they don’t do this at WA. I won’t expound here; go view the video. By the same logic (in the video), one can deduce why there are no ads, either.
Ad3y:
I'm also sure that those that did really well from it would donate to the site as a way of saying thanks. A lower price would also bring in people who are on the fence.
JOSH:
In fact, there are a lot of people contributing their knowledge, time, and inspiration… supporting OTHERS so that THEY may succeed, as well. Contribution is not only about money; that’s a very shallow and reductive perspective, in my view. As for a lower price, consider that you do NOT have to pay; upgrading is an option. And you get what you pay for. I think it’s fairly priced… especially the yearly offer of $359… IF, I repeat, IF you are going to make use of all the resources, including the hosting (which we’ve discussed). If you consider what any course on the “outside” will cost, the price is reasonable.
Ad3y:
Most people who are looking to make money online are searching to make 'easy' or 'free' money. This is possibly because they're broke and think they can get rich quick. Trying to sell to this market is always going to be a uphill task.
JOSH:
This is true: a lot of people are lured to internet marketing by savvy sales copy (whether written, or presented as an “infomercial” video sales page), which makes Online Marketing look like the be-all end-all business model. Which, I might add, it isn’t for everyone, either. Oh, and actually… if you know anything about sales psychology, this audience or target market is by far the easiest to sell to. I won’t get into the dynamics of it here; I’ll let you read up on it, on your own time… because everything can be found online for free, as we know! ;)
Ad3y:
Going by the 12% ratio in the affiliate area! you'd have get 100 leads to get 12 sales and that the average stay is four months, though I may be wrong on this last point. Feel free to correct me on any of the above but it's my opinion and I tend to keep it regardless
JOSH@
I don’t know how well WA converts. Kyle mentions about 12%; I haven’t begun promoting it yet, so I don’t have any metrics to confirm or disprove this. Perhaps, some other more senior, long-time member of the community can share their metrics in this respect. But in conclusion, I think you did a fair point of voicing your opinions; I believe one should always speak what they truly believe. However, I hold a different stance on most everything you said, and I substantiate WHY this is. I do wish to leave you with one last point: I would never invite someone to a dialogue (“feel free correct me on any of the above”), yet finish by saying “it’s my opinion, and I tend to keep it regardless”. Not exactly how I inspire an exchange of ideas, as most anyone else quite likely wouldn’t be bothered to engage in it, on that basis. :)
Have a good night!
-Josh
I found this to be very educational, not merely from the content , the whole article. I've been floundering in page layout as well. The content was enlightening, I'm so pleased I'm following you. Thankyou for sharing, good luck
@JoshHarris - Thanks for sharing your the info. I am deciding on whether to promote WA and more and more I'm leaning towards doing so.
You're welcome! I think WA is definitely a good place to start, considering both the quality of the "product", as well as the resources in place to help you promoted it!
-Josh
Maybe I'm just here because fate led me here?
Perhaps I was destined to change someone's life, by sharing the knowledge acquired?
Maybe I don't NEED more money, but I genuinely have a deep calling to contribute to others getting to where I am?
I believe that one's success is in direct measure to the value he/she provides to other individuals. Do things with honesty, integrity, and with a "why?", and the money naturally follows.
I love to see people succeed by applying what I have shared with them. It's a feeling so beautiful, that gives a fulfillment unlike any other. I have experienced this many times over the years.
And I suppose, that is my "why". :)
-Josh
That was a great reply. I like your why! I may (that should probably be will) find myself in need or your "why".
Thanks for being here to support us!
Sono andata a guardare per un po il tuo profilo - ti ricordi l'italiano no? Io ho vissuto vicino a Venezia per 15 anni. Ma ero bambina!
Certo che parlo l'Italiano! Sono madrelingua, sia inglese che italiano! Ho vissuto anch'io per molti anni a Vicenza, a circa 60km da Venezia. Anche se, pero', sono originario di Napoli. :)
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That is very helpful Josh, thank you.
Mary