Misunderstanding or Misrepresentation?

byrgblanchette

169 followers

11 years ago

I think someone needs to address the white elephant in the room. Affiliate marketing is hard. There, I said it.

I am not trying to stick my finger in anyone's eye here. What i am doing is simply stating a truth. And even though you may here it here or elsewhere that all you ahve to do is write blog, do some back linking, maybe do a video or three and post all that to an RSS feed, it simply is not enough for the vast majority of niches out there that are either competitive or lack a monitary incentive to target.

So what is a person to do? Gain authority in the chosen niche by blood, sweat, and tears. While there are ways to game the system, some tools to make life easier thru automation, the simple fact is that people are smarter now than ever and can see thru the hype.

People still buy on emotion and not logic, but it is logic that brought them to your page in the first place not emotion. So if they buy they are doing so with both ingredients, not emotion alone.

Emotion may be the pulled trigger, but logic was the finger that pulled it and the hand attached.

So let's just quit saying this is easy, it's not. It takes work and time unless you are either very lucky or very well connected. Anything else is a pipe dream in my opinion.

What is the remedy? That is less simple. More technology is not the answer I think. You can be as tech savvy as you want and still not sell a thing. Become a wise marketer may be the answer, but that is a really nebulous phrase. That is like saying become a better mechanic. Try to put a motorcycle mechanic to working on a 18 wheeler tractor and you will see how far that gets you. I don't think giving out vague directions like that is helpful.

Instead you have to break it way down. Specialize. If you can write, then don't go off chasing a shiny quarter like CPA landing page building. If you are really passionate about video marketing then don't go off chasing the shiny quarter of social media marketing. Stick to what you are both good at and enjoy.

That is the first step I think. The next is become a better sales person. That too is a little vague, but more focussed than becoming a better marketer. I once heard from a used car salesman that he could sell ice cream to an eskimo. While funny that strikes true in that the process of sales are often the same at some level. Being able to connect with a buying customer and help faciliate them to a sale. It is the human element of understanding what motivates buyers to make the leap. That comes full circle to the emotional element, doesn't it? Sorta. While the person may be there to look at your used cars they might just be shopping around for the best deal. The saleman has to convince them that this lot has the car they need and it is available today for the low price of too muc...lol.

So lets keep it real when we talk about this whole online marketing thing shall we? Trying to sell WA is going to be impossible in most isntance because the fact is that there are a ton of competing pages, videos, social markers, etc out there. I mean use Jaaxy to see for yourself. The truth of the matter is that when you select a niche you need to think smaller. Like house slippers, organic salt, craftsman tools, scented candles, and things like that not golf, surfing, christianity, self help, and the like. You will never get found and never earn a dime.