16 Strategies to Increase Revenue with Social Media and Affiliate Marketing

Table of ContentsIntroduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4Chapter 1....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Why You Need Affiliate Marketing ........................................................................................................... 5 Strategies for Making the Most of Affiliate Marketing ............................................................................ 6 1. Build Your Lists ................................................................................................................................. 6 2. Make the Most of Your Lists............................................................................................................. 6 3. Put Quality Content Out There......................................................................................................... 6 4. Target the Right People .................................................................................................................... 7Chapter 2....................................................................................................................................................... 8 Why You Need Social Networking ............................................................................................................ 8 Strategies for Succeeding with Social Networking ................................................................................... 8 1. Become a Web Presence .................................................................................................................. 9 2. Network with Groups ....................................................................................................................... 9 3. Create Viral Marketing ..................................................................................................................... 9 4. Stay Up to Date .............................................................................................................................. 10Chapter 3..................................................................................................................................................... 11 Strategies for Integrating Social Networking and Affiliate Marketing to Increase Your Business and Revenue .................................................................................................................................................. 11 1. Use Social Networks to Build Your Brand....................................................................................... 11 2. Don’t Neglect Facebook’s Advertising Feature .............................................................................. 12 3. Use SEO in Your Posts..................................................................................................................... 12 4. Link Your Page to Your Blog ........................................................................................................... 12 5. Increase the Benefit of Your Articles.............................................................................................. 12 2

6. Forget the Hard Sell........................................................................................................................ 137. Keep It Personal.............................................................................................................................. 138. Engage and Offer Value .................................................................................................................. 13Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 14 3

IntroductionAs a business owner in today’s tech driven world, you need to have a solid strategy and business plan ifyou want to get ahead. No matter what product or service you offer, you will find that there is alwayscompetition. The World Wide Web has made it easy for people to create and market businesses, andwhile this is extremely beneficial in terms of increasing your potential customer base, it also means thatyou have competition from all over the globe.As a web based business, you need a plan that will help you reach the most prospective customers orclients possible. Thankfully, the social networking trend presents the perfect opportunity. When youmake use of websites such as Twitter and Facebook, you can reach thousands or even millions ofprospective clients. In this book, we will teach you the best strategies for making use of socialnetworking to ensure that your business sees the most benefit possible.We will also take a look at affiliate marketing and how it can be used to help you grow your business andincrease your profits. Most importantly, we will offer a wide range of strategies that will help youcombine affiliate marketing and social media to get the biggest boost to your revenue. These strategiescan work for any type of business, and once you understand how to make the power of socialnetworking effective for you, the potential for a major profit increase will become crystal clear. 4

Chapter 1Why You Need Affiliate Marketing When you are selling a product or service, visibility is everything. The more times a consumer sees your product or name, the more brand recognition you are creating. When a web user sees your product or service everywhere, it creates a sense of trust in the brand. Affiliate marketing allows you to have other people sell your product or service for you. When you set up affiliate marketing software, youare giving regular computer users the chance to create their own businesses around your product orservice. Depending on your affiliate software program, you may even be able to provide your affiliateswith the tools they need to best promote your business, including banner and text links and even theirown version of your product website. Each affiliate’s links, banners, and sites use a unique ID that helpsyou track their total sales, and you will distribute a portion of your sales or traffic profits to the affiliatethat generated them.Affiliate marketing is a win-win scenario for you and your affiliates. You can end up with significantlygreater profits by having a variety of sites and ads that you do not have to directly maintain, while youraffiliates have the tools they need to effectively market your product and make an easy profit. Anadded benefit is that your affiliates are all unique, which means that while you may have a number ofideas for where to place ads or links, your affiliates will find markets of their own, greatly increasing youroverall visibility.If you are questioning whether affiliate marketing is right for you, consider this. No matter what yousell, there are numerous people out there that sell the same thing or something that meets the sameneed. Gaining affiliates helps increase your presence in the market, making it much easier for you toensure that you are reaching as many prospective clients as possible. The leading affiliate marketingsoftware can be found here http://www.osiaffiliate.com. 5

Strategies for Making the Most of Affiliate Marketing1. Build Your ListsThe simple fact is that you are not going to gain a lot of affiliates on your very first contact. Gettingsomeone to come to your page and see what you have to offer is great, but you want to really be able toshow them what you have to offer. The average person is on a website for less than two minutes, andyou need to make the most of that time. The best way to do this- offer them something in exchange fortheir email address. It can be a free eBook, the ability to view an article that answers an importantquestion, or the chance to win a prize. Do what you need to give them something they want inexchange for what you want- their email address.2. Make the Most of Your ListsNow that you have started collecting email addresses, you need to know what to do with them. A longemail list can be great, but only if you can convert a number of the people who sign up into affiliates.How do you do this? Effective emailing. You need subjects that get people to open your messages.Consider strong, inviting language, such as “Ten ways that you can ….” Or “Learn the secret toachieving….”, and consider software that lets you personalize each message with the recipient’s firstname. Email frequently enough to ensure that people remember who you are, but absolutely do notspam or email too often. Consider using email tracking software to determine which emails get openedthe most and to determine what keywords seem to be most effective for you.3. Put Quality Content Out ThereIn order to gain affiliates, you are going to have to make a name for yourself. This means giving peopleinformation that they need and can rely on. There are two simple ways to do this- article writing andblogging. Using article directories to create straight to the point, informative articles that answercommon questions can be a great way to establish yourself as an expert in the industry without using 6

hard sell tactics. People will read the articles, click the link in your bio, and learn more about yourcompany. If you do things right, you can get them to sign up for your emails. With a blog, you can use abit more advertisement in your content, though you still need content that fills a need or answers aquestion.4. Target the Right People This tip may be the absolute most important of all when it comes to trying to gain affiliates. So many companies see little success with their affiliate programs because they simply do not understand that you cannot market to everyone. Figure out who is responding to your emails, blog posts, and articles and what they have in common. Find out where your core demographic lies and start targeting it. Whether it is forty year old soccer moms ortwenty year old skaters, you need to know who believes in your product enough to sell it and starttargeting them specifically. If you try to keep it vague enough to appeal to everyone, the chances aregood that you will appeal to no one. 7

Chapter 2Why You Need Social NetworkingAs a business owner, and as previously mentioned, you need to be reaching as many people as possibleat all times. In today’s world, few websites are as popular as the two major social networks: Twitter andFacebook. These sites get more visits daily than virtually any non-search engine site. Many people evenhave their social networking pages linked directly to their mobile phones and other devices. Simply put,these networks are huge and are packed with prospective clients.When you make use of social networking, you can reach a vast number of people. If your content isengaging or provides some value, others who follow your page can easily share or retweet your posts,sending it in turn to all of their friends or followers. This makes it possible to reach vast numbers ofpeople with only a few simple words or a simple link or video.In a world where business competition is still and people are more conscious than ever about what theyare doing with their money, brand recognition and reach are critical. Social networking gives you achance to actually connect with prospective customers, a key step in helping them feel an emotional tieto your brand or company. This is certainly a step that no business owner can afford to ignore, nomatter how large or small their company might be.Today’s consumers want to feel like they matter to the companies they buy from. People are looking foralternatives to nameless, faceless corporations, and they want to know that they matter and that theyhave an input. Social networking is an easy way to start conversations with your clients and to really letthem know that your company is interested and listening. There is really no way to emphasize stronglyenough just how beneficial this can be to your business.Strategies for Succeeding with Social Networking 8

1. Become a Web PresenceWe have already stressed the importance of branding your business, and social networking can be anessential part of this. Facebook is likely the best way to do this, as the “Like” feature allows people toshare with their friends what interests them, while the Facebook suggestions feature suggests thatpeople also “Like” the same things as others who share their interests. Get enough people in yourtarget demographic to “Like” your page, and your brand starts showing up on thousands of home pagesevery single day.2. Network with Groups Facebook has a feature known as “Groups”, and there are groups for just about every hobby, activity, belief, and interest under the sun. Start looking for groups that relate to your business as well as to your target demographic and join them. Post a hello message and make sure that you add something to conversations, answer questions, or even pose questions of your own now and then. Engage people in conversation and get them to want to know more about your business. A great idea is to create a group of your own. If you sell eBooks about caring for puppies, for example, you can create a group for peoplewho love or raise puppies. Don’t make it a group all about your company, but rather about the interestor need that your company caters to.3. Create Viral MarketingThese days, anything that is really funny, intelligent, or intriguing has the potential to go viral. Take alook at the average Facebook wall and note how many statuses are reposts of something clever, funny,or inspiring. Consider how many common phrases today stem from home videos that were posted to 9

YouTube and ended up getting millions of visitors. Consider how many Tweets have been reposted bymillions across the globe. While you may not be the next Keenan Cahill, posting a video, status, orTweet that makes people laugh hysterically or spend a moment in deep thought can be enough to getyour words and your link into the deepest and most populated parts of cyberspace.4. Stay Up to DateOne thing you have to know when trying to make the most of social networking is people on thesenetworks are always up to date. This means that you need to be as well. Follow the latest newspertaining to your niche or market, and follow the latest celeb and political news as well. Look for waysto integrate the latest and most high-trending topics into your posts and Tweets. This will keep themshowing up in Google’s real-time search and will help drive you much higher in search rankings. 10

Chapter 3Strategies for Integrating Social Networking and AffiliateMarketing to Increase Your Business and Revenue While social networking and affiliate marketing are both very effective tools for building a business, there is little doubt that the most effective strategy is a combination of both of these things. Affiliate marketing can certainly be boosted by social networking, allowing you a nearly endless pool of potential new leads and affiliates. Likewise, social networking efforts to boost sales can be greatly increased when people visiting your page are alsogiven the option to become affiliates. The bottom line is that the two strategies, working in tandem, willcertainly be your best bet in terms of increasing revenues.1. Use Social Networks to Build Your BrandBefore you can start getting a large number of affiliates, you are going to need to establish yourself.While there are always some people who are willing to sign on with a completely unknown company,the fact is that the more name recognition you have, the more people will want to work with you.Create a username that will be the same for both Twitter and Facebook, making you easy to find. Onceyou do this, make sure you are producing content fairly regularly without bombarding people. Startfollowing people on Twitter who may be interested in your products and you will find that many willfollow you back. Likewise, look for people on Facebook who are in your area or whose hobbies andinterests fit well with your niche. 11

2. Don’t Neglect Facebook’s Advertising FeatureYou will notice that Facebook now has the option for you to advertise your company. Believe it or not,the algorithms that the network uses are actually quite complex and accurate. If you give the rightkeywords related to your product or service, Facebook can recommend your program only to peoplewho are likely to be interested in becoming affiliates. This can help to greatly reduce your overalladvertising cost and can help to greatly increase your return on investment.3. Use SEO in Your PostsThese days, Google and other top search engines are more advanced than ever. You will find thattoday’s Google searches not only scan websites, but social networks as well. Why not link the keywordsmost related to your site and content in your posts, ensuring that your profile pages come up whenpeople type those words into search engines. It can be a great way to gain new followers and likes foryour pages as well as to find new affiliates.4. Link Your Page to Your BlogIf you are really working to make your affiliate networking program successful, then you likely alreadyhave a blog. You should already know to keep your blog updated frequently with content that readerswill find both interesting and relevant. Most of today’s blogs have built in features that let you link themto your social networking pages. By enabling this feature, every new blog post will automatically post toyour social networking pages as well, helping to keep affiliates and potential affiliates alike abreast ofyour latest entries.5. Increase the Benefit of Your ArticlesAnother common marketing strategy for many companies that utilize affiliate marketing is the use ofarticle directories. With these, a company publishes articles that answer common questions or addresscommon concerns about their industry. The articles themselves do not advertise the company orservice, but the biography at the bottom will contain a link to the company. Why not post your articles 12

on your Facebook page or add the links to your Twitter feed. This will, in turn, create more backlinksthat lead to your page and help to increase your overall ranking within the search engines.6. Forget the Hard Sell One of the most common mistakes companies make when trying to blend social networking and affiliate marketing is trying to hard sell their program. People using social networks are most likely checking their pages during work or during a break and are looking for a few seconds of laughter, thought, or relief from stress. If you are bombarding them with sales pitches and advertisements, they are going to“unlike this page” before you have time to blink. Instead, you need to post relevant content that givesthem what they are seeking and work instead to slowly suggest that they visit your page. Let yourfollowers come to you, don’t try to force them to click your links.7. Keep It PersonalFor some companies, the word social in social networking seems to get overlooked or ignored. There isa reason that the people you add to a personal page are listed as friends, and there is a reason whypeople choose to follow your Tweets. They are looking for a personal exchange. Social networking isnot about connecting with the market, it is about connecting with individuals. Keep this fact in mind andyou will absolutely see more benefit and a higher conversion rate.8. Engage and Offer ValueIf you want to gain the most benefit for your affiliate program through the use of social media, you willfind that you need to do two simple but important things. You need to engage your prospective clientsin conversation and you need to offer them value for their time. Engaging can be as simple as answering 13

questions on your wall or posting questions to your wall or Twitter feed and then responding to theanswers you receive. Give your friends and followers value, even if it is just in the form of a laugh, andwork hard to keep them engaged in contact and conversation with you.SummaryThe bottom line is that affiliate marketing and social networking are two of the most powerful toolsavailable for businesses today. Creating an online presence is hard work, but with the right strategies, itcan pay off in ways that you may never have imagined. Take the time to really understand yourdemographic and their interests and to tailor your online presence around these individuals. When youare able to cater to your specific market and to really engage with people who believe in your product,you can not only increase the number of affiliates you gain, but the overall success of their marketing aswell. The simple fact is this- by targeting people who genuinely believe in your product, you are going togain people who are capable of actually selling it. 14

16 Strategies to Increase Revenue with Social Media and Affiliate Marketing

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16 Strategies to Increase Revenue with Social Media and Affiliate Marketing Document Transcript