Affiliate Marketing - The SMART Way

Super-Affiliates Work Smarter - Not Necessarily Harder…

Affiliate Marketing - The SMART Way header image 2

Got Traffic? Congratulations - You’re Losing Money…

September 8th, 2008 · 51 Comments

There’s one activity that is so incredibly profitable, but only a few ever do it.

And in most cases, the people doing this are running substantial revenues because of this activity.

(But you don’t need to have major traffic or revenue to do this to exprience profound benefits…)

If you haven’t guessed already, it’s TESTING.

Let’s take a look at just how powerful this really is.

How One Tiny Change Can Make a World of Difference:

Let me ask you a question… 

If you generate an average of 1 sale for every 100 visitors, then what would be the easiest way to double your income…

1) Doubling your traffic to 200 visitors a day?

OR

2) Increasing your conversion rate by just one percentile, from 1% to 2%?

Okay - I’m being a little sarcastic, but really - it truly is this simple.

You need to realize that even the smallest kinds of changes can have a phenomenal impact on your overall income.

Think about the compounding effect of making more from each visitor - even if we’re just talking about affiliate sites and promoting other people’s offers…

Here’s some scenarios:

1) Let’s say you have a $49 ebook for sale on ClickBank, and it gets about 300 visitors a day from Google and affiliate traffic, with an average of 3 sales a day, and you pay a 60% commission.

So you’re making probably about $17 per sale after paying out affiliates and CB’s processing fees, which brings you to a daily average of $51/day, or $1530/mth.

Let’s say you manage to increase your conversions by one percent point. From 1% to 2%. This isn’t difficult.

Your income doubles, instantly. You’re now averaging about $102/day, or $3060/mth on the front end, from the same amount of traffic.

But that’s just the beginning…

Your affiliates WILL notice the conversion increase, and on ClickBank’s public ranking system, your product will start climbing up the product category, thereby exposing you to MORE affiliates.

And when they promote you, they’ll make twice what they would’ve previously. This means they’ll spend more time (and more money) sending you traffic, which sort of starts to build on itself for you over time.

Not only that, but your customer list will be building twice as quickly - and your backend revenues will also double. And that’s where the real money is, anyway.

All of a sudden - just by making one simple change (perhaps even just your headline) - you could literally be putting yourself into another tax bracket.

But let’s digress for a second and take a look at a much simpler-scale example…

2) You’ve got an opt-in offer on a content/affiliate site, and it’s getting about 4 signups a day from around 80 daily visitors who actually see the offer.

By doing something as simple as adjusting your layout, changing your offer copy or even adding a “pop-in” script to your site, let’s say that you brought that daily subscriber number up to 12 opt-ins per day.

Doesn’t seem like a big change, but let’s take a look at the compounding effectiveness that this can have:

Every month, you’ll be adding an additional 240 subscribers that you didn’t have previously (in 6 months, that’s 1440 subscribers).

After even that first month, every autoresponder message and broadcast will be receiving far more traffic. And in 6 months to a year, EVERY MAILING you broadcast will be generating at least 2 to 3 times the traffic (and sales) or more than it ever would have.

The point is - small changes can lead to BIG profits.

Doubling, tripling or otherwise geometrically multiplying online revenues starts by monitoring and improving things on a “small” scale. It’s just that these seemingly “small” changes have huge long-term implications.

To put it this way - if your goal is to quit your job, taking the time to increase your conversions even marginally could potentially bring you months or even years closer to your goal of being independant.

(Testing got a whole lot more exciting all of a sudden, didn’t it?)

So how do you do it?

How does it work?

What do you change, exactly, in order to realistically be able to double the revenues and overall responsiveness of a site, product or promotion?

And how can this be done even for sites that get low overall traffic?

Well, stay tuned for the next VIP product release, called The Visitor-Value Multiplier Manifesto

For a brief preview of the report, go to http://www.thelazymarketer.com/vip.php and scroll down…

Take care,

-Chris

P.S. If there’s anything that you want me to cover in the report, please post your comment below ASAP!

Tags: General Marketing Stuff

51 responses so far ↓

  • 1 MoneyMingle // Sep 9, 2008 at 12:12 am

    I like the tips..thanks Chris. I am finally experimenting with CPA offers and would like any tidbits you may have on that.

  • 2 Alex Miller // Sep 9, 2008 at 9:52 am

    Hey Chris,

    Always enjoy your posts…

    What I would really like to see is an awesome script/software etc that will easily test out optins etc.

    On my new site I (will) have the front page as an optin page and would therefore like to EASILY test out different things.

    So, if i change the title for example, I would want this script to run and show me the difference in conversions between title 1 and title 2.

    I’m sure this is very obvious and that you will include it, but that’s what I would love to see!

    Thanks,
    Alex

    PS - also, could you let us know the best way to track conversions and sales - I do use Xtreme Conversions but I really want something MUCH simpler and also something that has a great interface to show the results.

  • 3 Affiliate Marketing // Sep 9, 2008 at 12:56 pm

    I will definitely be looking forward to your next report Chris… =)

    Small change, big profits.

    Cheow

  • 4 Hair Loss Product Reviews // Sep 9, 2008 at 1:06 pm

    Thanks for the tip.

    I’ll keep testing in mind instead just trying for more traffic.

    I would like to see what you recommend for testing tools.

  • 5 Trevor // Sep 9, 2008 at 1:07 pm

    Chris,

    Not to go out on a tangent, but I have been building a list and testing offers using the software submission method with good results and noticed that you removed the upcoming vip report that goes into more detail on software marketing. May I ask why? I was personally looking forward to that report the most.

  • 6 Nick // Sep 9, 2008 at 1:08 pm

    Chris
    Signing up for your VIP series is one of my better online decisions. You have a way of simplifying this subject in a way which others fail to do.

  • 7 Terence // Sep 9, 2008 at 1:13 pm

    I am really glad that I bought your VIP reports, Chris, because you deliver true value without the hype. They really are blueprints to success and to say you overdeliver is an understatement.

    I can’t wait for this one.

  • 8 Nick // Sep 9, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    I am actually wondering the same thing as Trevor. Why is it gone? I am looking forward to this release, btw. Sounds great.

  • 9 Free Website Coversion Webinar // Sep 9, 2008 at 1:21 pm

    Chris

    Testing is indeed the forgotten secret to success. Hardly anyone does it which means those who do get to cream the profits.

    Alex - You can use Google Website Optimizer. It is free.

    Good luck
    Sami

  • 10 Graham Cox // Sep 9, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    Hi Alex

    Google optimizer allows you to split test different elements of your page and it’s free.

    Cheers…Graham

  • 11 jeff // Sep 9, 2008 at 1:28 pm

    Off topic question

    Chris
    I’m looking for a new hosting service
    any suggestions?

    Love your products BTW

  • 12 Kevin // Sep 9, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    Thanks a lot, Chris. I’m in the process of mocing from “make money online” to “build an online business”, and your information is always spot on in that regard.

  • 13 Testing FReak // Sep 9, 2008 at 2:09 pm

    Testing and tracking is so important it’s not funny. Before I learned the half science half art of testing and tracking my online income was embarrassing.

    Now it’s hard for me to NOT make money.

    Whatever you do, learn this stuff.

    That’s how I roll.

    -Testing FReak

  • 14 Diet Reviews // Sep 9, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Hi Chris,

    Anyexamples of a SIMPLE change that you made to one of your sites that had a dramatic impact?

    Thanks for all the tips!
    Zander

  • 15 pyrmont sydney // Sep 9, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    Like your nice simple logic Chris. Very True, and Very Self Evident.

  • 16 run your car on water // Sep 9, 2008 at 3:51 pm

    Hi Chris,

    Is it advisable to cloak your affiliate links?

    Does this improve the CTR?

    I would love to hear your opinion on this…

  • 17 Alex Miller // Sep 9, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    Oh woops - I never knew about Google Optimiser!

    …and I really should know!

    Thanks guys.

    Alex

  • 18 admin // Sep 9, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    Hey guys,

    Thanks for the responses - much appreciated.

    @Trevor and Nick - I don’t remember having a VIP report queued up that addressed the software method.

    If that’s something that a lot of people would like in-depth training on, I can do that.

    @ Alex - as already mentioned, Google’s analytics and optimization programs are truly top-notch and simple to use. There’s no way anything I could produce would even closely compare to what’s available there for free.

    Otherwise though - I would definitely do that :-)

    @Jeff - off topic, but I’d suggest dreamhost, odsol.com or hostgator

    @Zander - I recently changed the headline and intro paragraph on one of my salesletters with a split-test and it almost doubled conversion - just that change.

    I’ve also changed simple things like site layouts and functions and watched responsiveness instantly climb.

    @Run Car on Water - So, how’s the hydro car coming along? :-)

    Anyway - cloaking links has more to do with protecting your conversions and ensuring that the referral is logged.

    CTR is determined by marketing and link placement.

    In some cases, people may be more apt to click a link that isn’t an obvious ref link, but only in markets where users would know about affiliation.

    Thanks again guys - if you have any other suggestions, let’s hear ‘em!

    -Chris

  • 19 Alex Miller // Sep 9, 2008 at 5:27 pm

    Hi again,

    Just to re-iterate and expand upon what ‘Diet Reviews’ said.

    Please could you list the top things that you test - e.g. headline, intro etc and tips for improving these aspects.

    Also, it might just be me, but for the spyware and registry niche - for example - I don’t know how to split-test my sales conversions.

    For example, if I am changing the landing page of my registry site - how do I test statistically between version 1 and version 2 in terms of sales?

    Again, this might sound really obvious but I don’t know how!

    A dummy’s guide would be exactly what I would like - leaving no steps out, no matter how obvious!

    Testing is something I don’t do but BADLY need to know.

    I’m excited…

    Thanks Chris,

    - Alex

  • 20 niche_marketer // Sep 9, 2008 at 7:13 pm

    Once again Chris, you tell it straight and to the point, no fluff.

    You are my new Guru!

    I have dropped off the mailing list of the so-call gurus who offer no real world strategies.

  • 21 Davion | Secrets Of Affiliate Marketing // Sep 9, 2008 at 9:23 pm

    Hi Chris, that is a cool tip! How true it is. Simple maths but powerful exponential results.

  • 22 cheetu_new // Sep 10, 2008 at 1:40 am

    Hi Chris,

    How can the principals of testing can be applied to freeware marketing., it would be great if u include that in your report too.

  • 23 Rich Boy // Sep 10, 2008 at 3:28 am

    I would like to confirm what The Lazy Marketer has said as incredibly true, allowing me to increase my profits by 700%, after just my first split test.

    I’ll explain…

    Simple Taguchi split testing has resulted in the increase of my Conv % from 0.7% to 1.5%, and that’s on my first test. 100% increase in conv ratio is enormous, especially when considering PPC traffic.

    This would increase profits by more than double, example.

    If I spend $50 and earn $60 at 0.7% — now I spend that same $50 and earn $120 at 1.5%… that’s a 700% increase in profits, from simply doubling my conversion ratio!

    I use the best taguchi testing software available:

    http://www.TheRichBoy.com/Split-Testing-Software

    Start testing, and never stop.
    Peace

    Rich Boy
    http://www.TheRichBoy.com

  • 24 Nick // Sep 10, 2008 at 5:52 pm

    Thanks Chris! I would like to have an advanced guide on software stuff. I’d even have some suggestions for it :). Maybe it should, for instance, become a VIP Essential with some cool software making tools (which I got an excellent idea for, if you would be interested in hearing them ;)).

    Why don’t you hold a poll amongst your subscribers or something :).

    I do love splittesting though. I normally get above average conversions. But on some pages, my splittesting allowed me to get conversions of 10% and up on my salespages (with my top at 23,21%, depending on the traffic source of course). it’s really incredibly powerful.

    Looking forward to seeing this report anyway. Always interested to see other peoples test results.

  • 25 The Magic Of Testing // Sep 11, 2008 at 12:26 am

    Chris, I really like how you’ve presented this topic here. Well done.

    During a launch, a friend of mine who I had helped set up some testing neglected to watch his sales pages to see which were performing best.

    The ONLY difference between the two pages was the headline. Everything else was the same.

    At the end of day 2, I asked him which page was performing best. He had had about 10,000 visitors during the previous two days, so each version of the page got about 5,000 visits.

    I was on the phone with him when I heard him (a person who never swears) go “HOLY SH*T! I should have switched this sooner!”

    Page 2 had outperformed page 1 to the tune of $7500. Had he been watching closer, he could have made the switch sooner and made a lot more money.

    Thanks for presenting this topic in a way that makes people interested in learning about it!

    Warmest,

    Jonathan

  • 26 admin // Sep 11, 2008 at 1:05 am

    Thanks for sharing, Jonathan.

    Your example stresses a very important point - testing is neither “complicated” or hard.

    A simple headline split-test can be very effective, just as your friend clearly saw for himself.

    Next comes price points, measuring visitor value and so on - but in general, you really can split-test your way to maximum visitor value.

    And if you’re the merchant, doing this in high-traffic markets is incredibly valuable, since you’ll then have the ONE thing that every super-affiliate craves…

    Conversion.

    Recruiting affiliates will be as simple as sending them your stats.

    -Chris

  • 27 David Raybould // Sep 11, 2008 at 8:57 am

    Hi Chris,

    How are you man?

    Yes you’re right, testing is uber-powerful, but for some reason many marketers have some kind of aversion to it.

    I think possibly the main reason for that is that a lot of testing software (stuff I’ve tried anyway) is totally overcomplicated. It seems with this stuff that a lot of the “techie” parts aren’t refined and smoothed out to make it more user friendly.

    Just my 2 cents, but with your upcoming report, it would probably be super helpful for some of your customers if you could recommend some affordable split testing packages that are actually useable too.

    Or you could go the whole hog and get some “lazy” split test software commissioned. Hmm there’s an idea…bet that got the old brain cogs turning huh?

    Nice post though

    Thanks man,

    David

  • 28 Debbie // Sep 11, 2008 at 1:42 pm

    Hey Chris,

    Nick may be talking about your
    VIP Confession #9 “Reality Report.”

    In your OTO, you listed one of the things that
    it would fully cover as…

    “Step by step, detailed instructions on how to
    build your own freeware applications and how to
    optimize your submissions for maximum traffic
    and value…”

    I thought that was about your software
    method, too.

    Debbie

  • 29 The Magic Of Testing // Sep 11, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    Hey David,

    I don’t really think testing is that hard, once you have someone guide you through it.

    It takes some thinking about it, but it’s actually pretty straightforward if you get some mental (or actual) diagrams to help you understand how it works.

    Warmest,

    Jonathan

  • 30 The Magic Of Testing // Sep 11, 2008 at 7:01 pm

    Chris…

    I meant to respond to you up above as well… It really can be a very simple thing for people and little changes can make HUGE differences.

    I hope with whatever you’re working on for people, that you make testing truly super lazy for them.

    It’s a great thing that people must really learn in order to have success online.

    Thanks for all the great stuff you’ve put out so far Chris!

    Jonathan

  • 31 admin // Sep 11, 2008 at 7:20 pm

    @Debbie - Oh, okay - that makes sense. I was certain I didn’t have a dedicated VIP product in queue that was specifically about software marketing…

    I mean - I can, for sure, if people would like that - but I was kind of worried there for a second, hoping I didn’t have some kind of memory lapse… :-)

    -Chris

  • 32 Ray // Sep 13, 2008 at 3:06 am

    Chris,

    Thanks for the great info

    For conduit sites can you rank which work best of the three: individual domain, sub-domains or sub-pages.

    -Ray

  • 33 admin // Sep 13, 2008 at 3:11 am

    Hi Ray,

    To be honest, anything.

    Content in general can be ranked well.

    What matters is your off-site factors unless the site already has authority.

    You’ll see major sites like About.com use subdomains, you’ll see major sites like Squidoo.com use subfolders, and obviously you’ll see lots of successful affiliates, webmasters and everyone else using standalone domains.

    IT DOESN’T MATTER.

    Any format works fine.

    But my only suggestion is to build sites that you can sell if need be down the road.

    So don’t create one big “mother site” that has 500 subdomains just to save on domain costs for minisites or conduit sites.

    That’s not a smart business move, because it jeapordizes the asset (domain).

    -Chris

  • 34 Nick // Sep 13, 2008 at 6:32 pm

    That’s exactly what I ment, Debbie. Thanks :).

    So apparantly you do not need to worrie about your memory, Chris. It’s all ok! Maybe I should about mine, though. Could also be that my brain is too relaxed from all the free time I got.

    What I would be interested in, is the folowing:

    A plugin that gives a copywriter more freedom in writing when using wordpress.

    Right now wordpress is a pain in the ass. I truly do not like it. But I still use it. But I want to do more “copy type of articles” on my blogs. If you know what I mean. So do you, or anyone else, know of such a plugin? Would really appreciate to hear about that then!

  • 35 Jeremy Hier // Sep 14, 2008 at 12:12 pm

    Awesome work Chris.

    Looking forward to your testing report.
    I’m steadily writing more product reports
    for my 1st conduit site. I’m getting better
    and faster at writing them up.

    There are So many products out there, I’m going to cover them all.

    While doing my research I found a conduit site
    ranked in the top 10 for a product, they had no pagerank or backlinks that I could see.

  • 36 Cynthia Alexander // Sep 15, 2008 at 11:36 pm

    Hi Chris,

    This is off topic…I’m building a conduit review site, and today I got an email promoting a slightly different review style site from yours (using Wordpress). Any thoughts on Neil Harvey’s “Reviews Press” that allows real people to leave reviews? Is it better to have people come to leave a review (I’ve seen some review sites by Guru’s that only have a few reviews) or to find the reviews on your own?

  • 37 Alex Miller // Sep 18, 2008 at 9:49 am

    Hey Chris,

    Was just wondering when you planned to release your next product?

    I only ask because I want to reserve some time to go through it all and use the info!

    Thanks!
    Alex

  • 38 Mirko // Sep 23, 2008 at 4:11 am

    Hi,
    I am looking forward to your new report. I just started a clickbank product on my own. I have never done this before and so I think the layout is important.So, I hope your new report will come as soon as possible.

    Till then
    Mirko

  • 39 Nick // Sep 27, 2008 at 9:26 am

    When will you come out with this, Chris :)? You are leaving us hanging with anticipation here, my man :)

  • 40 Best Skin Products // Sep 28, 2008 at 9:27 pm

    You stuff is by FAR the best stuff I’ve ever bought. Straight to the point….it’s all the real deal…thank you

  • 41 admin // Sep 29, 2008 at 4:50 am

    Hi guys,

    My sincere apologies on the ridiculous wait.

    Long story short, the release was pushed back due to a staffing issue (for a different project, but one that took a lot of my time to resolve) - and when I went back to finish up the report after the dust had settled, I realized there was a lot that I’d “missed” when I first wrote it up.

    So I’ve added what I consider to be some crucial foundational information into the testing report as well - so that even people who might not have a background in copywriting will be able to understand and APPLY the testing functions.

    It *will* be worth the wait…

    Projected release is either Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning…

    Thanks so much for your patience

    -Chris

  • 42 The Magic Of Testing // Sep 30, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    Hey Chris!

    Saw you released this today. Looking forward to reading it.

    Jonathan

  • 43 Angela // Oct 3, 2008 at 9:41 pm

    Hi Chris,

    Would you say to stick with the same layout as you gave as the registry example? Would this layout scream “hype” or “sales”? What has been the best layout for conduit sites?

    THanks
    Angela

  • 44 Cinjon // Oct 11, 2008 at 3:04 pm

    Hi Chris:

    Older subject - beyond the requirements in the report, do you recommend any additional plug-ins for the WP conduit. I know there are 1000’s, but any that really stick out? Thanks!

  • 45 Get Your Ex Back // Oct 13, 2008 at 9:02 am

    Hi Chris,

    I’ve been getting around 50 visitors a day to an adwords redirect, and each week i only have one sale.. do people not like redirects? how can i increase the conversion rate of this?

    Thanks
    James

  • 46 Jeremy Hier // Oct 19, 2008 at 9:50 am

    Hi Chris,

    My conduit site is starting to see some high rankings for long tail product-centric keywords, but people are not clicking through the serps to my site according to Google webmaster tools.

    My title tag says, product name, facts, user feedback, comments, complaints

    my description says

    What is the product name, does it really work, is it a scam, who created it, how much money can you make

    appreciate your opinion,

    thanks.

  • 47 Angela // Oct 20, 2008 at 6:29 am

    Hi CHris,

    I know you mentioned before that you like to use html sites better than blogs for conduit sites. Personally, I can build html sites better but I keep hearing people say about the benefits of wp blogs and how it is easier to rank. So I tried to build wp blogs.. haven’t been able to complete 1 single site.

    In your opinion, do you still suggest going the html route ? Also, do you still stand by the same type of layout you gave in your registry cleaner example?
    THanks

  • 48 Jeremy Hier // Oct 20, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    Hey Chris,

    update, got my 1st sale on my conduit site,

    very cool :)

    still hope you comment on post 46

    thanks.

  • 49 Neo // Oct 23, 2008 at 12:16 am

    Chirs,
    I got your email recommending Ewen Chia’s free traffic system. I have a number of Ewen Chias past products and from my experience most of his products have the same old information packed nicely. If I have to choose between Lazy Marketer and Ewen Chia’s (past)products, I will chose Lazy Marketer on any day.
    So, is there really any information in the Ewen’s Free Traffic system ebook which you haven’t covered in your products?

  • 50 admin // Oct 23, 2008 at 1:43 pm

    Hi Neo,

    Ewen’s free traffic course actually is quite comprehensive and step-by-step.

    Since I had no intention of ever creating a sort of “encyclopedia” of how to get free traffic (I focus and like to teach specific methods), and since generating traffic is definitely a real struggle for many on my list, I felt it was a good fit for a fair price.

    $27 for a 120+ page guide that covers 28 different free traffic strategies is well worth it for someone who can barely see 10 visitors a day (and there’s a lot of people who are lucky to even see that).

    I don’t have any of Ewen’s other products or courses, but I bought this myself first without the intention of promotion.

    (I sometimes just buy stuff to see if there’s one or two things I can use or apply).

    The day I bought it I incidentally got about 5 support emails coming in from people who were frustrated because they had no traffic.

    So I decided to closely evaluate other promotions as well, and Ewen’s was the best overall guide that a newbie could follow and actually understand and see results with.

    SEO and search placement is easy enough once you get the hang of it, but many people don’t realize that you can generate instant traffic, freely, by doing things like posting relevant YouTube videos, commenting on popular blogs, and so on.

    These are also topics that I feel are quite basic and I don’t want to go down the “newbie teacher” route entirely.

    Thanks!

    -Chris

  • 51 Neo // Oct 24, 2008 at 7:24 am

    Chris,
    Thanks a lot for the detailed reply.
    I am not a newbie at seo and basic traffic generation methods. However list building is something I haven’t tried yet.
    I would rather wait for your “Google Proof Business Report” from your vip collections which I guess will cover list building and related stuff.
    Regards,
    -Neo

Leave a Comment