Marketing
is very important, of course. Unless your website fulfills some form of
marketing role, you will struggle to make any income from it. However,
the internet's primary function is to provide information even when
someone is looking to buy an item.
Consider the following example:
I need to buy a new freezer.
I have a particular make, lets call it ‘Freezo’, but no particular
model in mind. I enter ‘freezo freezer’ into an internet search and
notice that a price comparison site appears in the top three results. I
decide to select this price comparison site, even although a higher
entry also met my search criteria. Why did I do this? The answer: I
want information. Yes, I want to buy a freezer but I first want to know
which freezer seems best for me; find out where it is sold most cheaply
and check out the reputation of the seller to ensure a trustworthy
transaction. The website will earn a commission if I purchase through
their link, but the reason I am there is for information.
Note that marketing is going on as part of this process. I am presented
with marketing information about different freezers. This information
relates to their unique selling points and the aim is to draw me in and
make me more likely to buy. But I'm there because I need information
about freezers.
Affiliates often make the mistake of being over-directive in
their
presentation of information. They resort to unsophositicated marketing
cliches or hyperbole. Such 'heavy sell' telegraphs your marketing bias
openly and will easily turn off the majority of consumers. So leave the
choice to the consumer, do not 'heavvy sell' and dress up your
marketing propaganda as useful information to help the consumer decide.
To find out more about this balance between marketing and information
and a lot more besides, you can consult our ebook, Successful Affiliates Guide,
which is a full length and definitive guide to affiliate marketing.
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