I think that in order to really get anywhere with affiliate and internet marketing your efforts really need to come from the heart. I had a sort of Ah Ha moment this week when I looked at my Squidoo stats. I had made yet another sale on one of my lenses – How to Fix Hardwood Floor Scratches.
Products to Believe In
The product in question is only a few dollars, and I honestly believe that my life wouldn’t be the same if I hadn’t found it. In fact, the day that I found it, I repaired a stressful scratch and no one was the wiser. It took seconds. I really couldn’t live without this product and I think that everyone who has a wood floor should buy it.
You see what I mean? I could sing this product’s praises the whole day if I needed to. And the thing is, I’m genuine about my praise. I really, really love it. And it’s such a simple product. How can something so simple and so inexpensive work this great?
Blink.
It’s Natural to Talk About Products You Like
Anyway, I learned from that lens that it helps – no it’s essential – to really believe in the products you talk about. That’s exactly what I do here. I just share what works for me and what doesn’t. If I think something is a waste of time or money, I won’t even mention it.
You’ll notice that I took mostly everything off the sidebar here at this blog. The sidebar space will now be reserved for “mini-reviews” and “product showcases”. In other words, I want to make it clear to all of you which things out there are actually helpful.
I’ve spoken before about how much money I’ve spent on these products. I would LOVE to save you the trouble. And I’m not only talking about paid products, but free ones as well.
Introduction to Heart Marketing
In a recent post, Michele Tune at Healing with Juices talked about her recent partnership with OpenSky and how she can put products on there that she really believes in. I’ve decided to call that idea Heart Marketing and I’m developing a little challenge for all of us that goes along with it. I’ll share that with you in a few days once I finalize the details.
I remember once I tried to pitch a product that I hadn’t tried. The payouts were very good. I wrote a review where I just sort of highlighted the product information and not surprisingly, I didn’t sell one copy of it. Some marketers may be good at this – but for some reason I am not. I stand behind what I mention.
Stay tuned for that challenge – I’m really excited about it!
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Very good point, I have had similar results. It just seems to show through when you’re writing about something you truly believe in. Good idea about your sidebar too, I am going to try and clean mine up like that as well.
Ruth – Web Career Girl´s last blog ..Away for the Week
Yes, I think the clutter really hurts the blog experience – but I’ve read plenty of blogs and enjoyed them (and keep returning) that have more going on so it may just be personal preference.
Thanks for the mention, Katherine!
I ? your marketing business name!!!
Great job!
Hugs,
Michele
Michele | aka Raw Juice Girl´s last blog ..Glass Dharma Giveaway
Thanks Michele! I wish the heart ended up working in the post – I see a question mark. I love those glass dharma things by the way.
You’re welcome!
LOL – Everytime you email me a smiley, all I see is a J. I always forget about these things.
LOL – that happens all the time! They should standardize it. My mom says that when I email the smileys, all she sees is “a smudge”.
Aw!
Yes, they should standardize it – that’d make life a lot easier.
LOL – guess that’ll work
I know! And it eliminates the embarrassment (sp).
I want my mom to see the smileys, not smudges!
I love the name, “Heart Marketing”. When I decide which ads to put on WRA I’m focused on the things I have personally used and recommend. I’ve even recommended affiliate programs to companies I’ve found myself raving about. I love the win/win feel of being able to recommend great products and get a cut for the recommendation.
As a consumer, I prefer coming across mini-reviews along with the ads. I love it when fellow Web users tell me WHY I’ll love a product rather than just what a product does. But I also like to get all the facts up front. There are things that I’ve considered buying and then didn’t for some minor reason (like not having an idea how many pages an eBook had). Those sorts of things are rarely on the pitch pages many affiliate sales companies put together. I hate that hard sell feel to those kinds of pages.
It’s amazing what a difference it makes to have an honest consumer pitching a product just because they love it and think others should be using it too. I think people who gain their income online should always consider using an affiliate link when they name drop. You’re dropping the name anyway, why shouldn’t you a) make it easy for the people you’re telling about it to find it and b) get a cut if they decide to buy.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith´s last blog ..Kat O’Reilly On Writing Romance
Exactly Rebecca! I feel like, I don’t mind sharing with someone what I think the best lipstick ever is (Chanel Rouge Noir European color) so why not do the same for online products that I’ve used and loved, and possibly make a commission to boot?
How many times have I suggest a restaurant to a friend, sung the praises of a recipe I tried, tried to convince people to see the new movie I loved, and told someone what my favorite store in the mall is? People say, hmm I’ll need to check it out. It makes sense to me if online marketing is this personal.
You gave a nice description of the elements of a good review. I’m going to refer to it next time I write one to make sure I included all the important elements.
Katherine´s last blog ..Heart Marketing – Keep Integrity in your Business
I love the idea of heart marketing. And I agree with you…it’s no fun and not effective for me to market something I’m not sold on.
Julie @ Write for eHow´s last blog ..The Xomba Experiment: Backlinks and Earnings