Attracting Good Affiliates

By Jerry Lunsford

Good affiliates can be hard to get. There could be any number of reasons for this, but I am going to focus on what I believe is the one major problem that prevents someone from attracting good affiliates. But first lets look at what the make up of a good affiliate may be. A good affiliate is:

Hard Working
Persistent
Motivated to work their business
Does not need constant reassurance
Makes and implements goals
Overcomes obstacles
Recognizes and takes good advice
And Never, Never, Never quits!

The question some may ask is, "Where are these people at?" I'll tell you. Most of these people are already successful with their own affiliate program. And they are successful for the very reasons listed above. Also, they did not fall prey to the very problem that many searching for good affiliates are causing themselves. And that is advertising hype. They overlooked that and went into the marketing program with a desire to succeed, understanding that it is going to require work and time to be successful. Unfortunately though many are for the first time looking for a home business and don't know what internet marketing is all about. They are vulnerable to all the hype infested ads out there.

Now. If a person signs up for an affiliate program with none of the traits listed above for a good affiliate can they indeed be a good affiliate? Yes! But it will be an uphill battle helping them to develop some of the above traits. Even though it would be hard it is still worth it to work with them in hopes they will become the perfect affiliate. Who knows.They may become your best affiliate yet! But I want to focus on getting the good affiliates from the start. Why?

My logic is this. I would rather have one good affiliate that is a real go-getter then ten thousand that do nothing or very little at all. That way you have more time to focus on your own business then spending a lot of time babysitting someone who will probably eventually give up. The best route to go is to get affiliates who are already conditioned. Well just how do we do that? There is only one way to do that and that is how your opportunity is presented to prospects.

Most all advertising someone does is loaded with hype. Whether it is their search engine description, classified ads, or email. This is what prevents marketers from getting good affiliates. If possible you must remove all the hype from your advertising and sales letter. Now I know that some of us work an affiliate program owned by someone else. And you may be required to use the advertising and sales letter that they give you. But if possible use the ones that have the least amount of hype. What do I mean by hype!

Hype is where you describe something to the greatest, allowable, extreme possibility. Such as but not limited to the following:

Make a MILLION DOLLARS every time you breathe by just posting a website!!!!!
Earn $15,000 a day by reading emails!!!
Buy my ebook, "125,000 Ways To Get Rich Marketing Salt!"

Now I know these are exaggerations but the point is that while on paper you may be able to prove your claims, most do see these types of ads as exaggerations of the truth. Besides that these ads will not get you those good affiliates your are seeking. What these type of ads will get you are:

Curiosity seekers
Gullible People
Get Rich Quick Hopefuls

If you portray your business as a get rich quick scheme, then that is what you will get. People looking to get rich quick. Not exactly my idea of a good affiliate. Why? Because each person who fits into any of the above groups has their own reason for signing up none of which is to run a business. Most individuals like this sign up and do little if anything. When they realize that they're not going to get a free lunch most will opt out in a day or two. Those who remain will just ignore your emails. By the way. How would you like to go to a job interview and be told you will make $20.00 an hour. You work for 2 weeks only to find out that you have to work for the company 10 years before receiving that amount per hour. You would probably walk out the door feeling you were deceived. That is exactly what happens to people who answer ads loaded with hype. They feel as though they were deceived. .

Not only that but it can be costly to run an ad campaign that uses hype. Think of Pay Per Click advertising. Your are spending money on the clicks of those who are not interested in running a business. I would rather get one hit to my website a day from someone who will do what it takes to succeed then a million hits from people who want to get rich by the end of the day.

Rather have an ad campaign that focuses on what the average person can expect. Most people are in this category. An average person. So target your advertising as if everyone who reads it already understands the ins and outs of internet marketing. Portray your opportunity as one that will take years to reach it's full potential. Be honest and up front. Then you will get people signing up who are ready to build a business up over time. Remember. Get Rid Of The Hype. If the average person won't make $15,000 dollars a month then don't say they will. If the average person will probably make $1,000 a month then say that. What's wrong with making a $1,000 more a month then they had before. If you have been able to quit your job because of your affiliate program, prove it. If you can't offer up some type of proof, (copies of checks, real testimonials, etc...) then just keep it to yourself.

The point being made is this. Most people are already aware of the saying, "If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is." There are exceptions to this rule but for the most part it is a true statement. Now if you follow the advice given above you will probably see a significant drop in your website traffic. And also a drop in the amount of affiliates you are getting. But like I and so many others say. "It's not the quantity of the affiliates you are getting but the quality of the affiliates you get."

Leave the hype to those who want to brag about the amount of website traffic and affiliate sign ups they are getting. I'll take a big fat check over hype any time.