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Affiliate Playbook 2012 Edition Part I

Jeremy Palmer is a veteran when it comes to speaking at internet marketing conferences. He is a vocal supporter and advocate for the performance marketing industry. Jeremy’s e-books, webinars, affiliate playbook,  and videos have been watched by thousands of affiliates.

In his session, Affiliate Playbook 2012 Edition, Jeremy discussed 12 plays your affiliate business needs to grow and thrive in 2012. These 12 plays will give you an unfair traffic advantage, skyrocket your conversions, and leave your competition in the dust – Could you ask for anything more?

“So much has changed in the industry,” Jeremy said. “It used to be a lot easier to succeed, with little competition and relaxed policies for affiliates. Everything is more competitive today. You have to adapt, you can’t just throw in the towel.” That’s where Jeremy’s playbook comes into play.

1)      Video

Back in 2006, there were dozens of video sharing sites, some are still around today, but at the end of the day, it’s the 95/5% rule. Meaning, 95% of traffic comes from YouTube. Therefore, you should focus on this medium. Jeremy said to look at the video in the same way you would look at free SEO submission sites – focus on one, not 358. Yet another reason to focus on YouTube is: it’s a bigger search engine in regards to queries than both Yahoo and Bing.

How do you take advantage of YouTube? First, you should be prepared to do as much with video as you do with the content on your site. You should create as many videos as you have pages on your site because these videos can rank just like pages. You should also optimize these videos just like you would optimize your content for certain keywords. Plus, these videos can drive even more traffic than your pages can. For example, if you’re a newbie, you can simply spin your written content into a video or if you’re experiencing, you can shoot a product review.

The other benefit to video is linking back to your original content from YouTube. A call-to-action in a video is very strong. This is something that is not always realized by users. It’s important to utilize video because it’s fairly easy to rank them in the SERPs for competitive terms.

Here’s a slick trick – post video responses to other videos on YouTube that already have heavy traffic. Jeremy did this with Michael Phelps’ video for Rosetta Stone. By posting on an already heavily popular video, Jeremy was able to bring much more traffic to his site by linking back to it.

It’s important to watermark your videos with either your URL or a call-to-action in the footer of the video. That way, if it gets ripped from YouTube, you still get credit for it. You should also add annotations, links, and calls-to-action to your videos at key moments.

 2)      Pic Plays

Images have blown up. We can see a real-world example of this in the recent acquisition of Instagram by Facebook for $1billion. One of the cool things about images (just like video) is that Google tends to show images at the top of the SERPs. Images are the most shared Facebook status updates. The reason is that you can instantly visualize and relate to an image.

How can you take advantage of images? First, you need to look at what kinds of the image you are using. If you only use stock photos, make it more interesting and sharable by customizing it with content. If you’re not comfortable using tools like Photoshop to customize your images, you can use websites like Fiverr.com. Here, you can upload images and pay an individual $5 to customize it for you. This way, you can make your photo share-worthy. Don’t forget to watermark your images with your URL.

How do you get traffic from these sites by being social? Specifically, you can use Pinterest to build a following (just like Facebook). If your merchant has a product data feed, you can add these photos to your Pinterest. If you have infographics, pin them and link back to your site.

3)      Paid Plays

PPC isn’t dead. But, it’s also changed a lot, just like affiliate marketing.

How you can take advantage of PPC?

Ad extensions in Google Ad words allow you to add your address, phone number, and other specifics about your local merchants. It’s also a great way to increase your CTR for local merchants. Think about adding these ad extensions when creating your ads to make them more click-worthy. If you do decide to go with PPC, build a customer relationship by sending them to your page first, instead of passing them along to the merchant immediately. This will bring you a lot more value in the long run.

4)      Email Plays

“Email is not very sexy, but it’s the number one activity on the internet,” Jeremy said. An email subscriber is more valuable than a social media subscriber because it’s more personal and they can’t as easily hide from you! You can also utilize multiple calls-to-action through email lists. You want these email subscribers to eventually become your customers.

How do you improve your opt-in rate? Keep it simple by using a two filled opt-in form (name and email address). You need to capture the visitor’s attention, so use a killer headline on your opt-in form. For example, “Sign up for own newsletter for exclusive deals and promotions. It’s important to give them a reason to subscribe. It’s equally as important to give them a reason to keep reading. You can do this by delivering incredible value in your newsletter. Lastly, always use a reputable email provider.

5)      Mobile Plays

Mobile represents a huge opportunity for affiliates in 2012. First, you need to have a website that is optimized for mobile traffic. You can easily do this using a WordPress plugin to build a custom theme for mobile use. Mobile traffic is continually increasing in most niches, so it’s important to optimize your site for mobile traffic.

Mobile is social in nature, so include links to make sharing content easy. Make sure you put your phone number on your mobile site – This is a very easy call to action! It’s not only important for you to optimize your site for the mobile experience; your merchants need to as well.

6)      Q&A Plays

Why do you want to do a Q&A site? These communities can be very active and can create a lot of traffic.

How do you take advantage of Q&A sites? First, think about how you can be helpful and build relationships. You’re not there to simply spam the site. One thing you can use the site for is to link back to your site. But, only do this if there’s a way to insert your content without sounding spammy. For example, you can answer their question with a natural response.

It’s very important to be timely with Q&A topics. Set up notifications for certain keywords or you can go to the site a couple of times a day to make sure you’re at the top of any relevant discussions.

Most forum sites allow you to create an avatar for your profile. It is important to brand your avatar. For example, you can include your brand name or your logo with your avatar image.

For plays 7-12, read our synopsis of Jeremy’s presentation. You can also view his slides by clicking this affiliate playbook link.

 

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