I love affiliate marketing. It’s all about building relations, both with the people you are marketing to and the ones whom you will be recommending. In order to connect with someone you would like to be an affiliate for, you will want to build your relationship in the right way. I have done this successfully many times now, and I can tell you that it makes a huge difference in the level of success you can achieve.
The first step is to identify someone who you respect and want to know better. I have done this with Armand Morin, Jeanette Cates, Stu McLaren, Tracy Childers, and others through my connection with Marketing University, as well as many others who are not yet a part of our group.
Join their list, if you aren’t there already, and see what type of interaction they have with their prospects. Purchase one of their products that is in alignment with what you want and need to learn, and what you would like to recommend to others in the future. Observe each step of the process as you move from prospect to customer with them.
At some point you will want to begin interacting with them, but make sure it is on their terms. If they prefer to connect through a webinar or live stream, do it that way. If social media sites are the way they prefer, use Twitter or Facebook. The most important thing is to remain respectful of their privacy and way of doing business.
Offering your testimonial for one of their products you have purchased and benefitted from is a logical next step. Then you can become an affiliate and promote that product to your list of prospects.
Going through this process slowly and carefully lets this person know that you are serious about your business, and understand the appropriate way to build a relationship. This is not so different from what you would do in person with someone you wanted to get to know and do business with. The fact that you may not meet them for months or years only means that you must make the effort on the Internet through those channels of communication.
Once you have moved from prospect to client to affiliate, take another look to re-evaluate the process. If this is still someone you want to do business with, reach out to them with an email to their support desk or even a letter to them at their business address. You may want to ask them for an interview at this point. They will let you know if this is something they are interested in doing. At no point should you ever feel that they are obligated to do this, simply because you are a customer and an affiliate for them. I have found that meeting them in person at a live event will accelerate this process.
Becoming an affiliate for Armand and the others here in our Marketing University family gives you a unique opportunity to promote those who are helping you to achieve your own online goals. I encourage you to take a closer look to see if this would make sense for what you are working to achieve.
