Affiliate Marketing Bribery
You’ve seen it many times…people offering outrageous and huge bonuses for buying products through a person’s affiliate link. It often happens with big ticket Internet marketing information products, software, etc.
Heck, you’ve even seen me bribe people to buy through my link. ;)
I’m wondering what you think about this kind of “bribery”…or if you even consider it bribery. I’ve seen people speculate that affiliates do this on high-ticket items because they wouldn’t sell otherwise. They say the products are over-priced, so affiliates have to offer the extras so they will sell.
This may be true in some cases, but I don’t promote big ticket items that are crap and won’t sell on their own. In fact, I have been promoting a $997 product you may have heard of and for 7 months I didn’t offer any bonuses because I knew the product didn’t need any extra “bribes” for it to be worthwhile. That product was Traffic Secrets and according to John Reese, for a number of those months, I was one of his top affiliates selling the product during that time.
So, why do affiliates “bribe”?
Well, I can’t speak for all affiliates…but one big reason is that the market is competitive and they need to give incentive to buy through their link, instead of somebody else’s. It’s just smart marketing.
But I’ve seen people go overboard with this, in my humble opinion. People create “bonus packages” that are valued at a cajillion dollars and contain a bunch of products that aren’t really related to the affiliate product being promoted.
All I can say is why I do bonuses and how I approach them…it has worked very well for me, so feel free to use these ideas for your own affiliate marketing.
I decided to join the “bribery” bandwagon because I figured I had something to offer people who bought these products. Over the past few years, I have learned that quality information products and software can dramatically cut my learning curve and help me make a lot more money. In the case of Traffic Secrets, I was able to take my business from earning 4-figures per month to breaking the 5-figure monthly barrier with a vengeance. Now, if I could do that, I could certainly help others try to achieve the same goals…so I created a special Traffic Secrets Offer.
If you look at that offer, you’ll notice that the bonuses I offer are DIRECTLY related to the products itself and they are completely unique to people who buy the product. They can’t buy the product anywhere else, giving them more incentive to buy the product with me.
But more than that, I constantly follow-up with my referrals on products like this. Not only do I continue to provide more marketing information to them…I’m also one of their biggest cheerleaders and keep them pushing forward.
I know what it’s like when you purchase an expensive course for the first time. You’re excited at first and then suddenly, you think – “What have I done? Was that a mistake?” I’ve also had a number of my referrals experience this and they’ve told me that my encouragement and help has kept them going.
So, for me…giving the bonuses offers a competitive edge, but it also adds value to the already great product. This coming Tuesday, you’ll see Jason Potash launching his Article Announcer software/course and you’re going to be bombarded with emails and special offers. Check out the offers and see what people do to encourage you to buy through their link. Some of the offers are going to suck, but some will be quite compelling. Learn from those.
And yeah…if you’re on my mailing list (and I hope you are – the sign up box is on the top right of this page), I’m going to email you on Tuesday too. Jason has created an amazing product and I believe would be a disservice if I didn’t tell you about it. Whether you buy it or not, check out my “value-added-cheerleader” offer (it will be ready Tuesday morning) and see how you can incorporate some of these ideas into your own marketing.
So, whatcha think? Is it bribery or just smart marketing? Can you use this for your business too?
Heck, you’ve even seen me bribe people to buy through my link. ;)
I’m wondering what you think about this kind of “bribery”…or if you even consider it bribery. I’ve seen people speculate that affiliates do this on high-ticket items because they wouldn’t sell otherwise. They say the products are over-priced, so affiliates have to offer the extras so they will sell.
This may be true in some cases, but I don’t promote big ticket items that are crap and won’t sell on their own. In fact, I have been promoting a $997 product you may have heard of and for 7 months I didn’t offer any bonuses because I knew the product didn’t need any extra “bribes” for it to be worthwhile. That product was Traffic Secrets and according to John Reese, for a number of those months, I was one of his top affiliates selling the product during that time.
So, why do affiliates “bribe”?
Well, I can’t speak for all affiliates…but one big reason is that the market is competitive and they need to give incentive to buy through their link, instead of somebody else’s. It’s just smart marketing.
But I’ve seen people go overboard with this, in my humble opinion. People create “bonus packages” that are valued at a cajillion dollars and contain a bunch of products that aren’t really related to the affiliate product being promoted.
All I can say is why I do bonuses and how I approach them…it has worked very well for me, so feel free to use these ideas for your own affiliate marketing.
I decided to join the “bribery” bandwagon because I figured I had something to offer people who bought these products. Over the past few years, I have learned that quality information products and software can dramatically cut my learning curve and help me make a lot more money. In the case of Traffic Secrets, I was able to take my business from earning 4-figures per month to breaking the 5-figure monthly barrier with a vengeance. Now, if I could do that, I could certainly help others try to achieve the same goals…so I created a special Traffic Secrets Offer.
If you look at that offer, you’ll notice that the bonuses I offer are DIRECTLY related to the products itself and they are completely unique to people who buy the product. They can’t buy the product anywhere else, giving them more incentive to buy the product with me.
But more than that, I constantly follow-up with my referrals on products like this. Not only do I continue to provide more marketing information to them…I’m also one of their biggest cheerleaders and keep them pushing forward.
I know what it’s like when you purchase an expensive course for the first time. You’re excited at first and then suddenly, you think – “What have I done? Was that a mistake?” I’ve also had a number of my referrals experience this and they’ve told me that my encouragement and help has kept them going.
So, for me…giving the bonuses offers a competitive edge, but it also adds value to the already great product. This coming Tuesday, you’ll see Jason Potash launching his Article Announcer software/course and you’re going to be bombarded with emails and special offers. Check out the offers and see what people do to encourage you to buy through their link. Some of the offers are going to suck, but some will be quite compelling. Learn from those.
And yeah…if you’re on my mailing list (and I hope you are – the sign up box is on the top right of this page), I’m going to email you on Tuesday too. Jason has created an amazing product and I believe would be a disservice if I didn’t tell you about it. Whether you buy it or not, check out my “value-added-cheerleader” offer (it will be ready Tuesday morning) and see how you can incorporate some of these ideas into your own marketing.
So, whatcha think? Is it bribery or just smart marketing? Can you use this for your business too?
8 Comments:
Hi Alice,
IMHO, it's just smart marketing. How the heck else are you going to differentiate yourself from the ocean of affiliates? ESPECIALLY on the big ticket items where so many other are trying to get the big commissions? Yes, the value may be there already, but adding value can never hurt.
And yes indeed, the value you add with your own bonuses needs to be directly related to the product! Three cheers for you on that one, Alice.
But most importantly for one's own marketing purposes is the follow-up angle, which as Derrick points out, you do so well! :-) But remember, some of those folks may not already be your customers per se, so they are newbies to your list. You have to build a relationship with them, eh? And then you can market to them again. All just smart marketing. If there's any bribery involved, it's certainly "ethical bribery"!
Best,
Bruce (your big fan)
Thanks for the great comments guys...but Bruce, I have to ask...did you say, "eh"? Do you think you're Canadian or something? :-)
"Ethical bribery" - very good!
Ha! Did I say "eh"? Must be my northern Minnesota heritage coming through. I used to get asked all the time if I was Canadian, but living in northern Europe all these years has internationalized my accent I guess. Makes sense, eh? :-)
Bruce of the North
Great comments, Cassie. BTW -- I am Canadian (in case you don't know...so I wasn't picking on anyone). I say "eh" all the time. :-)
I say "eh" and I'm from Missouri --- so figure that one out ;)
But, on a more serious note, I wanted to say that I am only impressed by extras that are unique and I can't find elsewhere and/or are directly related to what I’m buying.
I've bought products from you, in which I get extra's, and I'm always impressed by them. I also enjoy that you follow up with me as I learn so much from you!
Whatever you want to call it, I enjoy when affiliates bribe me :) As long as the bribe is targeted to what I’m buying and really good quality.
I would not call it bribery. Though, you have to watch offering to split the commission on the sales. Companies like Amazon.com will drop you if you have any suggestion of splitting commissions with people that purchase through your affiliate link. Also, they forbid the purchasing of merchandise through your own affiliate link. They say their profit margin is to low for them to allow it. I have a very interesting e-mail from them if you are interested.
I had several lengthy e-mails with them over their concern with me splitting profits with my blog advertisers. It took Amazon a while for them to realize that our blog advertiser’s focus was not on making money on our own purchase, but rather we were all profiting through shoppers that find our site through MSN, google, and yahoo.
Alice, I wish I had bought Traffic Secrets through your link and gotten the "bribe". As it happened, I just went straight to John's site and bought. Oops!
I'll say this though: I have read lots of your stuff, am subscribed to your list, and I think you've given tons of value. In a day and age where most of what comes into my inbox is negligible in value, I always pay attention to what I get from you.
Hi Alice,
From someone who has used these "ethical bribes" in the past, let me say that they do work, and here's why:
Most of the top affiliates that get approached for these big J.V.'s have big lists, but, because they have big lists, chances are that a lot of of the people on their list are also on the other top affiliate's lists as well, do you follow? Good...
Therefore, it's crucial to differentiate yourself from the crowd and giving the customer an extra nudge to buy from you, as oppose to buying from someone else's link.
During some of these promotions I've had people email me saying that they bought the course from my link because they compared my bonuses to the other affiliate's bonuses and felt my bonuses were either worth more, or helped them out more in one way or another.
Keep in mind that the customer is looking to get the most for their hard earned buck, and these addded bonuses help make their buying decision a whole lot easier.
Like you mentioned though, it's crucial to make these bonuses as targetted as the offer so it compliments the course they're buying, and helps the customer get the most out of their purchase.
~Carlos Garcia
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