In my last post, I talked about the "hook" you use in your email being even more important that the story you tell in it. As I am getting more involved in my ListNerds account, I am seeing more and more things people do in their affiliate marketing emails that are causing more harm than good. Let's be real for a minute...would you want to join a program with a sponsor like you?
Let's face it, most affiliate marketers are only out for a quick buck...the less work the better. They cut and paste canned marketing emails that contain links to the same page that thousands of other people are promoting. Their main focus is, "Where else can I advertise my program for the least amount of money". The reason I know all this is because I've been there. That is exactly the mindset I was living in when I first began dipping my toe in the online marketing pond.
I would join free programs. I would advertise them on free marketing sites. I would spend hours clicking links in mailer emails that I did not read and traffic exchanges that I spent more time watching the countdown timer than the page being advertised. I was just trying to earn enough credits the send out that next free advertisement to all of the other shmucks that were doing the exact same thing. And you know what? Once in a blue moon, I would get someone to sign up using my affiliate link. And then you know what I did? I patted myself on the back and kept doing the same thing I had done to try to get more. Did I try to reach out and help my new recruit? HECK, NO! There are tutorials on the site. They can learn the hard way, just like I did.
So what makes a really good sponsor? It's someone that you know. It's someone you like. It's someone you trust. It's someone who will mentor you and teach you what works and what doesn't. It's someone who will help you grow your business because they know that if you succeed, they will succeed. It's someone that will not only teach you how to fish, but bait your hook for you until you figure it out. It's someone that will not only train you to be a good marketer, but also train you how to train others to be good marketers. So...soul searching time. Is that YOU?
This whole topic came up for me a couple of days ago when I read an email (in ListNerds, where else) from Jon Olson (from ClickTrackProfit) that pointed to this post about the things new people on Hive should expect as they start their blockchain adventure. Maybe, instead of spending all of your time clicking links and sending ads, you should think about following someone like that who thinks about teaching you the right way to do things without getting anything in return.
The moral of this story is, be the person you want to follow. And if you don't know how, find someone that can show you the ropes who cares about your success as much as they do their own.