Time to to discuss the last piece of the puzzle… how to generate sales or commissions, without undoing all the good work you’ve done.

The good news is, if you have done the work, your audience will actually be quite happy to hear what you’ve got.

And as long as it’s relevant, most people will be quite receptive to your offers.

The key is to continue as you’ve started: add real value for your readers and be totally authentic when you present any offer. Here’s a few examples that might make it clearer for you…

1. Keep it Relevant

This should be common-sense… if you’ve been talking about Facebook Marketing for a few emails, find a product that will help your readers with their Facebook Marketing.

When you send that offer, make sure you can frame it as helping with one or more of the problems you’ve just been discussing.

When you do this, not everyone will be interested, but the majority will view your offer as just a logical continuation of the conversation.

Whatever you do, don’t just send random stuff… especially if you have had any sort of conversational thread going.

A random offer will jolt the reader out of it and they’ll immediately lump you in with the promote-anything marketers who constantly send them whatever just launched on JVZoo this week.

2. If At All Possible… Try It First!

I kind of feel this should be a given, but very few affiliates ever do it.

Instead they take a quick look over the sales page, grab the swipe emails, drop them in the autoresponder… and move on.

Maybe that works for some in a mass-market kind of way, but I prefer quality over quantity, so I tend to mostly promote stuff I use myself and genuinely like!

Crazy approach I know!

But remember, your readers are most likely getting bombarded with the same swipe emails from dozens of affiliates, over and over, for every new launch.

These are emails specifically crafted to persuade the reader to visit the website and to make a purchase.

If you can craft an email that actually helps the reader…

An email that informs the reader about the pros and cons of the product…

Gives them some original ideas on how they can put it to use…

Helps them decide if it’s actually going to be a good purchase for them…

You will stand out!

And in time many of your readers will actually wait for your email before they check out the offer!

Because you’re providing genuine value while the rest are just chasing a quick sale!

The thing is, if I buy something myself and I genuinely like it, I might send it to my live-lists and make some quick commissions…

But I also know I’ll make far more if I invest a little more effort to promote it permanently…

• • I’ll add it to relevant autoresponder series
  • I’ll write a review or blog about it
  • I’ll incorporate it into training packages
  • Add it to various resource lists I distribute
  • Include banners and spash-pages in my rotators

I’ll usually link any emails or banners etc, back to my review page, so I’m always providing useful information and adding real value, long BEFORE I send anyone to a sales page!

So the launch-chasers might flog it hard for a couple of days and make a few bucks, but after that they have to wait for the next launch and start all over again.

…. While I’ve got an asset in place working for me long-term, totally hands-free.

3. Prepare Your Reader For What to Expect

There’s few things more jarring than getting an email about some amazing new product that’s going to do all you ever wanted, and you get all excited and decide to check it out…

And land on a crappy website with a cheap video and almost illegible sales letter…

The thing is, it might be a great product that does everything as promised, but you’re unlikely to ever go far enough find out, because the offer didn’t live up to the email.

It’s also going to leave the reader wondering why you’d promote something like this to them… wondering whether you even bothered to check the website before sending…

Whether you’re just another promote-anything marketer who’ll say and do anything for the sale?

So it’s important that you are totally transparent about what your readers should expect. Good or bad.

No nasty surprises for sure, but it doesn’t hurt to hint at some good stuff when you can… a little curiosity goes a long way to getting a click!

I particularly liked the second case-study video half way down the page. I never would have thought of doing that and I can really see it working on my xyz website…

This is even more valuable for your reader if you buy the product yourself…

• • Was delivery fast and easy?
  • Were there loads of OTOs and upsells?
  • Were there any you thought worth buying?
  • Has the product lived up to the pitch?
  • Any unadvertised bonuses you can hint at?

This sort of information is a major value-add for most people. We’re all hit with so many offers, having a trusted source who actually gives it to you straight is priceless!

4. Never Ever Ever Use Email Swipes!

You need to be original… and sending out the same swipe emails that 100 other people are using, will lump you in with all the other promote anything marketers who don’t give a damn.

Swipes can be a good starting point if you struggle with the writing, but you MUST spend some time to re-write them in your own voice and style.

Keep checking back to the original… if you can still recognise that in your version, your readers will too… so you’re not done yet!

5. Don’t Be Creepy About Selling!

A lot of people do all the good work up to this point… then they blow it. Some just forget to ask you to go and buy it, which is a rookie mistake, but if the offer is good, you might do it anyway.

What gets a bit weird is when people try to get you to buy, while pretending they don’t care if you do or not…

This comes across as strange and even a bit creepy… because it’s just not authentic. It can also give the impression tht they don’t really believe everything they’ve just told you about how good this offer is!

Instead, you should be viewing your Call To Action as the logical conclusion to the entire process…

You’ve found a great product, you’ve done the work to check it out and put it through it’s paces…

You are convinced it’s a quality offering that can genuinely help them…

Your work has saved your readers significant time and effort…

So just ask them to use your link look it over and buy, if it’s right for them.

If they think they can use it, they will.

If they don’t, they won’t.

But no one will think any less of you for asking!

If you struggle with this, you can go back to the swipe emails and copy their Call To Action… that’s one thing those guys will usually get right!

6. Add your own value, but be classy about it!

The big strategy these days is to value-stack a whole pile of random affiliate bonuses on top of every offer.

If you buy through my link, you also get all this other stuff…

Some people will add dozens of items.. ebooks, software, videos and more… and I know I’ve bought more than a few items for the bonuses rather than the actual product.

The problem is, a lot of the same bonuses are now turning up on every offer.

Occasionally someone will add their own premium products, so I do check the offers carefully, but most times I’m disappointed.

Heck, if it’s a product I really want, I’ll go to Google and see who’s making the best bonus offer for it and buy through their link!

So it’s not the foolproof winning strategy that a lot of people will try to sell you on… especially those trying to sell you stuff to implement this approach…

You also run the very real risk of people buying just for the bonuses and then refunding… so you give away your stuff, lose your commission and you get a poor rep as an affiliate!

So the High-Volume Big Bonus approach probably has a shelf-life!

Right now there are plenty of big players with huge lists doing this and it would be tough to complete…

So I prefer the old-fashioned approach of offering Quality over Quantity…

Create your own real-value bonus, specifically for this offer…

You cannot get any more unique than that, and done properly it will be far more valuable than any long list of plr software…

Again this will take more work…

You’ll need to buy the product yourself, try it out and develop your own strategy for using it.

Once you do that… and find a strategy that works… you have something of genuine value to offer your readers…

That’s when you can start to think about what ‘extras’ would make it even easier for your readers to model your success?

• • It could be as simple as a checklist or cheatsheet?
  • Or a list of websites where you can apply the training?
  • A video screen capture of you setting it up?

Once you’ve actually used the product yourself, you can even do the value-stacking approach and be competitive… because you’ll be far more relevant than those just adding random stuff to a bonus page.

So you can look out for PLR items that genuinely fit your strategy for the product… video training packages, complementary software, relevant ebooks…

The key is to add bonuses that have real substance and relevance…

Because savvy buyers will spot the shiny objects intended to distract them into buying, and immediately go looking to see if someone else’s objects are even shinier!

7. The Ultimate Value Add Bonus

Perhaps the most effective value-adds I’ve ever used are comprehensive Case Studies…

I’ll often start recording screen-capture videos for new products, right from the start, just in case the product turns out to be really good!

Most of them seem to end up getting trashed, but when something does deliver… and I develop my own strategy for applying it… I’ll end up with a dual series of videos:

One series will document my results using the product… which is invaluable for my offer.

The other shows people how to achieve those exact same results themselves… which becomes my bonus.

That is without question, the most effective bonus format I’ve ever used for an affiliate offer!

However you choose to go at it, always remember that in this market, good, honest information is usually highly valued.

So when you provide that with absolute authenticity, your readers will appreciate your efforts…

And if they can use the item on offer, they will happily buy it through your link!

Remember Though… Not Everyone Will Be Ready To Buy

Of course everyone’s situations will be different, so many people won’t be in a position to buy stuff you offer, even if they desperately want to. So don’t get too caught up on sales numbers.

You should always encourage feedback on your offers and rate your performance on how well you’ve helped people instead…

It’s much more accurate and rewarding in the long run. And if you connect and support with those who can’t buy this time, you can be sure they’ll remember when they are ready!

Something to think about anyway!

OK, the link below is put up or shut up time…

The link below goes to a list of resources that I’ve selected to help you implement all we’ve talked about so far. Some are free, some are paid, but all are items I’ve used myself. The paid options are all tools I still use constantly.

So please do check it out now, while you’re here, and make sure you bookmark it for future reference.

Recommended List Marketing Resources

You’ll find there’s an example of my Value Add Bonuses on the very first item… so if you’re ready to dive straight in, that will give you everything you need to get set up fast.

And if you’re not quite ready… it’s still a pretty good example of what I’ve been talking about!