Affiliate: how can you stand out among more experienced professionals?

If you’re already an Affiliate, you sure understand the importance of promoting the products you’ve chosen to affiliate and get the commissions you expected.

But do you know how to stand out as an Affiliate in a market that is filled with more experienced people than you?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been working as an Affiliate for a while or if you’ve just started out, the rule goes for everyone!

You need to be constantly putting an effort into doing your best so that you can stand out thus making your business successful.

Nowadays, many people are choosing to work from home to be able to work with their passions and still have some time for family and friends.

In this context, being an Affiliate that stands out makes all the difference. After all, you have the option to use your skills as a salesperson without the need to leave the comfort of your home, and that is a great option that’s been attracting more and more people. So, if you’ve decided to go through this path, it’s important to know how to set yourself apart and make people notice your distinct edge so they want to buy the products you are offering.

If you’re just starting out or if you’re not where you wanted to be, don’t panic! Today, we’ll help you with some tips to put into practice so you stand out among the more experienced professionals leaving room for you to be the Affiliate you’ve always wanted!

1. Determine what kind of Affiliate you are

The first tip to set yourself apart as an Affiliate is that you need to know the kind of Affiliate you are thus being able to dedicate yourself to what you do best, which can already be your edge. After all, thinking about strategies focused on what you do best is a lot more assertive.

There are a few different types of Affiliates but we’re focusing only on the 4 that are most common:

Authority Affiliate

This type of Affiliate is a specialist in a determined topic and knows how to use his knowledge to influence people and recommend products. Usually, the Authority Affiliate has a blog, a website, and email lists to promote and distribute the products she promotes.

Introducer Affiliate

The Introducer is the one who understands all about social media and has many followers. Therefore, she can promote products through Facebook and Twitter, for example, whichever social media she has an influence on.

Scientist Affiliate

This is the kind of person who knows everything about Internet tools. The Scientist Affiliate uses Google Ads and Facebook Ads, for example, and knows how to invest in paid media even before she gets a commission.

Representative Affiliate

Knowing how to choose products to be an Affiliate based on her friends’ and acquaintances’ likes is typical of the Representative Affiliate. She makes recommendations according to her contacts and masters the strategies of a salesperson. For this kind of Affiliate, selling online courses is very profitable, since they have a neck for sales.

After you understand what kind of Affiliate you really are, you can start thinking of strategies that will make you stand out from your competition.

2. Avoid making common mistakes

An important piece of information if you are or want to become an Affiliate is to know that Producers are the ones who authorize and analyze Affiliation requests. This means that, even if you want to sell a determined product, you may not get to do it if the Producer doesn’t want other people to promote it.

You should know that opening products for affiliation is a personal strategy from each Producer, and it is not about how effective you are. Actually, choosing for or against Affiliate marketing allows Producers to ensure a quality standard. After all, they are entitled to choosing how their products will be promoted.

However, for those products you do get to be an Affiliate, you need to pay attention to some mistakes that should be avoided. One of the ways to stand out as an Affiliate also depends on how Producers see you. You need to be trustworthy so that more Producers want you as an Affiliate.

Therefore:

• Do not share information you are not sure about. This means that you should always follow the Producer’s rules and post only what is allowed by her.
• Do not make false promises to your buyers. Always guide your offer by the Producer’s promotion page.
• Do not send many emails. Be cautious regarding your email list and only send relevant emails to people who really want to receive them.
• Do not use your social media timeline as craigslist. Offer content that adds value to people instead of just advertising.
• The Producer can’t have questions about you and your actions. Talk to him whenever a question comes up or whenever it is necessary and establish a good partnership.
• Use sales strategies to promote your Affiliate link. SPAMMING using your link is not a strategy that guarantees sales.
• Don’t sell a product you don’t know well. You need to know what you’re selling, so, if possible, buy the product and try it beforehand.
• Don’t edit the product to which you are an Affiliate. If you are not the co-Producer, you should not make any changes to it.

3. Look for unexplored niches

In the digital market, there are many different niches that are constantly sought after but this doesn’t mean that they are saturated and that you can’t choose what you like only because other people have already done so. The main reason you chose to be an Affiliate is to make a living out of your passions, therefore, invest in what you like.

But if you still don’t know where to start, we’ve already written a post that features the bestselling courses on the Internet.

You must be thinking: isn’t this topic about unexplored niches?
And you’re right! You should know that in whichever field you choose, there are unexplored loopholes. Also known as microniches, these are specificities within a larger area.

We explain:

Let’s assume you like makeup, you understand all about it and you want to work with this niche. This is subject that is “in” right now, especially after the boom of self makeup tutorials. So, if you think only in the general context, you might not be able to stand out much. However, you can still explore specificities within this area. How about selling online courses on bridal makeup, makeup for dark skin color, artistic makeup, and so on, so forth.

Can you notice that it is possible to stand out as an Affiliate among more experienced professionals in the makeup business?

This tip is useful to any area you choose. Everything you need to do is think about something more specific that people have been looking for and can’t find easily.

4. Identify market opportunities

Sometimes, we tend to choose products that are well-ranked, with high temperature, that sell easily in the market. That isn’t always a good strategy, especially if you’re starting out now. After all, it’s very likely that a product that has great success also has experienced Affiliates.

You need to find market opportunities. This means that you should try to identify online courses that don’t have the higher ranking but that are useful to solve the pains your audience has. Think about who you want to reach and look for the best solutions for these people.

You can conduct researches within your inner circle to look for what’s lacking in the market. Therefore, you can Affiliate to a product that is not so competitive and become an expert in that area.

5. Invest in Content Marketing

Have you ever noticed how people have been searching for information that leads them to possible solutions?

This is Content Marketing, used by experienced people in the digital market. When they teach their users about their product or services, they lean towards actually buying the product. This happens because it is more likely that someone chooses to buy after knowing and understanding the usage of what is being offered.

You, as an Affiliate, also need to invest your time in content marketing. To be able to stand out amidst more experienced professionals you can share your knowledge with your audience. Therefore, you show that you understand the product or service to which you are becoming an Affiliate, which makes people trust you more.

6. Create a solid base

This step has a lot to do with the previous one. This is because when you invest your time in content marketing through a blog or a channel on YouTube, for example, you get followers who will read or watch your posts and videos and these people will compose your base to offer products/services to which you are an Affiliate.

If you know how to nourish your leads with content they like, you’ll have an increasingly solid base. Besides, these people who follow you can share what you do best with other people and, therefore, you get more visibility as an Affiliate.

If you make these users look for you whenever they want to solve their problems, it means that you have a solid base and you can work them better. You’ll be able to make more assertive offers and it is likely that the number of conversions is bigger.

7. Learn how to promote

Besides sending the right emails to the right people, one way to stand out as an Affiliate is to learn how to advertise.

If you want to start without any financial investments, you can. However, if you know how to invest in paid ads, you’ll get a head start when compared to other Affiliates. And to help you not lose money with this kind of ads, we’ve written this post that might come in handy.

The truth is that, if you only have an organic strategy, you will only reach a part of the audience. To get more views, you need to know how to invest in paid ads and implement this strategy to increase your conversion rate.

8. Establish concrete goals

It’s very important to establish the goals you want to reach. Then, you will have a parameter to measure and be sure that you’re doing everything right to reach them.

It’s fundamental to measure the results of your actions to have success. After all, you can only think of action plans when you are aware of what your business has generated.

So, focus on what you’ve got to do, plan your tasks, and do everything in your power to reach the goals you’ve established. Of course, some hiccups may happen along the way but don’t beat yourself down and keep trying again and again whenever necessary.

9. Think like an entrepreneur

Finally, one way to stand out as an Affiliate is to always think like an entrepreneur.

Some people make the mistake of believing that selling online courses is just another task or even a hobby they do in their free time. However, they forget that this can be a new business they’ll work with for a long time.

That’s why, if you can change your actions to boost your results, you’ll be able to get ahead of your competition. See you Affiliation as a business: establish work hours, have an environment that helps you work, and, as it was said in the previous topic, establish goals.

Remember that positive and productive thinking always come with great results!

Hands on!

Now that you’ve got this far, you’ve seen that it is possible to stand out amidst more experienced professionals.

Competition is not always a bad thing. It means that the market, product, or service to which you are affiliating to is well-liked. The truth is that you can enter a competitive area. The secret is making the difference to have more visibility.

So, now it’s the time! Put this 9 tips to work and start getting ahead!

Would you like to learn more about the Affiliate world and get inspired to find your path to financial freedom? If so, check out our free ebook with the success stories of three Affiliates who started from scratch and managed to turn their lives around.