The
biggest mistake most beginner affiliate marketers make when promoting affiliate products is coming off too strong with their offer.
You
never want to make a
hard sell when marketing an item. Instead, you want to “pre-sell”.
By lending a helping hand first and recommending something instead of selling, you’ll gain a more receptive ear and it’ll be easier to get someone to buy something from you.
I want to talk about pre-selling, and why it’ll get you
far more sales than linking directly to an affiliate link ever could.
What Is Pre-Selling?
Pre-selling in
affiliate marketing is the process of warming someone up to a product before they view the sales page for it.
You’ve seen pre-sell pages before, but you probably never recognized what it was when you saw it. For example, here are a few
pre-sell page examples that you’ve probably seen:
- A Youtube product demonstration
- A product comparison article
- An email marketing series
Pre-sell pages work well because they increase the likelihood of making a sale. You have to get someone psychologically engaged in the idea that there’s a product out there that can help them solve their problem.
And your pre-sell page is just a big suggestion that the
affiliate product you’re recommending is the product that they need to achieve their goal.
Why Are Pre-Sell Pages Important?
I want you to imagine for a second that you are looking to buy a
portable air conditioner for your bedroom.
You start your search on Google and see all of these ads for portable air conditioners, and they all sound the same.
Then you come across a
Youtube video that has someone talking about their portable air conditioner, and demonstrating how it is used in the video.
You get to see the air conditioner’s size and power, how comfortable the Youtuber looks, and you have the
feedback and emotion from the Youtuber in the video.
Wouldn’t you be more inclined to purchase
THAT portable air conditioner from the Youtuber’s link that they have in the video?
You don’t want to get confused about different models of the product, so you’d be more inclined to click on the link in the video so that you can purchase that
EXACT SAME model that the Youtuber has.
Now little did you know that the video was just a
product review or demonstration of the air conditioner in use. It’s just another form of a pre-sell.
You
didn’t know that the Youtuber was an affiliate marketer. All you knew is that the Youtuber was helpful and that you wanted that air conditioner because it seemed like the product that you need in your home.
The tactic of pre-selling in affiliate marketing is very powerful because it
doesn’t
come off as a hard sell. Instead, it comes off as a
helpful suggestion that people can naturally get in line with.
Pre-selling in affiliate marketing has been around for a long time, but you probably have never heard of it before.
Is A Pre-Sell Page Different From A Landing Page?
For the most part, yes.
A pre-sell page can be your landing page if you’re linking to it from an ad, but most pre-sell pages are cleverly crafted pages designed to sell something.
A landing page is typically designed to
get someone to join your email list. A pre-sell page is still a webpage, but there are links throughout the page and usually at the bottom so that you can sell your affiliate product.
You have to remember that your pre-sell page is a
warm-up to the sales pitch of your affiliate product. If your landing page does anything other than this, then it’s not a pre-sell page.
“How-to” articles are not pre-sell pages, so don’t link to them from an ad. They’re great for building credibility for yourself, but they do nothing to help promote a product that isn’t created by you.
What Makes A Good Pre-Sell Page?
All
successful affiliate marketing pre-sell pages have the following things in common:
Affiliate marketing product reviews and product comparisons have all of these things built into them – making them some of the best examples of pre-sell pages.
It’s 90% content, and 10% advertising.
5 Pre-Selling Tips To Know
If you want to write a good pre-sell page to sell your affiliate products, follow these 5 simple steps:
1) Provide information
People are online to get information, so give them what they’re looking for. They aren’t looking to buy anything when they first come online, so it’s your job to be a helpful resource.
After you’ve given them what they want (and you’ve done a good job doing so),
THEN show them a way that they can make their fantasies become reality (AKA your affiliate product).
2) Answer Questions
Make your pre-sell page a page where all questions are answered.
You want to resonate with readers on an emotional level, and let them know that the
same concerns that they have about something are the same concerns that you also had – until you tried the product that you’re introducing them to.
3) Establish trust
Introduce yourself and tell your prospect why they should listen to you. Make your
affiliate site an instant point of authority, and let your prospects know that they can trust all of your recommendations.
People buy from people they like. So if you can
win them over with your personality, words, website design, videos, and content, you’ll stand a great chance of making constant affiliate sales from the pre-sell pages that you create.
4) Understand your customer
You have to understand your
niche market if you want to write a pre-sell page that connects with readers on a deeper level. Also, you must know the affiliate product that you’re promoting well so that you can describe it thoroughly to your readers.
If you can’t do it through video, then you need to talk about the
different features of the affiliate product you’re promoting and how these features helped you overcome your problem.
Your readers will see that this is a product that can potentially work for them also, as you more than likely had the same problems that they’re currently experiencing.
5) Build anticipation
You want to
“sell the sizzle, not the steak”.
Remember, your pre-sell page is just a warm-up to the actual product, so don’t get overly excited when building up to the pitch.
Your goal is to make your prospect build up anticipation in their mind about the product, and then lead them to the “promised land“.
You want to make your readers feel like you’ve introduced them to the solution they’ve been seeking for so long, and now they have to have it.
Take your time and don’t rush the sale. Let the anticipation subside when they click on your affiliate link.
Final Thoughts About Pre-Selling In Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is not about selling. You didn’t create the product, you’re only recommending it. That’s
what affiliate marketing is. So don’t bombard your prospect with sales pitches when they’re really just looking for information.
Don’t try to sell your affiliate products right away. Instead,
engage your readers into your communication journey by answering their questions, and making them feel like they can trust you.
Pre-selling is all about being helpful, specific, and informative.
The minute someone arrives at your affiliate site, your pre-selling should take place. This can be in the form of articles, ebooks, webinars, videos, product reviews, etc.
Learn as much as you can about pre-selling so that you can
increase your affiliate commissions as quickly as possible. This one simple change in marketing can boost your sales dramatically.
