Turn Promo Failure into Success with Split Testing

Tony Strattner 2 Comments

In the world of paid media, mature companies and budding affiliate marketers alike hate spending money on ads that don’t work. However, there’s a solution to correcting underperforming ads: split testing. This method, which you may not yet be using but will in the future, can significantly improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Why am I so sure you’ll be paying for online ads? Like many new affiliate marketers, I’ve realized that driving traffic through grassroots strategies is a time-sink. Contrary to popular belief, the organic approach to audience-building, such as hanging out in social media groups of like-minded people, is not free. It requires a significant investment of time and energy. More importantly, it’s not scalable to reach a critical mass of potential subscribers. After all, a click-through rate above 10% is considered excellent for an email marketing campaign (5 out of 50 people), and a conversion rate of 3% is quite good for the average e-commerce website. Most of us will need subscribers in the hundreds (if not eventually thousands) to reach our revenue goals.

Split testing can make a huge difference in those numbers.

The basic approach is actually centuries old, first used by doctors in clinical trials to determine which therapies worked best on a given aliment. The traditional name for it is “A/B testing” but marketers today tend to favor the more descriptive term “split testing.” Basically, split testing lets you compare two versions of any marketing asset, from email subject lines to entire landing pages, to see which version potential buyers like better. It’s a powerful tool to help you make data-driven decisions and boost your marketing results.

While split testing is statistics-driven, we needn’t get into the statistical weeds (thank God!) to demonstrate its worth. Imagine you’ve crafted the perfect email campaign promoting a hot new affiliate product and written two versions of the email subject line, each with a different approach. By sending both versions to two different subsets of an email list (each large enough to be statistically viable) and tracking open rates, you can determine which subject line resonates better with your audience.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Once you’ve identified the winning subject line, how do you iterate and sharpen your email copy to maximize click-throughs and conversions? This is where you apply the work of being a superior rewriter (see post, Content That Compels Clicks: 7 Steps).

Let’s say Version A of your email subject line, “Exclusive Deal Inside: Don’t Miss Out!” outperforms Version B, “Check Out Our Amazing Offer!” Armed with this knowledge, you can (and should) apply similar language and messaging techniques throughout the body of your email. Emphasize the exclusivity of the offer, create a sense of urgency, and use compelling calls to action to entice readers to click through to the product offer.

So, where do you find split-testing tools and how do you work them?

Fear not; many different tools are available, with prices ranging from free (open-source software, Google Optimize) to hundreds of dollars monthly for large-scale commercial websites (typically an annual subscription). Often, split-test tools come built-in to ecommerce website development platforms (e.g., About Dean Holland’s Internet Profits Accelerator Program – by a Certified Partner (internetprofitspartners.com). In any case, there are dozens of tools out there ready to download and start using to create and track marketing experiments painlessly.

Now, go forth and embrace the power of split testing. Experiment boldly, rewrite and retest relentlessly. As copywriter extraordinaire Eddie Shleyner says, “The day you stop running tests on your copy is the day you stop improving.”

May I Have Your Attention, Please? The Power of Engaged Audiences

Tony Strattner 12 Comments

A “yes” answer to the title question is worth lots of money. The tried-and-true formula for content marketing sales seems simple: engage readers (or viewers), gain their trust, and earn their clicks.

But, like writing a “simple” song that becomes a hit, there’s more to the process than most people hear—unless they’ve tried to write a hit song. Then, they discover the work in the art. Don Henley, of Eagles fame, said he wrote dozens of songs to find the 10 – 12 best ones for a full-length album. I’m guessing his experience is typical.

Picture this: you’ve meticulously crafted what you think (or have been told) is compelling landing page content. You’re stocked with top-notch affiliate products. And conversion rates are still dismal.

What’s missing?

Well, could be a lot of things but let’s assume a tipping point where you got everything right except…audience engagement. Engaged audiences aren’t just passive spectators but active participants in your story. They like the brand that is you. That’s the basic fuel (we hope rocket, right?) for driving coveted affiliate purchases.

At the risk of oversimplifying, engaging readers and viewers boils down to one idea: authenticity. People crave authenticity, like flowers crave sunlight. Be genuine, be helpful, and watch your audience grow.

This is especially relevant advice in our new age of AI-generated prose. AI tools can certainly help jumpstart what you want to say. Full disclosure: I use ChatGPT. I’d be foolish not to; it’s a thought organizer on steroids, a terrific time-saver. But so-called generative AI cannot generate my personal experiences and emotions (yet). Hence, there is a thriving market for AI content detectors.

Authenticity is the first step to building trust with your audience. And isn’t trust the currency of any successful relationship — personal or professional? Your audience must trust you implicitly as table stakes for clicking your affiliate link.

So, how do you earn their trust?

Deliver value consistently. Provide your audience with informative content that helps them with a problem they may have or answers a question they didn’t even know to ask. This is where Don Henley’s songwriting method comes into play. Quality comes from quantity. The value you provide increases as you learn more and practice delivering your knowledge in straightforward, concise ways.

Start by writing with a particular reader in mind. It’s great if you can entertain while doing it, but remember that entertainment is the topping, not the ice cream.

Also, be transparent about your affiliations. You can’t be authentic without being honest. After all, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be proud of what you’re selling — just don’t oversell it. No audience is more fickle than an online audience, so handle their trust with care. Connect with them on a deeper level. Engage in meaningful conversations (OK, I’ll start: what’s your biggest challenge right now?). Promptly respond to comments and messages (I will if I get any). Show your audience that you’re not just a faceless entity in the ether—you’re a real person, just like them. (Who else wonders if these blogs are a waste of time?)

Lastly, treat your email list like a garden.

Nurture the subscribers you want with exclusive content, special offers, and insider tips (all free). But weed out the subscribers who have lost interest in what you offer and are no longer responsive. They will choke your open rate and click-through numbers.

Every affiliate marketer discovers that building an engaged audience is not an overnight success story; it’s a journey filled with ups and downs, wins and losses. But forearmed with authenticity, consistency, and perseverance, you can build a loyal audience and turn clicks into cash.

Content That Compels Clicks: 7 Steps

Tony Strattner 4 Comments

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Content is king.” Well, in the realm of affiliate marketing, content reigns supreme as not only king but also queen, prince, princess, duke, and duchess. As I explore the different skill sets of affiliate marketing, I quickly realize that we’re not just marketers but also content creators and influencers. And at the heart of it all lies the art of crafting high-converting content.

While content can be images and videos, this is a newsletter, so I’ll focus on what I know: writing “copy” — journalist and marketer jargon for informational prose that ain’t literature. Keep in mind, however, that if your primary content format is video, transcribing your presentation and editing your message is crucial. The best presenters don’t just wing it; they hone their brief promotional script (250 – 350 words = 2 – 3 minutes) to sharp concision.

So, how to craft persuasive affiliate marketing copy that maximizes sales conversions? While there’s no one-size-fits-all formula, good content shares a few key qualities. Let’s explore some steps to help you master the art of compelling affiliate marketing copy:

📝 Write a Catchy Headline: Grab your reader’s attention with words that offer value. Keep it short and clear to avoid confusion. (And trust me, it’s almost never the first headline you write.)

🎯 Keep Your Message on Target: Tailor your content to resonate with your target audience’s needs, desires, and even fears. This requires a crystal-clear picture of who your target reader is. (I like to think of a particular person, not a general persona.)

✍️ Use Clear, Concise Language: Cut out unnecessary jargon and long sentences. Adopt a conversational style that makes your message easy to understand. (How am I doing?)

📖 Tell a Story (when you can): Connect with your reader by sharing a relatable story that illustrates your message. (Full disclosure: weaving storytelling into a single value message is my toughest challenge.)

🌟 Establish Credibility: Be transparent about your experiences, including your mistakes. It’ll make you more trustworthy to your readers. (And no doubt I’ll have a mistake story to share soon.)

🔥 Use Calls-to-Action: Guide your readers toward the next step with clear CTAs. Ensure that action leads to an effective landing page or sales funnel.

✏️ Revise and Edit: Take the time to polish your copy until it shines. Be willing to rewrite and refine your message to ensure clarity and effectiveness.

This last step is particularly important for direct-response copy. An axiom of good copywriting is “fail often and test the big differences.” Failing often means rewriting your copy to work better when it’s not working well enough. Finding the big differences between direct-response copy that gets low responses and another version that gets higher responses often takes radical reworking (which you discover from A/B testing, a fix-it strategy explained in another newsletter).

As an old editorial boss of mine used to say, “We’re all decent writers, but some of us are superior rewriters.”

3 Big Lessons from Affiliate Marketing’s New Reality

Tony Strattner 21 Comments

As you can see from my picture, I’m not young. When I first heard of online marketing as a journalist covering the computer industry, I had hair. The business model of affiliate marketing (AM) was young, too. Affiliate marketers promoted third-party products online, receiving a commission when someone bought a product via the affiliate’s custom link, often sold through a new company called Amazon.

The basic business model hasn’t changed, but many other things have beside my hairline. I can see retirement looming on the horizon. Amazon now defines Big Tech. And, in the U.S., affiliate marketing has become a $14.3 billion industry, with projected year-on-year growth of 10% (www.statisa.com). So, I thought this would be a good time to learn more about affiliate marketing. Not just by reading how other people are making money from it but by actually getting involved myself.

However, the more involved I get, the more a mixed-bag affiliate marketing seems to be.

The first thing I learned is, I’m late to the party.

The industry may indeed be growing strongly, but the days of easy money as an affiliate marketer are gone. Well-established affiliate marketers promise it’s still possible to earn a six-figure income from the $1.4 billion in new spending predicted for 2024. This, despite the reality of over 11,000 affiliate programs in the U.S. today, with the biggest ones boasting hundreds of thousands of affiliate members. For a piece of the pie, all you have to do is buy the right AM business training software tools, templates, and methodology. Well, OK, I’ve done that. I hope.

Now I’m learning my second lesson.

Unless I market my affiliated products profitably, my business will die on the vine. Because the cost-per-click when trying to sell affiliate products is no longer pennies on the dollar; it’s now dollars-per-click — and rising.

I can’t just throw money at paying for ads on Google, Facebook, and other high-traffic platforms and expect to make enough commission revenue to do better than break even. I need a proven sales system that works in the new reality of affiliate marketing. I need one that provides lots of automation and software tools for arcane things like email list management, direct-response web page design, AI-driven content creation, and A/B testing. I believe I’ve found such a system.

Which brings me to the third and most important lesson I’ve yet to learn.

Fishing. I’m talking about the old proverb, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” I can see now that fishing — in this case the art of online direct-response ad campaign creation and management — is going to take the time, practice, and patience exhibited by the best anglers.

As fishermen like to toast, “Here’s to tight lines.”