Content That Compels Clicks: 7 Steps

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.”