See if you can spot the similarity.
What do the following three statements have in common?
1. I can’t do it right now, but maybe later.
2. I’ve already got my mailings scheduled.
3. Let me get back to you.
Got the similarity spotted?
These are all typical responses that most people get when asking partners and affiliates to promote their offers.
Chances are you’ve gotten answers much like these, right?
Don’t despair … there are ways around the barriers of reluctance and passiveness.
Let me share some simple ideas for getting affiliates to take action on your promotions quickly. I use the acronym “N.O.W.” to describe three ways to get others to promote you now…
N – News
In journalism, no one wants to be “scooped” when it comes to newsworthy items. Sharing some big story that another network or publication broke days ago is a big “no-no”. You always want to be first when it comes to getting the word out.
That same philosophy applies to what I’ve labeled “The Principle of First”. The idea is simple: being “first to market” aids in responses. Those who let their contacts know about your news promptly will generate the greatest results. If they wait, someone else will break the news.
So, to apply this principle, you simply need to create some newsworthy buzz that your affiliates and partners can’t pass up on sharing with their network of influence.
**CASE STUDY**
Several months ago a good Internet Marketing friend of mine Nick James decided that he was going to remove the archives from one of his membership sites. This announcement served as a strong motivator to get his affiliates to promote his site promptly before someone else did. The result was almost 500 new members paying monthly fees!
If you make dramatic changes to your offer, or create some other kind of “story” or “news” that warrants discussion promptly, you’ll find you can get many fence-setters active in promoting you.
O – Occasions
Another great way to motivate affiliates to get active is to use “occasions” that have a real deadline involved.
Some examples include –
- Product launches
- Firesales
- Live events (teleseminars, workshops, etc.)
- Contests
- Special offers
- Limited quantities
This is what might be referred to as “The Principle Of Force”. That is, you MUST promote the offer now or miss out simply because the offer will no longer be valid. You “force” participation.
For example: If you have a 3-day “firesale” set for a specific date, then anyone interested in earning commissions for referring customers to the “firesale” would be “forced” to promote it during your pre-determined timeframe or they’d miss out because the event will end.
My recommendation is that you schedule some kind of “occasion” every quarter. That should give you four significant spikes in your revenue each year, which can be a tremendous boost to your bottom line.
W – Wants
What do your partners and affiliates want? Seriously, stop and think about that for a moment. In fact, go one step further than that and ASK them a simple question…“What would it take for you to promote this offer this week?”
Make it happen.
I want you to remember the intangibles here: the sales of your initial offer aren’t really all that important. (Don’t freak out, hear what I have to say 🙂 It’s building a lead list, an affiliate list and a customer list along with ADDITIONAL offers over time that makes the real money.
Consider this –
Option A:
Miss Ima Guru ignores your request to promote your offer as it currently stands.
Option B:
Miss Ima Guru accepts your modified offer which includes giving her 100% of the revenue she generates. You make nothing off her promotion…but in the process of her promotion she adds 500 new subscribers to your list, 75 new affiliates and 60 new customers.
Which would you rather have?
Whatever it takes to get people to promote your offer now, make it happen.
*** NOTE ***
Now, let me make a simple suggestion here: The deal you make should be directly proportional to the potential results the partner represents.
Some affiliates and partners bring more to the table and sshould be offered more in order to get them to participate.
That being said, you can get virtually any affiliate to promote you now if you make it worth their while. So, ask them, “what will it take?”
This is what I call “The Principle Of Fear”. That is, a feeling of “This is such a compelling offer, I can’t afford to miss out on this deal.”
All of this adds up to more involvement and participation among your affiliates and partners…
N – News +
O – Occasions +
W – Wants =
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Other people promoting you NOW!
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