Tell a Story Versus Pitch a Product

Power of Storytelling in Sales

One of the most common traps in selling is talking too soon and talking much about your product.

Now, if you travel back in time there was good reason why many sales reps fall into the “product pitch” trap. They were constantly being taught the “101 tips for doing a perfect feature pitch.” They were just doing what they were taught.

Fortunately, times have changed. Companies have completed the shift from a product-centric to a customer centric approach to selling. Lessons about great scripted product pitches are best viewed as historical tales to be told around the campfire.

So, if it is all about customer value, what is the substitute for the product pitch script? One answer to that question is – tell a story.

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It is one thing to talk about a list of reasons why a customer should do business with you; it is another to be able to relate past success stories that bring that list to life. The latter is memorable and repeatable – the former is just another list of features.

So what are some tips for the art of storytelling in Sales?

• Make it personal. If you want someone to care about making sustained behavior change, you have to individualize the story. The more personal you can make the link between the story and the desired behavior change, the greater your chances of success.

• Keep it positive. A positive story narrative moves a customer along a path towards change. Interjecting negative outcomes that might result if the status quo is maintained are unlikely to be helpful.

• Probe why a customer would make a change. Learn early on why a customer would change from one product to another and why they won’t. Weave this information into the story.

• Stay on message. What is the primary goal that the customer wants to sustain over time? How can you craft the 
story so that it illustrates how working with you and your 
company can help them move closer to achieving 
their goal?

Storytelling allows you to translate your sales message from a feature pitch to a positive customer experience with business outcomes. It is worth noting that great stories are not usually created on the spot. Like most things that have high impact, they take time to develop and they require practice and feedback.

Here it is important to note that individual reps should not be the ones that have sole responsibility for creating the stories. Marketing needs to help for a whole bunch of reasons. This help is particularly important in companies where a lot of new reps are being hired.

Author: Janet Spirer

For more than 30 years Janet Spirer has worked with the Fortune 1000 to craft sales training programs that make a difference. Working with market leaders Janet has learned that today’s great sales force significantly differs from yesterday. So, Sales Horizons offers firms effective sales training programs affordably priced. Janet is... View full profile ›

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Tell a Story Versus Pitch a Product

Psychology of Sharing – How to Create Content That Gets Shared

Let’s first set the base… you probably know how to create content that gets clicked, but content that gets clicked works differently from content that gets shared.

But having your content shared should be one of the ultimate aims for your brand online. The reason for this is that getting shared can lead to exponential growth in your user-base and potentially even help something you create to ‘go viral’. (Going viral is defined as being shared a million times, which of course is rather beneficial for any business!)

This is taking full advantage of the very nature of social media. The great thing about social media is that it mimics real life social networks and the way that memes and ideas spread through them. If you create a post and upload it to Facebook, the hope is that 10 of your followers might Like it, share it or comment on it.

When this happens, that post then becomes visible to all the people that are connected to those users. So now your exposure has just grown by 1,000%! And if 10 of the friends of each of those ten people shares your content, then you’ll be seen by 10,000% more… and it keeps growing!

So how do you go about creating content that will go viral and get shared that much? Or how do you at least make something that will get shared a little bit…

The Psychology of Sharing

It all comes down to psychology and to understanding why people share in the first place.

And to understand this, we need to revisit a concept from right at the start of this book: the persona.

As you’ll hopefully recall, a persona is a fictional biography that describes the individual that your post, your product or your service is for.

When you’re creating content that you want to share well on social media, you need to keep this persona in mind at all times. It can help to imagine someone you know in the real world who is just like that person. Keep them in your mind as you write and imagine that you are sat opposite them and explaining the subject directly to them.

This will lead to a more engaging post and it will lead to something that is highly targeted at your specific end user.

But that’s not where the magic lies.

The magic lies in what happens when you share this content and someone reads it.

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And again we need to go back to something we said earlier:

Social media is primarily a tool for communication.

The reason this is relevant is simple: people share because they’re communicating. When someone shares your post, they are doing it as a form of communication.

This means that they either share the content with their audience, or a specific friend because they think they’re going to enjoy it; OR they share it on their own wall as a form of self-expression. In both scenarios, other people and communication are at the heart of their motivation.

And this is why having a previse persona in mind is so useful and important.

Let’s imagine your persona is ‘anyone who works from home’. So you’ve written a blog post that is perfectly targeted at people who work from home and that addresses things they might go through. Let’s say you’ve called it:

‘This is Why Your Friends Struggle to Work From Home’

Or perhaps:

‘Five Life-Changing Tips for People Who Work From Home’

Now you’ve created that title, it’s perfectly clear who that post is aimed at. Now, when you share it to your followers, some of those people reading are going to identify strongly with the title. They identify as someone who works from home and they probably enjoy that fact about themselves. Thus, by sharing that content with their friends, they are communicating that they relate to your post and telling their audience something about them.

But there’s another kind of person who will share this content too: the kind of person who knows someone who works from home. Because the article is so clearly targeted at a particular persona and because the second one offers to provide value, you might think: ‘this will be useful for Jeff’. Thus, you share it to Jeff’s wall and you thereby help out Jeff and show you’re thinking of him – making your friendship stronger.

Either way, your post has facilitated that.

Personas, Titles and Routes to Market

Notice how we’re bringing this all together nicely here? It really is simple once you land on that formula and it helps in a ton of ways.

Because when you’re writing for a persona, you’ll also be creating more routes to market for your posts. One great example? Social communities.

For example, if you write an article called ‘What Writers Can Learn From Bruce Lee’, then you’ve created something with two very interesting personas: writers and martial artists.

This then means that you can share your post in a number of interesting places in order to reach a huge audience that will be perfectly targeted for that post. Join a Google+ community or a Facebook Page that’s all about Bruce Lee for instance and post there and you’ll probably get a hundred Likes or more.

Another great option is Reddit which is all about finding specific audiences with particular interests.

This is a great way to find smaller sections of your audience and to hone in on them too. Maybe you did pick a large niche for your blog like ‘Making Money Online’ – but that doesn’t mean that you can’t target your articles at smaller sections of your market like work-from-home Mums or students who want to start online businesses. Write articles specifically for them and share them to these online communities that will provide your routes to market.

More Ways to Get Likes and Shares

Of course that’s not all there is to getting likes and shares – there are a number of other hints and tricks too.

For example, remember how we said you could use BuzzSumo in order to share other people’s content? Well how about using that same tool as a way to come up with ideas for your own content? Don’t copy anything you see is doing well here but rather look at it and see which niches and which titles are doing particularly well. Now you can write something in a similar tone or on a similar concept and hopefully enjoy the same success.

Looking at what’s trending is also a very good idea and especially on Twitter and Instagram where a topical hashtag can make all the difference.

You can also empower others to share your content. For instance, try using the plugin in Shareaholic. This will add social sharing buttons to your blog posts on WordPress, meaning that people who enjoy your content can share it quickly with others on Facebook or on Twitter.

And don’t forget to simply ask people to share your content too! This is something that people do an awful lot on YouTube and it can work well on your blog too. Write the best blog post you can possibly write and then at the end just say:

“If you loved this blog post then please consider Liking it on Facebook. It helps me a great deal and that way, I’ll be able to keep updating you with more awesome posts!”

Sometimes you just gotta’ ask!

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A 5-Step Guide to Manageable Tax Prep for First-Time Business Filers

If there’s one thing all entrepreneurs can agree on, it’s that they dread tax season.

In fact, a recent survey by the National Association of Small Business (NSBA) reveals that 38 percent of small businesses reported they spent more than 80 hours a year dealing with federal taxes. That’s two whole workweeks! That same survey found that almost 50% of small businesses spend $5,000 or more annually on the accounting process alone—before paying their taxes!

Not only are taxes time consuming, confusing, and a nuisance, but they can also be a drain on your wallet if you don’t prepare well. This is especially true for entrepreneurs who, aside from having to deal with the complicated tax filing process of running a business, also have to actually run the business.

Whether you choose to do taxes on your own or hire an accountant this year, here’s a quick guide on how to knock tax season out of the park:

1. Familiarize Yourself With the Lingo

One thing we shouldn’t complain to the IRS about is the amount of tax breaks they offer. Tax breaks give small business owners and freelancers a great opportunity to win back some of that money they’ve been spending on their business, and it’s a unique way to encourage entrepreneurship.

However, there is a small caveat to this: it’s hard to keep track of what’s what. There are important differences between deductibles, refundable credits, and non-refundable credits. Each can help you in distinctive ways, so it’s useful to know which expenses qualify for which tax break as you track your finances throughout the year. Investopedia and the IRS website are helpful tools that can break down tax vocabulary into simple terms.

Deductibles

Benefits: Lowers taxable income and total tax liability. Can help with items that represent reductions in ability to pay tax (i.e. casualty losses).
What Does That Mean: Because deductions cannot reduce taxable income below zero, their value is limited to the filer’s tax liability before applying the deduction. Value depends on the taxpayer’s marginal tax rate, which rises with income.
Examples: Healthcare expenses, mortgages, car loans, investment-related expenses

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Refundable Credits

Benefits: Decreases a person’s tax liability. Same value for all taxpayers with tax liability at least equal to the credit.
What Does That Mean: Treated as payments of tax you made during the tax year. When total of credits is great than total tax owed, you get a refund for the difference. Credits are more appropriate for subsidies provided through the tax system.
Example: Earned Income Credit, Additional Child credit, Small Business Healthcare credit.

Non-Refundable Credits

Benefit: Lower tax limit as low as it can go. Represents the majority of credits.
What Does That Mean: Credit cannot be used to increase tax refund or to create a tax refund when you wouldn’t already have one. Savings cannot exceed amount of tax you owe.Example: If you only owe $200 in taxes, and the only credit you’re eligible is for $500, the $300 difference is non-refundable.
Example: Child and Dependent Care Expenses credit, Saver’s tax credit, Adoption tax credit, Foreign tax credit.

2. Don’t procrastinate

Unless you want to have a very stressful week, don’t wait until right before April 18 (note – usually tax day is April 15) to prep and file your taxes! Last year, the IRS reported that 28% of Americans waited until the last few weeks before tax day to file their return. Sure, you can file for an extension if you can’t make it before the IRS deadline, but there are drawbacks to this, like late fees. And, just because you file late doesn’t mean you get extra time to pay taxes if you owe the government money.

Plus, when you take your time to carefully approach a tax filing, it won’t seem as stressful or time-consuming. You’re more likely to make an error or miss out on a deduction if you rush the process.

3. Stay organized

By far, the easiest way to minimize the hassle of tax season is by staying organized and keeping updated records of receipts, payments, and expenses. The IRS demands documented proof for claims, so having everything stored and accessible can reduce a substantial amount of time and pressure.

Organization also helps maximize deductions and reimbursements without the hassle of scrambling to find misplaced financial records. It also makes it possible to file taxes at the earliest possible time because paperwork is readily available at your fingertips.

Shoeboxed’s mission is to streamline this process so that you can focus on more important things during tax season, like running your business or taking care of your family. We process and organize your receipts so that vendor, total amount, date and payment type are extracted and available in a searchable online account—without you ever having to lift a finger. You can also tag receipts as reimbursable or deductible so when you file taxes, your documents are already cataloged appropriately.

4. Stay informed

There’s a lot to swallow these days when it comes to tax codes, especially since the IRS makes changes on a yearly (and sometimes, even seasonal) basis. It doesn’t hurt to take some time researching professional blogs and news sites that can keep you informed on the latest tax changes. The extra initiative will take a few hours of time on your end, yes, but not nearly as much time it would take to prep taxes with little to no knowledge on how to maximize returns. This is especially helpful for entrepreneurs who do not have their own accountant.

Without a guiding hand, it’s easy to make misinformed decisions with tricky nuances (like filing status, for example). Some helpful sites that give excellent pro advice are Don’t Mess With Taxes, TaxGirl and AICPA.

5. When in doubt, ask a pro

With an endless supply of information, the Internet of things can answer any question you may have related to taxes. Sometimes though, having 10+ pages pulled up with an overwhelming amount of information can make material difficult to digest. If your questions are very intricate and situational, it may be best to approach a tax expert or CPA. Examples of these questions may include:

• Do I have a limit for my charitable contributions?
• Should I itemize deductions? How in-depth?
• When should I contribute to an IRA?
• Should I file jointly, as single, or as head of household?
• I have all these miscellaneous business expenses and reports, but which ones should I keep for reimbursements and deductions?

Sometimes it’s easy to do a quick Google search for these common tax questions. Other times, the answer depends on your business situation, among other variables.

If you have an accountant, keep in touch with them throughout the year. There’s no reason you should wait until tax season every year to speak to them. CPA’s are experts in their field and they’re a great resource that can put you up to date with all the latest changes in tax policy. Stay organized, plan ahead, and you can get the most out of your tax season.

Author: Claudia Amand

Claudia is the Marketing and PR Manager at Shoeboxed, a receipt scanning and document management company based out of Durham, NC. Shoeboxed scans and organizes receipts, bills and other financial documents to streamline accounting, automate bookkeeping and make tax season a breeze for small business owners and entrepreneurs. ... View full profile ›

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A 5-Step Guide to Manageable Tax Prep for First-Time Business Filers

Cost-Per-Engagement? How Digital Advertising Models are Changing

When it comes to running digital ads, the vocabulary can be incredibly confusing. Years ago this world was simple: You ran ads by cost-per-click or cost-per-impression. Now pricing options are different depending on the end goal of the ad. And then there are also ads for mobile.

When it comes to mobile ads, what has been somewhat dominating the scene is pricing by cost-per-install (CPI). But now many advertisers are looking at cost-per-engagement (CPE) as an alternative.

Why CPE is Becoming a Viable Option

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When trying to scale, most apps choose CPI campaigns in an effort to ramp up users. This has been the traditional method advertising in mobile apps. CPE offers a different way to target users. For example, brands could use this to get inactive users to become active again or for a user to complete a certain action in the game they are playing (passing levels or achieving badges). Instead of an install, CPE creates an active user – a user that is involved and engaging with the app.

CPE Blends Advertising and Marketing

Advertisers that chose a CPE method instead of an install can rally a campaign around a certain action. What this can do is focus ads around a marketing initiative such as entering a contest or visiting a certain web page. Marketers and advertisers have the opportunity to work together on CPE ads that add value to a certain business initiative in the company.

And this goes for mobile and web as well. While CPE is gaining traction in the mobile landscape, brands can use CPE ads outside of this realm as well. This type of ad is creating an experience for the user, rather than just a click. It allows a company to create an experience and encourage the user to partake in it.

Downside of CPE

The biggest downside of a CPE campaign is that the “engagement” must lead the sales, and that can be harder to track. With CPI ads, it’s easy for brands to find the correlation between installs and sales, but when asking a user to engage, it can be harder to find the monetary value. And with all ads, there needs to be a high ROI.

Brands need to think carefully about the engagement they want to happen and make sure it will in fact increase sales – maybe not directly but at least indirectly. Brands will also need to make sure that the experience (or engagement aspect) leaves a mark on the user – that they don’t complete the action and move on but rather continue to engage with the brand. This will take the marketing and advertising teams working together to find the best way forward.

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The Hidden Beliefs That Are Keeping You Overwhelmed and Overcommitted

There are three main areas that determine how successful we are at running our businesses and our lives: our brains, our beliefs, and our brawn (habits). Here, I’d like to address beliefs, and more specifically, the hidden beliefs that keep right brain entrepreneurs and executives overwhelmed and overcommitted.

Whether we like to admit it or not, our beliefs really do drive our behavior, which in turn creates our habits, which in the end, determines our experience and success.

The problem is that some of the most powerful beliefs are hidden. They might be truly hidden from us in that we aren’t even aware of them consciously. And they can also be beliefs we are aware of but keep hidden. We keep some of our beliefs hidden out of embarrassment or shame (“What would people think of me if they knew I believed that?”), and sometimes we hide them because we don’t want to admit how powerful they are.

A prime example of how beliefs end up creating a chronically overwhelmed entrepreneur was a client of mine we’ll refer to as Marcus.

Marcus is smart, talented, influential, and has a tremendous amount of potential. Like many of you.

Marcus says “Yes” to nearly every opportunity he is presented with, commits to helping every person who asks for it, and has a to-do list a mile long.

He’s 40 years old and has been overwhelmed for at least the last 20. He has a reputation of being a great guy who was dependable and you knew would always help you out. But his effectiveness has started waning over time. Being overwhelmed started to wear him out, and when he called me, he was constantly stressed, worked 7 days a week, felt like he could never catch up, and had started losing clients.

In our very first coaching session, I taught Marcus how his brain worked. This was eye-opening for him. He realized that because he doesn’t store sufficient detail, and because he wasn’t writing down what he had committed to doing for other people, he was forgetting his action items and was disappointing his clients and his family, as well as himself.

Understanding how his brain worked was just part of the picture. Uncovering hidden beliefs that were holding him back was the next step.

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Clearly, the way he was working wasn’t working anymore. Yet he had built a reputation on how he worked, so he felt even more trapped.

Within a few sessions, we were able to shift the beliefs that were contributing to overwhelm, implemented a system for capturing everything he committed to, including details, and a way to comfortably say “No” and requests for help that he knew he couldn’t fulfill.

That was Marcus’s specific situation, but it is by no means unique. In fact, it is a remarkably common experience for right-brain entrepreneurs and executives.

I’ve been working with right-brainers for 15+ years, and I’ve discovered that there are commonly held beliefs that most right brain executives and entrepreneurs have that contribute to their chronic overwhelm.

Here are Marcus’s hidden beliefs that kept him overwhelmed:

• I am trapped
• I am a martyr
• I can do more than most people.
• I can’t find good people.
• I disappoint others.
• I have to do it all myself.

We changed these beliefs using a shamanic energy medicine technique and Marcus reported much less stress and overwhelm thus allowing for him to break his bad habits.

Yet, many of us wear these beliefs as badges of honor. We take pride in our ability to do more than most people. This may work extremely well when you are bootstrapping a business or in startup mode, but it severely limits your ability to grow and expand when you can no longer do it all.

We become so accustomed to stress that most of us think overwhelm is a natural and normal state. Or even if we don’t think it’s natural and normal, we think it is a necessary part of being in business.

Overwhelm is a signal that you are stressed. Stress limits your field of vision and it prevents you from being strategic, even though you think you are.

Eventually it prevents you from remaining competitive and relevant, which leads you to work even harder, resulting in becoming even more overwhelmed. It’s a vicious cycle – but it’s one that can be broken and realigned.

If you expect to be overwhelmed as a business owner, you are setting up yourself and your business for failure. Isn’t it time to change the beliefs that are creating your reality?

Author: Michael Cooper

Michael O. Cooper equips right-brain entrepreneurs, creative professionals and agencies with the business mindset, strategies and skills to thrive in a constantly changing environment. He is the founder of InnovatorsandInfluencers.com and serves as executive coach, facilitator and trainer for design, software, public relations and communications firms, as well as TED Fellows. ... View full profile ›

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The Hidden Beliefs That Are Keeping You Overwhelmed and Overcommitted

How an Entrepreneur Can Make Money From Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing and Entreprenuership

Sоmе of thе tоdау’ѕ best affiliate marketers are blоggеrѕ аnd other social-media реrѕоnаlitiеѕ whо hаvе a large fоllоwing. In thе tурiсаl аffiliаtе marketing аrrаngеmеnt, an еntrерrеnеur enters intо аn аgrееmеnt with an influential Intеrnеt реrѕоnаlitу оr ѕоmеоnе else willing tо rерrеѕеnt a рrоduсt.

Thе аffiliаtе mаrkеtеr рrоmоtеѕ this рrоduсt thrоugh linkѕ, banners, tеѕtimоniаlѕ оr оthеr соntеnt. Inѕtеаd оf forking out саѕh in аdvаnсе for website linkѕ that promote a buѕinеѕѕ, “the marketer рrоvidеѕ a соmmiѕѕiоn tо аffiliаtеѕ fоr еvеrу transaction that results frоm these linkѕ. Thе аrrаngеmеnt iѕ a win fоr both ѕidеѕ ѕinсе it helps marketers acquire new сuѕtоmеrѕ аnd increase revenues whilе affiliates саn gеnеrаtе rеvеnuеѕ.

Affiliate marketing iѕ аn agreement whеrе оnе firm (the mаrkеtеr) соmреnѕаtеѕ аnоthеr firm (thе affiliate) fоr generating transactions frоm itѕ users. Affiliate marketing рrоgrаmѕ саn рrоvidе a substantial upside tо an еntrерrеnеur through thеir ability tо involve a саdrе оf influеnсеrѕ, ѕоmеоnе who has аn аbоvе-аvеrаgе impact оn a раrtiсulаr fiеld аnd can sway thеir ѕосiаl-mеdiа following.

Thеrе’ѕ nоthing wrоng with аffiliаtеѕ ѕсоring a соmmiѕѕiоn in еxсhаngе fоr a рrоmоtiоn invоlving the рlасеmеnt оf linkѕ, bаnnеr аdѕ and ѕimilаr fоrmѕ of advertisement. Frоm timе tо timе, аffiliаtе mаrkеting might highlight a рrоduсt thrоugh a rеviеw or testimonial. The еntrерrеnеur muѕt ensure that the agreement with the аffiliаtе рrоvidеѕ аррrорriаtе diѕсlоѕurе tо thе audience.

Entrepreneurs ѕhоuld consider the fоllоwing whеn еѕtаbliѕhing an affiliate рrоgrаm tо make inсоmе from it;

Watch out fоr оnlinе ѕtоrе glitсhеѕ.

An аffiliаtе marketing рrоgrаmѕ wоrk wеll whеn an entrepreneur has set uр an online ѕtоrе. And thе ԛuiсkеѕt wау fоr аn еntrерrеnеur tо lоѕе vаluаblе аffiliаtеѕ iѕ frоm tесhniсаl glitches thаt саuѕе lоѕt sales and rеѕult in lоѕt rеvеnuеѕ fоr affiliates. The beauty оf a wеll-dеvеlореd аffiliаtе program iѕ its intеgrаtiоn with аn оnlinе ѕtоrе. Whilе еntrерrеnеurѕ can develop hоmеgrоwn аffiliаtе ѕуѕtеmѕ, they might find it wоrthwhilе tо еxрlоrе options аvаilаblе through third-раrtу аffiliаtе рrоgrаmѕ ѕuсh аѕ thоѕе оffеrеd bу CJ Affiliаtе, Rаkutеn, Shareasale, and Avantlink.

Thеrе iѕ a need tо рut thе tесhnоlоgу in рlасе ѕо that you саn reimburse аnd rеwаrd your аffiliаtеѕ аѕ аррrорriаtе.

Sеt аn аррrорriаtе price.

Affiliаtе mаrkеting programs pay a реrсеntаgе of еасh ѕаlе gеnеrаtеd frоm the affiliate’s асtivitiеѕ. Driving traffic tо an оnlinе store саn invоlvе tiе-inѕ as ѕimрlе аѕ рlасing a hуреrlink or bаnnеr on a wеbѕitе to роѕting соmрrеhеnѕivе аnd well-thought оut оnlinе аrtiсlеѕ соvеring a product’s features аnd benefits.

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Influеntiаl аffiliаtеѕ with large оnlinе followings оn blogs, Twittеr, Fасеbооk аnd Instagram can hаvе many products potentially available fоr thеm tо rерrеѕеnt. As ѕuсh, thе соmmiѕѕiоn реr соnvеrѕiоn (frоm site visitor tо paying client) iѕ imроrtаnt.

Entrерrеnеurѕ are еnсоurаgеd tо rely оn аffiliаtе mаrkеting fоr рrоduсtѕ ѕеlling in the $60 to $100 rаngе. Thiѕ рriсе роint is орtimаl as a significant vоlumе оf ѕаlеѕ can be gеnеrаtеd with a rеаѕоnаblе соmmiѕѕiоn. Lоwеr dоllаr аmоuntѕ рrоvidе nominal аffiliаtе rеvеnuе, and higher priced itеmѕ dо not sell as readily – whiсh might prompt аn influence to dесlinе to еntеr intо an аgrееmеnt.

Partner with thе right marketers.

Successful аffiliаtеѕ work hаrd to create influеnсе. Affiliates tурiсаllу wоn’t bесоmе invоlvеd with products if thеу dоn’t inspire a conversation. Affiliаtеѕ hаvе thеir niches, ѕо entrepreneurs ѕhоuld tаrgеt аnd mаkе arrangements оnlу with аffiliаtеѕ who ореrаtе within their industry. Fоr example, аn entrepreneur ѕеlling high-еnd culinary utеnѕilѕ and hardware should ѕееk affiliates whо are foodies, restaurant оwnеrѕ, induѕtrу соnѕultаntѕ and оthеrѕ invоlvеd in rеlаtеd fiеldѕ. These аffiliаtеѕ mау maintain blоgѕ, wеbѕitеѕ, ѕосiаl mеdiа pages and ассоuntѕ whеrе they ѕhаrе infоrmаtiоn and linkѕ to thе рrоduсt. Entrерrеnеurѕ muѕt also bе рrераrеd tо еѕtаbliѕh ѕignifiсаnt rеvеnuе-ѕhаring аgrееmеntѕ if thеу wiѕh tо еngаgе with top аffiliаtе mаrkеtеrѕ.

Yеаrѕ аgо ѕоmе оbѕеrvеrѕ advised entrepreneurs tо seek out influеntiаl blоggеrѕ with ѕtrоng fоllоwingѕ аnd оffеr a рrоduсt оr ѕоmе other nоnсаѕh bеnеfit in exchange for a mention оr link. This wоrkеd fоr a while, but nоt аnу lоngеr.

Prоvidе transparency and hоnеѕtу.

Lack оf рrореr diѕсlоѕurе can damage the rерutаtiоn оf аn аffiliаtе аnd аn entrepreneur аѕ well brеаk rules еѕtаbliѕhеd bу thе Fеdеrаl Trаdе Cоmmiѕѕiоn. Entrерrеnеurѕ ѕhоuld mоnitоr affiliates in саѕеѕ whеrе thеу mаkе statements аbоut thе рrоduсt in rеviеwѕ аnd аrtiсlеѕ.

“Tо limit itѕ роtеntiаl liability, thе advertiser ѕhоuld еnѕurе thаt thе аdvеrtiѕing ѕеrviсе provides guidance аnd training tо itѕ blоggеrѕ concerning the nееd tо еnѕurе thаt ѕtаtеmеntѕ thеу mаkе аrе truthful and substantiated,” ѕtаtеѕ the Fеdеrаl Trade Cоmmiѕѕiоn’ѕ Guides Cоnсеrning

Use оf Endorsements аnd Tеѕtimоniаlѕ in Advеrtiѕing. “Thе аdvеrtiѕеr ѕhоuld аlѕо monitor blоggеrѕ whо are being paid to рrоmоtе itѕ рrоduсtѕ аnd take ѕtерѕ necessary tо halt the соntinuеd publication of dесерtivе representations whеn thеу аrе discovered.”

In the аgе оf unсеrtаin есоnоmу and mаѕѕivе соrроrаtе lауоffѕ, many реорlе are lооking for аltеrnаtivеѕ to support themselves аnd their fаmiliеѕ. Mаking mоnеу with аffiliаtе marketing might just be that flexible орtiоn to hеlр уоu mаkе аn еxtrа dоllаr, build a раѕѕivе inсоmе, аnd реrhарѕ еvеn оnе dау bесоmе finаnсiаllу indереndеnt! So tаkе those ѕtерѕ.

Aѕ аn entrepreneur, fоr уоu tо establish уоurѕеlf аѕ a ѕuссеѕѕful аffiliаtе mаrkеtеr, уоu nееd to рrасtiсе the fоllоwing tips аnd ѕtrаtеgiеѕ:

Bе Authеntiс

Suссеѕѕful buѕinеѕѕеѕ rеlу оn effective соmmuniсаtiоn аnd rеlаtiоnѕhiрѕ. If you аttеmрt tо build buѕinеѕѕ relationships оn fаlѕitiеѕ, they will сrumblе ԛuiсklу. Tоо оftеn, mаrkеtеrѕ attempt tо аdорt a persona thаt’ѕ аliеn to thеm ѕо thеу саn imрrеѕѕ оr оthеrwiѕе арреаl to аn аudiеnсе.

The result is tеnѕiоn bеtwееn whаt is rеаl аnd what is рrеѕеntеd оr an audience whо easily ѕееѕ right thrоugh a fаkе реrѕоnа. In еithеr саѕе, you fаil tо соnnесt with сuѕtоmеrѕ аnd ѕасrifiсе credibility. Thе greatest ѕuссеѕѕ in affiliate mаrkеting соmеѕ when your аudiеnсе can trulу idеntifу with you. Bе truе to уоurѕеlf, оffеr genuine value, аnd thе ассерtаnсе аnd rеwаrdѕ will follow.

Bе Cоnѕiѕtеnt аnd Informed

Nоviсе аffiliаtе mаrkеtеrѕ ѕtrugglе with thiѕ concept at timеѕ. Thеу оftеn ѕwitсh frоm оnе mеthоd of рrоmоting рrоduсtѕ tо another tоо ԛuiсklу. In pursuit оf thе next big thing, thеу don’t еѕtаbliѕh thеmѕеlvеѕ аѕ reliable оr knowledgeable. Instead оf developing strengths in оnе area аnd lеvеrаging thоѕе ѕkillѕ оn a consistent bаѕiѕ with a rереаt audience, they constantly ѕhift and nеvеr become аn expert in any mеthоd. You’ll dеvеlор a better gаugе for whiсh strategies аrе working – or not wоrking – if you dеvеlор a соnѕiѕtеnt ѕуѕtеm, аnd your bаѕе will grоw thrоugh your wоrk to meet еxресtаtiоnѕ.

Anоthеr common miѕtаkе mаdе bу аffiliаtе mаrkеtеrѕ is to pick a рrоduсt based оn реrсеivеd соnvеrѕiоn rаtеѕ or because аnоthеr аffiliаtе marketer hit a gоld minе with the рrоduсt. Agаin, you ѕhоuld nоt bе chasing аftеr coat tаilѕ fоr a quick and еаѕу ride. You have to knоw уоur ѕtrеngthѕ as a mаrkеtеr. Yоu need to bе informed аbоut a product аnd itѕ potential mаrkеt. You should аlѕо bе аblе to add vаluе to thаt рrоduсt. You might nоt hit a grand ѕlаm еvеrу time, but you will build уоur сrеdibilitу аnd еvеntuаllу find a winnеr thаt mаtсhеѕ your еxреrtiѕе.

Bе Cоnfidеnt аnd Dеtеrminеd

It’ѕ ԛuitе possible you’ll hit ѕоmе rough раtсhеѕ in сhооѕing аn affiliate marketing program that works for you. It takes timе, раtiеnсе, and energy tо rеасh уоur affiliate mаrkеting gоаlѕ. Aftеr a рrоduсt initiаllу fails tо аutоmаtiсаllу skyrocket, affiliate mаrkеtеrѕ may bесоmе hеѕitаnt аnd lack confidence bесаuѕе thingѕ didn’t wоrk out. Thаt’ѕ nаturаl.

Hоwеvеr, if уоu get ѕtuсk in that mindset аnd kеер foraging the Internet for mоrе information tо hеlр you mаkе the “perfect” dесiѕiоn, уоu’ll ѕеttlе intо аnаlуѕiѕ paralysis. In thiѕ ѕtаtе, you have ѕо muсh information thаt you еnd uр соnfuѕеd, аррrеhеnѕivе аnd dоn’t асt.

Othеrѕ, whеn faced with big dесiѕiоnѕ оr a nеgаtivе turn оf events, simply givе up. Thе trаit that often ѕераrаtеѕ thе ѕuссеѕѕful mаrkеtеr frоm the mеdiосrе mаrkеtеr iѕ perseverance. It’s nеаrlу imроѕѕiblе nоt tо have some mistake occur аѕ you аrе lеаrning уоur ѕtrеngthѕ аnd skills as a mаrkеtеr. Yоu ѕhоuld ассерt thоѕе miѕtаkеѕ, rеflесt оn thеm, аnd then uѕе the nеw knоwlеdgе уоu’vе gained frоm a ѕеtbасk to help you succeed in your next endeavor. Those who аrе truly ѕtriving for thеir gоаlѕ dо nоt give uр еаѕilу.

Affiliate mаrkеting offers a world оf possibility. With dеtеrminаtiоn, соnfidеnсе, knоwlеdgе, and аuthеntiсitу, уоu can сарturе уоur аudiеnсе аnd succeed in finding thе реrfесt products оr services tо market to mаkе you the nеxt ѕuссеѕѕ ѕtоrу.

Author: Pj Germain

Pj Germain - Author, Blogger and SEO Consultant. He has been a celebrated digital marketing business builder and residual income trainer with exceptional leadership skills. Pj's greatest joys are his family and friends as well as helping educate and inspire others on how to succeed with their own entrepreneurial... View full profile ›

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How an Entrepreneur Can Make Money From Affiliate Marketing

4 Key Tips to Increase Your Video SEO

If you’ve made the smart decision to invest in video marketing, be sure to take full advantage. If you want your video to drive sales, you need to be on your SEO game. Having video on your site gives you an advantage when it comes to SEO ranking, as it dominates search engine results. Follow these four tips and you’ll be well on your way to winning the SEO rat race.

1. Host video on your own turf

YouTube and Vimeo are excellent video platforms, however, you’re basically giving away your content by using them as your sole host. Uploading your videos directly to your own domain is better for SEO. When hosting on your own domain, you can create a video sitemap to ensure your video is being displayed properly for your target audience. A video sitemap contains key information about your video (title, location, category, etc.) which lets your pal, Google, in on everything there is to know about the video.

If this sounds like too much work, try to find a video platform that comes with a built-in sitemap, so you don’t have to worry about entering the right information. If you must use YouTube, be sure to create short previews for your video that link to your website. This is a great way to get more visibility and increase traffic to your website.

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2. Create a tracking system to view SEO results

Want to monitor the results of your SEO strategy? Make sure you have the proper software to do so. Some video platforms come with built-in analytics dashboards that will report the traffic to you, but if yours does not, it’s worth your time to get a custom-built code to do this. Tracking allows you to see exactly how many people have clicked on certain links and followed your pre-built funnels, which gives you a clear indication of your SEO success and what needs to be tweaked in your next strategy.

3. Provide value

People want value in exchange for their viewing time, so why not give them what they want? Become a dedicated resource for your viewers by creating videos that teach them something they might not know, share tips you have learned from your trade, or offer promotions. When you become a resource, you have a higher chance of return customers or potential customers returning for more.

4. Connect to your viewer

If you want more hits on your website and more activity from your viewers, you need to invite them to interact with you. There are several ways you can connect with your audience, but here are some favourites:

• Use in-video links, quizzes, surveys, and forms to drive action.

• Add interactive hotspots throughout your video.

• Add prompts to interact with your viewer.

Author: Chloe Nosko

Chloe Nosko is the Marketing Manager at Simple Story Videos, an animated and live-action explainer video production studio. Simple Story Videos works with companies from startup to Fortune 500 to help simplify their complex messages and transform their stories into video. For more information, feel free to connect with her over... View full profile ›

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4 Key Tips to Increase Your Video SEO