Article Geek

An evaluation of the myth surrounding Affiliate Payload by a real user who tested the advocated traffic strategies over a period (a note of caution is also sounded on the product).

Affiliate Payload is a Traffic Buying information package written and released by Saj P and Alex Goad. Whether Alex Goad compiled and presented the information in the package is unclear and Myth Buster suspects that Saj P did the ground work.

The package consists of downloadable videos and a pdf document. The document is well researched and written, flows logically and contains more than ample references. The videos contain some show and tell examples and additional information, rambles and seem to be added as additional filler information, possibly as an afterthought.

A VIP OTA up sell is made during the sales funnel process with no downsell. The VIP information consists of additional downloadable videos that add an extra twist to each of the advocated traffic options.

AP advocates generating traffic through various traffic broking and posting options with in depth discussions of Pay per Click, Pay per View, Cost per Action (including Cost per Lead, Cost per Impression and Cost per Sale), Incentivized Traffic Options, Co-Registration, Targeted Traffic Pools, Article / Blog / Forum Marketing and general Advertising.

Myth Buster launched a total of 5 highly niche targeted Media Buying campaigns (utilizing 4 of the advocated options) using the methodology outlined in Affiliate Payload. The campaigns consisted of PPC; PPV and TTP traffic options and included Incentive, Advertising, Reverse Demographics, Blog, Forum and Article mixes.

We tested for 5 business days. Results were constantly monitored and adjustments made to improve Conversion Rates. A total of US $900 was spent on Traffic Generation with 12 hours of preparation and keyword research in 4 niche markets. Monitoring and adjustments took 2 hours per day over the 5 day period.

The Click through Rate was high for all Traffic Buying campaigns due to highly researched phrases and targeted keyword groups used. As expected, the targeted PPC and TTP campaigns returned a much higher conversion rate compared to the pure and combination PPV campaigns. The Incentive and Reverse Demographic campaigns performed above expectation and are currently subject to further research.

Myth Buster feels that Affiliate Payload does not completely consist of myth, and does deliver on the promised outcome. It is not a package for new marketers or persons inexperienced in Traffic Buying techniques. A cautionary note must be sounded here that the traffic generation methods advocated by Affiliate Payload can lead to above average loss of funds if they are not properly managed / controlled and constantly adjusted.

None of the individual Media Buying strategies are new. The Business Edge is found in the unique application and implementation of these strategies. Implemented in a creative manner will ensure that any person using e-promotion will secure excellent traffic at decent pricing with the prospect of making money.

Web traffic, without a doubt, is the heart of every online enterprise.  Allow me to present to you six surefire tactics that will help you achieve the traffic that your web endeavor will need:

1.    Search engine marketing (SEM.  that 80% of the number of visitors that you will be able to generate for your homepage will brought in the search engines.  Hence, it is extremely important that your web pages will be properly built for easy filing by the leading search engines in the web.  This can be achieved via proper keyword research and usage.  By finding profitable keywords related to the subject of your enterprise, you can get the attention of search engine spiders and efficiently compete for a prominent position in search engine results pages.

2.    Article marketing.  Come up with articles related to the subject of your website.  Include a resource box discussing yourself or your business, and least we forget, including a link to your website.  Upload this article and resource box to popular article directories like eZinearticles.com and GoArticles.com.  Do this at least once every day and in a short period of time you’d have hundreds of back links leading to your website.

3.    Yahoo Answers.  Yahoo Answers is one of the fastest techniques that will allow your website get indexed by search engines within 24 hours.  Just look for questions open for answers about the topic of your business, answer them to the best of your abilities, and write down your URL when required to state your source.  Yahoo Answers will bring direct traffic and it will build for you weighty back links from what Google deems as an authority website.

4.    Blogging.  Google, Yahoo, MSN and the big search engines absolutely adore blogs.  By creating a blog and regularly updating the same with posts that contain your website’s URL, you will be able to garner more back links for your website and you’ll be guaranteed that it will beeasy for search engines to categorize and present your web pages.

5.    YouTube marketing.  Transform your text-based content into a simple video and publish the same over at YouTube to immediately win the attention of hundreds of thousands of internet users who frequent that popular cyber hangout.  And don’t forget, Google is in love with YouTube videos!

6.    Press releases.  Several online and print publishers are constantly looking for news items to republish.  They check out newswires where a variety of people upload newsworthy articles.  By writing a factual and interesting item about your website and uploading the same to a big online PR service like prweb.com, you’d be able to position your online businessto garner a lot of visitors.

In order to be successful using forums to do viral marketing there are some things that are required. 

Do Your Homework: Prior to joining any forum, you must do some research.

1. Join relevant forums that are in some way related to the promotion’s primary sales market. For example, someone involved with a health related product, many types of forums could apply….everything from holistic medicine to stay-at-home moms.

2. Choose popular forums.  There is no point in wasting your time and energy on forums that few members and few posts. Page raking and the amount of active members are two good ways to check for this.

3. Choose forums that allow sig tags.  If it’s possible read the rules before joining and pay attention to them. Your time is important, too.  It is better to find out that a forum doesn’t allow posts with sig tags before you go to the time and trouble of joining.

After You Have Joined: OK…you have chosen two or three forums that meet your requirements…now what?

1. Keep your sig tag short and update it regularly.  The ideal thing is to limit yourself to one link, preferably to your main website.

2. Never create posts that are nothing more than an advertisement. This all but a universal rule and only displays the marketers lack of experience if he does so.  At best this kind of post will be deleted by the monitors….at worst, it is grounds for being banned.

3. Work the room.  Be an active member on the forum. Plan to spend at least an hour each day there and take the time to get to know the users. Take the time to introduce yourself with intelligent questions depending upon the forum’s topic. 

As a marketer becomes a regular member, they will hopefully develop a good reputation and without saying a word about their promotion, those who are interested in their product will approach them.

Viral marketing has an array of possibilities and ways to achieve your overall goals. However, just like everything else, preplanning and the right setup to create success are the things you will need to make it work for you and your e-business.

The first thing you want to be sure you don’t do is get over-zealous. The one thing you need to avoid at all costs is spamming. Spamming is still used widely, but with the government establishing more restrictions and fines you don’t want this to be a problem for you. The professional image of your site will also suffer if you send mail blatantly.

Spamming requires a database that contains a huge list of e-mail addresses set up so that the message can be delivered with one click. The problem with it (aside from the governmental restrictions and associated fines) is that it irritates the recipients and kills the validity of your campaign, which in turn kills the factors that would motivate someone to refer your site.

You need to personalize by creating your website with personal appeal. You must see to it that your website makes your customers feel safe, secure and cared for. E-mail is important, because it is going to be one of the most affordable ways to keep in touch with your customers.

The proper way to handle email permission is to first let your customer know that you will not transmit their e-mail addresses to third party companies. The next thing to do is to attach the need for their e-mail addresses to benefits they can receive.

For example: Coupons or discounts that are only available to members who receive e-mail notifications. With each e-mail you send the viral marketing effect takes place.

Some E-books combine very well with an affiliate program. When the affiliate receives some extra benefit from promoting the viral message, like being able to brand your E-book with his affiliate links, the affiliate makes a sale when a reader buys through a branded link. You benefit from increased traffic on your website because the affiliate is willing to promote the E-books for you.

Be absolutely certain that your message includes a clear call to action. There shouldn’t be any doubt whatsoever about what you intend recipients to do. Make sure that the instructions are perfectly clear so that recipients know HOW to act. The action that you require should be simple and obvious as well. Don’t make things complicated or it will confuse the reader, such as by adding numerous links.

Remember the K.I.S.S. principle Keep It Simple Stupid! The incentive should be clear to those you want to take an action. Readers will look at your offering for about seven seconds before they move on. If it takes longer than that for them to figure out what it is you want them to do, they will move on. Don’t make your message vague or difficult to comprehend. If you do, chances are you will lose them. You must respect your readers enough to express your message clearly.

Once you are sure you have an E-book that will be of value to an affiliate program, approach them with your idea and be able to show that it will be mutually beneficial. 

Viral Marketing using E-books is one of many techniques that all together have a cumulative effect in attracting customers and subscribers to your business and in attracting targeted visitors to your website. You will very soon find out that this is an excellent way of increasing sales, subscribers and referrals.