One of the most popular ways to promote affiliate products is by starting a review blog. The only problem with this is that there is mega competition. Hundreds of these blogs sprout up every day. But there is good news also. Hundreds fail and shut down everyday.
Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not wishing failure on anyone. On the contrary. I wouldn't write this blog if I didn't want to help people make money online. The fact is that people fail because they dive in head first without doing any research. That's what I'm going to try to help you avoid.
The first thing you are going to need to do is decide what platform you are going to use to do your reviews on. If you are new to affiliate marketing, chances are you don't have a lot of money to invest right off the bat. Lucky for you, there are several free platforms available like Blogger and Wordpress.
You need to be careful if you use a free blog platform because you don't have total control over the content. By that, I mean the company who runs the service can take your blog down at their fancy. And it does happen, so you really need to be aware of their terms of service before you start your blog.
That's why it's really a good idea to shell out $10 or $15 a month and get a domain and some hosting. There are a lot of reliable hosting providers and they often have lots of specials going on. They also feature Fantastico, which facilitates the installment of your blog in just a few clicks.
Once you've got your blog up and running, you'll need a product to review. There are many affiliate networks around, but Clickbank is by far the most popular, and in my opinion, has the best selection of products to choose from.
Selecting a product isn't something that should be taken lightly. The product should relate to the theme, or niche, of your review blog. I'm sure you've heard the word "niche" used many times by members of the internet marketing community. Put simply, a niche is nothing more than a topic, or subject.
A niche can be a general topic, or it can be a more specific element of a topic. Usually it's better to get as specific as possible, so that you can hone in on a specialized market and rank higher on the search engines. But that's a topic for another time.
When selecting your niche product to review, there are a few factors that come into play. They are:
1. Commission - Is the commission high enough to make it worth your while to promote? Pick a product with at least a $10 commission, or it's just not worth the effort to promote.
2. Price - Is the product reasonably priced? If it's priced too high, potential buyers won't think it a value. If it's priced too low, there won't be room to pay a decent commission and it can appear to buyers as a low quality product.
3. Affiliate Resources - What does the vendor provide to help you promote the product? There should be some banners, articles, videos, ebook covers, emails, or other materials to help you promote the product to the best of your ability.
4. External Links - Does the sales page have a big "affiliates" link at the bottom? This isn't preferable because once the potential buyer realizes that they can become an affiliate and get the product for a lower price, they won't puirchase through your link.
5. How old is the product? Outdated, older products or products with a newer version available tend to convert very poorly, if at all.
If you have a product in mind, and it fits most of the above criteria, chances are it's a good one to go ahead and review.
Now it's time to work on the most important part of your review blog-the reviews! Before you write a product review, make it a point to look at other blogs who have reviewed the same product. Find out what you can do to capitalize on those reviews by making them better.
There are going to be many reviews of the product on many different blogs. Some good, some not so good. The question you need to be asking is, "What is going to make a buyer trust your review over those of other bloggers?" Well, there is a multi-part answer. First of all, you need to make your blog into an "authority" site.
What's an authority site? Usually it's one that's been around for a while, with lots of continually refreshed content, comments, and backlinks. This is something that will come with time.
The best way to establish yourself is to focus on only one niche. A common mistake many bloggers make is to start more than one blog at a time. Instead, start one blog and focus all of your energy on making it great and giving people the content they want.
Here are some elements of a good review:
1. Headline - Your post headline needs to be punchy, provocative, and playful (the three P's). It's a good idea to structure it in the form of a question. Another effective headline is a numbered headline. For example: "3 Things You Need To Know About Such & Such."
2. Introduction - A good introduction should be able to "hook" the reader in and get them to keep reading. Get the reader to relate to the product by using the word "you" a lot. The introduction needs to quickly summarize the product and what it does, and what it promises to do.
3. Images - It's a good idea to include an image of the product (you can usually get these from the sales page). You might also include screen shots of the product in action, or "money shots". Money shots are pictures of someone's account that shows the product made them money.
4. Pros And Cons - As far as I'm concerned, this is the meat of your review. Talk about the good things the product has to offer, but also talk about what you don't like. Be honest! I can't stress this enough. Yes, you are trying to sell a product, but it's of absolutely no benefit to you if someone purchases the product on your recommendation and hates it. This can ruin your credibility, and halt your review blogging career dead in its tracks!
5. Proof - This goes back to the whole idea of "money shots". Screenshots or other proof that the product does what it says it's going to do are key factors in influencing a potential buyer. Videos work great here. You don't even have to make your own. You can often find tutorials for most products on video sharing sites.
6.Conclusion - This should be a short paragraph that wraps up and summarizes the review. If you started your review with a question, now is the time to answer it. You can also include your product rating here. A good example of a conclusion is something like, "You may be new to article marketing, but the Handy Dandy Article Spinner will make your job a lot easier and give you a clear advantage over other Bum Marketers. I give this product a 4 out of 5."
7. Call to Action - This is something that a lot of marketers leave out, and it's a fatal mistake. All it is a prompt for the reader to click your affiliate link. It can be something simple, like "If you liked this review and want some more information about how this product can benefit you, visit (affiliate link here)."
Writing a review isn't difficult, and you don't have to follow a set system. The more reviews you write, the more comfortable you'll get. Your review should be personable. Write as if you are talking to a friend. Include personal experiences or a story about how the product helped you or made you money.
A good strategy is to publish a really extensive review on your blog, then summarize it and submit the condensed version to several article directories. Link back to your blog in your resource box and tell the readers they will find a more extensive review there.
Follow these simple principles, have a little faith and patience, and you'll be on your way to becoming a successful review blogger.
Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not wishing failure on anyone. On the contrary. I wouldn't write this blog if I didn't want to help people make money online. The fact is that people fail because they dive in head first without doing any research. That's what I'm going to try to help you avoid.
The first thing you are going to need to do is decide what platform you are going to use to do your reviews on. If you are new to affiliate marketing, chances are you don't have a lot of money to invest right off the bat. Lucky for you, there are several free platforms available like Blogger and Wordpress.
You need to be careful if you use a free blog platform because you don't have total control over the content. By that, I mean the company who runs the service can take your blog down at their fancy. And it does happen, so you really need to be aware of their terms of service before you start your blog.
That's why it's really a good idea to shell out $10 or $15 a month and get a domain and some hosting. There are a lot of reliable hosting providers and they often have lots of specials going on. They also feature Fantastico, which facilitates the installment of your blog in just a few clicks.
Once you've got your blog up and running, you'll need a product to review. There are many affiliate networks around, but Clickbank is by far the most popular, and in my opinion, has the best selection of products to choose from.
Selecting a product isn't something that should be taken lightly. The product should relate to the theme, or niche, of your review blog. I'm sure you've heard the word "niche" used many times by members of the internet marketing community. Put simply, a niche is nothing more than a topic, or subject.
A niche can be a general topic, or it can be a more specific element of a topic. Usually it's better to get as specific as possible, so that you can hone in on a specialized market and rank higher on the search engines. But that's a topic for another time.
When selecting your niche product to review, there are a few factors that come into play. They are:
1. Commission - Is the commission high enough to make it worth your while to promote? Pick a product with at least a $10 commission, or it's just not worth the effort to promote.
2. Price - Is the product reasonably priced? If it's priced too high, potential buyers won't think it a value. If it's priced too low, there won't be room to pay a decent commission and it can appear to buyers as a low quality product.
3. Affiliate Resources - What does the vendor provide to help you promote the product? There should be some banners, articles, videos, ebook covers, emails, or other materials to help you promote the product to the best of your ability.
4. External Links - Does the sales page have a big "affiliates" link at the bottom? This isn't preferable because once the potential buyer realizes that they can become an affiliate and get the product for a lower price, they won't puirchase through your link.
5. How old is the product? Outdated, older products or products with a newer version available tend to convert very poorly, if at all.
If you have a product in mind, and it fits most of the above criteria, chances are it's a good one to go ahead and review.
Now it's time to work on the most important part of your review blog-the reviews! Before you write a product review, make it a point to look at other blogs who have reviewed the same product. Find out what you can do to capitalize on those reviews by making them better.
There are going to be many reviews of the product on many different blogs. Some good, some not so good. The question you need to be asking is, "What is going to make a buyer trust your review over those of other bloggers?" Well, there is a multi-part answer. First of all, you need to make your blog into an "authority" site.
What's an authority site? Usually it's one that's been around for a while, with lots of continually refreshed content, comments, and backlinks. This is something that will come with time.
The best way to establish yourself is to focus on only one niche. A common mistake many bloggers make is to start more than one blog at a time. Instead, start one blog and focus all of your energy on making it great and giving people the content they want.
Here are some elements of a good review:
1. Headline - Your post headline needs to be punchy, provocative, and playful (the three P's). It's a good idea to structure it in the form of a question. Another effective headline is a numbered headline. For example: "3 Things You Need To Know About Such & Such."
2. Introduction - A good introduction should be able to "hook" the reader in and get them to keep reading. Get the reader to relate to the product by using the word "you" a lot. The introduction needs to quickly summarize the product and what it does, and what it promises to do.
3. Images - It's a good idea to include an image of the product (you can usually get these from the sales page). You might also include screen shots of the product in action, or "money shots". Money shots are pictures of someone's account that shows the product made them money.
4. Pros And Cons - As far as I'm concerned, this is the meat of your review. Talk about the good things the product has to offer, but also talk about what you don't like. Be honest! I can't stress this enough. Yes, you are trying to sell a product, but it's of absolutely no benefit to you if someone purchases the product on your recommendation and hates it. This can ruin your credibility, and halt your review blogging career dead in its tracks!
5. Proof - This goes back to the whole idea of "money shots". Screenshots or other proof that the product does what it says it's going to do are key factors in influencing a potential buyer. Videos work great here. You don't even have to make your own. You can often find tutorials for most products on video sharing sites.
6.Conclusion - This should be a short paragraph that wraps up and summarizes the review. If you started your review with a question, now is the time to answer it. You can also include your product rating here. A good example of a conclusion is something like, "You may be new to article marketing, but the Handy Dandy Article Spinner will make your job a lot easier and give you a clear advantage over other Bum Marketers. I give this product a 4 out of 5."
7. Call to Action - This is something that a lot of marketers leave out, and it's a fatal mistake. All it is a prompt for the reader to click your affiliate link. It can be something simple, like "If you liked this review and want some more information about how this product can benefit you, visit (affiliate link here)."
Writing a review isn't difficult, and you don't have to follow a set system. The more reviews you write, the more comfortable you'll get. Your review should be personable. Write as if you are talking to a friend. Include personal experiences or a story about how the product helped you or made you money.
A good strategy is to publish a really extensive review on your blog, then summarize it and submit the condensed version to several article directories. Link back to your blog in your resource box and tell the readers they will find a more extensive review there.
Follow these simple principles, have a little faith and patience, and you'll be on your way to becoming a successful review blogger.