This is advice from my mentor, Dean Holland.
The advice was super simple:
- Have ‘owned assets’
But what is ‘owned assets’?
Simply put, they are things an affiliate owns and controls, such as a website or blog.
This advice seems strange at first, but after doing it myself, it makes total sense.
Many affiliate marketers use social media or advertisements to send customers directly to their affiliate links.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; however, the affiliate doesn’t totally control or own social media, ad platforms, or the websites where their affiliate links go.
On the other hand, an affiliate’s website or blog is something he or she owns and controls.
Even if this makes sense, a common conflict still exists:
If an affiliate is trying to sell products, why send potential customers anywhere besides the affiliate links?
Here are some reasons an affiliate may want to direct leads to an owned asset first:
- The ability to build a relationship with an audience by posting valuable information in blog posts
- Enhance trust and credibility with potential customers
- Make the affiliate look like he or she is running a legitimate affiliate business with an established website
- Have multiple product offers on the website or even create a ‘store’ page for leads to check out all product offers
- Allow opt-in pages to be more relevant, helping the affiliate build an email list
Overall, owned assets can be very valuable in affiliate marketing!