Six Myths About Affiliate Marketing

Six Myths About Affiliate Marketing
LinkedIn Introduces Analytics for Company Pages
Online Male Shoppers Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
Study Shows One “Like” Leads to Others in Social Media
3 Reasons It’s Not All About the Millennials

Posted: 15 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT

affiliate marketing myths2

Affiliate marketing exists because it can be very successful. However, there are quite a few affiliate marketing myths that revolve around this topic.

For those who are unfamiliar, affiliate marketing is a way of rewarding other companies and/or business partners who bring you customers because of their marketing efforts. You can also think of affiliate marketing from the flip-side: If you wanted to be an affiliate company, your job is to bring online traffic and/or customers to businesses and then you get paid for it.

It seems like a win-win situation, right?

While affiliate marketing is great, it's a little bit more complicated than meets the eye. For this reason, there are tons of different affiliate marketing myths out there surrounding all it entails. Whether you're a company needing help or someone looking to start a business, it's important to understand these affiliate marketing myths before diving into this marketing method.

Top 6 Affiliate Marketing Myths

Below are six of the most common affiliate marketing myths as well as reasons why these myths might exist. As a side note, most come from the point of view of someone trying to get involved in affiliate marketing as a business (as opposed to for their already existing business).

1. It's Difficult to Get Involved with Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is something that virtually anyone can do if they put their mind to learning how things work (even learning as they go).

It doesn't take a ton of money or a ton of experience, just a desire to get involved and the ability to really learn.

2. Affiliate Websites Don't Require Much Management

This myth actually goes against the last myth (it seems that no one knows what kind of work it takes to be an affiliate marketer). Although it's possible for anyone, it isn't as easy as setting up a website, putting some affiliate links and banners on that website, and then letting it sit. Google bots don't like to see this, which means they could very well penalize your site and essentially bring your business to a halt.

You need to have quality content and make changes to your website to improve it in order to be successful, and this takes lots of management.

3. You Should Always Choose the Niche that is the Most Profitable

Many people believe this because they believe that’s how you will make the most money. Of course certain niches that sell products people buy most often have a good chance of being successful, but that doesn't mean it's automatic. Although certain niches might be successful for some, they won't necessarily be successful for you.

You have to really understand that niche. If you don't, you're going to have more success picking something you're comfortable with.

4. You Only Need One Good Affiliate Program to be Successful

This is an affiliate marketing myth that companies looking to get involved in affiliate marketing seem to find quite often. Joining just one affiliate program could work, but you have to remember that your customers are going to compare as they shop. You want to work with a few different programs that compliment each other.

For example, if you're a dentist you may want to market toothpaste as well as dental services.

5. Consumers Don't Like Affiliate Marketing

Sometimes it can seem like affiliate marketing is an extra step and will therefore annoy consumers because they can just go to eBay or Amazon instead. However, it is important to realize that customers want information about certain products and they want to shop around the Web.

In other words, they don't want to go straight to Amazon or EBay, they actually want to visit your website.

6. Affiliate Marketing Won't Last Much Longer

Last but not least, this is probably the most popular affiliate marketing myth and it goes right along with the last myth. Because Google algorithms are changing and putting less value on sites that offer more links than quality content, it's safe to say that affiliate marketing has had better days. Still, it has not lost life and surely won't for a long time to come.

It's still successful and still makes sense – and Google sees that as well as consumers.

Do you have any additional affiliate marketing myths to add to the list?

Genie Lamp Photo via Shutterstock

The post Six Myths About Affiliate Marketing appeared first on Small Business Trends.

LinkedIn Introduces Analytics for Company Pages

Posted: 15 Aug 2013 01:30 PM PDT

It seems hard to believe, with all the talk these days about Facebook and Twitter analytics, that LinkedIn has taken so long to introduce its own set of tools.

LinkedIn announced the new LinkedIn Analytics suite for its Company Pages on its official blog recently. But they are also designed to work in conjunction with the recently launched Sponsored Updates.

What You’ll Be Able to Track With LinkedIn Analytics

According to LinkedIn, a “company updates” section shows you details of each post you share. This includes information on how much of your audience was reached, and the number of impressions, clicks, interactions and new followers you acquired as a result.

The section also lets you group your Sponsored Updates by individual campaign allowing you to analyze your marketing efforts from another perspective.

A “follower analytics” section gives you a look at your audience. You can learn more about their demographics based on data they have provided LinkedIn in creating their professional profiles.

But what is most intriguing is that the LinkedIn Analytics section also gives you data on how you stack up with competitors in the LinkedIn network, such as how many followers they have by comparison.

Of course, this also means your competitors on LinkedIn can get a sneak peak on how your data stacks up to theirs.

Best of all, LinkedIn Analytics offers what appear to be simple explanations of each metric. Simply hover over the question mark next to each term with your cursor to learn more.

Get an overview of LinkedIn Analytics in the brief demonstration video below.

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Online Male Shoppers Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

Posted: 15 Aug 2013 11:00 AM PDT

male vs female

Do men and women shop differently? "Of course," answers anyone who's ever witnessed a married couple on a trip to the mall. Typically, when it comes to brick-and-mortar retail stores, men like to get in, get what they need and get out fast. They're not major comparison shoppers and they're more willing to pay a little more to speed the process than they are to spend time hunting down bargains.

But does the same difference between the sexes hold true when it comes to eCommerce—and if so, how can you tailor your marketing to attract both men and women? A recent Shopzilla survey polled men and women ecommerce shoppers about their latest online purchase. Here's some of what it found.

Men and Women’s Online Shopping Behavior

Overall, men and women's eCommerce shopping behavior was almost exactly alike. The vast majority of purchases (87 percent for men and 82 percent for women) were made on a desktop. Next most popular was an iPad, used by 13 percent of women and 10 percent of men. All other devices were far behind.

The bulk of eCommerce orders were placed from home (84 percent for women and 81 percent for men), which kind of gives the lie to the idea that employees are spending much of their time shopping online. Just 15 percent of men and 13 percent of women had made their most recent purchases while at work.

While "showrooming," researching products in stores and then buying them cheaper online, has gotten a lot of play in the media, 79 percent of women and 76 percent of men bought products online without ever looking at them in a store. Showrooming behavior was slightly more common among men—12 percent of men say they looked at something in-store and then bought it online from a different store, but only 9 percent of women had.

Price matters to both men and women—77 percent of women and 74 percent of men say price influenced their purchases, while 80 percent of men and 79 percent of women say they bought from the store that "offered the best all-around price" for the product in question. Both sexes also care about free shipping, with close to 60 percent saying they chose a store that offered it.

However, women are more likely to actively hunt for bargains and deals. Just 57 percent of men, compared to 71 percent of women, say the item they purchased was on sale. Women are also more likely to use coupons, with 34 percent of women using them vs. 26 percent of men.

Male vs Female: Where the Sexes Differ Online

While marketing methods such as print advertising, social media, word-of-mouth and blogs worked equally well (or poorly) on men and women, there are a couple areas where the sexes differ:

Women are more likely to pay attention to marketing emails. Fourteen percent of women, compared to 8 percent of men, say they first saw their most recent online purchase in an email from a store.

Men are more likely to find a product when "surfing around" online. Thirty three percent of men, versus 26 percent of women, first saw their most recent purchase this way.

What do these stats mean to you?

If You’re Targeting Men:

Consider paid search advertising: So your product pops up when men are searching or reading about related or competing products. Improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so your products and website are more likely to show up when they're actively searching.

If you own a brick-and-mortar store: Combat male showrooming by ensuring your employees are well-prepared and well-versed in what you sell. Offer the option to order the product in-store from your own website for (semi) instant gratification.

If You’re Targeting Women:

Emails get results: With most women shopping online from home, don't worry about sending emails during the busy part of the work day. Try emailing in the afternoon (around 3PM) to ignite her interest as her workday energy flags) and again after dinnertime when she's likely to be settling down and relaxing.

Offer coupons: Whether you post discount codes and coupons on online coupon sites, on your social media accounts, on your website or in emails, use them. Women love to feel the thrill of the hunt when shopping, and tracking down that great coupon offer is part of it.

Men Mars Women Venus Photo via Shutterstock

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Study Shows One “Like” Leads to Others in Social Media

Posted: 15 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT

If you want your content to be “liked” by others on social media, get a friend to “like” it first.

Believe it or not, there is some scientific basis for this.

In fact, researchers who recently published their findings in the journal of Science say giving your content a positive vote immediately after publication makes it 32 percent more likely others will do the same.

Researchers also found this content scored 25 percent higher when calculating the total amount of positive votes than content that received no votes at all when it was first published.

Some may wonder what these results imply about decision making in the digital era. But for businesses trying to market a message using social media, the conclusion is clear. Positive votes in social media have a cumulative effect.

Laying Out The Study

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hebrew University in Jerusalem and New York University conducted the study over a five month period on an undisclosed social news site.

The site allows readers to submit links to articles and then comment on them. Users of the site can then give the comments a positive or negative vote.

Researchers followed a select group of comments after voting some positive immediately after they were published, others negative and leaving a third control group alone. The results showed the comments with positive votes early on were more likely to receive more of the same and easily outdistanced other comments in total number of positive votes long-term.

Negative Votes Make No Difference

Researchers also found users tended to “correct” manipulated negative votes on posts by voting positively on them instead. The study found posts that started out with negative votes wound up with vote scores nearer those in the control group.

The New York Times also published an overview of the study in the paper’s Science section.

Thumbs Up Photo via Shutterstock

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3 Reasons It’s Not All About the Millennials

Posted: 15 Aug 2013 05:00 AM PDT

millennial marketing

If you want to feel old, then turn on the television – seriously.

Whether it's the restaurant industry or the latest fashion designer, every brand in America seems to be targeting Millennials in their advertising. Now, I'm not saying that Millennials aren't a coveted demographic to target – they certainly are – but let's not forget about the rest of us either.

The fact is that because brands are so adamant about appealing to Millennials, they're missing out on many advertising opportunities. For instance, the restaurant industry clearly targets young audiences, but did you know that Baby Boomers eat out more than any other demographic? According to a recent study by NPD Group, the trend is so strong that many restaurants are even redesigning their entire menu to appeal to our elders.

Do you like how restaurants are now allowing you to make custom orders that mix and match soups, salads, and sandwiches? Then thank the boomers.

While this isn't to say that businesses are wrongly targeting Millennials, it offers an interesting perspective: What if we aren't fully capitalizing on our ideal audience?

Millennial Marketing: Why Marketing Shouldn't Be All About Millennials

Millennials Are Broke

According to the latest statistics, over 21 million Millennials now live at home with their parents. Saddled with student loan debt and a stubbornly slow economy, young adults are struggling more than those before them.

If so many Millennials are financially struggling to the point of being unable to regularly pay rent, why are they the center of every advertising campaign?

Young Adults Tend To Be Flighty

When you think about the boomers and other age demographics, you'll see trends of brand loyalty. Older consumers establish relationships and attachments to specific brands and customers. Millennials, on the other hand, are more likely to follow the current modern trends and focus on the best prices.

This isn't to say that Millennials can't be loyal customers, many are, but you might get a higher long-term ROI (Return On Investment) by targeting other age demographics.

Other Demographics Are More Predictable

With the YOLO (You Only Live Once) fad still strong among Millennials, it has become hard to predict spending and buying patterns among this unpredictable consumer group. With Baby Boomers on the other hand, consumer-purchasing trends are relatively stable and easily predictable.

None of this is to say that you should completely ignore Millennials in your advertising campaigns. After all, they're one of the most coveted demographics for a reason. However, similar to the restaurant industry wrongfully aligning their focus on Millennials when Baby Boomers compose a larger share of their market, it's important to ensure that your marketing is hitting the mark in terms of who your customers really are.

Are you targeting your brand's ideal demographics?

Millennials On Phones Photo via Shutterstock

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