Take a whiff. Do you smell it? Mediocrity. It stinks like shit and it’s a plague that has taken over the affiliate marketing industry. So while you’re sitting there cramming elements onto your page, just know that you’re probably losing money. If you don’t keep up with trends and what consumers respond to, the affiliate marketing rapture is in your near future – that’s just how this industry works.
Faking It Doesn’t Feel As Good
Have you ever heard the phrase “Fake it ‘til you make it?” While this works for many people trying to make a quick dollar, you’ll often that taking the easy way out will backfire. I always wondered why people waste so much of their time pretending to be the best product/service out there. Why not just be the best? You can instill confidence in your brand through your content or lack there of. There’s no need to oversell a product, so be careful with the amount of content you use, and make sure it’s targeted.
Shut Your Mouth And Listen
The human mind is malleable and buying behavior changes everyday. So who are you to think that the demographics check you run really cares about a day-to-day scope of your viewer? You can learn a lot by listening. Take Social Mention. It’s free and you can see exactly how people feel about a specific product or service. You can even set an alert so you’ll always be up-to-the-minute with online conversations and consumers’ sentiments.
Scrap Mass Produced Landing Pages
In a world of mass production, landing pages are no different than cars in that they fly off the assembly line and end up in the hands of a hungry consumer. The problem is that a landing page that’s created with this ‘mass production mindset’ becomes predictable and ineffective. Consumers will spot these false prophets and will X out of your page quicker than you have time to repent.
Splash Pages
Love these guys. They’re smart, deliberate, and they don’t f*#$@ around. They’re grossly under utilized and a great way to lure in your viewer. Just make sure you provide relevant options and powerful content and imagery. A nightmare for SEO? Perhaps, but if you can segment your viewers from the get-go, your conversions will be far from smelling like shit.
Browser Beware
When will IE6 be dead? When that day arrives, there will be no choice for that little beast – straight to the fiery depths of browser hell. In the meantime, you should see what browsers your viewers are using and check on your site’s compatibility and load time.
SOURCE: http://blogs.sitepoint.com/browser-trends-may-2011-firefox-4-ie9-growth/
Go ahead, Touch it.
Check out the design and functionality of the iPhone. Plain and simple – it just makes sense. Now, take a look at your landing page and creatives. As a marketer, designer, or writer – you’re already biased, so step aside and let an outsider take a look-see. Remember the average consumer is not as tech savvy as you and they see things much differently. Plus, consumers love the feeling of familiarity, that’s why it’s important to look at websites your target audiences frequent. But, don’t get familiarity confused with mass production – there’s a very big difference.
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Amy Capomaccio is a staff writer for InsideOV, when she isn’t kicking ass at University of Tampa. She’s a huge Christian Louboutin fan and will take donations of new shoes c/o InsideOV.
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