Selling a combination of different products – including digital, services, and physical - is far more powerful because it combines the kinds of massive sales you can make by building a loyal audience with the VOLUME that comes from shifting lots of physical products.
And here’s something else to keep in mind: having such a diverse portfolio of affiliate products to sell on your site means that you have the option to add things that are “pie in the sky” sales. An example? I once sold an MBA through an affiliate link! This was through EDx, which is a potentially hugely profitable affiliate program, though also an example of one that you must sign up for.
The challenge? Managing and juggling all of those different items! This is why the big, serious brands will use tools that streamline this process, and that give them access to some of the most lucrative affiliate programs on the web.
Crucial Tools for Taking Affiliate Marketing to the Next Level
One of these tools is Genius Link. Through Genius (https://www.geni.us/), you are able to attach multiple different accounts and then add their affiliate programs. This works particularly well with Amazon, as it allows you to add accounts with each of the different local versions of Amazon.
Each link will then send the user to the correct version of Amazon based on their location, meaning you don’t need to worry about losing customers! You can also add a number of other programs however, such as Barnes&Noble, BestBuy, and iTunes!
From here, you can generate a link from Amazon as easily as grabbing the URL to the sales page, and then pasting it into a box. If you have the Chrome plugin, you can just click that button right there when your browser is pointed at the page!
A similar option is something called Trackonomics (https://www.trackonomics.net). This tool works in a similar way, but lets you add items from a FAR larger list of affiliates.
That includes the likes of the aforementioned EDx. Better yet, Trackonomics can let you search for products in a vast array of different affiliate accounts, and then use the option that earns the most cash.
In other words, if you are selling a smartphone, you can now compare the commission on that smartphone were you to sell it from Amazon, versus the commission were you to sell it direct from the manufacturer. Versus Best Buy, versus every other option out there!
Both tools also let you track clicks and purchases, in order to identify which of your links is the most popular, to identify when a link is down, or to see how much you have earned in a given timeframe.
The only downside? Trackonomics costs a HUGE $500 per month. There is a free trial however. Genius Link meanwhile is free.
These tools will help you to take your affiliate earnings to another level, but there are many more options out there as well for those that want to create a more streamlined business model and funnel.
For instance, it is almost essential to use Google Analytics in order to track the success of your website and individual pages. You can see how you rank for different terms, optimize those terms, and then see how those pages are leading to the sales page, and which routes earn the most commission.
Similarly, using tools that let you conduct A/B tests on your landing page can also help you to improve it to the point that it massively increases conversions.
