Expert Affiliate Tips

Earlier this year AWeber held a very limited, invitation only training session for Internet marketers. I was one of a lucky handful of people who participated. However, unlike the other folks involved, I took mountains of notes. I’m sharing AWeber’s secrets (and proven data!) with you right here, right now. The quotes are word-for-what what AWeber told us. We also interpret what they said, just to make everything crystal clear…

AWeber Lesson #1

“Forms never stand alone in isolation. Consider the context. Opt in forms are part of a larger sales process. Again, consider your overall business goals.”

The core idea is that you should not ever just whip up an opt-in form and expect success. The form is part of a bigger picture. Where does traffic come from? Adwords, EzineArticles, blogs, Technorati? You need to know how people are finding you so you can target the customers using the form. For this reason, it’s really important to track all of your data using free stat counters such as StatCounter or Google Analytics.

Bonus Tip: In fact, you might consider putting multiple squeeze pages up for each of your different traffic sources to determine which one converts the best – yes, different sources of traffic convert differently. That way, you can focus more (or spend more!) on those sources of traffic. Tracking is extremely important!

It’s even better if the traffic is free though. Traffic Generation Secrets reveals several proven ways to drive traffic to your website and squeeze page (both free and paid methods). When the traffic is free, as you just have to calculate the amount of time you spent generating the traffic. We’ll talk a little more about this later…

AWeber Lesson #2

“All opt-in forms and the context around them should be 100% clear; don’t try to be tricky.”
The core idea is that it never pays to be tricky, devious, or otherwise clever. Your opt-in form should be brutally simple and easy to understand. The reason is that objective is to grab email addresses, nothing else. Never try to get anything done on that form page. For example, don’t waste time talking about other products or affiliate programs. Focus on grabbing email addresses.

AWeber is also saying it’s extremely important to convey that your squeeze page copy is crystal clear – in other words, keep it short and concise. Big Hint: Our shorter squeeze page copy converts better than our long squeeze page copy.

AWeber Lesson #3

“Have opt-ins all over the place for specific goals”
The core objective is what we call Opt-In Form Mass Proliferation. Opt-ins should be all over the place. Give people as many opportunities as possible to opt-in. Have opt-ins on your blogs, as stand alone pages, and so on. You have to create opportunities for people to opt in to your list. It’s a numbers game.

Bonus Tip: It’s also smart to have multiple lists and opt-in forms for different purposes. For example, you might have one opt-in form for your customer list, another opt-in form for folks interested in being on a “pre-launch” list, and so on. Targeting your offers towards the “personality” of each list increases your conversion rates like crazy!

AWeber Lesson #4

“Do not have opt-ins on pages that have another primary goal, e.g., a sales page”
The simple idea is that opt-in pages should be opt-in pages and sales pages should be sales pages. Never confuse customers with more than one goal. You’ll lose sales and you’ll lose opt-ins.
Yes, this includes those flying pop-overs so many marketers put on their sales letter. You’ll get some folks to convert, sure, but at what cost? Many of them who might have purchased no longer will.

Bonus Tip: Instead, it’s much smarter to direct all of your traffic to an opt-in page, and then after they opt-in, immediately direct them to your sales page. That way, you have their e-mail address and you can hit them up with your offer more than once!

AWeber Lesson #5

“Customers need to see opt-in forms to use them but, don’t put opt-in at top of blog if you want customers to read the blog closely.”

You cannot use what you cannot see. Opt-in fields should be above the fold, in plain sight if that is your core objective. However, in relation to a blog, if you want people to read the blog as the core objective, then put the opt-in fields off to the side of the blog, not front and center. Always consider your objectives and business goals, and the needs of your customers.

AWeber Lesson #6

“Shoot for immediate appeal with appropriate use of color and graphics. Opt-ins can be sexy and grab attention, but don’t dominate the page with them.”

The idea is that opt-in forms should be simple, but they should attract attention and be visually appealing. A simple plain form is effective, but some nice graphics and bold (focused) text can increase conversion rates, sometimes dramatically.

Bonus Tip: We’ve found that a short, plain page with some bolded text and a single graphic (a cover seems to work best) tends to have the highest conversion rates.

AWeber Lesson #7

“Some key design choices for opt-ins and placement. For example: For blogs, the right hand side above fold is great; immediately available but not overpowering”

The core idea is that with blogs, the upper right part of the page is optimal according to AWeber. This gives people the opportunity to opt-in but it still allows the top center part of the blog to focus on delivering content. To the right of that content, put in your opt-in fields.

Bonus Tip: If getting the lead to opt-in is your primary goal, it’s also very smart to make occasional posts about joining your list, or to use a “sticky post” (makes a single post always appear at the top of your blog) and talk about your newsletter.

AWeber Lesson #8

“You can have more than one opt-in per page. One at top and/or side, and one at the bottom.”
This is a huge secret. A lot of people only put one opt-in form on a page. You’re wasting opportunities by not having more than one opt-in form on a page. There’s no real perfect number of forms to add to one page; you’ll have to experiment.
But, the point is that you should really try using more than one form per page. According to AWeber, it can work magic.

Bonus Tip: By the way, this might mean having an opt-in form on the page and another one pop up upon exit. You’ve got to test!

AWeber Lesson #9

“Never use pop ups in isolation; i.e., pop up opt-in is part of larger whole, bigger process”
The core idea is that, practically speaking, you should have an opt-in pop up and 1-2 opt-in forms on a page. Test to find the right mix. While one market might not mind pop-up opt-in forms, it might dramatically decrease your credibility in other markets.

AWeber Lesson #10

“There are many types of pop ups: hover over, glide over, standard pop up à try them all, test”
The AWeber experts repeatedly stressed that people need to try different types of pop ups. There is no single best pop up for everyone. It depends completely on the business, the content, and user type. There are many opportunities for split testing.