Getting Your Feet Wet – Part 1

Sometimes someone or something says or does just the right thing to inspire you into action. That was what happened to me today after talking to a friend of mine. He said a magical combination of words that got my butt moving and setting up a new affiliate campaign (and write about it on Scoop).

I’m going to get my feet wet with an emerging traffic source so I thought it would be cool if I shared what I’m thinking and how I’m approaching it.

Campaign Goal

To create conversions (affiliate sales) via direct linking affiliate banner ads in the weight loss market.

Traffic Source

These test campaigns will utilize display advertising via:

• Retargeting
• Contextual
• Audience Targeting (psychographic and demographic profiling)

Data I hope to Collect:

First off I’ll be interested to see which banners pull decent CTR’s. What will be even more interesting to see is if the banners that get good CTR’s are the banners that lead to conversions (hint they’re not always the same).

Secondly, I want to see which offer converts! If I don’t get any conversions it’s back to the drawing board. If I get 3 conversions of 1 product I’ve got a pretty good idea of which product is the winner.

It’s a bit like treasure hunting. Just because you find a gold coin in an area doesn’t mean you’ll find a chest full if you keep digging. Only time and more data will tell for sure.

What it all comes down to is which banners are resonating well with each traffic source and which offers are converting. Finding out those variables will get me on a path to better understanding the market and earning a positive R.O.I.

To Do List

1. Find 3 weight loss offers
2. Gather affiliate links for each
3. Research banner ads already running for each
4. Research demographics for each
5. Create banners
6. Setup Tracking
7. Buy Media

Conclusion:

Hahaha… I can hear a couple guys laughing in the background.

“Direct Linking!?”

Look, I know direct linking isn’t always the best way to create conversions. But direct linking isn’t the worst thing in the world either. Believe it or not there are plenty of affiliates that still prefer to test certain banners / offers with this method. And believe it or not – Some are even profitable 🙂

Remember it all starts with getting your feet wet.

I had a brilliant photography teacher in college. The most brilliant thing he ever taught me was this (it applies to more than you might realize):

“If you never get lost you’ll never find anything worth looking for.”