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One of them was in the popular finance sector and was paying $10 a lead and out of 25 clicks only 1 person signed up, needless to say I lost money on that too.
Twice, in the first day I put the ad up I made a sale with a new product, then the whole next week didn't sell one item.
I am having no problem getting people to the site(s) I promote and having a good CTR. I say in the ad what it is and a call to action like "buy now" or something like that. Sometimes I even put the price. I am using CJ & Linkshare and they are reporting all the clicks.
Somehow I think I am going really wrong when I've sent hundreds of clicks, yet barely any sales. Can anyone think where I might be going wrong? I am doing PPC->merchant and landing on the exact merchant page the ad describes.
Please help, affiliate marketing is frustrating me!
P.S. I’ve been reading and participating in these boards for well over a few months now, I thought I was ready, but I guess I’m not quite there.
I personally think I have good ad copy, since for one of the products I'm getting CTRs of anywhere from %5 to 15%. I'm paying the absolute minimum for clicks, yet still have good position, since I'm getting lots clicks - it's relevant. My keyword phrases are 2-4 words typically - all very specific.
Basically, I'm doing everything that people here suggests. I'm trying different ads to increase the CTR - which is successfull. But guess what? No sales!
Let's look at some stats:
I signed up for a program which pays per lead. For a lot of my keywords my position is quite high and I get good CTR. Now on CJ this program has a CPM that's somewhere between $20 and $50 - depending on various factors I guess. But in the last week I got almost 400 clicks on this subject, and only 1 lead! People don't even have to BUY anything - just fill in a form.
I'm thinking it'll probably swing back. Dunno.
Another shop I've joined sell very specific products which should do well coming into xmas now. Yet again lots of very targeted clicks, but only 1 sale.
On the plus-side I am in one program which is getting lots of leads, and I'm making about 10% ROI profit on that one. So it's not like I'm doing everything wrong.
Which is why I can't understand what's going on with these other ones - that are supposed to have a good track-record. Hmmmm.
It is extremely frustrating. Or maybe CJ's reporting is just really really bad or behind - but I doubt it.
Can someone tell us what the OBVIOUS thing is we're missing here?
-V
100k/year isn't out of the question if you're willing to invest lots of time & money.
If it were easy, then everybody would be millionaires.
If everybody were millionaires, then nobody would have to work.
If nobody had to work, then nothing would be made.
If nothing were made, then there would be nothing to sell.
If there was nothing to sell, then everybody would be broke.
Stick with the 3P's of Success.
Patience, Persistance, Persperation.
As far as sharing what I have learned I am always willing to though there are people on here who know WAY more than I do. You might want to take a look at Michael Anthonys affiliate marketing school to see where people are sharing a lot of experience in this area. It is also a place where you can get suggestions of merchants that convert so you can cut your teeth on offers that should work and therefore you do not need so much testing money.
webmastertexas, it is difficult to say how much you need to get started but I spent about £1000 before I made anything close to that figure back, it was a breakthrough to break even! Problem is there are so many merchants that convert at less than 2%, who give you a pittance for your work (less than £3 per sale is not worth bothering with unless the CR is VERY high IMO) and who have lots of other affs all trying to fight over the same scraps. Having said that I have heard of people making money right off the bat. I have a keyword/phrase that converts one in three right now, sadly not much traffic, but if I had gotten that right away I would have thought this lark was a doddle :)
Also remember that the networks do not pay out in the same month that you spent your money so be prepared to make one or two visa payments in the meantime. Also do not trust hundreds on an untested merchant who may not pay up or might revoke orders without explaination and pocket your cash.
For all its falts and frustrations, the lovely thing about adwords->merchant is the instant gratification :) I made a one word change to an ad and within an hour had seen %%% increase in success. Difficult to get that in any other area like SEO
For me, it still seems very easy, but if you'd have asked me three years ago I'd have told u it was very difficult. It's easy to forget one's learning curve and take expertise for granted, but it IS still very much possible to fight and win.
For those not prepared to fight, give up today and save your cash. If you want to learn fighting, I'd be delighted to help!
"Twice, in the first day I put the ad up I made a sale with a new product, then the whole next week didn't sell one item."
You know thats funny, sometimes that happens to me, Ill start a new campaign get a sale the first day and then nothing for days. Someitmes it happens even when I pause the campaign, then as soon as I unpause I get a sale/lead. Weird....or maby this is some tweak that I cant figure out?
You might think you have a good ad, but if I had to guess, you don't. No offense, it's just I see more bad affiliate ads than good ones. Of course, lately, I see more bad than good in general.
Proper keyword choosing is so very important. The more specific the better. The more negatives on irrelevants, the better.
Tracking ad performance of some kind is a must and if you are a CJ affiliate, they give that to you with the SIDs.
Finding a niche is also important. Everybody is doing the stuff that pays big bucks, so it's going to cost you big bucks. You would be surprised at what you can make with a lower paying but less PPC ad cluttered niche merchant.
If you want to learn fighting, I'd be delighted to help!
Michael Anthony - I might take you up on that offer. I got an adwords coupon at Las Vegas and have a lot to learn to be able to make money with it (as I've never done any kind of ppc before). I'll stop by your site first chance I get!
Never stop trying new ideas. Learn, adapt, grow.
If it were easy, then everybody would be millionaires.
If everybody were millionaires, then nobody would have to work.
If nobody had to work, then nothing would be made.
If nothing were made, then there would be nothing to sell.
If there was nothing to sell, then everybody would be broke.
Stick with the 3P's of Success.
Patience, Persistance, Persperation.
I liked that so much i printed it and put it on my work desk just to keep up the incentive. Nice.
It's true though, if it really were that easy, everyone would do it and so on.
If it were easy, then everybody would be millionaires.
If everybody were millionaires, then nobody would have to work.
If nobody had to work, then nothing would be made.
If nothing were made, then there would be nothing to sell.
If there was nothing to sell, then everybody would be broke.
Not sure I agree with the first, third or fifth statements. If it were easy everyone would certainly not be millionaires because if many people could acquire the skills with ease, talent supply would outstrip demand and merchants would be paying commissions in Turkish Lira.
While you're practicing and improving your PPC skills, why not experiment with building a simple site as well? There's more than one way to skin a cat.
While you're practicing and improving your PPC skills, why not experiment with building a simple site as well?
This is something everyone should heed. Diversify your talents. Rumor mill has it that Google will be adopting something like OV has here soon in regards to affiliates. [webmasterworld.com]
If you don't know how to build a decent site if that happens, it is going to be 10X harder to make money with PPC.
