NOOB Affiliate Marketer - Question About PPC

[Tommyg123]

Hey all,

I'm so grateful to have found this community that actually talks about real methodologies and clearly some very successful people here.

I'm looking at promoting CB products and have a basic system

1/ Find a CB product that resonates with me, not just pick the first "high gravity" or "popular" product if I don't feel I could do anything with it.
2/ Build a list by driving PPC traffic to a squeeze page with a free offer.
3/ Send informative articles to my list for about 2 weeks then hit them with the affiliate promo.

Not rocket science and seems to be what all the experts suggest.

But I have fallen at the first hurdle. After running some numbers on PPC it just doesnt seem viable. I think these are fairly realistic estimations... a little optimistic if anything!

$0.5 a click
30% opt in rate for free offer.
5% conversion rate from the list.
Affiliate commission $25

So a list of 1000 people will cost me $1500 in clicks
Of those 1000 people 5% buy.. so 50 people buy and give me $25 commission each.

50 x $25 = $1250
-
$1500 in advertising

= LOSS $250

That is still a net loss of several hundred dollars after advertising spend.

Ok maybe I can work some magic and get the campaign making a profit, but still will be out laying thousands to recoup very mediocre money.

The risk:reward seems totally wrong.

So I guess my first question is "have i got my numbers wrong?"

And second question could any kind, successful affiliate marketers point me in the direction of a plan that works?

A few people have suggested some ideas on other forums like forum posting and the like.. just doesn't seem very scalable. Maybe will get a few clicks over a couple of months, after building up a reputation on forums which is a long old process. Hardly something you can take on a big scale in multiple markets I would imagine.

If someone could set me on the right path i'd be hugely grateful as it doesnt seem like a great opportunity. And I know that is wrong because people do amazingly well from CB. Blackhat, Whitehat I don't mind. Ends justify the means for me.


Thanks

Tom

 

[peetrike]

I wish it was so easy. You won`t get 5% conversion. It`s all about testing. You also need skills to have 30% optin rate (converting design, correct colors and very good text/wording). There are so many factors to consider to make good amount of sales. Better make/order a good landing/sales page and collect emails same time. You have better chance to make sales this way.

Cheers

 

[Tommyg123]

lol ok great so my bad figures would be even worse in reality!

HEEEEEEEELP!

 

[Spypher]

Hello Tommy,

I'm a newbie as well, but I seem to doing OK for just starting out. I will post my journey later if I have time

First off I have been working in my niche for years now. I know who-is-who and what-is-what. I know which of my competitors are doing well, and which are looking for ways to improve. Master your niche offline, as well as online.

Second, Don't only use online resources to grow your business online. I know this may sound crazy, but it's true. You show friends, family, and acquaintances you know everything about this product/ service and can answer their questions, big chance they will go to you to buy your product/ service.

Third, Learn how to sell your product. Make sure you show the benefits of your product. List what problems it solves. Use attention grabbing words in your content. If you don't know them, Google them.

Fourth, Don't use paid ads until you know what works. Test, Always test. Once you know what works then start paying for ads. Ask for professional opinions. Make friends here on BHW, ask those friends for tips.

Lastly, Don't give up. Keep learning, keep reading, and keep testing. There is no cookie cutter formula for this. It's a lot of hard work. However if you learn how to Master your niche, utilize people offline, build groups online, learn to sell your product, and don't give up. You will be successful.

Good luck on your journey

 

[I-marketer]

You would promote multiple affiliate products to your list. That's the point of building it. If you want just one-time sale, go with direct linking.

 

[Tommyg123]

Thanks for the responses guys I appreciate the support.

Am still clueless where to start. Are there any legitimately good courses you can follow anywhere? I just feel I need a process in place, some templates that I can get going with and then I can evolve and adapt the process from there.

I keep coming back to PPC because it seems the fastest way to test something is working, but never had any success and starting to get expensive. One person tells me list building is absolutely the way to go. Someone else then says theyre making hundreds a day just driving paid traffic to an affiliate link. Some people in CPA, some in digital products etc im all over the place.

So then think, ok, I will setup a blog website and become worried I could spend 4 months building a blog that just fails.

I guess there are hundreds of ways to make money and I just seems to flip from one to another because I dont know what im meant to be doing.

As I said, I'll pay for a course if there is a general consensus one is good that will work through a process with you so I know I am on the right path.

Thanks

 

[Corpreda]

i advice you not to do so
there's all the info in the internet for free you should just take some time
search->Read->practice->keep yourself motivated

so for your concern tommy :

Starting small is not a waste of time
you dont have to make $1500 in advertising,just 500$ is enough in my opinion and when you make a small list,try to help them in first ,and as word spreads about how groovy you are at what you do ...
People will eventually start promoting you without you even asking them

all this is for long term success
the short one is just like i-marketer told you
go with direct linking and when you get some money try the first one

Good luck

 

[Enryu]

$0.5 a click
30% opt in rate for free offer.
5% conversion rate from the list.
Affiliate commission $25

So a list of 1000 people will cost me $1500 in clicks
Of those 1000 people 5% buy.. so 50 people buy and give me $25 commission each.

50 x $25 = $1250
-
$1500 in advertising

= LOSS $250

The very first offer you make to your list is often what's known as a self-liquidating offer (SLO), meaning the first product is not intended to be very profitable for you, it's simply supposed to recover the cost of building your list.

So, using your example above, you would ideally spend $1500 in advertising and make $1500 on the first product you offer to your list. From there, as I-marketer pointed out, you would generate profits by selling additional products to your list. After your SLO, everything else is pure profit, which is what makes list building so powerful.

Based on the questions you're asking, it's obvious you haven't taken the time to grasp the fundamentals of list building and how/why it works. So, I'd advise you to spend the next week reading up on list building/email marketing here and other places like Warrior Forum (don't spend a penny on anything until that week is up).

As you research, pieces of the puzzle will come together for you and you'll come across a number of great resources you can use to further aid your efforts, but you need to take the initiative to educate yourself first.