It's one of the most frequently asked questions on any expert interview these days.
"I am an online marketer / affiliate marketer / network marketer just starting out. Do I have to have a personal brand site? Is it necessary?"
In this "Webpreneur Q & A" I want to share with you my take on this...
Is "personal branding" important to sell affiliate products?
When I started out in this industry on 1999, I had not idea what branding was, let alone how to have my own.
I waited for years to even put my own personal domain which did more harm than good in this business.
Even when I noticed that many successful people who were earning big money through affiliate marketing had positioned themselves as marketing gurus in their niche.
They had everything I didn’t. Fancy websites, photos, and all the hype that comes with being “the star.”
I have always enjoyed working behind the scenes and really did not care for the name and fame. Not everyone wants to be the star, and I was certainly one of them.
After almost 10 years of working and running an agency behind the scenes, I realized that it was really not the smartest move.
I was dumb to even think that, I could get away with working behind the scenes, so long as I work with integrity and honesty.
Then I realized that by getting an edge in an increasingly competitive industry through personal branding, you can sustain a good position and leverage for your business in the long run.
Affiliate marketing’s growth has risen 200% since the start of the millennium. This indicates the importance of creating a well-defined brand for yourself to stand out from the overcrowded market.
Affiliate marketers must go through, three stages of evolution before they even think of creating their personal brand:
1. Driving Direct Traffic (Cold Traffic)
This is the stage where you have to learn how to place ads, then wait for people to click those ads.
Some of your leads will buy your offer through your affiliate links, and if you make commissions that exceeded your expenses, you’ll make a profit.
This is called cold traffic generation because nobody will really know you exist.
It’s simply placing ads and relying on clicks without directly convincing users yourself. You’re basically sitting behind the screen and waiting.
2. Creating A Funnel (Warm Traffic)
In warm traffic generation, instead of placing affiliate links, you direct traffic to your lead capture page where customers will see your request for their information so they can receive something from you, like a free gift.
You can then form a list of email addresses and build a relationship with your leads by sending them emails.
Next, you’ll have to master a new skill - Copywriting. Your emails have to be persuasive and engaging enough for customers to follow through.
3. Personal Branding Development
This is when you establish yourself as an expert or guru. Once you have learned the first two stages, you can now brand yourself as an authority in your niche.
You can build your brand by publishing the following content:
Blogs
Articles
Videos
The smartest way is to "sell yourself" first, then sell affiliate programs after.
How to Brand Yourself
To begin shaping your personal brand, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
Who Are You?
What do you stand for? Explain your company’s mission, core values, and principles.
What Do You Do?
How would you sum up your business in 30 seconds? You should highlight the specialties within your business.
Why Does It Matter?
How do you interact with customers and what benefits can you offer them?
What Makes You Different?
Do you have a unique voice or promotional approach? What can you list that is different from the rest?
In this review driven Internet age, the smartest way to sell anything is for you to brand you before someone who knows very little about you brands you.
There is no excuse for you NOT to have your personal brand shine any more.
I hope this helped!
Abe