The Art of the Pre-Sell for Affiliate Marketers

As an affiliate marketer, you are for all intents and purposes a sales representative for the affiliate merchant’s products you have chosen to promote.  So, while you are not exactly selling the product, you will definitely need to provide an appropriate and effective pre-sell of the product or products you are promoting.  How to write a convincing pre-sell, without coming off as a blatant promoter, is somewhat of an art.  Pre-selling without being labeled a “shyster” is your aim, so let’s think about how to do just that!

Let’s go ahead and assume you have chosen the perfect product you wish to promote.  What has made this product a perfect choice?  Well, for one, it has everything to do with the subject matter in which you hold most interest and expertise.  Secondly, you have used it.  Perhaps you use it everyday.  It is a product you have personal experience with, have much interest in, can’t live without, etc.  This explicit experience with your choice product is going to help you inordinately with promoting and representing it.  The best thing about choosing a quality product to represent might just be the fact that it is a quality offering, and you will be proud to represent it; never ashamed to be promoting it for a profit, and glad, even excited to be sharing it with others.  Having a quality product to share and promote, you should begin formulating a story in your own writing voice, a story that details how you came to use the product and perhaps why it is so special.  Everyone enjoys reading a well-written story, so make yours has plenty of wit and humor, as well as insightful information about the usefulness of your promoted product.  Of course no one reads a story without a compelling, attention-grabbing title, so take your time with this part.  You can afford to really infuse your title with personality in order to encourage reading, anything to get your viewers to move on down the page.  Often, compelling stories regarding promoted products begin with a problem - a problem that has been solved by the purchase and implementation of a certain product (the one you are promoting).  By detailing how this product has become a solution to a problem in a well-written fashion, you can lead your would be customers effortlessly towards a call to action at the end of your story.  Something as simple as “you might enjoy it as well” or “give it a try” can work nicely.  By giving an easy closing invitation rather than a hard-line, commanding call to action, you will be more successful and seem less like a rabid salesperson. 

An effective pre-sell is essential for every affiliate marketer in his or her quest to make affiliate profits.  Practice makes perfect, and remember, by using your own voice and writing style, you will be more likely to endear yourself to your customers by being natural in your delivery, never rehearsed!