The Most Profitable ClickBank Category...

[Dare Devil]

Question DD. How do you price your product. I'm working on something BizOp related - can you throw a nugget over here.

All depends. Are you just entering the market and have no list, potential affiliates, highly trafficked site to leverage? You'll have lots more trouble getting a $47+ product up-and-running.

But if you started off with a smaller-type product first to build your list then you could get a foothold a lot easier.

So if you've already got good connections in Bizopp, go for the gold. But if you don't, consider giving out a freebie that leads to a $27 that leads to a $47 that leads to a $97.

I've been building several of these over the last two years and I'm always amazed at the sheer leverage they grant me when I want to swap traffic or even walk into a JV with someone.

To give you an idea, my lists are currently booked up until August. That's no shit. I have everything planned for each of my lists up until August - one promotion per month per list. It's a pretty powerful method that I'm still tweaking to perfection but its one thing that those damn "gurus" (I hate that word) spit out all the time that actually makes sense and works.

 

[conv3rsion]

This is great stuff.

 

[Dare Devil]

This is great stuff.

Not sure if serious? There's a lot of facetiousness on WickedFire so sometimes it's difficult to determine if someone's being sarcastic. haha

I really have been meaning to write up a series of blog posts about Clickbank but who the hell has time to blog these days? If I get motivated this week I'll do it. God knows, my blog could use the update.

 

[conv3rsion]

Not sure if serious.

I really have been meaning to write up a series of blog posts about Clickbank but who the hell has time to blog these days? If I get motivated this week I'll do it. God knows, my blog could use the update.

I am serious, there are lots of people who are trying to learn how to go about creating their first offer and / or mailing data and even basic stuff is useful for them

 

[Dare Devil]

I am serious, there are lots of people who are trying to learn how to go about creating their first offer and / or mailing data and even basic stuff is useful for them

Ah, ok. My apologies.

Also, for anyone that wants to break into a market and build a list quickly, you may find this useful.

This is a report that I had planned on distributing late last year because I got a wild hair up my ass and wanted to get into the IM niche - a niche I've never bothered with before and may never will, hence the all-but-abandoned blog.

It's pretty basic and can be expounded upon greatly (which is the idea - I had planned to promote a paid product at CPACopycat.com but never got around to finishing it due to having fun over the holidays). But if someone is new to list-building using free reports, it may give you some good ideas.

No opt-in or any bullshit like that. I'm not here for your email addresses. Like I said, I'm not even in the niche. I just figured that since I didn't really do anything with it (other than post it at the Warrior Forum since they were going to be my target market) maybe someone in this thread can get some use out of it.

CPA Copycat For Instant Profits

 

[Rusky]

All depends. Are you just entering the market and have no list, potential affiliates, highly trafficked site to leverage? You'll have lots more trouble getting a $47+ product up-and-running.

But if you started off with a smaller-type product first to build your list then you could get a foothold a lot easier.

So if you've already got good connections in Bizopp, go for the gold. But if you don't, consider giving out a freebie that leads to a $27 that leads to a $47 that leads to a $97.

I've been building several of these over the last two years and I'm always amazed at the sheer leverage they grant me when I want to swap traffic or even walk into a JV with someone.

To give you an idea, my lists are currently booked up until August. That's no shit. I have everything planned for each of my lists up until August - one promotion per month per list. It's a pretty powerful method that I'm still tweaking to perfection but its one thing that those damn "gurus" (I hate that word) spit out all the time that actually makes sense and works.

For sure I want affiliates to promote it. (Lander will be a splog with a real story, checks, and the whole shabang) The product is legit and something unique.
You claim if I price it at $47 it wont work. The only way is to start from a free report, and up sell higher from there; and my affiliates would have to do the same.

 

[Dare Devil]

You claim if I price it at $47 it wont work. The only way is to start from a free report, and up sell higher from there; and my affiliates would have to do the same.

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if you don't already have something in that niche to "jumpstart" the product from the get-go then the barrier for success is that much higher.

I'm not saying to sell yourself short by any means. I'm saying that it would help if you had your own list to sell it to right at launch and/or an affiliate base already stacked up ready to go then it would make your life MUCH easier.

There's a LOT involved in attracting affiliates successfully other than just listing your product in the marketplace. Maybe I seem cynical, but I've just been through the process quite a few times now. You have to make it VERY attractive for them and virtually braindead. Basically, you have to do ALL the legwork for them.

For instance, are you prepared spend a couple of grand (or more) to split-test your sales-copy via PPC and/or media buys to tweak it to get a good conversion rate or were you just going to write it up and let it go and leave it to your affiliates to test your copy? How does it perform with PPC on Google? Yahoo? MSN? Social? Banners?

Any "big time" CB affiliate is going to ask you these questions. I'm not saying you have to go 5 figures in on your initial testing, but what affiliate in their right mind would spend their good money trying to determine whether your sales copy converts when they're already making money doing something else?

Also, what have you done for them to even listen to you? More likely than not, any CB affiliate that is doing large numbers already has at least one product of their own. Have you promoted their products at all?

If you take anything away from my posts, I hope that its this: attracting affiliates is a full-time job all on its own. It's your job to reach out to them (I prefer phone or even snail mail), compliment them on their sites, tell them about yours, send them your data, follow up with them, send them free, unique content, make sure they have banners customized for their site(s), write their email blasts, write up exclusive free reports for them to send to their lists, follow up for them, offer to walk their dog for them and take their kids to school for them while they promote your product, etc. etc. etc.

Basically, you have to have your shit together before they even touch you.

Yeah, there's a LOT of money to be made with CB but there's only a relatively small group of people that know how to make that money and trust me, they get pitched a dozen or more times per week. They won't even look at you unless you have your ducks not only in a row, but named, numbered, stamped and timed.

 

[DKPMO]

They put more weight on spam complaints from broadcasts than your autoresponder, from what I've been told anyway. Either way, there's a way to backup your lists in aweber. Do do that regularly.

Does it mean you lose your data and account access if AWeber bans you? Or can you still log in and download it, like when Google bans you?

Another question, if I lapse paying for AWeber is my data lost too or I simply lose access to features that can be restored if I pay later?

One thing with AWeber pricing is it seems like if you build up a big list that you are not mailing often you have to keep paying for it and it is dead money.

Do you only recommend building a list once you have a regular plan for broadcasts?

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if you don't already have something in that niche to "jumpstart" the product from the get-go then the barrier for success is that much higher.

I'm not saying to sell yourself short by any means. I'm saying that it would help if you had your own list to sell it to right at launch and/or an affiliate base already stacked up ready to go then it would make your life MUCH easier.

There's a LOT involved in attracting affiliates successfully other than just listing your product in the marketplace. Maybe I seem cynical, but I've just been through the process quite a few times now. You have to make it VERY attractive for them and virtually braindead. Basically, you have to do ALL the legwork for them.

For instance, are you prepared spend a couple of grand (or more) to split-test your sales-copy via PPC and/or media buys to tweak it to get a good conversion rate or were you just going to write it up and let it go and leave it to your affiliates to test your copy? How does it perform with PPC on Google? Yahoo? MSN? Social? Banners?

Any "big time" CB affiliate is going to ask you these questions. I'm not saying you have to go 5 figures in on your initial testing, but what affiliate in their right mind would spend their good money trying to determine whether your sales copy converts when they're already making money doing something else?

Also, what have you done for them to even listen to you? More likely than not, any CB affiliate that is doing large numbers already has at least one product of their own. Have you promoted their products at all?

If you take anything away from my posts, I hope that its this: attracting affiliates is a full-time job all on its own. It's your job to reach out to them (I prefer phone or even snail mail), compliment them on their sites, tell them about yours, send them your data, follow up with them, send them free, unique content, make sure they have banners customized for their site(s), write their email blasts, write up exclusive free reports for them to send to their lists, follow up for them, offer to walk their dog for them and take their kids to school for them while they promote your product, etc. etc. etc.

Basically, you have to have your shit together before they even touch you.

Yeah, there's a LOT of money to be made with CB but there's only a relatively small group of people that know how to make that money and trust me, they get pitched a dozen or more times per week. They won't even look at you unless you have your ducks not only in a row, but named, numbered, stamped and timed.

I am salivating at the prospect of getting detailed answers to these questions

Is this something we can expect to find on the blog you linked to and/or in the downloadable report?

 

[Dare Devil]

Does it mean you lose your data and account access if AWeber bans you? Or can you still log in and download it, like when Google bans you?

I dunno about this. I've only gotten a couple of complaints. The sky didn't fall for me.

Another question, if I lapse paying for AWeber is my data lost too or I simply lose access to features that can be restored if I pay later?

I think you lose it but again, I dunno since I've never lapsed on payment.

One thing with AWeber pricing is it seems like if you build up a big list that you are not mailing often you have to keep paying for it and it is dead money.

You're also letting your list go "cold" Always be mailing. Always have new content (grab some relevant PLR shit and post it, if nothing else). Always be talking about new offers as if you are a news reporter giving updates on the industry, not as if you are trying to sell them. With your cloaked affiliate link in the email, of course.

Do you only recommend building a list once you have a regular plan for broadcasts?

The first thing I do is start building a list from everywhere I can. I even put opt-in forms on sites before I even develop them.
(make sure you look at the example near the bottom of that post to see the real "takeaway" of what I do with that that works so well)

I am salivating at the prospect of getting detailed answers to these questions

Is this something we can expect to find on the blog you linked to and/or in the downloadable report?

Well, now that I opened my big fat mouth I guess I actually have to follow-through and make some Clickbank posts now That report is pretty barebones. Like I said, its intended purpose was to start building a list for a product I thought of while I was running one day but I never got around to doing anything with it. I still may, but to tell you the truth the IM "community" makes me sick to my stomach and I don't have a whole lot of connections in the IM ebook world (thank God, really) to launch it properly so it could be a monumental waste of time. It may stir a couple of good ideas for you though.

 

[Rusky]

DD - Thanks, I got some things to think about. and yes I will start promoting it myself for a couple months before I get the word out.
I do love bizops, but this is a different cow, hopefully I have a purple one.
+rep

 

[fight_prof]

DD, I appreciate the great content here.

Can I ask what made you go the route of ClickBank for your products vs. the CPA networks? In the past year we've been seeing more CPS products in the big verticals available on CPA networks.

I ask because it's something I'm at a bit of a cross roads on now myself. We have about 3 products/courses in the fitness & work from home areas that we are looking to develop. Some on this thread have mentioned the low conversion rates for CB products, 1% and such, but that should simply be a matter of split testing landers. It's tough to compare conversion rates of a free trial product vs. a cps.

I wouldn't think the checkout process would be a big deterrent for customers. Many of the CPA 'work from home' offers which aren't rebills still have attractive landers, which I imagine could be adopted to a clickbank style page.

We do plan testing the offers and landers extensively ourselves and having everything in place before approaching JVs and affiliates.

 

[DKPMO]

I dunno about this. I've only gotten a couple of complaints. The sky didn't fall for me.

I think you lose it but again, I dunno since I've never lapsed on payment.

You're also letting your list go "cold" Always be mailing. Always have new content (grab some relevant PLR shit and post it, if nothing else). Always be talking about new offers as if you are a news reporter giving updates on the industry, not as if you are trying to sell them. With your cloaked affiliate link in the email, of course.

The first thing I do is start building a list from everywhere I can. I even put opt-in forms on sites before I even develop them.
(make sure you look at the example near the bottom of that post to see the real "takeaway" of what I do with that that works so well)

Well, now that I opened my big fat mouth I guess I actually have to follow-through and make some Clickbank posts now That report is pretty barebones. Like I said, its intended purpose was to start building a list for a product I thought of while I was running one day but I never got around to doing anything with it. I still may, but to tell you the truth the IM "community" makes me sick to my stomach and I don't have a whole lot of connections in the IM ebook world (thank God, really) to launch it properly so it could be a monumental waste of time. It may stir a couple of good ideas for you though.

I like this Always Be Mailing (ABM) tip... Great way to summarize what this is all about. Here is a relevant visual -

+rep

 

[Dare Devil]

DD, I appreciate the great content here.

Can I ask what made you go the route of ClickBank for your products vs. the CPA networks? In the past year we've been seeing more CPS products in the big verticals available on CPA networks.

I ask because it's something I'm at a bit of a cross roads on now myself. We have about 3 products/courses in the fitness & work from home areas that we are looking to develop. Some on this thread have mentioned the low conversion rates for CB products, 1% and such, but that should simply be a matter of split testing landers. It's tough to compare conversion rates of a free trial product vs. a cps.

I wouldn't think the checkout process would be a big deterrent for customers. Many of the CPA 'work from home' offers which aren't rebills still have attractive landers, which I imagine could be adopted to a clickbank style page.

We do plan testing the offers and landers extensively ourselves and having everything in place before approaching JVs and affiliates.

Money was the biggest barrier for me going with CB when I started out a few years ago. Simply put, I didn't have any and was doing anything I could to get by. So the prospect of going to a network and asking them to push my product was not in the cards in the least bit.

Yes, conversions can be low on CB products but that's not CB's fault - it's the massive amounts of shit products they have on their. Again, not really their fault, I guess.

I just look at it as a payment processor (albeit rather steep) that takes care of much of the "books" portion for me as well as a place that is well-known and trusted in the affiliate world so that's one less barrier for attracting affiliates.

Case in point: last year I decided to "buck the trend" and try to run an affiliate campaign strictly through some third-party affiliate tracking software + that paydotcom.com place. Big fucking mistake.

Even affiliates that I had successful relationships with before were hesitant to work with me simply because it threw a wrench in the gears. With clickbank they:

1) Were already familiar with clickbank itself
2) Didn't have to make a new account
3) KNEW they'd be paid (with PDC, its up to the vendor to pay out through PP)

It was just a barrier to entry that proved to be a pain in the ass. After a month of headaches, I just submitted the goddamn thing to CB and everyone was happy. It was crazy.

I'm no CB cheerleader by any means. They have their problems but I guarantee they have their shit together more than most of the fly-by-night affiliate networks out there. I guess what I'm saying is that I never felt the need to re-invent the wheel and the one time that I tried, it was more of a pain than it was worth.

Edit: I also want to add that I'm not ONLY involved with CB but for downloadable stuff that you want to grab up affiliates relatively easily for, you really can't beat it.

For print books...ahhh...that's proving to be another animal completely and I'm still looking for an ideal solution to that but it looks like I may be stuck with Amazon (I guess I could do worse, but still...)

 

[Dare Devil]

I like this Always Be Mailing (ABM) tip... Great way to summarize what this is all about. Here is a relevant visual -

+rep

Best. Scene. Ever.

 

[affiliatearmy]

right on the money..

DD your dead on with this one.
We just created an ebook (Famous Farmville) on CB, and just putting it on the marketplace isnt even nearly enough.

For starters weve created a bonus book with it (for affiliates) on how to promote it, include all the major promo channels etc.
If we want to succeed with this, we need to put a full time effort into it, and we werent originally planning on it TBH...but know that weve realized it, its time to get busy.. ITs alot more than just creating a product with a good sales page etc..

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if you don't already have something in that niche to "jumpstart" the product from the get-go then the barrier for success is that much higher.

I'm not saying to sell yourself short by any means. I'm saying that it would help if you had your own list to sell it to right at launch and/or an affiliate base already stacked up ready to go then it would make your life MUCH easier.

There's a LOT involved in attracting affiliates successfully other than just listing your product in the marketplace. Maybe I seem cynical, but I've just been through the process quite a few times now. You have to make it VERY attractive for them and virtually braindead. Basically, you have to do ALL the legwork for them.

For instance, are you prepared spend a couple of grand (or more) to split-test your sales-copy via PPC and/or media buys to tweak it to get a good conversion rate or were you just going to write it up and let it go and leave it to your affiliates to test your copy? How does it perform with PPC on Google? Yahoo? MSN? Social? Banners?

Any "big time" CB affiliate is going to ask you these questions. I'm not saying you have to go 5 figures in on your initial testing, but what affiliate in their right mind would spend their good money trying to determine whether your sales copy converts when they're already making money doing something else?

Also, what have you done for them to even listen to you? More likely than not, any CB affiliate that is doing large numbers already has at least one product of their own. Have you promoted their products at all?

If you take anything away from my posts, I hope that its this: attracting affiliates is a full-time job all on its own. It's your job to reach out to them (I prefer phone or even snail mail), compliment them on their sites, tell them about yours, send them your data, follow up with them, send them free, unique content, make sure they have banners customized for their site(s), write their email blasts, write up exclusive free reports for them to send to their lists, follow up for them, offer to walk their dog for them and take their kids to school for them while they promote your product, etc. etc. etc.

Basically, you have to have your shit together before they even touch you.

Yeah, there's a LOT of money to be made with CB but there's only a relatively small group of people that know how to make that money and trust me, they get pitched a dozen or more times per week. They won't even look at you unless you have your ducks not only in a row, but named, numbered, stamped and timed.

 

[fight_prof]

Thanks again... I think I'm making a mistake in my head thinking that the affiliates in CPA networks are on average stronger/smarter at producing. At the end of the day, the affiliate support is a big thing. Some of the big offers like Truth About Abs have pretty decent affiliate support.... I do think that some of the landers would benefit from what we see at the CPA networks (especially for front end lead capture), and it's just a matter of testing vs. the general long form sales letter or vid sales letters.

Sorry, thinking out loud. Thanks again, I keep expecting you to pitch me your coaching program or optin to your free report

 

[dorian63]

You're also letting your list go "cold" Always be mailing. Always have new content (grab some relevant PLR shit and post it, if nothing else). Always be talking about new offers as if you are a news reporter giving updates on the industry, not as if you are trying to sell them. With your cloaked affiliate link in the email, of course.

So you recommend doing that and on the same time you say you build lists wherever you can, even on parked domains. Even if you only send them PLR stuff (so no industry updates here), how are you able to keep up with this? Mailing them every 2-3 days some "new stuff", FOREVER (just to not get it cold?)

 

[Dare Devil]

Thanks again... I think I'm making a mistake in my head thinking that the affiliates in CPA networks are on average stronger/smarter at producing. At the end of the day, the affiliate support is a big thing. Some of the big offers like Truth About Abs have pretty decent affiliate support.... I do think that some of the landers would benefit from what we see at the CPA networks (especially for front end lead capture), and it's just a matter of testing vs. the general long form sales letter or vid sales letters.

Sorry, thinking out loud. Thanks again, I keep expecting you to pitch me your coaching program or optin to your free report

I kinda-sorta agree with you on that point: I think that pound-for-pound you do find a much more savvy affiliate presence at affiliate networks than you do peddling CB products. Take this forum, for example. Hardly anyone here talks openly about CB and there's actually quite a large backlash against ebooks. And there are a TON of guys here that do quite well.

But that doesn't mean there aren't people making a killing at CB as well. It's just two different beasts, is all. Personally, I like to do both types of marketing. Why not sell fat house wives an ebook on how to lose weight AND some weight loss pills? While I'm at it, I can recommend them a book on how to look younger AND recommend some skin cream. Then, of course, they'll need a book on yoga as well as some teeth whitening...

I think its best to pick the product that fits the market, not shove a product onto a market that may want something else...

And no opt-ins. I really don't even hang out on these forums and I damn sure know better than to "pitch" something here. I'd be eaten alive.

Plus, like I said before, IM is really not a niche I think I want to be in, although I come up with different ideas for it almost daily. But I don't think the average WickedFire member would necessarily be my target audience.

 

[Dare Devil]

So you recommend doing that and on the same time you say you build lists wherever you can, even on parked domains. Even if you only send them PLR stuff (so no industry updates here), how are you able to keep up with this? Mailing them every 2-3 days some "new stuff", FOREVER (just to not get it cold?)

Lists will naturally go cold over time. There's nothing you can do about that.

As far as updating, how hard is it to take a couple of hours to pick out some plr articles, split them up, and set them in your autoresponder to blast out every couple of days for the next few weeks? I do it while watching Seinfeld re-runs. If you have a blog that you regularly update, then every time you make a new post, send out a broadcast that points them back to it.

It's really not that hard. Just get in your own rhythm.

 

[submp3s]

For instance, are you prepared spend a couple of grand (or more) to split-test your sales-copy via PPC and/or media buys to tweak it to get a good conversion rate or were you just going to write it up and let it go and leave it to your affiliates to test your copy? How does it perform with PPC on Google? Yahoo? MSN? Social? Banners?

attracting affiliates is a full-time job all on its own. It's your job to reach out to them (I prefer phone or even snail mail), compliment them on their sites, tell them about yours, send them your data, follow up with them, send them free, unique content, make sure they have banners customized for their site(s), write their email blasts, write up exclusive free reports for them to send to their lists, follow up for them, offer to walk their dog for them and take their kids to school for them while they promote your product, etc. etc. etc.

Basically, you have to have your shit together before they even touch you.

This is so true, and I haven't found a post as informative, and as truthful as this anywhere else. We are a new self help product, and we had the illusion of listing in the clickbank marketplace, making an announcemnt post on DP and getting a mass of affiliates

It is a start, but you are right in that real affiliate attraction is a full time job. I now spend my days half sending personal emails to bloggers / relevant webmasters one by one, and then writing articles for them to use, unique mail outs, offers... havent got into proper JVs yet but will as we grow.

Until reading this I was still kind of looking for that magic pill of affiliate recruitment, wondering if we were missing something, but I guess I will just continue doing the work myself, recruiting people one by one.

Good to know you have no personal gain by posting your knowledge - i.e. youre not in the IM field and trying to collect details - a real selfless and massively informative post - thanks!
Dan