How I Choose Which Products To Promote
Copyright 2009 by Willie Crawford
Once it became known that my subscriber database was
approaching 800,000 (across numerous niches – some
fairly obscure), I started getting dozens of joint
venture proposals every day. These “JV proposals” are
generally just requests to become an affiliate for
their product, or to help with an impending product
launch.
Most of the proposals I get are in the internet
marketing niche, while less than 1/4th of my database
is in that niche. If a product isn’t a perfect
match for a niche, I don’t consider offering it to
that niche. Experience has taught me that offering
inappropriate products is one of the quickest ways
to lose your list!
I thought that it might be useful to share some of
how I decide which products to promote and why those
criteria matter. This should prove useful to both
product owners looking for joint venture partners,
and to those also trying to decide which products they
will promote.
Here are some of the questions that I consciously ask
myself:
1) What does it do, and is this something that my
subscribers both need and already want? If they want
it but I don’t feel that they need it, then offering
it to them may cause an ethical dilemma. I don’t
compromise my ethics! If they don’t want it, and
aren’t already looking for it, then making sales can
also be an uphill climb.
If it’s too difficult to explain what it does, then
the sales process will have to be protracted. If it’s
just “the next shiny thing,” then telling my
subscribers about it is probably more of a distraction
than a service.
2) Does it really work if my customers will just
use it? A skilled copywriter can make burnt toast
soaked in hemlock sound appealing! What value does the
product actually add to the stream of life?
3) Do I know the product owner and feel that they
are reputable and someone I want to trust with
customers whom I care about and nurture? I work very
hard at building a relationship with my customers
and trying to actually help those willing to be helped.
I won’t do anything to un-do years of hard work.
4) Has the product owner ever promoted one of my
products and how much effort did they put into it.
Many people have been trained to point out that they
are a subscriber or customer in a joint venture proposal.
My question then becomes did you become a subscriber, or
buy my $5 product, just so that you could stick that in
your joint venture proposal. Did you register as an
affiliate, and then promote no harder than making one
blog post… which barely generated 10 clicks?
5) Are they a member of The Internet Marketing Inner
Circle, my membership site, where they are both exposed
to the culture of my online operations, and I get to
interact with them… and get a feel for them and their
business acumen and standards?
This my mastermind where we discuss many complex issues
related to marketing, and running an online business.
If you are a member, then you will have been exposed to
many important concepts necessary for success, and that
puts you ahead of many of your competitors.
6) Does this compete directly with one of my own
products or projects, or one of my clients’ products
or projects? As a business owner, it’s generally
foolish to sell a direct competitor’s product instead
of my own… though not always. I also feel an
obligation to promote my clients products before
promoting those of someone that I don’t have a
relationship with.
7) Is it appropriately priced for the value that it
delivers? After testing/using/studying the product,
do I honestly feel that it’s worth the price being
charged? Will it deliver many time that much value
to my customers who actually use the product?
How good is their customer service? How do they
provide customer service? Will my customers who have
problems be able to easily reach someone? Do they have
a helpdesk so that there is an easy way around email
deliverability issues? Do they have an easy to find
phone number and mailing address? Is it clear WHO
owns the business?
9) When is it being released, and how will the release
or launch be handled? Is there sufficient lead time to
sequence it into my calendar without interfering with
one of my own or one of my clients’ projects? Will the
tools that I prefer to use have time to work, or am I
forced to only mail for a 2-3 day period after which
the product is no long available? How much hype will
surround the launch, and what long-term impact will
this have on my customers?
10) Will there be long-term demand for this product,
or will the market forget that it even exists in a
week? Can I use tools that will deliver a steady
stream of orders over the long-term, or is this a
product that there might be alot of short-term demand
for but that customers will likely set aside in favor
of “the next shiny object” next week?
11) One year from now, will my customers be happy that
I introduced them to this product? Is this something
that is easy enough to use, and that they can easily
sequence into their business processes/systems in a
way that they will still be benefiting from the
product a year from now?
12) Would I buy the product if I fit the profile of
“the ideal customer?” Knowing the product as well as
I do, after thoroughly studying it, would I buy it if
I didn’t already own it, IF I were the target customer
that it was designed for?
13) If I did a previous promotion for them, did the
product owner pay commissions promptly? Running my own
business, where I pay numerous professionals for their
expertise in a timely fashion, I prefer spending funds
recently paid to me over tapping into capital that I’ve
already invested/employed in other places.
Late payments combined with a lack of communication WILL
result in my refusing to ever do future promotions for a
given company or individual. If they mistreat a business
partner then they will likely mistreat my customers.
14) Am I really satisfied with all of the answers I
gave myself to all of the questions above. Am I being
totally honest with MYSELF, and am I… by promoting
this product, living up to the standards that I set for
myself?
If I can answer yes, to all of the above questions,
then I will consider promoting a product. If not, then
I should politely decline promoting that product,
pointing out why if asked.
——————————
Willie Crawford is one of the world’s leading Internet
marketing authorities, and an in-demand joint venture
broker. Most of his mentoring is done in a group
setting on the member-only discussion forum at:
http://TheInternetMarkeingInnerCircle.com Join that
discussion to experience phenomenal business growth!
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