One of the critical success factors in affiliate marketing is knowing your audience well enough that you can instinctively predict what products they’ll like and which ones they’ll avoid. Getting to this point will take some effort and research on your part.
In fact, it’s important that you do your research before you start marketing in your niche. A big reason that many affiliates struggle to convert readers into buyers is that hey don’t really know their audience. Follow these pointers to better prepare your marketing messages:
Develop A Customer Avatar
When targeting a niche, whom specifically will you be speaking to? When targeting the women’s weight loss niche, for example, how old will your typical reader be? Is she married or single? Does she have kids? How much time might she have for exercise each day? Is she a career warrior or a stay-at-home mom?
Questions like these are the ones you’ll need to ask yourself to get a clear picture of the reader you’re targeting. If you’re writing for a woman who in her forties or fifties, she may be a career woman or a housewife. Most likely, she won’t be trying to lose weight after a pregnancy.
In fact, she’ll likely be trying to lose weight with gentler workout programs like Pilates or Yoga. That means you can leave out high-intensity interval programs and focus more on presenting yoga DVDs, pilates mats, etc.
There’s bound to be some overlap, and you don’t need to get too specific. But you must have a general idea of whom you’re speaking to, so you’ll be able to tailor your message accordingly.
While considering these questions, begin the next step to help find the answers:
Find Their Hangouts
Finding your target audience’s online hangouts is your next task. In fact, by scanning the forums they hang out in, you can learn a lot about the niche and where there are gaps that are not being filled by other marketers. You can then work to fill those gaps with your marketing.
On top of that, knowing where your audience hangs out will be essential when it comes to generating traffic later on.
Discover Their Problems
The forums, Facebook groups and other places where your audience members hang out will often have questions and problems being discussed by those in need of help. This is a terrific source of information.
Find out the common problems your target audience members have and address them effectively. You’ll get a lot more commissions and you’ll end up with a very loyal audience.
Which Products Are Already Helping Them—And Which Are Not?
Very often, your research will turn up similar products being mentioned that have helped people with their issues. Other discussions will warn you about products that didn’t make the grade. Make note of the good and the bad, and make sure to apply this knowledge during your product selection decisions.
Look Out For Other Issues They May Have
Watch for related niches that may apply to your audience. For example, men trying to lose weight and get ripped may be doing it to become more attractive to women. They might well be interested in conversation, dating, or “pick-up” guides.
Bear These Tips In Mind
Follow the tips above, and you’ll be a better affiliate marketer whose content will be devoured by your audience. You’ll be an influencer in your niche and your loyal readers will follow where you lead them. Once you get to this stage, you’ll be a confident affiliate marketer.
