Convert More Affiliate Sales With These Credibility Boosting Tactics

Posted: 28 Nov 2016 08:11 AM PST

Being an affiliate marketer can be tricky sometimes.

You want to make money, but you don’t want your audience giving you the side-eye every time they see a recommendation with a link.

It’s about striking a balance, and here are some effective tips to help you promote your links in a more credible way.

Don’t Just Show The What, Show The How

My tools page is a good affiliate income generator for me. If you don’t have a page like this on your site, then you need to create one immediately.

These pages tend to convert well because people are naturally curious about what you use, especially if your site is tutorial-based.

Now here’s something you might not have thought about doing on this page that’s really helpful.

Don’t just list the products you use. Show specific examples of HOW you use them with pictures, links to content or video.

Here’s a snippet from my tools page…

This just kicks the credibility factor up a notch and will help with your conversions.

Ask for a Personalized Landing Pages

Once you start making sales, some affiliate program managers will have a personalized landing page created for you that’s hosted on THEIR servers.

These can often look more credible/official than self-created landing pages.

I happened to mention AWeber in a tweet earlier this year and the affiliate manager reached out to me via email and asked if I wanted them to create a personal landing page.

Thanks for the affiliate gift @AWeber If I earn even more next month do I get matching shoes? ??? pic.twitter.com/sB0ASmqbxi

— Lisa Irby (@2createawebsite) June 21, 2016

TIP: Always tag companies on Twitter when you are sharing fun or useful info about their services. They love this, and you never know what can come of it! I got a landing page out of the deal!

So if you belong to a program and are bringing in sales regularly, reach out to them and ask if you can get your own landing/sales page.

They don’t typically create these for everyone, but if you have a steady flow of sales, you may qualify!

Be Ethical & Announce Your Policy

I don’t like affiliating with products I don’t use myself. And I make it a point to mention that over and over again.

When you remind people that you are selective about what you promote, they take your recommendations more seriously.

You’ll even find that people will often ask you for your affiliate link before they buy something.

This happens to me on YouTube all the time.

Mention The Good & The Bad

My Visual Composer post from earlier this year brought in a good amount of sales.

But if you read the blog post, I also revealed a few things I don’t like.

Most products have cons. And you might be afraid to mention some negatives because it will turn people off.

Ya know what? It just might. But the net effect is more important.

In other words, you might prevent a few from buying, but in the long-run it builds trust so when you do have a glowing recommendation, people will trust your recommendation more.

Disclosure Is Not A Bad Thing

Back in 2009, the FTC updated their policy and declared you must disclose all your affiliate links, and stated that the disclosure needs to be clear and obvious.

They haven’t really enforced this at all, but you should at least have an affiliate disclosure link on the footer of your site.

What I typically do here on the blog is put (affiliate link) in parenthesis after every link.

But I ALSO disclose when I’m not an affiliate. There have been times that I mention products I don’t use. You may have seen (no affiliation) next to the link.

I do this to reinforce my own policy about only affiliating myself with products I use.

Some people are afraid to disclose their affiliations because it could discourage sales. It may, but I still believe the overall net effect is positive.

Put Ethics First & You’ll Be Rewarded

Who doesn’t love to make money? And those potential commissions can have you salivating sometimes.

And I’d be lying if I said affiliate commissions don’t influence certain content. I mean c’mon, this is a business at the end of the day.

But when you are selective about what you promote and show how you use products, it will make a tremendous difference in your conversions.

And since we’re coming off the official Holiday of thankfulness, this is a perfect time to say “thanks” to all who have supported me throughout the years.

This year, I reached my 10 year anniversary of working online full time, and I never take a single thing for granted.

Appreciate ya!

Bloggers: Are You Violating Canva’s Terms Without Knowing It?

Posted: 07 Nov 2016 08:19 AM PST

Canva is, without a doubt, one of the best, free online image creation sites.

They have tons of stock photos, shapes, beautiful fonts, and you can create very modern graphics for your site without any design experience.

But do you fully understand their terms for commercial projects?

Many people don’t, and I guarantee there are some using Canva images illegally without realizing it.

I know of a blogger who was sued for $8,000 over improper use of an image. (Not by Canva.) So you should never assume that “free” means you can do anything you please.

There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about using images from free stock photo and image creation sites.

You have to read the fine print.

Thank goodness for people like Nicholette Styles and Patrice Perkins who really helped clarify Canva’s very lengthy terms for me.

Both consulted with legal experts to help make sense of the legal gibble gabble.

I’ll do my best to summarize the main points I learned from them.

You Cannot Use Canva For a Trademarked Logo

The key word here is “trademarked.”

If you want to create an image with your site title on it that may change over time (colors, fonts, etc.), then that’s not technically a logo.

However, if you use Canva to create a unique mark or symbol that you plan to have trademarked to use permanently, then that is against their terms.

So let’s say you use one of their shapes for your logo, and you want to register your design with the Trademark Patent Office.

You cannot do this because this image would be legally set in stone by the trademark.

Using Canva Images in Books You Sell

Yes, you can use Canva images in your books (print or digital) that you sell, BUT just make sure you read the rules for the elements in your image.

If you use one of their stock images, then there are terms you have to abide by.

So let’s say you’re creating a title image for a book you want to sell, and use one of their $1.00 stock photo images.

You are more than welcome to sell the book with the $1 stock image you bought.

However…

You can only use that image in ONE design (unless you buy a Multi Use License).
If you sell/distribute more than 2000 copies of your book, you need to upgrade to the Multi-Use License
If you sell/distribute more than 250,000 copies, you need an Extended License

You can read about all their licenses here.

Using Canva Images for Resale on T-Shirts

According to Lee Torrens, the Marketplace director at Canva, you can use Canva elements on T-shirts as of Fall, 2016.

However, you have to purchase an extended license ($100) for the elements you want to use.

Keep in mind, if you use Canva to create an image that is comprised of images you own rights to yourself, then you don’t need to purchase a license. The license is only required if you use Canva elements.

What’s Not Clear to Me

One thing I couldn’t confirm was the use of the free elements.

Their license agreement references the stock photo images. Canva purchases a license for these from other image sites.

But what about the free backgrounds and shapes that Canva provides? I was not able to get a clear understanding about the terms for these.

For example, if you create a title image for an ebook you’re selling, but you ONLY use text and free backgrounds (no stock photos), would you need to buy a multi-use license if you sell more than 2,000 copies?

Could you create a T-shirt design with one of the free background elements and sell it?

My guess is that if you’re selling something that uses any of their elements, the same terms would apply.

I tried reaching out to Canva, but haven’t heard back.

Photoshop Will Always Be My #1 Choice

One thing’s for sure. If you create your images from scratch, you never have to worry about rights.

Photoshop is, without a doubt, one of the best investments I’ve made in my business.

Not only has it given me 100% creative control, but I’ve been able to make thousands of dollars in passive income by selling T-shirts online since 2011.

Big shout out to my former Team Lead for FORCING me to learn it at my old 9 to 5 when I really didn’t want to. I had no idea how much it would help me in my business years later.

Just remember, if you add fonts or patterns to Photoshop, you still have to read the license for those!

I love Canva for certain projects, but nothing will replace good ole’ Photoshop as far as I’m concerned!

However, with so many people making money from Teespring, Zazzle, Spreadshirt and Merch, it’s great that you can now use Canva’s Extended License. Yay!

Create Quality websites

29/11/2016