Having an awesome product may help with repeat purchases, but the first sale largely depends on your promotion.
In the previous post‘s workbook we made an epic post for our affiliate product promotion, here I offer 3 exercises to Improve it.
– Inspired by 7 Steps To Freedom II by Ben Suarez (S2-C6)
This is not something Ben discusses in this chapter but it’s the natural order of things so I decided to start with testing.
Before applying absolutely anything from Ben’s suggestions you must know that all his suggestions are just that – Suggestions. This book was written in 1994, and his audience and business are different from yours, and even if they weren’t, you must always be testing says the gist of Claude Hopkins’ book Scientific Advertising.
So lets launch an ad for a week on Google Ads before making any changes.
Exercise 1: Launch your ad
A. Use the detailed guide below to launch an ad for the epic post you produced in the previous post.
(It shall cost about 10$ for a week for a Google ad)
B. Set a reminder in your calendar(better 3 of them on consequent days, not to forget) and document
the results of the ad, Including:
-Average View Time per session
(Because we’re looking to inform and serve first, and if they read a long time it means we’re doing well)
You may find this metric in Google Analytics
-Clicks on your affiliate link
(This may be done through bit.ly link shortener if you set it up before inserting the link in the epic post or in the according affiliate dashboard)
-Conversions
(This will probably be very, very low if you’ll have any at all)
-Leads
(Look if your relative lead acquisition increased in the period that the ad was active)
Step + Exercise 2: Rate The Epic Post by 7 Components
There are 7 factors that may help determine whether a promotion will be selling effectively, according to Ben.
The purpose of this exercise is to increase your awareness of these 7 factors, then rate how well you would rate your performance in their areas, and if you come up with a way to improve them, write it down now, so that you can include it in the improved version of your promotion (2-nd epic post) in exercise 3.
1. The attention factor
"An advertisement cannot stimulate sales if it is not read"
The first factor that determines sales effectiveness, according to Ben, is not just the initial attention, but how the promotion holds attention throughout the reading so that the audience gets hooked from start to finish.
Exercise(After Exercise 1.B):
A. Copy paste all of the epic post’s text into https://thereadtime.com/ and answer:
How long is the estimated reading time of your post? Answer: ________
B. Divide your average reading time from google analytics by the estimated reading time of your blog post
This is the percentage of your post that was read. For example my overall estimated reading time is 22m 1s (1321s) if we divide 10 by 1321, the result is 0,007. Which means my readers read an average of 0.7% of my post. What is your average viewing percentage?
Answer: ____ %
C. Taking parts A and B of this exercise into account,
How well does your epic post hold attention from start to finish? 1 2 3 4 5
For example, my 0.7% is much below the average of 3.5% according to this blog post, which is why I’d rate the performance here as 1.
D. If you rated 4 or lower, how could you improve your performance in this area in the new version of the promotion in exercise 3?
Answer: ___________________________________________
For example, I inserted my first paragraph into thereadtime.com and saw it takes 21seconds to read, which means that most of my readers stopped before finishing the first paragraph probably.
So that’s what will make the greatest impact if I improve it. One thing I could do is focus on making it simply shorter.
2. The Ease of The Review of The Promotion
Easy and quick to read. As Donald Miller says: “If you confuse – You’ll lose.”
This factor is about using simple words, graphical illustrations, short paragraphs and short sentences.
I felt reading my post out-loud was as easy as: 1 2 3 4 5
Why do you think so? Answer: _________________________________________________
3. The Word-Selling Power Factor
The words must be personal, and show through as if a real person wrote them to another real person because direct mail lacks that 1 on 1 connection that a salesman and a physical product have.
How much does your post appear as written by a real person to another? 1 2 3 4 5
Why so? Answer: ___________________________________
How well does your post present the benefits of the product? 1 2 3 4 5
Why so? Answer: ___________________________________
How well does your post present proof of the benefits? 1 2 3 4 5
Why so? Answer: ___________________________________
4. The Graphic Factor
Graphics must illustrate the product benefits quickly and simply for the best effect.
How quickly do my images illustrate the product benefits and value? 1 2 3 4 5
Why do you think so? Answer: _________________________________________________
5. The Ease-of-Ordering Factor
The less the prospect has to do to make the order, the more likely it is to be made. This may include different payment arrangements and methods like phone call, Email, online checkout, monthly installments, bank transfer, credit-card, online bank payments etc.
How quick and easy is it to make an order of your affiliate product? 1 2 3 4 5
Why do you think so? Answer: _________________________________________________
As an affiliate, how could you make it easier? Answer: ________________________________________________
Example:
To better answer the audience’s questions I may:
–Provide a comments section under the post and answer it frequently and/or
-Get a separate phone number which the audience may call on certain hours. (WhatsApp and regular) and/or
-Write all the questions I get by phone, and in the end of the month update them on an FAQ section.
6. The Cost Effectiveness of the Sales Promotion
In Mail-Order this means cover your production and mailing expenses and remain profitable after that.
Truth is – It´s hard to say how cost effective a promotion is as an affiliate until you have sales. And
"sales is ... the most difficult thing to come by."
So even though I never had sales from affiliate products and project these ads will get 0 sales too, let’s still document the ROI* results of this factor after we run the Google Ad I suggested in exercise 1. And then again after exercise 3. If it’s a 0 it doesn’t mean your promotion is bad, just that you have to keep looking for ways to improve it!
A. What’s your ROI after analyzing the ad results of exercise 1? Answer: _____________
B. What’s your ROI after analyzing the ad results of exercise 3? Answer: _____________ (Once you finish exercise 3)
Did you get more than 0? If so, share your success with me by mail at yan@improvementor.blog so that I may learn from you and feel proud of myself for helping you 🙂
7. The Offer-of-Proposition Factor
Whether you offer “Deals” or not will also affect your success.
For example, buy 1 get 1 free or 50% off. These “Deals” often double or triple the sales, according to Ben. This does not depend on you with an affiliate product, but if there are any deals going on, do make sure you make the audience aware of it. In my case there’s currently a “15% off” offer for the SPI membership so I shall make the audience aware of that after the result of the first ad comes back if it still exists.
Does my affiliate product have a “Sale” going on? Yes No
Did I tell the audience about it in the post? Yes No
Promotional Elements Summary
In the book ben gives a list of promotional elements that “improve” promotions in one way or another.
He also says they are based on the results thousands of direct mail tests that he ran. Here are 3 of those I thought might be relevant to us.
Promptness Date
Of all the options tested by Ben, the most effective promptness date is to ask the receiver to return the letter within 10 days. In other words we must remember urgency and limit the offer to a certain time period
In our epic post: Only if there’s a “Deal” offered and if it is limited, let the audience know about this time or quantity limit.
Lift
A flyer within the promotion selling additional items. A sort of “Upsell” as Russell Brunson calls it.
In our epic post: If there are any related products which are of lower or higher cost you may briefly mention those.
Then, one possible method to earn money from it is what Pat Flynn calls an indirect promotion. (Strategy 6)
Meaning you link to a separate post about the product, and inside this post you place the affiliate link.
Testimonials
The strongest promotions include testimonials according to Ben’s tests.
In our epic post: You are the testimonial since it’s not your product. Although you are an affiliate, you are optimally also a paying customer. Just remember this rule of Pat Flynn
"... 2. I never directly tell anyone to buy a product. I always recommend products based on my experience and in the context of what I’ve done or what I’m doing with it. ..."
If the audience wants more testimonials you may of course give a link to the sales page, which likely has those.
Step 3: Assemble Your Sales Promotion for Your Selected Product
Ideation Phase
Have you ever seen a very long sales page for a product explaining all its benefits? Something like
this one(The well that never runs dry)? Or maybe a long, but shorter than the previous one, for YouTube Academy?
Ben gives away his 8-step process for producing a promotion similar to these. Check it out below, and later, in “Exercise 3”, I’ll explain how we may apply it today as content creators.
Step 1: Remember the main desires because of which people buy (according to chapter 5)
-Love
-Money
-Quick and Easy
Step 2: Profile your most typical prospective customer.
Start with age, sex, interests and occupation.
Step 3: Define and illustrate the product.
A. Sketch
B. Physical description [If applicable]
C. Cost
D. Quality points
D. 1. How it was produced,
D. 2. Quality of materials (if a physical product)
D. 3. Quality of craftsmanship
E. Benefits
E .1. All benefits
E. 2. Main benefit
E. 3. Best hard-hitting benefits [Bullets]
Step 4: Outline your promotion.
A. Overall format(Video/Blog, etc.),
B. After reading this story write the:
-Main benefit (This is like a quarter inch drill-bit from the story I assume)
-Main thrust (This is the quarter inch hole from the story I assume)
C. Any unique approach you’ll try (Point 7 in exercise 2 for example).
Step 5: Sketch the format of your promotion.
If a space ad, Headlines, picture position.
If a direct mail promotion, Outline of the main pieces.
2025
If a YouTube video – An image sketch representing each part (In the table of contents) of the video
If a Blog post – An image representing each main idea of the blog post
Step 6: Outline the Body Copy.
-Write everything from step 3 on index cards.
-Each description and benefit on a separate card.
-Add elements of winning promotions like the three we listed earlier in the promotional elements summary or interesting anecdotes, a guarantee etc.
Execution Phase
Step 7: Organize the index cards in order.
Ben gives a very specific order, and if you came thus far, I wanted to make sure you get it all
even though it’s long.
a. Product main benefits
b. Interesting anecdotes
c. How product is produced
d. Product quality
e. More interesting anecdotes – famous people – book quotes
f. Bullets
g. Testimonials
h. Side benefits
i. Miscellaneous
j. Proposition
k. Detailed physical description
l. Guarantee and proof of your existence
m. Order Information
Step 8: Actually write the body copy from the index cards.
Use short paragraphs and sentences and common words.
Note that some people say they can’t write, but its often untrue and just an inferiority complex.
If you can talk, you can write – says ben.
Exercise 3: Assemble Your Sales Promotion
A. Go step by step and rewrite a new blog post(Example) following the above 8 steps.
Write at least a thousand words. As you write the first draft, disable your backspace key and write without any stops whatsoever, including correcting grammar mistakes. (If you want to correct something you may just write the correction without erasing. This helps maintain writing momentum. )
B. Once you’re finished – go through 6 of the 7 components of a promotion in exercise 2
and make them optimal, meaning:
-Make sure that you’d rate components 1-5 at as high as you manage to get them.
-Make sure you apply 7 if applicable
-Component 6 is addressed later in this exercise.
Note: As an affiliate I recommend being less “salesy” as a general adjustment guideline.
Instead, adjust the post to provide your experiences, in the spirits of Pat Flynn’s quote I mentioned under the “Testimonials” heading.
C. Repeat the ad from exercise 1 with identical ad settings for this post (Headline and other metadata) so that you may measure the effects of the content piece changes alone. Then, according to exercise 1.B -Once a week passes, measure which ad performed better.
D. Remember to fill out point 6 of exercise 2
As Always Lets Apply
If you’ve read until here, but still haven’t applied anything – Fear not, because the FILLABLE workbook below is here to help you apply. It provides you with spaces right within the PDF to fill out the answers. No need to go get an A4 paper or create a text document. It may also be more clear, because of it’s stronger focus on the questions, and not so much on the explanations as the blog post.
So feel free to get it below, and let’s apply some stuff! 🙂
Image Sources
1. Book Cover – Scientificadvertising.com
2. Ben Suarez – Beaconjournal.com
Previous Book Summaries
The Lazy Mans Way to Riches – 4 Takeaways
How To Write A Good Advertisement (Content Piece) 5 Fundamentals