Michael's Thoughts On This Chat

Want to learn compelling writing? Learn from the copywriters that generated massive sales using only words.

Want to learn effective content? Learn from the affiliate publishers that have refined the process of generating sales through content.

Aaron West demonstrated his mastery of this craft on our fireside chat. He learned his chops at Healthline Media and now is reproducing those results by growing the affiliate publisher business at wikiHow.

He made a convincing case that third-party cookies dying will mean that the big publishers will thrive by selling their first-party data ads, and success for niche publishers will rely on mastering affiliate marketing.

Succeeding as an affiliate publisher requires knowing how to avoid landmines and create content that matches buyer intent.

Most content is top-of-funnel with readers learning more about a topic or product and having no further intent.

Even when content publishers can generate buyer intent, they often receive no credit from affiliate promotions due to coupon poaching - https://lnkd.in/gYMBwtUt.

Aaron's approach: Build strong relationships with each brand, and have the tracking and analytics on their side that proves they are driving sales for the brand.

The more universal lesson on effective content? Craft your content to match the reader's journey towards buying intent.

If your article is top-of-funnel - don't try to immediately sell them on purchasing.

Lead them through the funnel by educating them, showing them where others get value, and providing links to bottom-of-funnel content suited to their newly developed intent.

Bottom-of-funnel content, such as reviewing the best products is perfectly suited to performance marketing. The reader is ready to buy after reading these articles, and you're providing them convenience by linking them directly to a product (using an affiliate link!)

No one resents Wirecutter for using affiliate links. You go there because you're ready to choose which product you will be buying.

How much of your top-of-funnel content drives this journey from the initial discovery to making a purchase?

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