April, 2012 | Finch Sells

AuthorRank: Should Affiliates Be Worried?

Apr 24 2012

So, I’m guessing you’ve heard about AuthorRank?

It’s the latest Google brainfart. And it’s doing the rounds on practically every content marketing blog in my reader.

Here’s an explanation of what AuthorRank does, straight from the horse’s mouth:

The identity of individual agents responsible for content can be used to influence search ratings. Assuming that a given agent has a high reputational score, representing an established reputation for authoring valuable content, then additional content authored and signed by that agent will be promoted relative to unsigned content or content from less reputable agents in search results.
– taken from Google’s patent

Skyrocket SEO did a fantastic job of summing up what AuthorRank could mean for content marketers.

Eric Nagel also wrote an interesting post from an affiliate perspective.

‘Changes to Google’ and ‘impact on affiliates’ are two phrases that we’ve grown used to interpreting in a negative light over the last few years.

So forgive me for asking what immediately springs to mind…

What is AuthorRank’s potential to mess with my shit?

As a concept, I actually quite like AuthorRank.

I like the idea of writers being able to lend credibility to their content through reputation alone. Yet affiliates have a somewhat mixed agenda…

Essentially, by using the rel=author tag, I could send a signal to Google that the person who writes this blog is the same dude that cranks out posts related to weight loss, dating, Justin Bieber and whatever other scumbag projects I might or might not be working on at the time.

That signal could be translated in to my gleaming face, and my social profile, sitting next to those links in the SERP.

Now, the dilemma for myself and many other readers, is do I really want the world and its dog to be able to see what I’m working on? Do I want my name attached to niche exploitation where my true expertise is little to none?

It’s a tough one. Our industry is still somewhat obscured by a veil of secrecy.

Affiliates rarely like to talk about their works-in-progress. If somebody comes along with a bigger budget and blows them out of the water, well, you get it. That’s bad business.

Many of us invest in private domain registrations, multiple servers and a crap load of pseudonyms to hide our footprint.

Personally, I feel that if a site requires the absolute top level of secrecy, it’s probably a good indication that I’m engaging in some murky shit that isn’t compatible with my long-term business objectives. Or that it’s porn. I try not to get too paranoid about people spying on my projects.

In reality, as long as you keep executing, you will stay ahead of those who keep chasing tails.

That said, I believe it’s important to lend an identity to every website I launch. It might not be run by ‘Finch’, but it has to have a name attached to build some vital bridges of trust. I’m a big fan of pseudonyms, and so AuthorRank is likely to require a new level of thinking.

Whereas in the past, I could get away with a pseudonym and a fake profile, I can see it becoming necessary to embrace those fake identities on a social level. Perhaps building author reputation will become as important as traditional backlink development.

I can’t imagine a situation where I would want to lend my real name to every affiliate project I work on. There are products I promote, and verticals I work in, that I certainly don’t wish to come back and haunt me over a dining table in the future.

However, if AuthorRank takes off in a big way – as many suspect it will – I would definitely look to exploit my existing assets by placing my name on new projects where I can justify an involvement.

This is one of the rare few Google developments that I see as a great opportunity for content creators. For those of us involved with affiliate sites, however, I see a lot of profile juggling ahead. Could it be time to think of a pseudonym for every niche you work in?

Okay, that’s probably a little extreme. But it will be interesting to see how Google evolves with this change.

Will you be making any preparations or changes for AuthorRank?

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Bloggers: How to Deal with Criticism, Haters and Trolls

Apr 20 2012

There are three things you can take for granted when you run a highly opinionated blog.

Criticism, haters and trolls.

The first in that list, criticism, is perhaps the hardest to swallow.

I believe one of the reasons why so many blogs die is because their owners find it tough to deal with the raft of criticism when their writing reaches a wider audience.

When you stick your neck on the line and make your opinions heard, it can take a while for the first criticism to appear. Many times, bloggers will get used to a small crowd of praise and positivity towards their posts. Followers congregate much sooner than haters, and it’s only when a brand verges on the realms of notability that the haters are likely to come out of the woodwork. It’s at this point that many bloggers, in my opinion, get trigger-shy.

They realise that with a growing readership, there are so many more toes to stamp on than there were before. The provocative, truthful and energizing posts get thrown out of the window, replaced by non-offensive and fence-sitting gibberish. They are less keen to offend, or risk a great backlash. They would rather satisfy every eyeball to the point where their voice becomes weak and mixed, or they will abandon the blog altogether.

It’s a great shame. Some of my favourite bloggers, through no coincidence, attract more than their fair share of haters and trolls.

Haters and trolls are irritating. But they are not the end of the world. What really can frustrate is the justified criticism. There are two forms of justified criticism: a difference in opinions, which is unavoidable and not a bad thing. Or a hole in your argument, usually the result of lazy posting or ill-considered comments.

A few months ago I wrote a supercharged negative review of Rich Dad Poor Dad. I wrote it in about 40 minutes after devouring the book in all of its gory mediocrity. Now I’ll admit, I got carried away with some of my criticism. But I wasn’t expecting it to reach the Top 5 on Hacker News and send thousands upon thousands of Rich Dad junkies my way.

In retrospect, I have now adopted a ‘no post goes live on the day of writing‘ policy. The cooling off period allows me to read the post with fresh eyes and detect any unnecessary exaggeration, or to add extra reasoning where needed. I believe I was also guilty of ‘small blogger syndrome’.

I wrote the post expecting it to appeal to my usual motley crew of readers, which it did, but I got lazy – and perhaps defeatist – in not considering what would happen if the post actually ventured outside my usual readership. The result was tens of thousands of new readers either loving or hating (depending on their take on the book) my preaching to the choir.

That lesson has taught me a lot about best practices for those running highly opinionated blogs.

Firstly, keep your usual readership in mind, but don’t fall in to the trap of preaching to the choir. Always aim to challenge and win over new readers. Avoid simply ‘phoning in’ posts. A lot of bloggers never venture beyond cult hit status because they’re too paralyzed with fear to overcome the criticism they might receive from existing readers for growing as a brand.

This can backfire spectacularly if your writing becomes so niched-in that your arguments are dripping with in-group bias. The outside reader sees only a very closed mind, even if your followers love you.

Secondly, if you are going to make a controversial statement, prepare to be challenged by those who stumble upon your views with their own fully fleshed arguments to the contrary. In essence, prepare for criticism before it arrives. You can’t slag off people, concepts and arguments and expect your blog to be a widespread success without very sound reasoning to back up your points.

Nothing intimidates haters and trolls like a confident voice in charge of his views and muse.

Objectively, however, criticism and mixed opinions are unavoidable. If you get lazy with your argument, and that argument goes viral to be seen and rebuked by thousands of readers – many ruffled by your obnoxious 24 year old entrepreneur posturing – you’ve only got yourself to blame. A cooling off period is essential.

Re-read your work and play Devil’s Advocate. What are the weak points? What statements are poorly backed up? It’s easy to miss these vital factors when you hit the Publish button while your cheeks are still flushed with writer’s venom.

I’m slowly learning that the best time to publish new material is when I’m in a neutral mood. Not angry, not sad, not overwhelmed with joy (psst, last spotted in 1997). Tilted emotions typically lead to skewed views on the world. You will attract rightful criticism, and rightful criticism is always the most demoralizing to your work if not learnt from rapidly.

It’s fine to write material when you’re in those moods. But when you are the editor of your own content, it’s important to separate the ego from the neutral observer. You can’t do this by publishing 5 minutes after writing.

And what about those haters and trolls? They can surely only be a good thing. They are the evidence that your brand is sticking, and moving in the right direction. The best way to deal with such urchins is to carry on as you were. Embrace the disagreements, and those occasionally hateful voices. At least it means you’re being heard.

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CPA Marketers: Read This And Improve Your Conversion Rates

Apr 17 2012

The line between profitability and hopelessness has become so thin that you are royally shooting yourself in the balls if you are not fighting for every last conversion.

A common problem I see with affiliate sales funnels is a lack of understanding for what constitutes a conversion. Sounds pretty obvious, right? “Duh Finch, I get money when another sucker joins True.” Well, that’s almost correct. Unfortunately, the ‘almost’ cripples many campaigns.

Before promoting any offer, you must take the time to research exactly when the conversion pixel fires. There’s no room for vague assumptions. “Joining True” paints a picture in my mind of the conversion pixel being fired as soon as the user selects a username and hits Next. Most of the time, this is not the case.

We have zip submits, single opt-ins (SOI), double opt-ins (DOI), questionnaires to answer, profile pictures to upload, applications to download, first orders to place… every offer comes with its own criteria for when the conversion should be fired.

The definition of “joining a site” is black and white. But your conversion isn’t. Don’t make the mistake of assuming they are one and the same.

Here are some general guidelines for how your landing pages can be adapted to suit each conversion type.

Zip submits

Generally seen as the easiest affiliate offers to promote, zip submits do exactly what they say on the tin. As soon as the user submits his zip-code, you get your conversion. The payouts on these offers are predictably low to offset the unpredictability of the traffic quality.

The golden rule of promoting zip submits is to hold the advertiser’s hand and give them exactly what they want. There’s no point in delivering poor quality traffic. You’ll be scrubbed to Timbuktu in no time.

Single opt-ins

A single opt-in requires the user to submit his email address. However, the conversion is triggered after the submission rather than at the point of confirmation. You’ll find a lot of single opt-in offers paying around $2-$3.50. It’s not big bucks, but it’s better than a zip submit.

In my opinion, the large majority of affiliates use landing pages that are aimed at achieving a single opt-in. It’s the standard entry point. But think about it logically. If the advertiser is paying out on a single opt-in, you can probably increase your traffic quality substantially simply by treating the offer like a double opt-in. Encourage and incentivize the user to confirm his email address. This may have to come at the price of one of our favourite affiliate tactics: completely bullshitting the real nature of the offer. “Hey, where all the single soldiers at?”

Double opt-ins

A confirmed double opt-in is worth infinitely more than a single opt-in. Your payouts will traditionally reflect this by offering double for the confirmed email.

Something to keep in mind with double opt-in campaigns, particularly in the dating vertical, is that it makes no sense to calculate ROI on an ongoing ‘live’ basis. A small but significant percentage of users will not confirm their double opt-in straight away. They will get busy, distracted, or otherwise torn away from their Gmail. This can lead to a small trickle of conversions being fired the next morning. Ever had 0 clicks and 3 conversions? Well, there you go.

However, if you’re monitoring your stats like a hawk, what are you going to think when you finish the evening taking a loss? You’ve probably already deleted the campaign by then.

Always let your conversions filter through before making any snap judgments.

Survey/questionnaire completion

Some offers require the completion of an entire questionnaire before the conversion is recorded. Now imagine you’re the stereotypical battering-ram of a publisher who cares not for such details. You design a landing page with a teasing call-to-action like this:

“Register in 45 Seconds or Less!”

Sounds nice and coaxing, right? In some cases this works as a great hook. But it’s a terrible call-to-action when the conversion pixel is only fired after a 15 minute questionnaire.

I see it happening time and time again. Affiliates go for quick dealmakers. They sell every offer with the brevity of a single opt-in, when they should actually be shooting for a solid incentive to complete Steps A, B and C.

In instances where the user is required to navigate his way through a complex 15 minute interrogation, your landing page has a duty to sell this process and make it seem worthwhile. How could you get a user to answer a questionnaire?

To give you an example, on dating sites, I use it to filter out the ‘bad dates’ that the user will be avoiding when she joins the new service. It’s quality protection, because she only deserves the best.

Profile photo upload

This is another common requirement on high-payout dating offers.

Offers that convert only after a profile photo upload would have worried the crap out of me 5 years ago. But now thanks to Facebook, even technophobic 75 year old grandmas have photos at their disposal.

The secret to nailing these conversions is to make a direct reference to the benefits of uploading a photo. If you’re branding the site as an unusual paradise where men actually receive messages from hot girls, you should make it clear that communications increase X% when the user adds his photo. Or say that members without a photo are being culled and will not qualify for the free trial offer. Whatever puts the thought in his head and safeguards your conversion.

Converts on download

There are many toolbar and gaming offers out there where the user is expected not only to sign up, but to download and sometimes even play the game for the first time.

For single opt-in minded folk, I like to call this the ‘minefield offer’.

It’s littered with so many what-ifs that the challenge is as much about hitting the right carefree demographic as it is selling the product. A golden rule that I’ve adopted is to avoid targeting users who are likely to be on their work computers. This crowd does not want to download and leave a trace. So you will need to day-part and keep a tight hold over your demographics.

There’s no point in trying to con the user here. Your best step forward is to sell the offer as a legitimate must-have and hope that the user’s interest is perked enough to follow the necessary steps.

For gaming offers, “Can you beat this ridiculous score?” is a winning hook.

So, how are your conversions today?

Take a look at your own sales funnels. Be honest.

Has it all gone slightly tits-up?

Your landing page must not only sell the offer. It must sell the required steps necessary to secure the conversion.

As I said on StackThatMoney this week, your sales funnel has to be designed to shove the user to the conversion pixel, NOT purely to get them to choose a username and press Next. Be clear with your objectives!

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