Let’s start with a basic question! What do most people use the internet for?
Although many people do use the internet to purchase items (like greeting cards), most people use the internet to find information. People look up all kinds of things from "Abracadabra" (Roughly 1 million searches per month) to zamboni (200,000+ searches per month). People look for information about how to make their lives easier, more enjoyable and more abundant! Since information is what everyone is seeking, we need to make sure that we are giving them what they want! This is the 'trick' to getting Google and the other major search engines to love you and to send you consistent traffic... Offering information that their users are looking for! When someone goes to Google and searches for a specific term, Google's goal is to bring them the 'expert' regarding the keyword phrase they searched.
I can already hear you thinking... "That's great, Miles, but how does that pertain to me selling my cards?"
This is the exact point I'm getting at right now!
The world of internet marketing revolves around the fact that EVERYONE is an expert at something! We all have expertise in something, and to market on the internet, we need to share this expertise with anyone and everyone who may be searching for it. Some people are experts in planning a surprise birthday party. Someone else may be an expert in dying Easter eggs, or do it yourself Halloween costumes and decorations. Other people may be experts at managing a household, from breakfast to school drop-offs to soccer and band practice to laundry and dinner... Anyone who can multitask all the components that go into keeping a household functioning is definitely an expert! Other areas can be scrap-booking, quilting, needlepoint, pet care, dog training, entertaining toddlers, taking pictures, cooking, cleaning... There are truly infinite experts on infinite subjects!
If you are not feeling like you are in touch with your inner expert, grab a pen and paper, and brainstorm a list of answers to the following questions. Write down any and all answers that come to your mind, and keep the pen moving for at least 5 minutes! By brainstorming answers to these questions, you will successfully identify dozens of possible topics that you could write about!
What do you enjoy doing?
What do people compliment you on most?
Who do you enjoy helping and how do you enjoy helping them?
If you could do any one thing every day, what would it be?
What are you inspired to teach to others?
What brings a smile to your face?
Once you have a topic in mind that you want to write about, your next step is to get as specific as possible about this topic. For example, I worked as a professional photographer at one point and have been taking pictures for many years. I enjoy photography and love sharing my photographs with others, so I would definitely enjoy writing about photography. Now, the amount of competition around "Photography" is overwhelming, and if I try to write about such a broad topic, my Squidoo lens or blog post won't have a chance at reaching the top of Google. This is where being as specific as possible will come in handy! So I ask myself... "Miles, what kind of photography do you like doing the most?" Instantly, I know that action sports photography is the answer. The thought of taking a picture of a motorcycle doing a wheelie or a snowboarder flying through the air gets my heart pumping... That is how I know I'm getting close to the right topic! So now I ask myself another question... "Within all of the action sports photography, what challenges have I faced that I've overcome?" And an idea pops into my head!
The first few times I attempted to take photographs while snowboarding, I ran into a couple of challenges. First, how was I going to carry my $1200 camera with me while I was snowboarding? Second, with the bright sun and reflection off the white snow, contrasted with the dark shadows given off by the trees, I kept overexposing my pictures. Also, things happen so quickly when dealing with snowboarders in back-country conditions, it took me a while to learn where to place myself to capture the exact shot that I wanted. Now right there, I have come up with 3 separate topics that I could write very specific articles about and publish to a webs.com site or a blogger.com piece on. 2 or 3 times throughout and once at the bottom of the article, I can include image links of cards, and text links on the card titles of cards that matched my topic of snowboarding pictures, snowy mountain top card, forest in snow card. With most blogs or web publishing systems, you could also include your widget, if you'd like!
"But Miles, I thought that the goal here was to 'Sell Cards'?"
...I knew you were going to ask that!
When doing internet marketing, or affiliate marketing, your goal is not to 'sell' anything that you are promoting. Your goal is to offer useful content and 'pre-sell' a few specific items which closely relate to the topic you are writing. It is our job at GreetingCardUniverse.com (or the job of whatever site you are promoting), to sell the cards... As an affiliate your goal is to send us traffic!
Phew! Another long post full of all kinds of information I've learned and applied successfully in my life. I hope that this article helps you understand your goals as an affiliate, how to tap into your inner expert and the process of creating content that drives traffic.
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