Lessons Learned From The Adult Online Playbook
Mr. Skin, Jim Lillig, Affiliate Summit 2006
I keep coming back to this because they know how to sell. I don't condone porn — I'm against it. It's simply a very competitive, profitable market. They are early adopters. Obviously if you use some of their techniques you may annoy your visitors. Learn from the priniciples (you don't need to view porn to do this).
Jim spoke last year in Vegas and again in Florida. His talk is on Google video. Listen to it free.
Here are some of the juicy details (at least to internet marketers)
- Competitive markets create innovation (they must to survive). Find them, and study what they are doing.
- They track and track and track. They disect the data. So should you.
- Which of your competitors is converting better than you are? Look at where and how they convert visitors into buyers.
- Most people will leave your web site. You paid to get them there. They came for a reason. Why are they coming to your site? Find out.
- Make decisions based on testing and numbers not hunches. In online marketing you can and should track everything.
- Create different sites with different colors, pictures, etc. so you can give you visitor's more choice (and sell more to them). Compete against yourself. Use to find out what your customers want (use for competitve research).
Better conversion rates attract super affiliates plus you can pay affiliates less. Your affiliates will be more engaged and they'll stay.
Learn where people are leaving your site and place a competitor's ad (with an affiliate link) in their way. Look at conversion and see what works and what doesn't.
Don't sign up as yourself. Sign up as a private domain name so they don't know who you are. Although to me, if you're a top competitor they will figure it out fairly quick. Cloak your links.
If you're in Vegas (like I was) and are looking for some skin, you must go here.
Next Utech I'd like a speaker specifically on converting site traffic to buyers. I also want an email marketing guru. This is also a good topic for Affiliate Flash. How to recruit and retain super affiliates? better conversion rates.