I think you need a little of both if you want to rank well (in the search engines that is) honestly. Make sure whatever you write, you can have the reader relate to the issue and you should do some research into WHY they want the item you are trying to promote anyway.

This works well with Amazon I feel which is why conversion rates tend to be higher. Give them what they want to know, the good, the bad then simply let them now HOW and WHERE you think they should buy.

Great article

-Omar

I would not say very well. I am still learning. I have been trying out your One Week Marketing with no luck yet. I have three campaigns setup so far. Maybe you can take a look at them and see why I am not making any money with them yet.

Thanks for your site 🙂

Thanks, John!

Check your email – I sent a copy over to ya =)

Thanks, Neil – and great to see you!

And no, no matter how fast life on the ‘net is – nothing rarely happens overnight =)

Hi Terry =)

The best sales people in the world do not blatantly SELL. It didn’t take me too long to realize that ME trying to blatantly sell on a web page a) didn’t work for me and b) made me feel like a fake num-nut. I then decided to add my voice and then let the sales page do the selling.

Thanks, Joseph!

There is much more to this than the skills =)

No, Cindy, it’s not that hard. Yes, it’s scary at first…lots of fear involved as you step out of your comfort zone. It’s worth it tho!

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t leverage your time with outsourced content AND have your own voice. Take the content they send and put your voice into it. Basically, let them do the research and then you add your voice with some edits/additions.

Hiya Yahia =)

Sounds to me like you have found a T-Shape that works well for you. That’s what it’s all about!

Well hello my favorite Chef! Wonderful to see you here!

I agree with all you wrote above. As you said, it’s ok to admit not owning something or to at least not pretend that you own it. To me, that’s the difference between recommending a product and referring a product.

Or, as with a T-Shaper Marketer… the difference between recommending a solution and referring them to a solution.

Above all, if you insult people’s intelligence, you’ve lost ’em.

Thanks for sharing!!

Lisa – Just as a follow up…

I posted a video I made showing my own results here.

You know what your post did for me? It made me realize that I’m NEVER going to get anywhere with my sites if I keep on outsourcing all of my writing… why do I say that? I’ll tell ya… if I’m outsourcing all of my writing to different writers, how in the heck is anyone ever gonna be able to hear MY voice? It would be different if I had one steady writer, but since I don’t, I have a hodgepodge of different voices! Thus, in order to rectify this, I’m just gonna have to bite the bullet and get over my fear of writing!! It can’t be that hard/scary/terrifying, can it? 😀

Thank you for taking the time to respond Pawlina. It really does help to know I’m not alone! And Jennifer, keep up the good work. It is so reassuring to have a ‘real’ person offering knowledge and encouragement. I really do hope I’m on my way. Time will tell…

Thanks Jen, you’re a sweetie. xx

I’d like to add a word on “authenticity of the message”.

Sometimes, over at wizzley.com, we see authors who try to get that ‘message thing’ across – but do it all wrong.

If I write something like, “Trust me – I’ve tested all vacuum cleaners on the market…that Goober XL500 is an absolute no-brainer must-have!”, PLUS I don’t even show a profile pic with a few words of information on myself, my visitors will click away, quickly.

ALL vacuum cleaners? Really? Are you trying to make me look dumb me with your “no-brainer”? And, who ARE you, anyway?

Sounds and looks so spammy and dishonest, doesn’t it?

I know that’s what you mean when you talk about focussing on the message. I just wanted to point it out one more time: people are smarter than we think – they recognize a fake review within seconds.

Yes, they may click through to the product page anyway, but they won’t ever open another page of ours. That robs us of our chance for authority status and repeat customers.

It’s important to be honest, real, and authentic. If I write about something that I don’t own or use myself, there’s nothing wrong with admitting it. I still can provide valuable info to my readers, which may help them with their buying decision. That is far better than some forced, fake, ‘personal’ sales talk.

After all these years, I still read every word you write, Jennifer. You’re a treasure – LOL and all.

Love,
Chef Keem