Is it really necessary to have your own website to promote a Clickbank product efficiently?
This is yet another one of those questions that have been asked a quadrillion times before. The answer is, no you don’t. But is it a smart move to promote a Clickbank product without having a proper website? The answer to that question will be revealed in today’s post.
Now before we start, let’s have a quick look why new marketers ask it.
I don’t want to offend anyone here, but the main reason is a lack of knowledge and just plain laziness to learn something new. Period.
All these brand new wannabee affiliates who think about promoting ClickBank products without having their own website are usually incapable to see the bigger picture.
They’re either inexperienced and don’t have a clue how to build a basic website…or they have an unrealistic vision of making money overnight while sipping cocktails on a deserted beach.
The harsh truth is that if you’re unwilling to learn some very basic skills, Clickbank is not the place for you!
Contrary to what the self proclaimed experts on YouTube tell you, Clickbank is NOT an easy way to make a quick buck. Being a Clickbank affiliate takes time and effort, it’s not a walk in the park.
It’s easy enough to create an account, scroll through the endless amount of products and grab your affiliate link… but the ease ends there. From this point on, everything else will be a hassle.
But can you make money without a website?
The answer is yes, you definitely can. You could create some YouTube videos and try to rank them on the first page. Then put a direct link to the product in your video description.
This approach might get you some occasional sales. It goes without saying, that the more videos you create, the more sales you’ll make. After all, affiliate marketing is a numbers game.
If you’re on a shoe-string budget with absolutely no money to spare for a domain, hosting and an auto-responder, using free traffic sources such as YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest can get you some sales.
Sometimes, you may wish to test the viability of a new product you’re trying to promote. You’re not sure how well the sales page will convert.
At times like these, you may choose to pay an Instagram influencer to do a shout out on their page and use your direct affiliate link. If you make several sales, you’ll know that the product converts and may decide to build a site.
But the common issue remains the same, without a website you’ll always be linking straight to the sales page, which leads us to a few inevitable hiccups.
Marketers on a tight budget might want to check out this post.
Here are some of the drawbacks of not having your own website
1.You’re missing out on a lot of money
Making a couple of sales here and there from direct linking is fine. But if the only thing you do is sending visitors directly to a sales page, you’ll lose the opportunity to contact the people that decided not to buy. It’s a fact that most people will not open their wallet on the first encounter.
They may want to have some additional information about the product. Apart from that, they don’t know who you are and people generally buy their stuff from other people whom they like, know and trust. The chances of making lots of sales without a website are abysmal.
When you have your own website, you’ll be able to build a squeeze page. After that, it’s just a matter of pointing all the links in your videos to this squeeze page which will offer a freebie to persuade people to sign up. This ethical bribe should be closely related to the product that you’re trying to sell.
Let’s assume that you’re trying to sell a book on energy conservation, then your freebie might be a short report that shows 3 effective ways to cut back on electricity bills. People interested in energy conservation will gladly sign up to your list to get your free report.
2.You’re not building up trust
Now that you’ve build a list with subscribers, you can build trust and authority by delivering value to them via emails. Make no mistake, this is essential if you want to become a successful Clickbank marketer. With a website, you can build an audience of people interested in your niche.
Your content needs to educate, entertain and help the people in your niche. Your only goal should be to deliver value. As time goes by people will eat out of your hand. Only then you’ll be able to promote the ClickBank product and they’ll trust your judgement and buy from you.
No Website = No List + No Value + No Trust = LITTLE or NO SALES. End Of Story.
3.Your website serves as a contingency plan
The products listed on Clickbank change all the time. Products that are popular today may suddenly be taken off the platform for flouting a rule or the vendor may suddenly decide to take the product off the market.
If you own a website, you’ll be able to use the Pretty Links plugin to create URLs that are not specific to a particular product. If the product is no longer for sale, you can find an alternative and just change the Pretty Links link and all your URLs will point to the new product.
You’ll understand the power of this once you have your own website.
4.Your website gives you more options
A website will allow you to promote tangible products on Amazon, or you may even decide to sell your own products. Your chances of making sales will skyrocket when there are more options for readers. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Building a website with valuable content will definitely increase your opportunities to scale up your income.
The bottom line is, you can promote a ClickBank product without having a website but it’s not the best idea. It may take you slightly longer to build a blog and incorporate the list building elements. But once you’ve managed to do the work, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of making sales and your ClickBank commissions will soar.
If you go the extra mile you’ll have a serious advantage over your competition and this will make all the difference.