Video - Using Videos May Actually Hurt Your Affiliate Sales

It would be an understatement to say that video has taken the Internet by storm. I mean, come on. You'd have to be living under a rock not to notice. But if you're planning on using video to help boost your affiliate sales then lean in close. What I'm about to share with you may come as a shock.

Using video to help increase your affiliate sales may actually HURT your sales. Yup, you read that right! But before I tell you how, let me preface it by taking my hat off to brave folks who even "try" to make videos to promote the products or services of others. Kudos to you if you're in that bunch.

This advice is especially for you and all those who want to follow in your pioneering footsteps...

I'm probably singing to the choir when I mention how difficult it really is to create quality, professional video presentations of ANY sort - much less those that promote the products of others. If you've ever tried it, you're likely shaking your head up and down in agreement right now.

And, you've gotta admit...

Some of the videos being produced and used by affiliates right now to promote products and services are just, well, how do I say this nicely... CRAP. Makes me want to scream!

You probably feel the same if you've seen some of the same videos I have. So... The moral of this story is: "Just because you've gone and made a video to help promote a product or service as an affiliate, doesn't mean you can start planning for retirement."

But rather than rag on how unprofessional and horrible some of the promotional videos appearing on the Internet are. Let's talk about how to correct some of the common mistakes so you get better results with the videos you produce. Yes, video can be a powerful affiliate marketing tool. But if you don't know what you're doing it really will KILL affiliate sales.

For example...

Nobody, "read my lips" NOBODY is going to sit through a 3-5 minute video presentation about what you're offering. I don't care if you're giving out $100 bills, a steak dinner, a dozen roses and a week long tour of Tahitian beaches in the nude.

Why? Three reasons...

- People are too busy to watch
- People get bored too easily
- 50 years of TV has trained us to watch 90 second commercials

Anything longer than 90 seconds and on the TV you click the channel. Anything longer than 90 seconds on the Internet and people head their mouse over to the little red box with the "X" in it.

Second, you don't want to make a video that takes up the viewers entire computer screen. I mean, Geez Louise!!! Those honking, monsterous 1027x780 "slap-me-in-the-face" presentations are downright threatening to most viewers. Heck, when I see one of THOSE bad boys popup on my computer screen I want to rare back and get the heck outta there! It's down-right scary.

You're laughing. But I'm serious...

You click to open a video and instead of a small, nicely sized video. They blow into your virtual world and park a Dump truck right in your face. What's THAT all about? Ya think I might MISS something???

Ease off, and produce video commercials or infomercials starting at 640x480 and below. Better yet, be unique. Try different video sizes. You might even save some bandwidth and find that your video loads much quicker for your viewing audience!

Finally, unrehearsed so called "underground" videos, short for (lazy and unprofessional) have not proven to help affiliate sales one iota. People see right through that nonsense. And, considering the response rates you'll obtain from using such videos, your chances of converting the viewer to a buyer would be better if you used a blank white space where the video should be. Do that and your marketing efforts may actually be mistaken for ingenious.

Alright, that's all the ranting I'm gonna do for now. So I'll shut up. Just remember. Don't start counting your chickens just because you're using video on your site to promote an affiliate product or service. People demand and deserve the best. So give it to them.

If you don't have the time or energy to create or produce your own professional-quality affiliate promotional videos. And if you'd like to see an example of the type of videos proven to boost affiliate sales. Then visit Jay Douglas' web site.