Is this a better way to get new webmasters to promote your program?

[Paul Markham]

An idea came to me while I was reading this thread. http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showthread.php?t=978141

It was about getting newb affiliates and it came to me that in 2010 there is a far more effective, easier and way more profitable to get a lot more profitable affiliates around the world than what you would get at a show.

Most webmaster areas are just a place to get free content, hosted or not. and little else. So how about giving the new guys and potential webmasters a lot more. 30 minute to 60 minute videoed lessons streamed from the webmasters area, on how to set up a Blog, Tube, TGP site, Ads. Teach them how to get traffic, maximise it, how to send it to the sponsors site/sites in the most effective way. And everything else they would need to know to make their efforts more productive and profitable. Not just a few seminars at a show that are easily forgot, but a real teach in that can be gone back to time after time, examples of how it should be done and printed foot notes. Plus what ever else you can think of to show you care about these guys.

The benefits are obvious.

It reaches a far wider and greater audience.
It's there for ever.
It can be referred back to.
It's far cheaper than doing this at a show.
It's far more effective.
You can cover a lot more than you can at a 1 hour seminar.
You can cover different niches and sites by doing different lessons.
It shows you care.

The downsides are.

Competitors will copy it, what most of this industry does, so nothing new there.
It might expose some sponsors knowledge of how to get and drive traffic.

Can anyone else think of any + or -?

[DamianJ]

It's actually something I'm already working on with the 3wayscash.com guys. But we also worked out a business model.

I'm sure lots of other people have thought of it too.

Glad my post gave you some food for thought though.

[Arnox]

Great idea.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Arnox

Great idea.

Thank you. Not my idea really. A friend shot a pilot for a series of programs for an Adult Cable site about 6 years ago. It was about me shooting models and it would run as a 12 part tutorial. The price we were offered for it was not enough so we never bothered.

I did think of doing a paysite around the idea. Was making so much money back then, like a lot of ideas it never got off the ground.

The thread about new webmasters just brought it back to me.

[Paul Markham]

I'm very surprised this has not got more comments.

Are sponsors not interested in getting newbs?

Are established affiliates worried it might take something away from them?

Are there no newbs on the board?

Or is it just one of my crap ideas? LOL

[TheDoc]

I have seen a few programs with this, we had a couple articles on pushing us through emails with us, couple other ones too but I can't recall what they were about. It's for sure a good idea for programs to do, even more so when they know a few tricks that work well for converting them.

I have a project very close to being ready that targets the extreme newbie level of our Industry, totally free free for them. It does progress as the months pass to more advanced articles. My thought is we need to teach those are willing to learn how we do our business from the person starting on day one to the person that has been in the Industry for years.

Helping affiliates creates more loyalty, and more traffic from a greater global market reach and hopefully more income for us all.

This board doesn't have a lot of newbs on it, always a few hanging around but forum wise a few other forums are a bit more newbie targeted. Oh yeah, GFY has a Q&A forum good place to hang out and answer questions.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by TheDoc

I have seen a few programs with this, we had a couple articles on pushing us through emails with us, couple other ones too but I can't recall what they were about. It's for sure a good idea for programs to do, even more so when they know a few tricks that work well for converting them.

I have a project very close to being ready that targets the extreme newbie level of our Industry, totally free free for them. It does progress as the months pass to more advanced articles. My thought is we need to teach those are willing to learn how we do our business from the person starting on day one to the person that has been in the Industry for years.

Helping affiliates creates more loyalty, and more traffic from a greater global market reach and hopefully more income for us all.

This board doesn't have a lot of newbs on it, always a few hanging around but forum wise a few other forums are a bit more newbie targeted. Oh yeah, GFY has a Q&A forum good place to hang out and answer questions.

Very true. The hardest time for any newbie has to be that of the learning curve. Getting them through that time will help them.

[Thurbs]

pretty interesting topic actually ... probably the biggest problem to date is the lessons start at the assumption that people already know how to make sales or at least generate some traffic.

question, Hot Chick or Professional Guy for the voice overs and personal touch ... would be interesting indeed.

[Atticus]

The problem is with this technique your going after the complete newb affiliate. No matter how complete the video is they will have questions... A LOT. Good questions, stupid questions, constant questions. Even with great affiliate support and helping everyone, still only 1 in a 100 will actually go on to make sales. Then once they do start making sales their not going to give you the "getting them started discount". They now know how to do it and will look for the best programs to maximize their income.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Atticus

The problem is with this technique your going after the complete newb affiliate. No matter how complete the video is they will have questions... A LOT. Good questions, stupid questions, constant questions. Even with great affiliate support and helping everyone, still only 1 in a 100 will actually go on to make sales. Then once they do start making sales their not going to give you the "getting them started discount". They now know how to do it and will look for the best programs to maximize their income.

That will happen with any program. So do you think the answer is, to let them flounder so they don't learn and go to other sponsors?

[Jdoughs]

You want new webmasters, but not necessarily newbies. The time and resources needed to keep a sales getting webmaster active and promoting you is high enough without adding in a few dozen wannabe, maybe, could be, webmaster hopeful's.

I think we need to focus on webmasters that have a clue. I'm really torn because I do think everyone deserves the best shot they can get, but at times like these when our own futures are doubted by many, it seems foolish to put to much time into ventures that will have a high percentage of failure.

I would guess its pretty safe to assume that a actual full time webmaster who makes his living doing this would be a much better catch then 25-50 newbie webmasters.

Now I'm not a program owner, but I don't think I'm a fool either, and I think my first statement says it best, you want new webmasters, not newbies. You want to cash in on new traffic sources and new veins of actual working webmasters.

Land a handful more of guys who actually send sales and work with them. I would say that's the best investment of time.

[Barry-xlovecam]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

The downsides are.

Competitors will copy it, what most of this industry does, so nothing new there.
It might expose some sponsors knowledge of how to get and drive traffic.

This is one significant problem.

Even if this turns out to be the case, your efforts might well be rewarded by the successful affiliates that you help to create and continue to support.

Perhaps, the best way to start is with a "bag of new ideas" as "Competitors will copy it, what most of this industry does, so nothing new there" ? that is a true statement ? although this is by no means unique to this industry in itself.

Even if the new idea is copied, you will have the lead. With something new and unique or even your own new twist of some successful idea to offer as its follow-up ? you can keep the lead.

Staying one step ahead and always having a new plan is a never ending task.

[Emil]

Sure, why not. Noobs may enter the biz with some new ideas instead of the same old shit we see everyday.

[ottopottomouse]

Video tutorials-

Ages ago I can remember watching some nicely explained video tutorials for Photoshop that I learnt things from and remembered them afterwards.

I can also remember watching a lot more that were badly made and assumed you already knew things and from them I learnt nothing.


You have to be able to think right back down to the level of not already knowing things AND be able to teach.

You have to make a tutorial that answers any questions that may come out of what you are trying to pass on - it's no good if someone watches it and another 10 seconds of video would have saved you receiving emails from them because they almost got it but not quite.

[Intrinsic]

Originally Posted by ottopottomouse

Video tutorials-

Ages ago I can remember watching some nicely explained video tutorials for Photoshop that I learnt things from and remembered them afterwards.

I'm guessing www.lynda.com

[ottopottomouse]

Originally Posted by Intrinsic

I'm guessing www.lynda.com

No, i've never actually gone through the lynda.com site. They were just on someone's own blog but made simple enough for someone that didn't know much to be able to absorb what they were saying.

[cherrylula]

fake drama always gets the most affiliates to your program. always. lol

[Kiopa_Matt]

This has been done to death in mainstream, to the point where it's not even usable anymore. Because now you have a bunch of newbies teaching everyone how to make money too, and nobody has a clue what they're talking about (for the most part).

[yabate]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

I'm very surprised this has not got more comments.
Are sponsors not interested in getting newbs?
Are established affiliates worried it might take something away from them?
Are there no newbs on the board?

Or is it just one of my crap ideas? LOL

I am newbie here, and a friend helped me to start in.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by ottopottomouse

Video tutorials-

Ages ago I can remember watching some nicely explained video tutorials for Photoshop that I learnt things from and remembered them afterwards.

I can also remember watching a lot more that were badly made and assumed you already knew things and from them I learnt nothing.


You have to be able to think right back down to the level of not already knowing things AND be able to teach.

You have to make a tutorial that answers any questions that may come out of what you are trying to pass on - it's no good if someone watches it and another 10 seconds of video would have saved you receiving emails from them because they almost got it but not quite.

Yes. The quality of the video is very important. A bad video will not teach and will lead to a lot of unanswered questions.