We rarely talk about building credibility as an affiliate. Heck, it’s not like we have life and death responsibilities.

The merchant is responsible for product fulfillment and customer service. All we have to do is send the merchant some click throughs. Get the cookie, and be done with it.

But when the American author Brian Koslow said, “The more you are willing to accept responsibility for your actions, the more credibility you will have,” he could have been speaking directly to us.

The really successful super affiliates — successful in terms of ethics as well as revenues — spend time building credibility in whatever niche they choose to play. They never stop thinking about credibility and nurturing it, because it has a direct influence on their bottom line — and they know it.

Seasoned affiliate marketers apply this formula to every business decision: Credibility = Income

People buy products and services from businesses and individuals that they know and trust. That has always been the case out in the “real” brick and mortar world of commerce. And it’s true of commerce in cyberspace as well.

How do affiliates build credibility? The same way any other business person does…

Pre-sell with honesty. If you were face-to-face with your visitors, would you feel comfortable speaking what you’ve written on your website? While we can’t buy every product we promote, we can tell the truth about it to the best of our ability. If that means taking time to do research, digging for customer praise and complaints, and comparing it to similar products — do it.

Choose quality. There are great products, good products, so-so products, and downright junk. This is especially important if you’re promoting digital products through ClickBank, RegNow, or PayDotCom. Would your conscience allow you to sell this product to a family member or friend? If not, find something better.

Provide real information, not just a sales pitch. Many of your visitors have their “hype detector” turned on, especially if they’re researching a product. They’re hungry for information, but they don’t want sales banter screaming at them. So provide them with articles, bullet points, graphics, and anything else that shows off the benefits of the product without yelling “buy this!”

Syndicate content to build your reputation. When you submit articles or press releases in your niche to directories and syndication services, you become a “presence” in your niche. As your knowledge gets republished on other sites, you’ll get more visitors who already trust what you have to say.
Make it easy for them to click through. While you don’t want to hit them over the head with a sales pitch, you DO want them to be able to click through to the merchant’s site without hunting for a link. Use obvious “buy now” buttons and other visual cues.

Be transparent. More and more affiliates find that their conversions benefit when they simply tell visitors where they’re going when they click a link. In a sense, the affiliate “borrows” a bit of credibility from the merchant. “Buy now from Amazon.com” links a trusted brand with your website while making your affiliate status perfectly transparent.

Building credibility takes effort and time. Is it really worth it? The answer is really another question: what does it take to regain credibility once you’ve lost it?

When super affiliates spend time and money on writing, site development, niche research, PPC, graphic design, SEO, building an opt-in list, and getting traffic… they simply refuse to waste it all on shoddy products, hype, and tricks. They know how easy it is for a visitor to hit the “back” button. No click through, no cookie, no commission.

Credibility and click throughs go hand in hand. Make credibility a priority in your affiliate business, and see if it doesn’t make a difference in both your revenues and your own mindset.