How do you pick a store to promote?

Ok, before I start this post, I do have to admit that I was stuck on a topic to write about and after having a conversation with one of my inspirations, GrowMap.com, she reminded me of something that I used to think about when selecting a Merchant or Store to promote and something that newer Affiliates and Marketers don’t always think about.

Variety.

Variety is one of the most important things to consider when trying to find a store to promote.  Most people shoot for conversion rates, commissions that you will be paid, if they have a responsive advertiser, but one thing that a ton of people forget about is the variety that they can provide to their website visitors and end users.

Think about it, not everyone shops the same way.  Some people go based on price and deals, others shop based on fashion or trends.  Some people know the exact product they want and other people have color and material preferences.  You may also find people that only shop by collection or name brands and some that only shop when they get more than they could have asked for so that they know there isn’t anything else out there that they would have missed.

Now, if you have a specific product or brand you are pushing or a solution to a specific product, or you have a product that has millions of dollars in advertising backing it up, there is a difference.  The other argument you can make is that too many products become distracting, they can be overwhelming and cause the person to not shop.  Although this can be true, you also have to consider how you market things.  Are you sending general traffic or are you sending product or brand specific traffic.  If it is product and brand specific, then you only have to worry about price and design.  If it is more general or there are a ton of options on the brand, then those shoppers are also falling into the group I am talking about in this post.

Anyways, the type of Merchant I am talking about here is the general store where the products are similar and can be found anywhere.  These stores are a dime a dozen and all make very similar arguments to why they are the best.  So when looking at these stores where everything seems the same and all the value propositions really don’t actually seem all that different, this is where a large variety comes into play.

I’m going to use my Client Executive Gift Shoppe for my example.

When you look at gift stores that do engraving.  Lots of them offer free shipping when you spend a certain amount.  Some offer free engraving.  Others use sale prices to further get people to want to shop.  One of the things that really separates my Client’s value to you as a Marketer is the fact that they have a ton of products and also stock a lot of the products on site so that not only will your website traffic have multiple options to promote, but you can also feel confident that they will not be put on back order or have to wait until the product gets to the warehouse before it gets engraved then shipped.

So here is where that is important.

Suppose you have a Men’s site or a Cigar site.  You want to push Zippo Lighters and Cigar Gifts.  You don’t always know if your website visitor is going to be a college student in a frat house trying to appear popular but cannot afford a mahogany cigar box, or maybe you have a well off wife looking for a perfect birthday gift so she wants an engraved zippo with a really nice humidor.  Because you are promoting cigar gifts and Zippo lighters on the same page and not one particular box, you need to appeal to more people and this is why a larger variety can help you to convert more shoppers.  You can meet the needs of multiple people with multiple tastes and different budgets.

When I used to look at Merchants, if I wasn’t going product specific but was trying for a general appeal, yes commissions and site layouts and attentive Management were important to me, but I always looked at the variety offered as well so I could feel more confident that my website visitors would have a better chance at finding a product that meets their needs.   This is one of the things I really enjoy about Executive Gift Shoppe.  They offer over 10K products over a large price range so they really can offer one of the largest selections for your traffic helping to ensure that your traffic will at least be given options for their price ranges and specific tastes which may also help lead to higher conversions and more money for you.  You can join the Executive Gift Shoppe program on both Share a Sale and Bridaluxe.

Gift Affiliate Program Info:

MurrayNewlands Affiliate Marketing Blog – Gift Affiliate Program to Fit Any Niche
GrowMap Social Media Marketing Blog – How to Evaluate a Gift Affiliate Program
Official Executive Gift Shop Blog – More Details on The Number 1 Best Gift Affiliate Program