Tips for Community Members to Drive Sales

After just a few weeks, there are now 100’s of Communities on Dovetale. We have seen some stores grow their community to over $100,000 in affiliate sales and some that are just getting started.

In this post, we’ll detail some of the best strategies for your community members to drive affiliate conversions. We realize that our readership is mostly Shopify merchants, so feel free to use this as a guide and send it to any of your community members. If you’re a member of a community that is built on Dovetale hopefully this serves as a great set of tips to bring in some incremental income.

Unique Sharable Content

Since you’re trying to drive sales, focus on building content that your audience will find interesting and want to share. It’s all about the story. If you’re in a brand community, ask yourself what is unique or special about the product you are recommending. Great product recommendations focus on these differences and if you can emotionally convey this it will increase your chances of a sale. The best affiliates focus on making content that deeply resonates with their audience. For example:

Is there a close-up shot of the material you can show?
Is there a unique feature that you can demonstrate?
What is it about the product that has made your life better? Tell a story

Track Conversions

Dovetale is here to help you with tracking your conversions. Make sure you’re opening your dashboard daily to check what’s working and what’s not. It’s key to optimizing the story you are telling.

Know The Product Inside and Out

The best sales reps know their product like the back of their hand. Affiliates can make a lot of money if they know the little things. Know the history. Know the manufacturing methods. Know the future of the product. Spend time with other community members and team members. Ask great questions.

Engage Your Visitors

Hold open Q&A’s about the product and what your unique offer is. Be there for your followers to ask questions. Provide information and help, rather than ‘sell’.

Choose the Right Products

Often times affiliates are successful with only a couple of products they recommend. It’s important to find products that fit what your audience wants to purchase. The simple, but cumbersome way to figure this one out is to test different products and messaging until you find the right formula. In addition, getting behind the products you use and love can authentically help you get those products in the hands of your audience.

Testing

In general, when it comes to early affiliate marketing, it’s best to adopt a mindset around iteration and testing. So much can change on a daily basis and the best thing to do is learn by doing - don’t be afraid to try new ways of storytelling.

Set Goals and Proper Expectations

Early days it can be frustrating if you are not generating sales, but we assure you that it can be done and is one of the best ways to earn some new/ passive income streams. Create early goals and commit to creating great content. Eventually, your work will pay off!

Create a Relationship With The Brand

You’d be surprised how many affiliates don’t simply reach out to their brand partners for advice. With a friendly attitude and good questions, it’s one of the best ways to learn about what works when selling. Comunity leaders are here to help you and they’re as invested in your success, as your are in the brand’s success.