How to Turn Visits into Referrals

Whether you're trying to get your 1st referral or your 100th, you may wonder what leads people to not only click your affiliate link, but buy the product that you are promoting. In some cases you may feel frustrated that you're getting a lot of visits, but not a lot of referrals. Here is some info and a few tips to help you feel better and improve the rate at which you convert visits into referrals.

What is the average conversion rate?

Conversion rate refers to the rate at which you convert visits into referrals. The average conversion rate for affiliates on Blender Market is about 1%. That means that for every 100 visits to Blender Market that are generated with an affiliate link, 1 of those visits will convert into a referral. Keep in mind that this is the average. Individual conversion rates will vary from month to month and can range from 0% to 13%. Your own conversion rate will depend on several factors, which we will look at next.

Evaluate how well you are targeting your ideal audience

Is your current audience going to be interested in buying the product that you are promoting? If, for example, you are sharing timelapse videos or tutorials in which you model anime characters, is your audience there because they love anime? Or because they love 3D modeling? If they're there because they love anime, you can promote an amazing Blender add-on in the best possible way and still never make a referral. What matters is that you're getting your affiliate link in front of the right audience.

To that end, think about who might buy the product that you're promoting and present your content in a way that appeals to them. Think about titles, tags, and keywords, optimizing them to bring in the audience that you want to attract. As a starting point, it's always a good idea to use these tags:

  • b3d
  • Blender
  • BlenderMarket

Create a sense of urgency

The cookie generated by your affiliate link will last for 14 days, or until it is replaced by another affiliate's cookie. What that means is that you could earn a referral up to 2 weeks after someone clicks your affiliate link. Realistically, however, the further in time someone is from clicking your link, the less likely they are to buy the product that you promoted. Thus, creating a sense of urgency can encourage your audience to make their purchase sooner rather than later.

What are some ways to create a sense of urgency without sending your audience into a collective panic attack?

  • Take advantage of events. Sales or temporary discounts are great opportunities for you to encourage your audience to buy now. Why now? Because a deal like this might not come around again any time soon.
  • Make it clear how a product will change your audience's work as soon as they start using it. If it is an essential part of your workflow, show them how easy it is to use and tell them what a difference it will make for them now

Create a sense of exclusivity

We all want something that few people or nobody else has, right? Use this common impulse to your advantage.

  • Collaborate with the product creator to make a special discount just for your audience. Not only does this approach show your audience that you really "get" them and want to give them something, but it also indicates to your audience that the product creator is interested in their work. Good feelings all around—plus it will help build audience loyalty.
  • Highlight new products and product updates. Being among the first to try new products or features can make people feel special. Explain what's cool, unique, or new about the product that you are promoting and how your audience can be among the first people to work with and experience it.

Produce different types of content

Not everybody enjoys watching the same type of video or reading the same type of blog post. Try mixing up the ways that you present products. Product reviews, tutorials, time-lapses, top 10 lists, etc. can speak to different audiences and engage people in different ways. 

Be authentic

The first thing that your audience needs to buy is you. If they don't care about you, they won't care about whatever it is you suggest they buy. By engaging with your audience, fostering community, and being a real, knowledgable person, you will win their hearts and they may start taking your advice. :)

Don't forget your affiliate link

And, of course, make sure to include your affiliate link wherever you can. The more people see it, the more they will remember that they wanted to buy that thing you mentioned.

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