NeedMoney: Why cant I make any clickbank sales?

If the job stinks, or we are short on money and want to finally get ahead financially, many of us jump feet first into the internet marketing and affiliate sales world. And when we do, we naturally are attracted to both proven systems and hype.

Scrape away all the sales letters and squeeze pages and nearly every ebook or digital product has the same pitch:

"Find some good digital products on Clickbank, build a keywork list based around products and start a Google AdWords campaign to drive traffic and sales"

I don't know the numbers, but I have read enough anecdotal evidence to know the results of most attempts.

Most first time affiliate marketers spend a fortune on AdWords and see little if any return on their work.

Most first time affiliate marketers will never sell a digital product from Clickbank.

Most first time affiliate marketers will give up on Clickbank and try some other money making route like Adsense pages or surveys and so on...

And so it goes.. "Why can't I make any Clickbank sales?"

There is no easy answer.

However, I do have a few explanations and theories.

1) Following the old saw and creating an Adwords campaign without fully knowing what you are doing. Adwords is tricky and unless you really understand the best channels for your ads, how to write compelling ads and the rest of the system, many Clickbank affiliates throw hundreds of dollars away the first time out. I did and I know others do as well.

2) Relying on AdWords only. Marketing Clickbank products with AdWords works for some people or there would not be as many guides are there are. However, there are other ways to get sales with Clickbank - Squidoo, Hubpages, USFreeAds, blogs, email lists and so forth.

3) Failing to understand the product being marketed. I once ran a huge promotion for an AdSense guide a couple of years back. I spent about 300.00 on an AdWords campaign and did not sell a single copy. Since I was green, I did not want to gamble the $47.00 for the product and thought I could wing it with the sales page. My goal was to sell 3 or 4 copies, get the money to buy the product and then really crank it up. That does not work, believe me I know!

4) Failing to properly understand key words and phrases. Let's say one wants to market Google Revenge (a good product and investment by the way). A buyer is not going to type into Google "want to buy Google revenge" and come upon your sale page. Sure, some review sites and big name affiliates get sales this way, but you won't so don't bother. Rather, a buyer is looking for the answer to a question which the content in Google Revenge will answer for him - such as "secret to landing pages" for instance. Most Clickbank affiliates fail to grasp this simple concept and keep spending hundreds on their campaigns and marketing the product name rather than the solution.

5) No Clickbank sales also comes down to passion in the sale. If you don't need to lose weight, why are you trying to market a weight loss program from Clickbank? Market products you use or really know the results of well.

Don't forget the most important take away here: Clickbank has some great digital products and good revenue returns. But don't limit your sales to Clickbank only. Try other affiliate programs which are out there as well.

Remember, I have a hard time making any Clickbank sales - so don't feel bad.