What’s the point of learning if you can’t apply it?
That question is a natural progression from the previous post (Click Here) in which I provided concrete evidence of the transformative effect of micro influencers in three specific niches (see below). That was the knowledge base required for this post — where our question must be how to implement what we’ve learnt so far in the regard.
The project, we might say, has now moved from knowledge acquisition to implementation. And that requires a plan.
So, here’s the plan — for ease of illustration we’ll stick to the three niches mentioned in the last post:
- Beauty
- Health and Fitness
- Fashion
We return to those niches in the next post. In the meantime, this is . . .
What You Need To Understand
As an affiliate marketer in any one of these niches — or, any other for that matter — you have two primary challenges: first, to launch; then, to scale. Both are equally challenging, particularly as a novice.
Unless you have millions of followers yourself, nobody knows you. Why should anyone trust you? If they don’t trust you, they won’t interact with you. Why would they? The problem is that the less trust you have, the less trust you can have — the classic Catch 22. Those are the hard realities. If you’re serious about this new venture (which I fervently hope you’re), then it’s better to come to terms with these hard realities earlier than later.
So, the question is . . .
How Do You Break Out Of This Dilemma?
Short answer: you recruit a micro influencer. The micro influencer can be the best friend of a brand — speaking of which, your affiliate marketing enterprise will also be a brand in itself. Let’s try and understand, therefore, the . . .
4 Reasons Micro Influencers Are So Effective
- Authenticity
- Optimality
- Relatablity
- Accessibility
Can You Decode That?
Yes, of course. A slight change of tactics in the delivery here . . . While bullets are a great device, sometimes we need narrative for elaboration and building an organic understanding — a view of the whole picture.
Looking up to the schema presented above, we see that “authenticity” sits at the top. It’s position at the top of the list, however, isn’t indicative of its priority but, on the contrary, indicative of how it’s actually the result of a complex interaction of all the (literally) underlying elements — in much the same way that the great taste of chocolate is the result of the complex interaction of its underlying molecules. If the defining feature of chocolate is its characteristic taste, then the defining feature of the micro influencer is their authenticity.
The micro influencer has such sway over their audience, arguably because their words have the ring of unadorned truth. It’s pure. It’s unadulterated. The reason behind this phenomenon is the size of their audience — typically, 1000-10,000 — which is considered optimum. And it’s considered optimum because it’s small enough to get close enough — the proximity — to deliver messages that can be taken as credible recommendations — or, personalised advice. At that distance, the micro influencer is relatable. At that distance, the message and the messenger become one — the living incarnation of the truth, as it were.
Can you imagine the power of that?
The audience feels that they could even touch them — accessibility, in other words. The micro influencer, therefore, feels real — much more real to their audience than an advertising slogan delivered by any celebrity, whose defining feature is the opposite of accessibility: remoteness, inaccessibility.
Delivered from that close distance, the micro influencer’s recommendation isn’t promotion but advice given by a trusted friend — even if it’s a digitised proxy thereof.
Imagine what you could achieve with that on your side as an affiliate marketer.