So there I was… in the midst of all the hubub that makes Black Friday the ultimate kick-off to the holiday season.  In my mind I knew I was a little insane for being out in the frigid air at 1am, but knowing I had thousands around me who were doing the same thing brought some kind of twisted solace.

So what did Black Friday teach me about affiliate marketing?

Branding!  I don’t know if I learned this as much as it was reinforced in my brain, but I was reminded of the power of branding when used successfully.

I was in Virginia visiting some family and they regularly make a habit of shopping on that fateful day so I went along for the ride.  We went to the outlet mall, which at the time was quiet at 10pm, but after 2 hours that place was more like a mosh pit than an outlet mall.

And this is where the principle of branding hit me!

I saw the biggest line I had ever seen and it wasn’t even outside of a footlocker on the day the new Jordans came out.  It was at the doors of Coach.

Coach sells fine purses, handbags, and all those wonderfully leather things that the ladies love.  The store was already open, but they could not let everyone in at once because it would have been a huge hazard.  So as a few walked out, a few walked in.

How big was this line?

Well I was tired and cold, but it seemed to me that the line outside of Coach was at least 200 yards long, and it was not single file, since everyone was huddling together to keep warm.  There were probably more people in line than there were items in that store, so I felt bad for the faithful troppers in the back of the line.

So what does this have to do with affiliate marketing?

So glad you asked.  I went into several other stores with my family, including another purse store (possibly against my will) and there were no lines at all.  It was crowded a little, but anyone could walk right in.  So what was Coach doing that made them so popular?

Well first of all they were having a great sale that everyone wanted to be a part of, but there were other stores with amazing deals too.  Why were there so many people there?  Because it was COACH!

And yes this site is called CashCoach.net but it has nothing to do with purses.

Coach has done their job of building up their brand, bringing up some hype, causing a little hysteria for a brand.  Coach purse fans will rave about the quality, the great designs, and they will let everyone know when they get a new purse from them.  Why?  Because of the name “Coach”.

Still not seeing how this applies?

Hopefully I am not confusing anyone here, but the correlation to affiliate marketing here is that whether you are building a website, coming up with a logo, writing a newsletter, or promoting your blog, you want your BRAND to be a household name in your readers minds.  You want them to rave about your blog posts, and content, and advice as much as Coach fans rave about their stuff.

This is why everything you write and do must point back to your brand.  Become an authority on your niche and get to know it like the back of your hand.  You may not feel like an expert in your niche, but become one and then tell people with some authority the things you have learned.

If you want people lining up to hop into your website or blog, you have to give them something in return.  You may not have a huge sale going on but you can offer them your unique and expert opinions that they will come back for again and again.  This is why studying and researching your niche is so vital.

And a final note.  Always keep your eyes and ears open for lessons to learn like this.  There are ideas all around you.  Don’t miss them because you are too distracted by the 80% rack.

As always you can check out Wealthy Affiliate for some great ways to make money online.

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