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Insideletter
Why AI Isn’t Replacing Affiliate Marketing After All
“AI will make affiliate marketing irrelevant.”
Our new research shows the opposite.
Levanta surveyed 1,000 US consumers to understand how AI is influencing the buying journey. The findings reveal a clear pattern: shoppers use AI tools to explore options, but they continue to rely on human-driven content before making a purchase.
Here is what the data shows:
Less than 10% of shoppers click AI-recommended links
Nearly 87% discover products on social platforms or blogs before purchasing on marketplaces
Review sites rank higher in trust than AI assistants
Hi 👋🏻
I don’t talk about big numbers often, but when I see people wowing their audiences with their newsletters, how can I resist?
Well, yes, you got it right, after seeing the no, you can’t help but think of Nicolas Cole and Dicky Bush! Who’s been running the biggest writing business in the world?
Write With AI
Write With AI is a paid newsletter on Substack.
It is designed to teach writers, content creators, and ghostwriters how to use AI to improve their writing speed, quality, and business revenue.
They started it back in April 2023.
By November 2023, the newsletter had surpassed $200,000 ARR.
Their playbook
Picking an evergreen and profitable topic: They picked “how to improve writing” as their main topic. It is evergreen, and almost everyone wants to become a better writer, which makes the niche strong and profitable.
Tangible offer: If you tell your audience that your newsletter will help them build a lean body, nobody will care. But if you tell them you will help them build a lean body in the next 45 days without giving up carbs, they will be persuaded.
Free first, paid later: Most people make a brutal mistake. They keep asking people to buy without giving enough value upfront. Nicolas and Dickie do this exceptionally well. They give away so much value that saying no to their paid offer feels almost foolish. The subconscious mind assumes that if the free content is this good, the paid product must be even better.
You can think of this as a 2 1 2 1 sandwich. Before introducing one paid offer, deliver two high-value pieces of content.
Paywall: You are probably placing the paywall too early. Instead, place it right after a highly interesting and valuable insight. At that point, readers feel a strong urge to continue, which increases conversions. Nicolas uses this approach effectively.
Substack notes: Notes are booming right now. People are posting things like ‘Hey Substack, connect me with…’ and those posts are working really well. Nicolas and Dickie post notes consistently, and it is clearly working.
Monetisation
Nicolas and Dicky make 80% of their total revenue from paid newsletters alone, but the rest is built on their offers, digital product and courses.
They have over £8 million digital product portfolio.
Their paid newsletter has 3 tiers
Monthly: $20
Annual: $150 (a discount)
Foundin memeber: $220
Substack
Thanks for checking today’s edition. Now go and work on your paid offers.
Anirban ‘helping you learn paid newsletter’ Das
