Alright so you’ve heard of affiliate marketing and you think, this is easy. You sign up for a few affiliate programs, post a few links on social media maybe write a blog post and kick your feet up and wait for the dough to roll in.
Easy right? While that sounds good there is a more to just throwing your link out into cyberspace expecting someone to land on your link and bam, you have a commission.
Can You Have Affiliate Marketing Success?
This post contains affiliate links, for more information visit my disclaimer page.
What I have learned is in order to be successful with affiliate marketing you have to have two things in place:
- Solid strategy
- Affiliate programs that are in-line with your niche.
Having a solid strategy
Have you heard the term “content is king”? Well with anything you put out there regarding your affiliate, you must make sure the content quality is high and will draw your reader in, otherwise, they will move on and ignore your message.
You also don’t want a post filled with affiliate links telling your reader to buy buy buy. You have to provide them with quality content that will draw them into your post and make them want to click.
In each post, you should make sure you are speaking to your readers and their pain points. Show your reader how the product or service you are marketing can help solve their pain points. This will make those reading your content more likely to click the link and even make a purchase.
While I love blog posts and social media, your email list is where the money is at. Your affiliate links have a much higher percentage of being opened to those who have subscribed to your list. Those who are already anxious to hear from you.
So don’t neglect your email list. Make sure you provide valuable content and include your affiliate links as necessary.
If you do not have an email list you need to start one immediately! A great course to help you get started is List By the Number by Suzi from Start a Mom Blog. This course will walk you step by step through the process of setting up your email and start growing your list.
Choose affiliate programs that are in line with your niche
Before you start any business you need to first find your niche and then nail down your ideal client, customer or reader. It is important to get very specific with who you are marketing to.
Once you’ve identified who you are marketing to and their pain points, look for products and services that speak to your ideal reader.
If you are a fashion blogger, it would not make sense to recommend an e-course for parenting. Most likely your readers are not looking for a parenting course. Because of this, your sales will be low.
Avoid marketing products that don’t resonate with your target audience. Not only will they not click on the link, but you might lose them as a follower.
Look for high paying affiliate programs. An easy way to dip your toe into affiliate marketing is through Amazon. You can easily recommend everyday products. The commission through Amazon is very low however and I don’t really recommend it. I suggest going through an affiliate network. I use Shareasale and love this network as a lot of products I already use are in Shareasale’s network.
Also, I encourage you to look into products, services or courses you are already using to see if they have an affiliate program. In my experience, these typically pay 15%-30% commission per sale.
When starting out just pick a few high ticket items to promote. Having a large number of products can be overwhelming, especially in the beginning. And always, always promote products that you have tried and tested. This builds trust with your audience and you can ensure you are only recommending high-quality products.
Final Thoughts
Building an email list or followers on social media is key. Without them, affiliate marketing doesn’t work that well. So coming up with a strategy to build your following, and provide them valuable content will put you on the path to affiliate marketing success.
Let me know in the comments how you have been successful with your affiliate marketing business. And if you are ready to learn how to grow and build a business as an affiliate marketer, I encourage you to check out this Affiliate Webclass! This will help you get your business started today.
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