As a blogger, you may have come across the term: affiliate program. Have you wondered what it is and if you should be doing it? Here’s your answer.
It is a marketing program where you can receive commission for helping a parent company generate sales. Affiliates make money by generating sales, leads and traffic for the merchant’s business.
What Is An Affiliate Program?
An affiliate program is a great way to make money on the Web. You simply write the content that you would typically write and then link to the products that you talked about. When one of your readers clicks on the link and buys the product, you get a small commission of the sale.
The reason affiliate programs can work so well is because you’re not relying on a computer to match up ads to your content. You do it yourself. You know best what ads would work best on your content and which products and services recommend. When your readers see that you’ve taken the time to review a product or service, they’re going to feel more comfortable buying that product.
Here’s the key: recommend products that you truly believe in. Just because a program is available doesn’t mean you should sign up.
Technical side: When a reader clicks through your affiliate link it sets a “cookie.” Even if they do not make a purchase at that time, if they come back while the cookie is still valid you will be credited with the sale.
Promotion: When promoting an affiliate product a good starting point is the traditional banner ad. But there are numerous ways in which you can promote affiliate programs and the more you use, the more sales you’ll generate.
Here are a few ways to promote affiliate marketing:
• Write a Review
• Newsletter Ads
• Text Links
• Content Marketing
• Blogging
• Social Media
While I don’t suggest using all of these methods, I do suggest using a few and creating a marketing plan for the promotion. Again, you don’t want to bombard your audience with the promotion, but instead offer substance that teaches them about the value of the product or service.
Check out! Marketing Your Airbnb Listing Online.
We have an affiliate program for our eBook – How To Start A Mom Blog. Sign up here.
Affiliate programs would be direct sales companies correct?
No, they are different. I do see the similarities. With direct sales you need to buy a package of products and when you sell you get a percent of the sales (Avon, Pampered Chef etc). With affiliates you do not need to buy anything to be an affiliate. Amazon is one of the most popular. For example if I link to an amazon product with my affiliate link and you buy anything using that link I will get a % of the sale. But I do not need to buy anything to get that link. Does that make sense?