The complete guide to making money with affiliate links

You might have heard about Affiliate links and you might have even started making money with affiliate links. Today, I’m going to share with you an overview of affiliate links and how they can be a great way for you to earn money from your blog. Once they are set up, they can be an excellent form of passive income.

The great definition of affiliate marketing comes from Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income

“Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. You find a product you like, promote it to others and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make.”

What is an affiliate link?

Many businesses of all shapes, sizes and niches run an affiliate scheme. An affiliate link is given to you after you sign up for an affiliate programme with a company. You can then include this special link when you mention the product on your blog. Then, if people click through this link and purchase the product you will receive a commission.

The commission rates vary depending on the company, some are pretty low around 5% and others can be up to around 40-50% or even more. Usually the smaller business have a higher commission %, so it’s worth seeking out these schemes.

Why should you use them?

After you have set up the links on your site the income is passive. It isn’t often in business that you can continue to make money from something that only took a few minutes to set up. However, to ensure you create a good and regular income from affiliate links, you need to write posts that will be found on search and continue to promote them.

For example, on a site I write for nootrohacker.com, we write about how you can improve cognitive function with nootropics.

Why Affiliate Marketing is good for bloggers

Here are seven compelling reasons why you should start affiliate marketing:

• You can monetise your blog sooner than you would if you created your own products from scratch.
• You can learn what types of products your audience wants, reducing the risk of any future product launch of your own bombing.
• You can get your readers used to the idea of buying from you — and increase their level of trust (as long as you pick the right products and services to sell).

• It’s easy to implement. You share a link with your readers and that’s it. You don’t have to worry about tracking sales, providing customer service, setting up payments, or anything else. All that support is handled by the merchant.
• It doesn’t require you to have a support team in place. Affiliate marketing is completely doable even if you’re a one-person solopreneur or blogger.
• It doesn’t require specialised expertise. You don’t have to be a world-renowned expert in your niche. You only need to be familiar enough with your topic area to know what products are good and worth recommending to your audience.
• It’s low-effort and low-risk. While you will have to spend time creating content for your audience about the affiliate product. After that it’s quite passive and doesn’t require a significant time or money investment on your part.

All of which are pretty significant advantages to you as a growing blogger.

3 types of affiliate links

• Pay per lead. Once your reader clicks through and enters their details you will be paid.

• Pay per click. This option pays out a commission if one of your readers clicks on a link. They don’t have to buy or sign up, simply click on the link. This works better for people who have a good amount of traffic.

• Pay per sale. This is often the most popular option. Each time one of your readers purchases a product through your affiliate link, you will be paid.

The Golden Rule

You should only become an affiliate for products that you have personally used, as only then can you recommend them in a genuine way from your experience.

Which affiliate programmes should you use?

This is totally up to you, perhaps thinking of a few questions will help you decide what would work for you;

• Is there a product you love?
• Which products do you use everyday?
• Which products do you use on your blog?
• Which products would you recommend to friends?

Make sure the affiliate links you use are for products that you would recommend without any financial incentive. They must be genuine recommendations, not just a way to earn money. Personally, I use affiliate links to promote products I use on my blog that I love. It’s great to tell people about products that could make their life easier and a bonus if you get a little commission for the recommendation. It is worth noting this costs the purchaser nothing more, the commission is taken off the sellers revenue.

When you have an idea of products you would be happy to recommend, then research the commission rates for the programmes and make sure it feels worth it.

Where do you find potential affiliate schemes?

After you’ve started your hit list detailing the products you use and would be happy to recommend. Research which brands other bloggers are working with. They might be working with a brand you haven’t thought of, but who might work for your audience too. You could possibly find adverts in their side bars or be able to spot their affiliate posts.

You can then sign up directly on the brands sites (look for ‘affiliates’). If they don’t deal with their affiliates directly, they will usually signpost you to the company who manages it for them.

Here are some popular affiliate schemes;

• ShareaSale.com
• CJ Affiliate
• Linkshare
• eBay Enterprise
• Reward Style
• Amazon Associates.
• Commission Junction

How to promote your chosen affiliate products

The main focus of all of your affiliate marketing campaigns should be providing value to your readers. You never want your readers to feel as if you’re pushing a product on them. Or promoting it just to make cash.. You should always create a content plan which provides lots of value content with any ‘selling’. For example, 4-5 emails giving nothing but free and value packaged content, then one email which is promotional (be it your product or an affiliate product). Free content builds goodwill with your audience, so make sure you provide a balance.

Social proof can really help your affiliate marketing efforts. People gain confidence in a decision if other people have made the same decision and had a successful experience. Using facts and figures from your own experience with a service or product can really help. Also gather quotes from any of your customers who have had success too.

People rarely purchase anything now without checking out the reviews online. They are looking for social proof, so make sure you give them it in your affiliate promotions.

Where to put your affiliate links?

• A resource page
• In blog posts
• Sidebar banner ads
• In digital products/downloads
• While speaking or during live shows/podcasts

It’s always worth experimenting to see what works best with your readers and your blog. Then you can adjust your affiliate marketing campaigns as you move forward.

Affiliate promotion strategies

Making money with affiliate links #1 – Add affiliate links in prominent places on your blog. 

Your blog is prime real estate for your affiliate links and there are numerous places you can showcase your links:

• In the sidebar on your blog — If you have a sidebars they can be a great place to showcase your affiliate products.
• Use a popup — These can be very effective and are under utilised for affiliate products.
• Social media promotion. Share your product recommendations and possibly the results of using those products on social media with your affiliate link. Just remember to use #affiliate not just #aff.

Making money with affiliate links #2 – Create and promote custom content

The majority of your affiliate income will most likely come from your creating custom content.

• Go back to old posts and add links. Check out your Google Analytics and see which of your posts are the most popular. Are there any affiliate links that would work in these post? If so, add them in!

• Create a Resource page. Resource pages can be very effective when you drive traffic to them from posts, guest posts or other promotions. Simply list all your favourite products in one place.

• Product reviews and product gift guides. Any reviews you’ve done or products that you’ve mentioned can include affiliate links. So go through your back catalogue and make sure all your old posts are working for you. Don’t forget gift guides too! (I would double check with each company if you can use an affiliate link, if you were sent the product.)

• Write a comprehensive guide. You can write a comprehensive post on your site that’s main purpose is to educate your readers. However, it will also be a great place to share your relevant recommendations. Make sure the content you create is evergreen and epic.

• Write guest posts to promote your comprehensive guide. When you guest post you are tapping into the host’s audience which can be very beneficial. While you wouldn’t be able to put affiliate links directly in your guest posts, you could link to your comprehensive guide, which could be full of affiliate links.

• Conduct interviews – You could interview friends or clients who have had success with the product you’re an affiliate for and then create a post.

• Create valuable bonus content – You can create bonus content, exclusive to your readers, that helps people get even more value from the affiliate product (check it’s allowed by your affiliate agreement -sometimes it’s not). You can create many types of bonuses fairly quickly and easily while still giving your readers excellent value. It’s also an awesome way to differentiate yourself from other bloggers representing the same products.

Here are some example bonuses:

• Step-by-step checklists
• Quick-start guides
• Video overviews or demos
• Complimentary or discounted services (e.g., coaching calls)
• Offer a set up service if someone buys through your link. For example, if they purchase hosting or a transfer service/autoresponder set up if they purchase an email service like Convertkit.

• Create tutorials and how to posts and include affiliate links to all the products you use.

Making money with affiliate links #3 – Craft promotional emails for your subscribers. 

Your email list is one of your biggest assets when it comes to driving traffic to your offers.

As long as you’re already emailing your list on a regular basis, then you can also run occasional promotional periods where you email them more frequently.

Here are some ideas:

• Promote your offers indirectly by sending emails linking to your free content (blog posts, reviews, etc.).
• Offer occasional special deals exclusive to your readers (discounts, bonuses, etc.).
• Run “social proof” giveaways — ask your readers to share their experience with your process or product in return for a chance to win.

If you’re promoting a low-priced product like an ebook, digital download or hosted service on an ongoing basis, you might do something as simple as using a P.S. or signature link in your regular emails, with occasional emailed links to custom content.

For courses and other higher-earning products, it might be better to run an official launch once per year with smaller launches once each quarter.

Example email sequence

Custom email sequences are especially effective for your core affiliate products.

As a rough guide you can send out a series of five to seven emails over a week or two. These can be run in parallel with your normal emails or you can “pause” your regular content for the duration of the sequence.

A sample seven-email series might look like this:

1. A welcome email (if they’re new) or a value-packed email talking about the problem the product (that you will introduce later) will solve.
2. Deliver more helpful content (no selling).
3. Mention of the product for the first time. Positioning it in relation to the problem, with a link to a sales page.
4. Give more free content with advice that’s valuable regardless of whether the reader buys the product. Also including another link to the product
5. This email should be more focused on selling the product. Perhaps incentivise the reader to buy using scarcity (e.g., “Only 10 places available”) or time urgency (e.g., “This deal ends in 24 hours”). However, you should only ever use these tactics if they are genuinely true.
6. Send more helpful information, add in some testimonials and/or social proof, and a reminder that time is running out (if it is!).
7. The last call to let readers know that the offer is closing soon.

Do you have to disclose?

Yes, you do need to disclose. Disclosures should be placed at the top of a page. So that the reader knows that the link is an affiliate link BEFORE they click on it.

Check out the FTC‘s guide

The FTC Guide has a section dedicated to affiliate or network marketing. The FTC states you should disclose your affiliate relationship “clearly and conspicuously” on your blog, so that readers can take that information into consideration while reading your endorsement. Your readers must notice your disclosure easily, and shouldn’t have to hunt for it.

Does your blog have a privacy policy?

A privacy policy is a legal statement that tells your visitors how their personal data is collected, used, and protected when interacting with your website. Many affiliates require them, and a privacy policy also helps build trust with your readers. Privacy policy laws are enforced at both the local and federal level, so it’s worth reviewing these details with a legal professional to be sure your website is compliant.

In summary – points to consider

• You can start adding affiliate links as soon as you start your blog (if you have registered as self-employed), don’t think you need more traffic. These links will still be there, in place when you have more traffic and you will have got into the habit or adding the links.

• Maybe you could offer an affiliate programme on your own product/s.

• Ask an affiliate for an exclusive offer. Do this only after you’re bringing that company in some decent sales. If you are, see if they’ll offer a special discount to your readers. You may even see if they’d work with you on a paid campaign.

• You can use your affiliate links directly on social media (check with each affiliate!).

• You can add affiliate links on Pinterest too.

• Mix and match affiliate ads so you don’t overwhelm your visitors. In-content affiliate links usually have the best click through rates over image links.

• DON’T FORGET TO TRACK EVERYTHING TO DISCOVER WHAT’S WORKING BEST.

• It might take some time for your bank of links to grow and the money to start coming in.

• Check the payout systems for each programme.

• Affiliate income often takes trial and error.

• Start an email list. The most successful affiliate marketers use email in their affiliate marketing, as it can increase your affiliate profits significantly.

• Consider setting up a proper funnel to market your affiliate products. Increase the size of your email list by offering a great free offer, and from there you can send them to your affiliate product page. In your email system, you can offer more great free content and more affiliate offers.

• Don’t forget to review what marketing collateral is available from the affiliate program, decide if it matches you aesthetics and or you might have a style mismatch on your ads.

My advice would be to be selective regarding the links you use, don’t go overboard. I make the most affiliate income from recommending Social Oomph (Twitter scheduler) and Convertkit (email management system).

Do you use affiliate links? Have you found any great ways of making money with affiliate links?