I’m sure by now if you’re a blogger or aspiring writer that you’ve heard that you need to add an affiliate partner to your monetization strategy or if you’re an online business owner that you can create some serious passive income by adding affiliate links into your marketing plan– well, they aren’t lying! But how do you actually start an affiliate marketing strategy for your online business??
Let’s talk about it.
I’ll never forget the first month I made an extra $400 from just telling TWO people how much I loved my client management tool, Honeybook. It seemed unreal honestly that I could genuinely tell people about how this one tool single-handedly up-leveled my business and just because of my recommendatio,n I was able to pay off an unexpected bill that month. My mind was blown 🤯….and my affiliate monetization strategy commenced!
Legit businesses like Honeybook ARE DYING to partner with you friend. I mean, it’s crazy how simple it works: They hand you a special link to promote something you love and if someone buys from your special link, you get to rake in a commission for it (Like $200 a pop if you’re an affiliate for Honeybook!). It’s word-of-mouth marketing for them and a new revenue stream for you without having to create a single product or service. Cha-ching.
So let’s get you started with an affiliate marketing strategy already.
Have a pile of products you can’t imagine running your business without? A favorite service that has been a total game changer for how you do life?? Jot it down! Make a list of both a) products and b) services of all your faves.
Here are some of my fave affiliate partnerships and links to their affiliate application pages to jumpstart the creative juices for ya:
Take your product or servie that you put on your list and add “affiliate program” to the end to see what pops up in a basic Google search. Don’t be discouraged if nothing appears on the first Google page. Go to the main website of your favorite product or service and search for “affiliate” within their search bar, check for partner opportunities in the footer of their site, and worst case, contact customer support to tell them how much you love their goods and are wondering if they have an affiliate partnership you can apply for.
Once you start getting approvals from your favorite affiliate marketing partners, they’ll send you a unique link. Now you need to create relevant content (like in your blog posts, social media captions, email newsletter content, Instagram stories, etc.) that shares how these products or services can add value to your reader.
Some good affiliate marketing blog post titles could be something along the lines of:
They should include how you specifically use the affiliate product or service, what benefit there is to using them, and where they can buy them.
Be intentional about your new strategy. When you set goals for your business for the month, intentionally map out how many of each affiliate product or service you need to sell to hit your affiliate commission goal.
Keep note of what works (or doesn’t) so you can rinse and repeat in the future!
Boom, you’re a passive income pro.
The Federal Trade Commission requires it and practically every solid affiliate partner requires it as part of their terms.
As an example, you can reference the one I mention at the beginning of this post (the friendly one that starts with “Heads up….”). However, some partners like Amazon, require specific verbiage on your page like:
“She Is Bold a participant of the Amazon Services LLC Services Program, an affiliate advertising program that is designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.”
So be sure to check through your affiliate partner’s terms for any specific requirements.
That’s it! Happy affiliate marketing friends!
This is awesome! I just recently signed up to be an Amazon affiliate, but then did nothing with it because I was like *crickets* now what? I’m going to work on a plan to be a good affiliate and look at other products/services I can partner with.
This was LEGIT helpful. So thankful for all the knowledge nuggets!!