How To Get Started With Affiliate Marketing: Small Business Owner Edition
Last year, I achieved a milestone by generating $70,000 in affiliate commissions for my online business. This is just one of the income streams I have for the business, and for good reason. With affiliate marketing, it's a win-win all around:
I get to earn income on a product I didn't have to spend time creating
I can deliver an offer to my audience that compliments things I offer
I can help my biz besties earn some more money (a huge mission of mine)
I have an additional source of income so that my eggs aren't all in one basket
And now, I am bring it all to you... my top tips for mastering the art of affiliate marketing!
Whether you're just getting started or looking to optimize your current income streams, these twelve tips will help you select the right partners, promote effectively to your audience, and maximize your earning potential.
One: Selecting the Right Partners
When it comes to selecting affiliate partners, aim for courses, programs, and memberships offered by other entrepreneurs. These typically offer higher commissions ranging from 30% to 50%, compared to promoting physical products.
Two: Promoting What You Know and Love
The key to successful affiliate marketing lies in promoting products and services that resonate with you. Your audience's trust is your most valuable asset, and promoting items you know and love builds credibility and long-term relationships, even if they don't make an immediate purchase.
Three: Leveraging Recurring Commissions
Maximize your income stream by choosing memberships and subscriptions that offer recurring commissions. Make a sale once, and continue reaping the benefits as the commissions roll in month after month.
Four: Understanding the Fine Print
Before diving into promoting any affiliate program, ensure you fully understand the terms and conditions. Notably, learn from my mistakes; always read the fine print to avoid missing out on potential commissions.
Five: Effective Promotion Strategies
Your approach to promoting affiliate offers should mirror how you promote your own products or services. Often, your audience requires multiple exposures to the offer before making an informed decision, so create a dedicated campaign to provide comprehensive information and garner interest.
Six: Educational Content and Warm-Up
If your audience is unfamiliar with the person, brand, or product you're promoting, lead with educational content and warm-up material to build familiarity and trust.
Seven: Utilizing Lead Magnets and Freebies
Leverage lead magnets and freebies from your affiliate partners as an entry point for your audience. This allows them to experience the brand or product before making a purchase, ultimately leading to higher conversions.
Eight: Favoring Campaigns Over Sporadic Promotions
When promoting affiliate offers, favor structured campaigns over sporadic mentions. Dedicate a specific window of time to thoroughly discuss and promote the offer, ensuring your audience has ample information to make informed purchase decisions.
Nine: The Importance of Transparency
Transparently disclosing affiliate relationships is crucial for building trust with your audience. Utilize disclaimers in your email newsletters and use the hashtag "affiliate" in all relevant social media posts to clearly communicate your involvement.
Ten: Strategic Planning and Scheduling
Plan your affiliate campaigns in advance and integrate them into your content calendar. Proper planning ensures you have ample time to create high-quality content and avoid last-minute rushes.
Eleven: Customizing Provided Templates
While affiliate programs may offer templates and visuals, personalize your promotional content to reflect your unique voice and perspective. Content created in your own voice tends to resonate better with your audience, leading to enhanced engagement and conversions.
Twelve: Showcasing Behind-the-Scenes Insights
Provide your audience with behind-the-scenes insights into the affiliate products or services you're promoting. This could include showcasing the value of a course or demonstrating the practical use of a product, offering a deeper understanding that isn't always evident on the sales page.
Affiliate marketing has been a game-changer for my online business, and these tips have been instrumental in my success. By carefully selecting the right partners, promoting with transparency and authenticity, and strategically planning and executing campaigns, you can maximize your earning potential and build lasting relationships with your audience.
HOW TO MAKE AFFILIATE COMMISSIONS A RELEVANT REVENUE STREAM
We are all used to getting affiliate commissions here and there. But most rarely get to 2 digits.
This class will teach you how to make affiliate commissions be a relevant stream of revenue.
Manu Muraro is the founder of Your Social Team, an Instagram training membership and content shop to help social media managers and Instagram savvy women entrepreneurs to beat the algorithm and grow their organic engagement (yes, even in 2021).
This year she also launched Your Template Club, a Canva Template subscription to provide social media managers and Instagram savvy business owners with content templates designed for engagement in their inbox.
Born and raised in Brazil, Manu moved to the U.S. in 2000 right out of college to work for Cartoon Network, where she made an award winning career in creative and strategy. In 2017, Manu started Your Social Team with the mission of helping women entrepreneurs and social media managers grow engagement and sales through Instagram without the overwhelm.