In today’s post, are continuing the trend of making money with your blog, and today’s topic is affiliate sales.
If you’ve never heard of affiliate marketing, it can certainly sound very intimidating – and be even more intimidating to get started. But don’t feel that way – it’s very easy to get started, and there is no cost involved, so why not do a little dabbling and see what happens?
In the simplest definition, affiliate marketing is when you make income by promoting products. You earn a commission for each sale you influence. (Sales and clicks are tracked with your unique affiliate link.)
You can include your affiliate links in all types of content, including:
* Audio
* Video
* Articles
* Reports
* Ebooks
* Autoresponder courses
* Online courses
* Social networking posts
* Blog posts
As you can see, content is generally considered the single most important tool an affiliate marketer has to make a passive income. That is why affiliate marketing and blogging match together so perfectly! You need content for your blog – so why not include some affiliate links and earn income at the same time?
The goal is to find a topic you’re excited to write about, and then find relevant items to link to within the post.
For example, if you’re a food blogger, you might write about a fantastic recipe you tried, and include the affiliate link to the cookbook you found the recipe in.
If you’re a crafty blogger, you might write about a craft project you are working on, and then put in an affiliate link to the yarn or fabric you’re using.
If you’re a fashion blogger, you might write about the cute bag you just purchased, and then include an affiliate link so that your readers can purchase the same item.
If you’re a life blogger, you might write about the DVD you watched last night, and then include an affiliate link to Amazon or Netflix so that other people can buy it / rent it.
You just include the links naturally within your writing. You don’t have to shove them down anyone’s throat.
If you do plan on participating in affiliate marketing, you will want to include a disclosure on your blog so that people know you may be making an income off of the links. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Here’s the link to mine.
So what are you waiting for? Get started!