Affiliate Marketing (Blueprint)

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is an online sales strategy that allows a product/service owner increase sales by allowing others targeting the same audience—“affiliates”—to earn a commission by recommending the product/services to others in which at the end could become End Users (Consumers). 

At the same time, it makes it possible for affiliates (Promoters or Publishers) to earn money on product sales without creating products of their own.

Simply, affiliate marketing involves referring a product or service by sharing it on a blog, social media platforms, or website which allows promoters or publishers to earn money whenever an end users clicks the link depending on the time of products.

 The affiliate earns a commission each time someone makes a purchase through the unique link associated with their recommendation. Done well, this performance-based opportunity can become an important part of your business by netting you a healthy income.

How does affiliate marketing work?

To participate in an affiliate marketing program, you’ll need to take these five simple steps:

1. Find and join a trusted affiliate program 
2. Choose which offers to promote in your niche
3. Obtain a unique affiliate link for each offer
4. Share those links on your blog, social media platforms, or website
5. Earn commission anytime someone uses your links to make a purchase

Commission rates vary dramatically, depending on the company and the offer. On the low end, you’ll earn about 5% of the sale but, with some arrangements, you can earn as much as 50%, usually when promoting a class or event. There are also affiliate marketing programs that provide a flat rate per sale instead of a percentage.

Choosing your first affiliate program

As you trying to find products to promote or browse through affiliate platforms, the most important thing you should  keep in mind is that the product should be in line with your audience interest, or the audience you hope to build. Ask yourself, What you are trying to promote would it solve your target audience problem and they would find valuable? Does it fit with your area of expertise?

For Instance; Surely A food blogger probably wouldn’t promote any beauty products, for example. A wide range of other products would make more sense, such as cookware, meal kits, gourmet ingredients, or even aprons.

That is the logic create a blog or website around your expertise that would actually answer your audience curiosity and solve any problem. When I mean solve problem, am talking about Products or service that would answer or quench your audience thirst in search for solutions.

Also make sure the product or service you’re promoting is a fit for the platform you’re promoting it on. For example, home décor and clothing are well suited to image-heavy platforms like Instagram. However, if you’re promoting more in-depth purchases, like software, your review may convert better on longer-form platforms, like a blog or YouTube.

Creating a plan to promote your affiliate offer

As being discussed, revenue in affiliate marketing could eventually result to a form of passive income, but you still have to do some hard and smart work. The success of your program will depend on the quality of your review, of how well you speak about a product.

How to have a good review

1. To have a good review, it’s more effective when it is personal. 

2. Share your personal experience about the product in your blog, social media post, or video. 

3. When writing a personal review about a product, give the most candid opinion and feeling based on your experience about the product and the best knowledge of the product. 

4. The more open you are, the more authentic you will be. People will be more comfortable following your advice if they feel they can trust you.

5. Trust is the major key factor in your affiliate marketing efforts when posting your reviews, because people need to trust you enough to act on your recommendations. The level of trust you’ll need to make affiliate sales depends on your industry and the products you’re recommending—for example, it takes more trust to be an effective affiliate for a $1,000 course than it does for a $20 t-shirt.

Interview with the product expert

Another option in which you can get your audience trust is by interviewing others who use the product or service, or even interviewing the person who makes or sells it. This can give your review more depth, creating a narrative for the reader.

Creating a tutorial content ( Video)

Meanwhile the success of affiliate marketing can depend on the overall size of your followers or audience, a very huge way to drive higher-converting traffic is by providing a tutorial on the offer i.e. like creating a video on how to use the product or how the service is of benefit. 

Most People that searches the internet search on “how to” searches on Google, such as “how to save money for college” or “how to decorate a laundry room.” 

If you  can offer a tutorial that solves a searcher’s problem and clearly showcases the value of the product, your referrals will make more sense in context and you’ll provide the customer with a stronger incentive to purchase the product you’re recommending.

Use relevant Search Keywords

if you are going to use a blog post to promote any offer, research which keywords someone might use in a search engine to find an answer to a related problem. Google Ads Keyword Planner is a good tool that can help. (It’s free to use, but you’ll need to create an account.)

Consider your angle

Depending on the of offer you are promoting, try to find out how much energy you  should be investing in instructional or tutorial content, which is often a natural lead-in to someone trying a product for themselves. For example, you could record a video of yourself using and getting the most out of a physical product, or showing off the benefits of a digital product, like software. Unboxing posts are popular, so if you receive the product in the mail, document your experience opening it up.

Where to share your link

After compiling your promotional content, share it on your website or social media platforms. If you have an email list, you can create an email marketing campaign using this Software called GetResponse . And be sure to have an affiliate marketing hub on your website with a Resources page where you share a quick list of all of the tools you use and love.

You want to know more about GetResponse Click HERE

Give out Bonuses 

Most marketers promote their affiliate programs or links by offering bonuses to anyone who purchases the offer or who makes attempt to choose their product. 

For example, GetResponse allows their users to use their software free for 30days. Risk Free. No credit Card details. This Kind of bonus would allow the users to have experience or learn more about the product even before purchasing. furthermore, it would prompt the user to continue using the product.

Keep things legal and above board

Never forget to disclose to followers or audience that your post contains affiliate links. For one thing, it’s required by the FTC. But explaining the reason for your affiliation also can help you connect with your audience. For example, SmartEarners blog offer this disclosure: “SmartEarners sometimes publishes affiliate endorsements and advertisements, which means that if you click on a link and buy something, SmartEarners might receive a percentage of the sale, at no extra cost to you. We only write about, and promote, products that we believe in. We promise not to tell you about stuff that's dumb.”

Additional Knowledge

In the internet marketing world we learn everyday about the latest software, what is working out and other.

you can also go further by learning courses either free or paid course

NB: free courses appear mostly to be PDF you would just download it and read all through but the paid courses have more advantages than that of the free course because you would be gaining support, mentorship from the owners of the courses. I recommend getting free course.

If you are willing to get a free courses on affiliate marketing you could check this  Free Affiliate Marketing Course from eMarketing Institute

I would updating this article with affiliate marketing paid courses very soon.