If you scroll through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or any other social platform, chances are you will see “sponsored posts,” ads, and partnerships. These are all types of affiliate marketing — but they’re not the only types.
Affiliate marketing is what happens when one brand or person connects a potential customer to a brand or person, with the expectation of a commission, referral fee, or some kind of compensation. The affiliate provides valuable content and info around a product, business, or person with the goal of driving their followers to purchase what they recommend.
With how connected we are online, anyone can add affiliate marketing to their business revenue — and find success if they approach it correctly. If you’re interested to see how affiliate marketing can help you grow your sales, let’s dive in.
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1 | Stay on Brand
So you want to make money with affiliate programs. That’s great! There’s just one very important thing to keep in mind: You can’t just take on every affiliate program or partner you find.
When you are deciding which programs, products, or services to be an affiliate for, stay loyal to your values, your audience, and your own business goals. Don’t take on affiliate programs that don’t align with your mission or audience. Nothing is worse than someone trying to sell something that doesn’t connect with their mission — or is totally not relevant to their audience!
If you are in the health and wellness space and spend your time creating content about healthy living, promoting the newest high-end purse will probably raise some eyebrows from your audience. It will come across just a little weird – and your followers will notice! Stick with programs and products that naturally fit in with your brand and business.
Remember, your followers resonate with your content already, so keep affiliate content in line with that.
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2 | Become an Expert
If you are promoting a product or service, you better be an expert on it! Get to know the brands, products, or offers you are promoting like the back of your hand.
If it’s a product, make sure you have it or use it. If it’s a service or digital program/offer, make sure you’ve been through it or worked with the creator. The more you can talk about a brand and their offer specifically, the better you’ll be able to sell for affiliates and make a commission.
Consider adding a “how to” video or “behind the scenes” peek of how you use the product or service to your benefit. We’ve found this to be one of the best ways to convert sales as your followers can see you using it. Not only will it show off the quality of the product or offer itself, but it can also be a great way to show someone what’s possible with the product or service.
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3 | Be Consistent
Consistency is key to building trust and loyalty with your followers. When it comes to promoting affiliate offers and products, you want to talk about the brand or person you are affiliated with consistently, not just when you’re promoting their sales or offers.
We’ve all seen it before, when someone only talks about a brand or product during a big sale or promotion. You just know they’re only promoting that offer/brand to make commissions, NOT because they actually benefit from or use it.
Of course, not every post needs to push your followers to convert and buy the product or offer your affiliates are promoting. Organically weave your affiliates into your regular content, carrying the same tone and feel.
You can even add your affiliate links in relevant places in your blogs, emails, and social media links. This way, your recommendations will feel much more authentic and you’ll get commissions more frequently.
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4 | Use Your Editorial Calendar
Just like we encourage you to plan your content, promotions, launches, or sales ahead of time, plan ahead for your affiliate offers, too, with your editorial calendar.
You can ask your affiliate partners for a calendar of their promotion plans for the quarter so you can plan your own content around that. It’s the best way to not only stay consistent with your content, but to naturally weave in your own content with affiliate offers.
Take a look at your calendar and plan things in 1- to 3-month increments. Plug in your own offers and promotions along with your affiliate’s offers, too. Then, plan your content around those things, making sure to share lots of great value with your audience so that, when you do recommend your affiliate products or offers, they are ready to say “Yes!”
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5 | Add Links Wisely
If you haven’t already, go back through your old content and add your affiliate links in places where they are relevant. Just make sure to add an affiliate disclaimer to any blog or video where you promote it, so everyone knows it is an affiliate link.
Don’t forget that your old content (like blogs, social media posts, videos, etc.) may connect to your affiliates’ offers, too! You can easily add your affiliate link where it fits in well with relevant content and see more passive sales come through as more people find your old content.
Beware, though: Don’t make the mistake of packing in too many links into your content – only mention and add it when it makes sense. If you were reading your post and saw the link, would it be confusing and out of place, or would it flow naturally? Also, be sure to check that the links send you to the right landing page or site! Nothing is worse than clicking on a broken link!
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6 | Be Transparent
Our final tip for affiliate marketing success? Be honest when people ask you questions and or want to how you are liking the products you are affiliated with. Your audience is following you – they trust you. They will see right through anything that doesn’t already align with your brand.
We’ve said it time and time again…we buy from those we like and trust. Breaking that trust is the worst thing you could do. Promote products and offers that you genuinely like and believe in! Stay on brand, be authentic, be honest about why you’re promoting something (those affiliate disclaimers matter), and the rest will fall into place.
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Final Thoughts
You can take these tips and elevate your affiliate sales, build trust, and find the right programs that support you and your audience. Remember, more is not always better. Align your business with affiliate offers that you organically gravitate towards. Chances are, your followers will resonate with them, too!
Looking for additional help to add affiliate marketing into your business this year? Get access to the Momentum Biz Vault! We have a marketing guide focusing on just that – success with affiliate marketing!
If you are hoping to:
- Add affiliate marketing to your business
- Drive more passive income by joining affiliate programs
- Stay authentic and on-brand while marketing
… then join our Momentum Biz Vault! We’re showing you how to succeed with affiliate programs and help you serve your audience even better.