Need to get on top of your affiliate marketing game? Read on!
Affiliate marketing can make a massive difference to your financial situation if done properly, but sometimes things just reach a standstill, and you’re left wondering, “what now? What more can I do?”.
Sometimes it’s good to find someone else’s thoughts and perception of things in the hope that they can inspire and give some ideas to help you move forward. That’s what we’re doing here.
Our tips to help you when it comes to affiliate marketing
This post will share some simple tips to increase your affiliate income, tried and tested by affiliate marketers around the world.
Standard payment or recurring commission?
Consider choosing a program with a recurring commission as this gives you a better chance of earning a commission over a more extended period.
For example, say there is a software platform offering two affiliate plans for you to choose from.
The first is to get £100 for the sale of software through your affiliate link and nothing more (like a typical affiliate sale).
The other is to get 10% for the sale of software through your affiliate link and then 5% for every month the customer is paying their monthly subscription (a recurring fee for the customer = a recurring commission for you).
What do you do? Do you take the money and run, or do you invest in a long term option with the hope that the customer stays on? This all depends on you as a marketer, what you would prefer to do, and the situation you are in.
Some platforms work better for different people and situations, such as business size, niche, and the time you have to dedicate.
A tip for small businesses – Shareasale is an excellent choice for you because it has a minimal start-up cost but has great support. Cheap on cost but not on support.
Promote relevant products and services
An obvious reason why your income can become a standstill is that your audience is no longer interested in the things you are promoting. Consider running a survey or poll on your platform to get a feel and understand what your audience would like to see more of.
This is such a simple tip, and it will make a difference.
Advertise when you can benefit from it
This tip isn’t about increasing your income but more about saving it. A question that comes up a lot is, “how much should I pay for advertising?”.
Let me give you a tip here, do not advertise unless you understand it and you know for sure you can make your money back.
I say this because there are so many beginners out there who are not set up correctly but are so desperate for traffic they jump into advertising.
Imagine you invest £200 into advertising, and you get so many clicks it’s unreal, but none of those clicks converts. You have blasted through £200 with nothing in return.
Make sure you understand SEO, invest in valuable keywords that represent your niche and what you are trying to offer, and only invest if you are sure it will pay off for you.
Be smart with what you promote
This tip is a keeper, especially for those in the crafting or art niche! If you are in either of these niches, definitely consider promoting art supplies, which are bought frequently together.
Art supplies are relatively cheap and are often purchased with other items that you can also have an affiliate link to. Earn commission on multiple small items.
Don’t be spammy
So one thing we don’t like is spam, and one thing we don’t trust is links that look spammy. Super long links with all the characters under the sun in them don’t look appealing or trustworthy.
You might notice that your affiliate links look like this:
http://website.com/products/?product_id=999&affiliate=999
but wouldn’t it look so much better and more reliable if it looked like this?
http://www.mywebsite.com/go/productname
If your link seems too spammy, then it most likely won’t get half the amount of clicks as you’d hope for.
A solution to this problem is using a plugin that will cloak your affiliate links. Thirsty Affiliates has a free plugin to download.
Promote on other posts
If you run a blog that offers more than content aimed at affiliate marketing, then consider promoting your affiliate post or link on your most popular blog post.
You can use Google Analytics to see which post is the most popular, and then you could simply add a note at the bottom of your post linking to your affiliate product page or a banner to advertise it.
My advice is only to do this with relatable content, and make sure it flows, avoid spamming your post, and you will surely drive traffic to where you want it to be.
Amazon
Consider Amazon as a source for affiliate marketing. Let’s be honest here, Amazon is taking over the world, and customers seem to prefer shopping here over major retailers.
The percentage commission with Amazon isn’t significant, but it is a great step for beginners, and as I’ve always said, you get out of it what you put into it.
Social media
Please, please, please take advantage of social media. It seems obvious that when you start a new business or project to set up an adjoining social media page but how many people do this but don’t work it properly?
Social media is such a powerful tool and can help you reach hundreds and thousands of people if you take your time and do it properly. Learn about your social media, understand what it can do for your business, and take action.
Conclusion
These are some simple and straightforward tips that can make a difference when it comes to affiliate marketing. If you find yourself stuck or at a standstill with your efforts then implement these tips.