Do you want to bring more money into your business? Of course you do! As a personal brand entrepreneur looking to build a profitable business, you need to have several income streams coming in and one of these should be affiliate marketing.
This is low-hanging fruit when it comes to making additional money in your online business. If you’re not sure what it is or how to use it then here’s my beginner’s guide on how to get started with successful affiliate marketing.
What is affiliate marketing?
In a nutshell, here’s how affiliate marketing works: you promote somebody else’s products or services. How does this bring income into your business? You will get your own unique, trackable affiliate link which you share with your audience. When someone uses it to buy the item you are promoting, that is logged on the system and after some time, you will receive a payment. Affiliate commission amounts vary.
Joining an affiliate marketing program is a great way to earn passive income, but it’s not a get rich quick scheme. It’s a slow, drip, drip, drip, but all these small affiliate sales add up.
So now you know what affiliate marketing is, how can you use it in your business?
Share useful products and services
Is there a product you cannot live without? Something you recommend to everyone whenever they ask for a solution to a particular problem? This is the best place to start with affiliate marketing. Find products and services you believe your audience and your ideal customers will need in order to achieve what they are trying to do. If you love a product or service and you know it does the job, then that’s what you should be promoting as an affiliate.
Many companies have affiliate networks set up already. If you have a look around their website you will find out how to sign up to be a part of that. If they don’t have an affiliate scheme set up already then you need to make a personal connection with that company and set up a deal.
Having someone else say they want to promote your product or service is music to most people’s ears. You are putting them in front of a wider audience in return for a small fee.
You can then drive traffic to your personal link via social media and your other marketing channels. Perhaps you have a deal where you can give a special offer to people who sign up through you on your blog, on your podcast or through your email list. Or you can simply say that you love this service and say why you think your community will love it too.
You do need to be upfront and honest about the fact you are earning a commission if people click your link and go on to make a purchase. People aren’t put off by this, it’s something they are used to seeing online.
If you want to see an example of what affiliate marketing looks like, head over to my resources page. You will see there that I am completely transparent about my relationship with the companies I’m promoting so visitors to that page know that I will benefit financially if they choose to purchase one of the tools I recommend.
Only promote products you use
If you look at my Resources page you will see that everything on there is a tool I use or have used in the past, and from people I trust. I get people messaging me all the time asking if I will put their affiliate product in front of my audience.
I will never sell something I have not personally used and benefited from. It’s my name and my reputation on the line. If that product is no good, I’m going to risk the trust of my audience. I care far more about serving my audience than promoting someone else’s product. I’m not here for them, I’m here for you.
As a personal brand entrepreneur, you too will have built up an audience who know and trust you. That’s very valuable. It’s highly attractive to brands who want to get in front of your people. But it’s important not to lose sight of all the work you have put into building that trust in the first place. That’s worth a lot more to you than dollars or pounds. Trust cannot be bought.
Only promote products you have personally used and believe in. If you think it’s good and genuinely think it’s going to help the people you are there to serve, then you can confidently become an affiliate.
Affiliate marketing is a simple way to bring additional income into your business. Focus on providing value to your community and helping them achieve their goals and they will be happy to spend money through you to get things done more effectively.
Only promote products you have personally used and believe in. If you think it’s good and genuinely think it’s going to help the people you are there to serve, then you can confidently become an affiliate. #Youpreneur Click To Tweet
Chris founded Youpreneur® in 2015. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and author of the bestselling books “Virtual Freedom” and “Rise of the Youpreneur”. He hosts our podcast, live events and coaches our clients inside the Youpreneur Incubator. Chris is based in Cambridge, UK.
