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Are you curious as to how affiliate marketing for bloggers works? Then you’ve come to the right page!

If you are looking to make money blogging, then the best option for many bloggers (new and seasoned) is undoubtedly affiliate marketing. 

Compared to using AdSense as your main source of blogging income, affiliate marketing is potentially one of the most profitable business models you can use online.

You don’t have to be a professional. Take me for example, I earned over $300+ as an affiliate on my 3rd month of blogging… WITHOUT any prior experience! So if I can do it, you can too!

In this article, I will share with you everything I know about affiliate marketing for bloggers.

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Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links which means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you which I will then use to maintain this blog. See my full disclosure policy here.

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What You Should Know About Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Simply put, affiliate marketing is a model in which you promote other people/companies’ products and receive a commission when someone makes a purchase.

Affiliate marketing is such an appealing model not just because of the money but also because of the fact that it is a completely passive business model.

Once you’ve set up everything, you can LITERALLY be earning money while you sleep! Personally, I will never get tired of waking up to an email saying ‘I’ve made an affiliate sale’. It’s an exhilarating experience every time!

But then you have to remember that this does not come overnight. 

In fact, affiliate marketing for bloggers is likely to initially involve a lot of work.

To begin with, you have to be willing to put in a lot of hours for very little reward so that you can sew the seeds of your labor further down the line.

Specifically then, how does it really work?

How Does Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers Work?

Essentially, as an affiliate marketer, you promote products or services for a commission. This means you have to find products online (preferably closely related to your niche) and promote them using your own affiliate link.

This can be done by including those links in your blog posts, social media, email, etc.

If someone clicks on your link and then buys the product or service, you’ll get a cut of the profit which can be as much as 50% all the way up to 75% depending on the affiliate program you joined. Hooray for you!

Why Affiliate Marketing is the Best Way to Start Monetizing

Here’s why I love affiliate marketing as a way to monetize my blog:

1. No upfront investment – You simply choose the products you want to promote and get your affiliate links. You don’t need to create your own products which means you don’t need to spend a single cent! 

2. Save time and energy – Since the affiliate products have already been produced by someone else, you don’t need to use your energy, creativity, and time to develop them from scratch!

3. Flexibility – You can choose what and how many products you want to promote and in what ways.

4. Beginner-friendly – There’s no steep learning curve or barrier for entry for beginners. You just have to make sure your readers see your affiliate link.

5. Lots of affiliate programs to choose from – There is a seemingly endless supply of products and services relevant to any niche you could choose. This offers you variation and keeps things interesting. 

What is an Affiliate Program?

An affiliate program is a marketing strategy that a company/business owner uses to promote their products and services. 

Once you join a program, you will receive your own affiliate links as well as some banners, swipe files, and other tools (depending on the program) so you can start the promotion. 

How to Choose an Affiliate Program

It is very important that you choose affiliate programs very carefully because choosing the wrong ones can impact your brand negatively.

Here’s what you should look for in an affiliate program:

• They should have a good reputation
• They must be known for paying their affiliate marketers on time
• They should offer a wide variety of banners and other promotional tools that you can add to your website
• They should provide accurate affiliate stats.
• They must provide quick support when you need answers to urgent questions.

Overall, there are many affiliate programs bloggers can choose from online so pick wisely!

How to Get Started with Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers

Step One: Choose the Product you Want to Sell

The first step here is to decide what you are going to sell. Is it a physical product? A digital product? Or a service?

As a beginner, I would recommend selling a digital product such as an eBook or a template.

The reason for this is simple…

Since there is no cost associated with production, the creator of the product has more profit to share with you and that means you can earn up to 50-75% from each sale. Amazing, right?

On the other hand, your niche might require you to sell physical products instead. For example, if you are in the beauty niche then you might want to promote skin care products on your blog.

The commission for physical products may be a lot less but that’s perfectly okay! Since we all spend money on physical items, you’ll have a much larger potential audience.

Finally, you may want to look at selling memberships or services. Here, there’s a possibility to receive ‘lifetime commissions‘. For example, if someone signs up for a membership through your link, then you might be able to earn a commission from them for the lifetime of their membership.

Again, this depends on the terms of the affiliate program. 

Overall, the key here is to promote products or services that are closely relevant to your niche. You don’t want to be joining affiliate programs for gym products when you are in the cryptocurrency niche. Does that make sense?

Step Two: Join Affiliate Marketing Programs

Now that you know what type of product you are selling, it’s time to join affiliate programs!

There are many affiliate programs bloggers can choose from depending on their niche. Some examples of these are Amazon Associates, Rakuten, and Shopify. 

All you need to do is sign up and apply as an affiliate, then you can browse through the available products and get your affiliate links. Easy peasy!

Step Three: Promote, promote, promote!

This is where it gets a bit tricky. Because this is the part where you have to start making things sell. 

And I don’t mean to simply add affiliate links throughout your blog and then wait for your first affiliate sale.

Seasoned affiliate marketers will tell you that the text you use to sell the affiliate products and services is the BIGGEST determining factor when it comes to your conversion rates.

So believe me when I say that it is highly worth taking the time to learn. 

Here are some tips to promote your products as an affiliate marketer:

1. Grab your readers’ attention by:

• Turning your pitch into a story your audience can relate to
• Making sure the products you have chosen answer a very specific need and then highlighting them as part of the solution
• Using bold statements and rhetorical questions

2. Flow and break points. Make sure that your text flows smoothly and without obvious breaks.

3. Reference statistics and authority figures. This will make your statements more credible and convincing. 

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to add an affiliate disclosure in your blog!

Where exactly can you promote the products?

1. Blog Posts

This is the most obvious and common platform to use for your affiliate marketing business.

All you have to do is to add affiliate links within the body of those posts. For example, you might just mention how this product has helped you lose weight and then leave the link there for your readers to click. 

2. Email Marketing

This is something that lends very nicely to affiliate marketing. You can simply build a large mailing list from your blog and then pitch your affiliate products and services to your subscribers.

3. Social Media

If you share your posts on social media, you can share your affiliate links there too! Just make sure to carefully read the terms and conditions of your chosen affiliate programs as some may not allow you to add affiliate links directly on social platforms.

Step Four: Get Paid and Repeat!

Once you’ve done everything correctly, then you can expect to make your first affiliate sale in no time!

But don’t just stop there. The more you write blog posts with affiliate links in them, the higher chances you get of earning more affiliate income!

Also, don’t be afraid to keep searching for more affiliate programs to join. There are lots of opportunities out there!

Best Tips for Affiliate Marketing

Build an email list

Sometimes, people need to be warmed up to a product before deciding whether to purchase them (for example, through the course of multiple visits or additional information).

This is why having an email list is important for affiliate marketers. Because through this way, you essentially have the chance to sell one (or multiple) products to the same person over the course of time. 

Set yourself apart

One way to do this is by offering some type of bonus closely related to the affiliate product you are selling.

For example, if you are selling a course about budgeting then you can add a budgeting planner as a bonus if the person buys the course through your link.

I’ve done this a number of times and trust me.. it’s effective!

Be honest

People want to know other people’s opinions before they buy something. So when you can, review what you sell and be honest. 

As an affiliate marketer myself, I find it way easier to sell products I have personally used or are owned by business owners who I truly believe in. 

So it always helps when you try the product before selling it. This way, you can write an honest and unbiased review that will appeal to potential buyers.

Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers: Final Thoughts

So there you have it: everything you need to know to be successful in affiliate marketing!

I suggest you use these strategies and be consistent. You will find that affiliate marketing will allow you to earn an entirely passive income and can even make you rich!

Just stick with it, enjoy it and it will happen. 😊

Additional Resources for Affiliate Marketing

Want to learn more about affiliate marketing?

Learn Dale Pearson’s secrets to becoming a successful affiliate marketer (earning over $3,000 per month) in this ebook!

Not sure which affiliate programs to join?

This free ebook will give you over 250 affiliate programs to choose from.

Choose a PIN to share!