Written on September 4th, 2008 at 12:09 am by Darren Rowse

5 Lessons on Making Money with Affiliate Programs

Affiliate Programs 69 comments

In the last 24 hours I’ve been interviewed 3 times and on each occassion I was questioned about affiliate marketing and how to make money from it.

Here are 5 lessons that I found myself touching on in each interview.

Affiliate-Program-Lessons
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1. Relevancy between Audience, Product and Content

One key to high conversion when promoting affiliate products is to align as much as possible the needs of your audience, with the product that you are promoting and the content being produced on your blog.

For example if my readers are all beginner digital photographers, I’m producing a blog with content that teaches basic principles of photography and I was to promote to them a book or course on beginner to intermediate photography tips - I’d have a pretty good chance of generating some sales and therefore commissions.

However if I was to promote the same course here on ProBlogger the campaign would fall on it’s face and I’d probably do my reputation more harm than good.

2. Trust is Crucial

I find that affiliate promotions tend to work best on a blog that has been around for a while where the readership has been journeying with the blogger for a while.

When you read someone’s solid advice on a daily basis over a couple of years you’re much more likely to buy something that they recommend than buying something off a complete stranger. It’s all about establishing credibility and trust.

3. Traffic is Key

There’s no getting around this one - you increase the chances of a conversion with the number of people who see your invitation to purchase a product.

Of course it partly depends upon the audience - not all traffic is equal.

For example I could hit the front page of Digg with my post promoting a product and get 100 times the traffic that a normal post would have and the conversions would not be 100 times higher (simply because Digg readers don’t tend to take much note of affiliate products and because I have no established relationship with them).

However as your loyal readership grows in numbers you do tend to increase conversion possibilities.

4. Reinforcing the Message

I wrote about this in my ProBlogger Newsletter a few weeks back - but I find that rather than just posting once about a product that you’re promoting - it can be much more effective to find ways to reinforce a message over time. You might start off with an announcement post that tells your readers about what you’re promoting, you might follow up a few days later with a review of it, then follow up a week later with a reader testamonial, then follow up with an interview of someone behind the product….

The key is to find useful ways to talk about the product without annoying your readership (not always easy). In doing this you remind and reinforce the ‘pitch’ for you reader to buy.

5. Positioning

Affiliate promotions tend not to work very well if all they are is a banner ad in your sidebar. They will still convert - but nowhere near as well as if you position your promotion inside a post itself as the topic of the post.

Write about the product you’re talking about, talk about how you’ve used it and make it personal.

Get more tips like these at 10 Tips for Using Affiliate Programs on Your Blog

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69 Responses to “5 Lessons on Making Money with Affiliate Programs”

  • RaagVamdatt.com - Financial Planning Demystified

    September 4th, 2008 12:48 am

    Hi Darren,

    These are some great, practical tips!

    I haven’t had much success in affiliate marketing yet. I would follow these tips and I am sure the conversions would improve.

    Being a non-USA site (I write primarily for the Indian audience), one problem I face is lack of affiliate options. I would really appreciate any thoughts from you or other readers on this.

  • Davin-Viral Marketing Maniac

    September 4th, 2008 12:48 am

    Thanx Darren, those are some good tips. I’ll read your previous post on “Ten Tips” as well, thanx again.

    Cheers
    Davin

  • SEO Genius

    September 4th, 2008 1:04 am

    Great post, but dont you think affiliate marketing takes a large amount of traffic.

    I do believe that affiliate marketing is almost in effective for a blog with little amount of traffic or a new blog on the scene.

    Google adsense and other advertising programs may be better then

  • Steven-Sanders

    September 4th, 2008 1:05 am

    Very good information. Especially useful for me because I’m starting a brand new adventure into making money blogging.

  • Carl - BeABetterBlogger.com

    September 4th, 2008 1:06 am

    I’m going to be starting affiliate marketing properly soon and these tips are great. I am looking for more knowledge on aff marketing so if you feel like it Darren, post a few more articles please =]

    - Carl

  • Del Sauzo | Profitable Online Niches

    September 4th, 2008 1:10 am

    This is really interesting. I think trust is key. People are definitely more likely to click through if they believe that you ‘recommend’ whatever is on offer.
    I’m sure there’d be some way to mathematically put these factors together to determine how effective your affiliate marketing may be, but its important to note that a whole lot goes into making it in this field ( or any other MMO field too ).

    Nice post - as usual

  • impNERD

    September 4th, 2008 1:11 am

    Great advice Darren. I know many out there appreciate these types of articles.

  • Blogging Millionare

    September 4th, 2008 1:14 am

    Inside the post always gets better conversions.

  • joe gelb

    September 4th, 2008 1:16 am

    thanks for the tips. what is your opinion on linking every so often to the affiliate post? or is internal linking to landing pages destroy the blogs feel?

  • Miss Gisele B | myBeautyMatch.com

    September 4th, 2008 1:17 am

    Darren,

    I agree with your last point … writing a post about a product will yield better conversions than simply puting a banner on the side of your post.

    I even learnt from Yaro Starak http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com that you actually might need to present an offer up to 10 times!

    So repitition is another element of success when it comes to affiliate sales on your blog.

  • Bryan Gray

    September 4th, 2008 1:33 am

    Nice post Darren. I couldn’t have said it better. Too ofter I see people push aff links to the wrong audiences or without any presale or supporting information.

  • Sayz Lim

    September 4th, 2008 1:34 am

    Traffic doesn’t carry much meaning in affiliate, the targeted customer carry more weight compared to the visitor who doesn’t in need for product. I prefer with low traffic but all targeted rather having a thousand of visitor but ended up with 1 sales. Isn’t i better have 100 visitor but all potential customer?

    That’s my 2 cent…

  • Myrko@AwakeBlogger.com

    September 4th, 2008 1:37 am

    I found that 1. and 5. are absolutely crucial. (3 is obvious and 2 and 4 are good additions). If you can’t match audience and product, you can drop the affiliate right away.

    The funny thing is, that it is of course the same with usual ads, but since ads are not that performance-based (especially if you use CPM), it is seen more often to have ads that don’t match the audience 100%. Which they should of course.

  • 5starAffiliatePrograms

    September 4th, 2008 1:45 am

    Another great post about affiliate marketing Darren and 5 great tips!

    I’ll add a point about picking the right affiliate programs. Shop and compare and note that commission isn’t the biggest thing - CONVERSIONS ARE.

    Now if you find a program that pays highest and converts well that’s golden! But if one program pays 10% and converts terribly and another only pays 8 but converts like gangbusters, you are probably better off with #2.

    Most programs don’t state their conversions rates up front. So evaluate the merchant’s web site and see if one appears to be a better sales vehicle than another.

    Check for commission leaks like Adsense ads or advertising banners that will take YOUR visitor off the merchant’s page and make HIM money, but not you.

    Research in affiliate forums - many affiliate programs are discussed and you can sometimes determine the good ones and also ones to watch out for.

    And if nothing else you can email the affiliate manager and ask what their conversion rate is. This is another test, if they don’t answer in a timely fashion it could indicate the program is not very pro-actively managed.

    Thanks again for the great article Darren.

    Linda Buquet

  • Bash Bosh

    September 4th, 2008 2:21 am

    Thank you for these great tips Darren!
    Really nice, informative and helpful techniques for better Affiliate Programs performances!

  • Tom At The Home Business Archive

    September 4th, 2008 2:24 am

    I think it starts with building a steady stream of targeted traffic and building trust with your visitors.Also, concentrating on one excellent affiliate product instead of 100 at the time will make it easier to focus and you will not spread your self too thin.

  • The Blogger Tips

    September 4th, 2008 2:24 am

    Point #1 is critical point and always determine success of affiliate marketing.

  • Syed Balkhi

    September 4th, 2008 2:31 am

    Traffic and Positioning are the two key things that are needed to be successful in affiliate marketing.

  • Ray The Money Man

    September 4th, 2008 2:46 am

    AS always I leave your post feeling like I have a lot of work to do. And I do! I have not been planting my affiliate promos within the post itself. Thanks again for a great post.

    http://thealternativeenergyinvestor.blogspot.com

  • Omar Abid

    September 4th, 2008 2:59 am

    Do you have a list of the best affiliate programs? I still don’t find good ones.

  • Why Buy Made In USA?

    September 4th, 2008 3:01 am

    I have all the points done in the post, with the exception of traffic. The number of visitors is growing, and things are looking good, but my low traffic keeps the affiliate sales low, too.

  • Lex G

    September 4th, 2008 3:38 am

    I’d add to that : Choosing a lucrative program…

    There are some programs that don’t pay out high commission but sell very fast. On the other hand some products sell only once a month and earn you more …

    Also take into account the cookie life, some programs have only 1 month lifetime and after that, they’re gone, while some others have a 1 year life time, etc …

    Lex

  • axel g

    September 4th, 2008 3:50 am

    Thanks Darren!

    I find “Reinforcing the Message” a very helpful pointer…

  • stevewrightaz

    September 4th, 2008 4:16 am

    Great tips. I just recently just put a couple adsense ads on my blog on getting a job in Orange County. I dont know if I would put anything like affiliate ads on there yet as I dont really have a regular audience. But I will definitely remember these tips.

  • 5starAffiliatePrograms

    September 4th, 2008 4:42 am

    Omar asked:

    “Do you have a list of the best affiliate programs? I still don’t find good ones.”

    Sorry you haven’t had much luck yet. However, someone’s list of what they think are ‘good’ programs may not work at all for you because the key is the program needs to be well targeted to your audience.

    Some of the programs considered the best or most lucrative are in the financial, insurance, travel and education markets. But those are all highly competitive and not a good place for newbies to start.

    You can join a couple of the affiliate networks like Shareasale or CJ and they let you search by keyword and/or by category. I like CJ just for research because they will give you a variety of metrics you can use to compare the different programs in a certain niche.

    Another way is to simply search Google for “Your niche keyword” affiliate program.

    Hope this helps and best of luck!

    Linda Buquet

  • Mike Nichols

    September 4th, 2008 5:06 am

    I’m still waiting for my new blog to gain enough traffic to start introducing ads.

    But I already see a problem getting the right ads for my readers, since so many of them are for get-cured-quick schemes and I have railed against those!

    Keep these good articles coming! We need them!

  • Debby Phillips

    September 4th, 2008 5:33 am

    Great tips Darren! I would love to interview you for MLTV at BlogWorld later this month.

  • Dainis Graveris

    September 4th, 2008 5:55 am

    Just what I needed, big thanks for the post :) Just one more question - how big traffic ~ is needed to start submitting affiliate products? 500? 1000? I just don’t want to start doing this while I have no appropriate audience. Can someone share?

    How about Google Adsense? There is sense putting adsense in your web..if you have, let’s say 500 unique visits per day?

  • Andre Kibbe

    September 4th, 2008 8:47 am

    @5starAffiliatePrograms: “Now if you find a program that pays highest and converts well that’s golden! But if one program pays 10% and converts terribly and another only pays 8 but converts like gangbusters, you are probably better off with #2.”

    Good point. You’ve made me reconsider an affiliate with a pretty low commission right now, but with higher conversion potential. Since their software is subscription-based, the commission is recursive.

  • Christian Seehausen

    September 4th, 2008 10:56 am

    Nice tips. I’m still building my blog, so I’m avoiding advertising at the moment, but I’ve made certain to include affiliate links within the content of posts where it makes sense. I’d like to eventually support the site mostly on affiliate marketing, so it’s great to see more useful advice on how to do so.

  • Warung Digital

    September 4th, 2008 11:05 am

    I like to your blog since it gives me many advice, thanks ton

  • Jess

    September 4th, 2008 11:29 am

    Thanks for the post

    I’m just wondering about affiliate marketing though… is it unethical to advertise or review a product - when you are getting paid for it?? Regardless of whether your being honest or not about the product… I would like to know whether or not you should have to tell people that you are getting paid a commision when people purchase something you are recommending.

    I’m aware that newspapers are required to write when a story is an advertorial. Yet I notice that blog writers don’t seem to have to commit to these same rules.

    We all know what happened to John Laws who advertised banks in his radio chat show - without making people aware that he was being paid to do so.

    I’m not trying to be critical…I just wonder what others think??

    jess

  • Darren Rowse

    September 4th, 2008 12:41 pm

    Jess - yes this is a debate that people have had for years. It’s a tough one that many have different stances on.

    Many bloggers will disclose within a post (or even next to any affiliate link) that the link is an affiliate link. Others (like me) have a disclaimer somewhere on their blog. Others choose not to have any disclosure.

  • Alex

    September 4th, 2008 12:52 pm

    Hi Darren,

    Thanks for those great comments. Building a website is a long road full of pitfall, and it’s always nice to read your articles.

    cheers.

    Alex.

  • murshidism

    September 4th, 2008 12:56 pm

    Thanks Darren for the tips. You are my inspiration!

  • Ryan McLean

    September 4th, 2008 1:19 pm

    Trust is essential. The more trust you have with someone the more likely they are to buy something from you.
    I mean if you best friend recommended you buy something, then you are way more likely to buy it than if a random tell you to.
    Become a friend to your audience and then try to sell products to them

  • Dan Mihaliak

    September 4th, 2008 1:37 pm

    It’s funny how all of this info is common sense but we still need you to tell us.

  • Jack Humphrey

    September 4th, 2008 2:01 pm

    @Jess - I’m one of the ones who doesn’t bother with the disclaimer. For one, everyone in my niche knows when I recommend things that I sometimes get paid if they buy something.

    They don’t have a problem with it. In other niches I still don’t see the need for telling people “this is a link that, if you follow it, I will get paid” because it is fairly obvious to most people that websites advertise, review, and recommend things to make money.

    My simplistic take on it is: When your favorite show cuts to commercial, they don’t announce “hey we’re cutting to a commercial and if you buy something from them they might keep paying us to run their commercials.”

    People just know that’s how the world works.

    Now, as for the legitimacy of what people promote and HOW they promote products, services, books, etc. Reputation is more crucial on the web now than ever. Unscrupulous site owners pushing junk and low quality stuff don’t retain subscribers or readers.

    Therein lies the control over affiliate marketing: reputation. It is the type of “free market system” that decides whether someone is going to make it on the web or not based on their reputation for picking winners.

    Also - variance matters. The percentage of things you recommend as an affiliate should be much smaller than the things you recommend as a publisher looking to point readers in the right direction out of pure karma points.

    Readers pay far more attention to what you do for them and their interests than anything else. If the net gain is high, they will tolerate a great blogger’s need to make a living and they don’t need to know (though it is always obvious on good blogs when it happens) when something is an affiliate offer or not.

  • gout

    September 4th, 2008 6:01 pm

    good lesson, I am agree with you, traffic is the keys…..thanks

  • Tinh

    September 4th, 2008 6:41 pm

    Great lesson. I think I learn a lot from this but I like the 2nd the most. Tinh

  • العاب شمس الدين

    September 4th, 2008 6:42 pm

    thanks, that’s a very good post , thanks a lot

  • ITrush

    September 4th, 2008 11:54 pm

    I think #3 is very important in order to make money with affs. Thanks for these very useful tips.

  • Pangeran

    September 5th, 2008 12:09 am

    So, the key is relevancy…

    Besides relevancy, I always read in a blog, in an ebook or other type of media that transparency also play a role, like hiding the affiliates link(Affiliates Link Cloaking).

    But I find that seems to take advantage of others weaknesses…

  • Money Making and Blogging Tips

    September 5th, 2008 12:11 am

    Affiliate Marketing is a good way to earn money but it does not mean that you can be an affiliate of all kinds of programs. It should be a part of your niche.

    Anyway, nice articles darren.

  • sean

    September 5th, 2008 12:35 am

    very interesting post. My blog isn’t anywhere near that level yet but definitely something useful to keep in mind when planning.

  • TheAndySan

    September 5th, 2008 1:11 am

    I’ll keep this all in mind once my blog starts bringing in higher traffic. It’s beginning to, but it’s a slow process.

    TheAndySan
    http://www.theandysan.com

  • Mike Collins

    September 5th, 2008 1:32 am

    Building trust and credibility is absolutely vital for a blogger. There are a handful of people whose opinions I hold above others because they’ve always provided great content and their past recommendations have been spot on. I’m much more likely to buy based on their recommendations than I would from a faceless affiliate link on a spammy blog.

  • Tip Dad

    September 5th, 2008 1:34 am

    One of the hardest lessons for me to learn when it comes to affiliate earnings was that banners don’t convert. I guess I’m stuck in old-school thinking that billboards pique interest in consumers, but those same lessons don’t apply to the virtual world.

  • Chaitanya VRK

    September 5th, 2008 2:31 am

    Nice post Darren.

    Thank you for effective and practical tips.

  • Mike

    September 5th, 2008 4:22 am

    Nice tips Darrin, but what about a “Call to Action”? The best affiliate conversions are when I recommend a product and tell the reader to click here to purchase it.

  • Eva Wallace

    September 5th, 2008 7:07 am

    Wonderful tips, Darren! I need to work on #4 and 5.

    :) thanks!

  • Portland Ballroom Dancing

    September 5th, 2008 7:11 am

    Great Info. Been looking at way to make money online through just affiliates alone.

  • Ryan Jones

    September 5th, 2008 7:26 am

    Agree with @Jess…we need a lot more transparency in this area. I recently wrote a post about this. http://tinyurl.com/6fnjuy

  • Angel Cuala

    September 5th, 2008 8:38 am

    I must admit, I have tried to be an affiliate for some products but failed so I quit. I think the main I failed is due to # 1. I was so excited that I did not realized that what works for others does not mean will work for me too.

    I even remember one time I even include my photo holding the book I am selling, but still it ended up nothing. I think consistent mentioning about it also helps.

    But I will remember these tips if I decide to join in the coming times.

  • Vigceo

    September 5th, 2008 8:41 am

    I would have to agree with Darren with all five points. The best one to make sure you drive home is point number 5 if you want the hits! I also think that you can have a successful campaign / affiliate site if you choose the right purpose. By this I mean WIIFM principle. If you have a site that offers many choices on what visitors can “get” in return for their repeat visits, then you increase your traffic and you commissions! A simple loyalty program may do the trick…it works for us! :)

  • soares

    September 5th, 2008 10:42 am

    I Problogger your tips are good but some of the affiliates dont accept non english blogs and mine is in Portuguese 98%….
    Best Regards

  • Dilip Shaw

    September 5th, 2008 4:28 pm

    I am doing Affiliate Programs since that last 4 years. All I can say is there is no single method for promoting various products. Certain methods may work on some and may not work on others.

    Good tips though.

  • Markus Jais

    September 6th, 2008 1:19 am

    Thanks for this two posts on affiliate programms. I completely agree with banners in sidebars don’t work nearly as well as links in reviews or other posts where articles are recommended and than an affiliate link is displayed.

    Normally, people are searching for very specific topics and the banners in the sidebars of often way to general.

    I find adsense to work better in the sidebars.

  • Shonika Proctor, Teen Biz Coach

    September 7th, 2008 6:56 am

    This month Paul Bourque, the 19 year old CEO of Uber Affiliate is offering a free course to get a better grasp of affiliate marketing. No sign ups or email registration is necessary.

    http://www.ubercamp.com

    I believe it is suitable for both beginners and novice affiliate marketers. It provides an intro to what it is, a few of the larger affiliate companies and how to get a basic account set up on google, yahoo and msn ppc programs.

  • gout

    September 8th, 2008 3:05 pm

    hello, talk about traffic…..do you have some lesson or good source to get traffic for free and permanently…thanks before

  • cj

    September 9th, 2008 11:04 am

    cool site thanks for the tips ur my idol

  • gout

    September 9th, 2008 6:50 pm

    my traffic very low….very difficult to build it

  • Holly

    September 11th, 2008 2:37 am

    Louis & Joel Kestenbaum/Fortis Property Group close sale of Galleria Towers I, II & III in Dallas

    Second-Largest U.S. Investment Transaction to Date in 2008

    Jones Lang LaSalle announced the firm’s capital markets experts have completed the sale of Galleria Towers I, II & III on behalf of Brooklyn, New York-based Fortis Property Group, LLC to Los-Angeles-based Cannon Commercial. Financial terms were not disclosed but sources close to the transaction estimate the closing price was in excess of $300 million.

    The Jones Lang LaSalle team of Managing Directors John Alvarado, Jack Crews and Evan Stone represented the seller during negotiations.

    “This portfolio retained consistent investor interest right through the credit crunch and its closing should send a strong signal about the existing strength of the Dallas investment market for high quality office product,” said Mr. Alvarado. “This was an attractive offering given the Galleria towers are irreplaceable, trophy assets and came with affordable and assumable long-term debt. This transaction also allows Cannon Commercial to enhance its Dallas-area presence, while leveraging the tax benefits of a partial 1031-exchange. This was a beneficial transaction to both parties who remained focused on completing a timely transaction.”

    “We acquired the Galleria Towers from Blackstone (which acquired them from Trizec Properties) in November 2006, and maximized value by aggressively pushing rental rates while at the same time increasing the occupancy from around 90% to 98%,” said Fortis Chairman Louis Kestenbaum. Louis Kestenbaum is the father of Joel Kestenbaum, also of Fortis Property. “The disposition of this asset furthers our goals of maximizing investor returns and geographically diversifying the holdings within our portfolio. We achieved close to 100% profit on our equity investment in the Galleria Towers over a one and a half year holding period, and attained similar returns on our recent sale of International Plaza Tower III across the Tollaway.”

    Built in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Galleria towers range from 24 to 26 stories tall and adjoin the Galleria shopping mall, as well as the four-star, four-diamond Westin Galleria Hotel. Amenities include on-site banking with ATM, security card-key access, conference facilities, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a leasing and management office and an independently-operated day care. The buildings are currently 98% leased.

    Fortis Property Group, LLC is a real estate investment, operating and development company. Its real estate projects include the ownership and management of Class A office and industrial properties located throughout the United States. Fortis currently owns two other Class A office buildings and an industrial property in the Dallas, Texas area. Nationwide, Fortis currently owns more than 20 properties, which contain over six million rentable square feet. Fortis Property Group CEO Jonathan Landau further indicated that Fortis anticipates raising a value-add real estate fund that will invest in Class A office properties in prime office markets throughout the United States.

  • george

    September 15th, 2008 11:05 pm

    you hav given a gud idea and quiet relevent info in your blog regarding affiliate programs. I think !st and the 3rd point are quiet important. This bolg can realy help the newbies

  • gout

    September 16th, 2008 11:16 pm

    I still work hard to increse free traffic from social media and comment blog……. thanks for lesson

  • Carol

    September 24th, 2008 7:36 am

    As a blogging newbie, I need all the help I can get! This article is great.
    Thank you

  • Ebook Ads Affiliate Program

    October 8th, 2008 9:54 am

    Lots of great info Darren, I’ve been working with affiliates for years … some are good some are great. You have a lot of great tips that could help us all out along the way to financial freedom … thanks. I’d like to plug one of my favorite programs if everyone don’t mind, its alot like google adwords but they show ebook titles instead … very cool. Take a look at http://www.onlineebookdirectory.com/freecontent.php

  • Lee Chin | Free Cash Videos For Newbies

    November 6th, 2008 1:21 am

    I believed all 5 tips are crucial. But for newbies just starting out, I can’t emphasized the importance of Point 1 & 3.

    The product select is crucial, don’t select a dud but a winner instead. Select an industry where more competition is better than none at all. At least it tells….there’s money to be made.

    Of course, when that’s up, no traffic = dead meat.

    There are so many ways to get traffic. But learn to master on just ONE form of traffic at a time is better than trying to go into all at once. *Focus*

    Tip: Find one form of traffic generating that you enjoyed best. Only than makes your online business FUN to venture out ;-)

    For newbies out there, you may grab my Free Cash videos to start out, http://www.madmoneycreator.com

  • Gaming YouTube

    November 8th, 2008 9:01 pm

    Yeah, and if you do manage to hit the front page of digg…you had better upgrade your hosting in a hurry!

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