Monetizing your blog to a substantial figure is the ultimate blogging dream. Marketing strategies to make this happen need continuous brainstorming and efforts. However, affiliate marketing remains bloggers' first choice for monetization programs.
The question of the moment is how effectively can affiliate programs contribute to your blogging success.
I share here the tips I used to achieve blogging success through affiliate marketing.
Switch to Audience view
Blogging is a very involved process, yet sometimes the lack of direct interactive involvement with the target audience can make the process very limited to a personal view. Think about why a visitor will visit your blog. What will drive them to you; the content alone will not always be enough.
You can add benefits or interesting contests but these will not help your blog monetization. Affiliate programs are the solution to your dilemma. Your visitors can get info and purchase relevant products from featured ads and you get monetization due to increased sales from featured affiliates in your blog.
Honest reviews vs. Random affiliate product recommendations
When it is your blog featuring affiliate programs, your readers are going to dwell on your words about the affiliate product to judge it before purchasing. You can take two courses of action in this regard. You can either take up random products as affiliates, feature them in your blog, and talk about their pros and cons leaning on recommending the product.
Or instead, you can take the time to research the affiliate before signing with them, choose products more relative to your niche experience it first hand and talk about your honest opinion of the product to your readers. In the first stance, you will have a broader affiliate area, but an inconclusive target audience and probably an impact on your subscriber base over time.
In the second stance, it will take more time to build up affiliate programs but niche concentrated audience numbers will increase steadily resulting in more sales over time.
High-quality standards
You network with professional bloggers, blog networks, and even niche A-list bloggers in the course of establishing your blog. However, ultimately you decide the style and standard level of your blog. When it comes to your affiliate programs, do figure in your readers’ opinions in setting the level of quality standards that you would allow to be featured in your blog.
Consider neat link tricks to boost affiliate sales
Affiliate ads need the readers to click and then be interested enough to purchase the product. You must place banner ads in your popular pages but that is not enough. Context linking is the hottest linking method that ensures an increased level of sale success. Your visitors come in to check out your blog posts.
In course of their reading, if they find relevant links to offers or products that might boost their interests, it is only natural that they will seek these offers out. Also, consider link placement when you are strategizing featured affiliate programs in your blog. You can literally track out your page hot zones and concentrate your banner as well as link ads in these positions, where they are likely to get the most hits.
Boost Traffic to Boost Sales
At the heart of the whole blogging success with affiliate marketing process, traffic lies in an indisputable position. All your traffic boosting techniques, including SEO, SEM and fabulous content development; indirectly affect your affiliate programs. You can promote your affiliate programs but without the complete dynamics of blog promotion and subscribers increase; you will not make any significant headway in breaking out even with the affiliate sales.
Keep your options open with multiple revenue streams
Every successful monetization plan requires patience and usually has a risk factor attached to it. If you are intent upon generating a target income out of your blog, it is prudent to keep your options open with a choice of more than one revenue flow-outs.
Affiliate marketing is a competent and important revenue generator for your blog. However, this does not mean that you need to stifle other relevant options such as Adsense, Multiple Sponsors, Paid reviews etc.
At the end of the day, your blog's success is not completely dependent upon Affiliate marketing. The blogging process has so many aspects that it is almost a wonder if you can concentrate exclusively on just one. However, ignoring Affiliate marketing completely, will be a disaster. Especially, if you have a target incomes figure in your sights.
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Email: Bob@BobandRosemary.com
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This post may contain affiliate links to products or services that I trust. This means that if you make a purchase using the links included in this post, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for the support!
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12 replies to "Affiliate Marketing is Relevant for Blog Success: The Truth Quotient"
Many many thanks for input very complicated concept. I’m a big fan of affiliate marketing process and get better improvement. I suggest my dudes for use this way for blogging and about your posts for ideal impression. Keep up coming! 🙂
Great post! Affiliate marketing is essentially when you as a blogger sell other people’s products on your blog and receive a commission for each sale made. The commission rates vary depending on the product and are based on wherever the product owner chooses to set them.
Thanks for the info. I have started a new blog since about 3 months and i am relatively new to monetizing blog. Gaining traffic, monetizing traffic and developing unique content there are many aspects which i am learning about.
I will surely keep visiting for more tips.
Great post Jane,
I also agree that affiliate marketing is a great way for some additional income. I don’t really promote a lot to my list mainly because I mostly prefer just promoting those products I really use and think are great. I know a lot of people really go overboard when promoting these types of products to their list. I find that so annoying.
I’ve yet to really do any product reviews although it’s a great way to introduce what produces or services you recommend to your readers. I am thinking about doing a few in the future though.
To me, affiliate marketing is just part of the online world because we are going to need different products, services, and training so who better to purchase this from then someone you have built up a relationship with online. I would much rather purchase from them then a nobody. We are all going to need things so just get use to it.
Appreciate your take on this. Thanks for this great post.
~Adrienne
Hi Jane, Hi Bob & Rosemary!
I agree that affiliate marketing (when done with a level of consideration and integrity) is a highly valuable factor to increasing blogging success. I am of the same mindset as you in that what we share should be something of true value and substance.
I have several recommendations I have made to my readers, all of which are programs or services I personally use and love. I don’t have the heart to share or endorse something which I don’t personally stand behind.
That all being said, my #1 reason for blogging is to provide a simple education resource to my readers. I like to hang my hat there and be a helpful friend on the web who points folks into the right direction when they’re looking for a little advice or to brush up on a particular subject I may have covered. 🙂
Thanks for the fresh perspective on affiliate marketing – I think this was succinct, well thought-out, and very helpful!
Best regards,
Cat Alexandra
I am very particular though about anything I suggest. I have only mentioned a handful of products on my personal blog and they are all products I use and believe in wholeheartedly. | 😛
Some useful tips there about context linking. I am not an affiliate marketer by “trade”, however where a product or service is relevant to network marketing and something that I have personally benefited from, then I will of course recommend it.
In using online strategies for building a network marketing business, I use my list to generate sales to “fund” the recruitment process and make it a profitable experience. That being said, for anyone who does the same, I would only recommend the 80/20 rule i.e giving pure value and education in my emails 80% of the time with a 20% affiliate offer rate.
As for anyone new to affiliate marketing, I am sure there are still some “niche” markets to be had, but the competition is building as more and more people seek to increase their income online.
Thanks for sharing,
Nicky
I’m pretty sure that it only converts great if 80/20 is followed. Otherwise subscribers/readers are easily annoyed! Thanks for your comment.
Affiliate Marketing For Blogging Success…
Monetizing your blog to a substantial figure is the ultimate blogging dream. Marketing strategies to make this happen need continuous brainstorming and efforts. However, affiliate marketing remains bl……
Well written article, and affiliate marketing is definetely something in time i need to look at properly. So many i know do make good money from doing it. I am slowly stepping from being a ‘real’ blogger to adding ‘internet marketing’ to my tool kit. I just am a little cautious because i don’t wnt to lose the authority i have established, or the good income i alreaady receive from being a blogger. Thank you for your good advice.
Larry you’re right, every blogger has this feeling. They don’t want to lose their integrity and the trust they developed with their readers. If you recommend only the products you’ve tried and found useful, you should be fine.
Hi Jane, (Bob & Rosemary too!)
I agree Affiliate Marketing is a great way to boost revenues.
I am very particular though about anything I suggest. I have only mentioned a handful of products on my personal blog and they are all products I use and believe in wholeheartedly.
In order to add other streams to my overall income though, I have chosen to build separate sites. Again these sites are niche sites surrounding products I have researched well and believe in wholeheartedly.
I would rather not bombard my readers with too many directions on my main personal blog.
I do agree though that while blogging success is not based on affiliate marketing, it’s a shame not to share and take advantage of making some great suggestions, particularly when you are clearly being found by those who are looking for the information you have to offer.
Thanks for the post Jane and your common sense views.
Jayne