Do you have a blog or website? If so, you’re in luck because you can use affiliate marketing to make money from blogging. In affiliate marketing, you’ll typically promote and earn commissions from products that you think are useful for your audience. While you don’t need to have thousands of followers to be able to do this, it’s pretty much impossible to succeed as an affiliate marketer unless you have lots of online content that people are interested in.
The Appeal Of Blogging
Blogging is becoming more and more popular as a means of content distribution, especially as a strategy for online marketers. According to HubSpot Blogs, 51.3% of businesses currently use blogs to distribute content, compared to 47.2% who use social media channels. This trend is clear: businesses are moving towards creating engaging content that draws people in and keeps them coming back for more.
The most popular blogs these days focus on lifestyle, business, and marketing advice. This trend is no surprise since businesses are realizing that getting people interested in their products is a lot easier than trying to convert them into buying a product. Instead of outright selling a product, affiliate marketing allows businesses to play the role of a lifestyle coach, business strategist, or marketing expert and earn money from each blog post that they write. In other words, you’re not really “selling” a product, but you are giving away valuable information as a gift to guide people towards making more money and lifestyle choices that you think they will enjoy.
The Affiliate Marketing Business Model
In affiliate marketing, you’ll typically find three ways to make money:
- Offers that consist of a combination of products and services that you think your audience will enjoy.
- Commission-based sales—Where you’ll earn commission from every sale that you make.
- CPA marketing—Where you’ll earn commission from each qualified click-through that takes you to a purchase/sign-up page.
Each of these methods has its perks. Let’s take a look at each one.
Offers That Consist Of A Combination Of Products And Services That Your Audience Will Enjoy
If you’re new to affiliate marketing, you might wonder if there’s more than one way to earn money. In reality, there are hundreds of ways to make money online, and you’ll only ever need to focus on one or two to begin with. Why? You can always expand your campaigns to include other products or services that you think your audience will enjoy. For example, maybe you think that your readers will love a free online course about growth mindset in business, so you include an affiliate link for that course in your blog post. Now, whenever someone clicks that link and purchases that course, you’ll earn a small commission.
This is called an offer, or an offer-and-service combination because you’re essentially offering something in exchange for their attention and business. When creating your offer, make sure that there’s a clear value proposition linked to a specific reason why someone should choose your offer over others. This is called a “benefit” in marketing lingo, and it’s exactly what’s required to create a persuasive pitch for a product or service. To learn more, check out this comprehensive list of marketing ideas and inspiration.
Commission-Based Sales
Every affiliate marketer earns commissions when they introduce someone to a product or service through their blog post, website, or social media accounts. It’s one of the most popular ways of generating revenue for digital marketers. So, if your audience clicks a link or signs up for a particular offer, you’ll earn a small commission (usually between 4% and 12%) from that sale.
This type of commission structure can be confusing to newbies who aren’t sure how much they should be earning. The best solution is to focus on generating commissions for products/services that you’ve promoted and linked to in other places online. When you reach a certain threshold of sales (usually over $500), you’ll earn a substantial bonus—Usually between 10% and 40% of the total commission for that product.
Why? Because it’s very easy for someone to click a link, make a purchase, and then complain that the product doesn’t work or that they didn’t receive the service that they were promised. It’s also very easy for someone to claim that they didn’t actually make the purchase, but that you did, and then you’re stuck paying out the bonus. To learn more, check out how to maximize your affiliate income.
CPA Marketing
CPA (Cost-per-acquisitions) marketing is another popular way for businesses to make money online. Just like with commission-based sales, the difference is that with a CPA offer, you’ll earn a commission only if someone clicks a specific link or makes a purchase after being referred to that link or purchase option by your website or social media accounts. If someone clicks a link and then leaves the purchased item un-claimed, you won’t earn a penny.
Some examples of CPA marketing include:
- Download & Install Apps: You’re given the download and installation link for an app in exchange for an honest review, and you’re not required to actually use the app to qualify for the commission. If someone clicks the link and then leaves the app un-installed, you won’t earn a penny. But if they download and use the app to make a purchase or sign up for a trial, you’ll earn a small commission.
- Purchase & Collect Points: With this type of offer, you’re given credit for a purchase that you make in exchange for an honest review. You’ll earn a small commission for each purchase that person makes, and you’ll also accumulate point in a special loyalty program that you can use to purchase discounts or upgrades. It’s a win-win.
- Watch Videos: You’re given access to a bonus video or webinar in exchange for an honest review, and you’ll earn a small commission for each person that watches the video.
- Access To Exclusive Content: You’re given access to exclusive content (like a pdf, audio file, or a webinar) in exchange for an honest review that promotes the content’s availability. You’ll earn a small commission for each person that accesses that content.
- Create & Sell Your Own Art: You’re given access to a special section of a website where you can create and sell your own artwork for a commission. You’re not required to use the platform, but if you choose to, you can earn a pretty penny.
This type of commission structure can be complicated to track, especially if you’re new to the game. That’s why many companies turn to affiliate management platforms (like Commission Junction, Viglink, and Link Share) to make the process of generating affiliate income easier. Using affiliate platforms takes the guesswork out of getting paid for your blogs and websites. Otherwise, you’ll need to keep track of everything yourself in spreadsheets or use some rudimentary methods to find your earnings.
How To Become A Copywriter
If you’re looking to make money from copywriting, you’ve come to the right place. Now, before you get started, it’s important to note that not every blog post or website will make you a qualified copywriter. You’ll need to meet certain requirements to become officially accredited with any agency or firm. Here are the things that your blog or website will need to have:
- At least 12 monthly unique visitors
- A blog that’s at least three months old
- A growing blog community (meaning that your audience is growing and the content that you’re posting is gaining in popularity)
- An engagement rate of at least 1%
- High SEO rankings in your chosen niche for your chosen keywords
- A platform that allows you to easily build more content (like a website or blog)
- A demonstrated ability to convert website traffic into paying customers (this is typically done through a lead-generation form or funnel on your website)
Once you’ve met these criteria, you can use your blog or website to find freelance writing or copywriting gigs. You’ll simply need to find companies and businesses that are interested in what you have to offer and reach out to them to see if they’d be interested in working with you. Don’t expect to get rich from copywriting, but you’ll be able to earn a steady income and work in your chosen niche.