With digital marketing dominating business strategies, there is no shortage of ways to make money blogging. However, one of the easiest popular strategies remains affiliate marketing.
This partnership allows you to write about what you love while still generating income through client actions. Great as a side gig or a full-time strategy, your key to success lies in choosing the right program for your content and audience.
Use our guide to narrow down the best affiliate programs for your blog and start making a profit on your writing!
Tips for Choosing the Best Affiliate Programs for Your Blog
The right affiliate program for your blog has to fit your audience and their interests. Our 3 step strategy helps you uncover what this is in order to optimize your odds of conversion.
Step One: Identify the Niche Behind Your Blog
Every good blog has a solid niche, whether it’s an industry, practice, or interest. Before you even begin to think about signing up for an affiliate program, make sure you know what yours is.
You don’t want to just blog about every random idea that comes to mind. Instead, think of your site like a publication. What is going to be the theme around your writing?
Don’t be vague. If you say to yourself, “My blog is just about telling funny stories,” challenge yourself to dig deeper. What kind of audience will relate to those stories and find them funny?
These people will be your core audience that will help define your niche.
Step Two: Start by Promoting What You Know
Once you’ve identified what your blog is about and who it is for, you’ll want to start connecting with affiliate programs that sell products you already know, use or understand.
These items should be relevant to your blog’s topic and interesting to your readers. For example, if your blog is about art and drawing, you can review affiliate products you use to create your works of art.
Step Three: Research Your Affiliate Options
Lastly, make sure you look into the details of the program you’re partnering with before you sign the dotted line! Seek out reviews like this one by The CMS Guy, which go into detail about the pros and cons of the affiliate program you’re considering.
These evaluations by actual users will give you genuine insight into how the program works and whether it’s worth your time. It’s better to learn from others experiences than to waste your time or money discovering a mistake firsthand.
If you can’t find any information on the affiliate marketing program you’re considering, be wary! It’s better to choose a program that has already proven its worth and garnered positive feedback from its users than taking a risk on an unknown option.
Build an Audience for Your Blog
Once you narrow down your list of best affiliate programs and start churning out content on your blog, you need to attract an audience. Social media is one of the most powerful vehicles for exposure.
Create a plan using the free tips provided in our social media marketing articles.