If you’re looking for creative ways to promote your affiliate links, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll explore 12 ways to promote affiliate links. As a 6-figure affiliate marketer, I know firsthand that promoting affiliate links can be challenging. But with the right strategies in place, it doesn’t have to be. Let’s get started!
What are Affiliate Links?
Affiliate links are special URLs that contain a tracking code. This code enables the affiliate to be credited with a sale if a customer clicks on the link and makes a purchase.
Most affiliate programs will give you a unique affiliate link to use. Some programs will even provide you with creative assets, such as banners and text links, which you can use on your website or blog.
Affiliate links work by tracking the clicks. A cookie is placed on their computer when a customer clicks on an affiliate link. This cookie contains information about the affiliate and the product they are promoting.
If the customer goes on to purchase within a certain time frame, the affiliate will be credited with the sale and will receive a commission.
Why Use Affiliate Links?
Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn passive income. You can promote products you use and love and earn a commission on every sale.
Building relationships with brands and other businesses in your niche is also great. You can collaborate with brands on product reviews, giveaways, and other promotional content as an affiliate. This can help you build trust with your audience and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Lastly, affiliate marketing is a great way to diversify your income stream. If you’re relying solely on Adsense or other display advertising for income, you’re leaving money on the table. Adding affiliate links to your site can help you boost your earnings and diversify your revenue sources.
What is an Affiliate Marketer?
An affiliate marketer is someone who promotes products or services on behalf of a company and earns a commission for each sale they generate. As an affiliate marketer, you can use affiliate links to earn commission from sales you drive.
Digital marketers find affiliate programs within affiliate networks. These networks connect merchants with publishers and influencers and provide tools, resources, and tracking codes to help affiliate marketers promote the merchant’s products or services.
For example, let’s say you’re an affiliate for a clothing company. You could promote their products on your blog or website and earn a commission on every sale you generate.
Digital marketing and affiliate marketing are two terms often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.
Affiliate offers are one way that entrepreneurs in the digital marketing space make money. If you’re not familiar with how affiliate marketing works, here’s a quick rundown:
- Affiliates find products or services to promote.
- They sign up for an affiliate program with a merchant.
- The merchant provides them with a unique link to share on their website or blog.
- Every time someone clicks the link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission.
It’s a performance-based marketing relationship where the affiliate only gets paid if they drive results. There are two types of affiliates: influencers and publishers. Affiliate influencers have a large social media following and promote products to their audience. Affiliate publishers are website owners who promote products on their sites.
Some are both.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s move on to our list of creative ways to promote your affiliate link.
How to Promote Affiliate Links
Before you begin promoting affiliate links across the web, you’ll need to check the terms and services of the affiliate program you’re planning to join. Some programs only allow affiliates to share links on specific platforms or under specific circumstances.
Direct Link
In affiliate marketing, direct linking is when an affiliate promotes a merchant’s product or service by sending potential customers directly to the merchant’s website.
The downside of direct linking is that it doesn’t give the affiliate much opportunity to promote the merchant’s brand or explain why the product or service is valuable. The affiliate is also at risk of losing potential customers if they don’t click the link or find the merchant’s website difficult to navigate.
The alternative to direct linking is sending potential customers to your website’s landing page. You can introduce the merchant’s product or service on the landing page and explain its value. You can also include a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages the visitor to learn more or make a purchase.
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Check the Terms of Service
Before you start promoting an affiliate program, check the terms of service so you know how to promote affiliate links for that offer. Some programs only allow affiliates to share links on specific platforms or under specific circumstances.
For example, Amazon Associates only allows affiliates to share links on social media if they are part of an influencer campaign. If you’re not part of an influencer campaign, you can still share Amazon affiliate links on your blog or website, but you’ll need to use a URL shortener to do so.
Some programs don’t allow affiliates to use paid advertising to promote their links. If you plan to use paid advertising to promote your affiliate links, be sure to check the terms of service for the programs you’re planning to join.
And finally, some programs require affiliates to use a specific tracking code when sharing links. If you don’t use the correct tracking code, you won’t be able to earn commissions on sales.
Affiliate Disclosure
An affiliate disclosure is a statement that tells visitors that you’re earning commissions on the products or services you recommend. When you learn how to promote affiliate links, you learn how to disclose at the same time.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires all bloggers and website owners who promote products or services to disclose their relationship with the merchant. This ensures that visitors know that they’re viewing sponsored content and can trust the recommendations.
It must be near the link and obvious. For example, you can’t bury it at the bottom of your blog in the footer.
A simple affiliate disclosure might look something like this:
“This blog contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you click on a link and make a purchase.”
Ways to Promote Affiliate Links
As we mentioned earlier, there are many ways to promote affiliate links as an affiliate marketer. Here are 15 effective strategies you can use to promote your affiliate links and boost your commissions:
1. Use Affiliate Links in Blog Articles
If you have blog content, one of the best ways to promote an affiliate marketing program is to use them in your blog posts. For example, you could mention the product’s affiliate link in your post if you’re reviewing a product. Or, if you’re talking about a specific product feature, you could include a link to that section of the product’s page.
You can embed affiliate links in your blog content in a few different ways. The most common is to include the link in the text of your post. For example, if you’re reviewing a product, you could mention its affiliate link and encourage your readers to click it.
Another option is to use an affiliate link shortener like Thirsty Affiliates (which also helps track affiliate links) to shorten and cloak your affiliate links. This can make them less obtrusive and more likely to get clicked.
The best type of blogs for affiliate marketers are:
- List posts (i.e., “10 Best Ice Cream Makers”)
- Product comparison posts (i.e., “Ice Cream Maker A vs. Ice Cream Maker B”)
- Product review posts (i.e., “My Experience With Ice Cream Maker X”)
- Tutorial posts (i.e., “How to Make the Perfect Ice Cream at Home”)
- Case Studies (i.e., “I tried eating ice cream for 30-days, and here’s what happened”)
Using contextual links is best when you promote affiliate links in a blog post. A contextual link is a link that’s relevant to the content of the post. For example, if you’re reviewing an ice cream maker, a contextual link would be a link to another ice cream recipe or a blog post about the best ways to use your ice cream maker.
Contextual links are less likely to be spammy than other links, so they’re more likely to get clicked. And, since they’re relevant to the post, they can also help improve your SEO.
2. Use Affiliate Links in Emails
Another great way to promote offers is to embed affiliate links in your emails. For example, if you have an email list, you could send periodic messages that include affiliate links. Or, if you’re sending a customer a purchase confirmation email, promoting affiliate links can be effective.
Use a professional email service provider: If you’re sending promotional emails using a free service like Gmail or Yahoo Mail, you’re more likely to get flagged as spam. A professional email service provider will have tools to help ensure your messages get delivered to your subscribers’ inboxes. Plus, they’ll usually offer better deliverability rates than the free providers. I use Mailerlite.
Do personalize your emails: Generic “mass-mailed” emails are more likely to be marked as spam. Personalize each email with the recipient’s name and include other information that will make the email feel more like a one-on-one conversation. Video content in emails can also help increase conversions for your online business.
Use an engaging subject line: Your subject line will determine whether or not someone opens your email. Keep it short and sweet, and try to include a number or a benefit (e.g., “5 Ways to Boost Your Affiliate Revenue”).
Now let’s move on to the don’ts:
Don’t use misleading subject lines: You may be tempted to use a “clickbait” subject line to get people to open your email. But using misleading or deceptive subject lines is a surefire way to get yourself banned from most affiliate programs.
Don’t send unsolicited emails: Only send promotional emails to people who have opted in to receive them. If you start sending promotional emails to people who haven’t signed up for your list, they will be less likely to convert, and you could also get reported for spamming.
Don’t forget the call-to-action: Every promotional email should have a clear call-to-action (CTA) telling the recipient what they need to do next. Whether it’s clicking on a link or entering a promo code at checkout, make sure your CTA is crystal clear.
3. Social Media Channels
Social media posts are a great way to connect with friends and family, but they can also be a powerful tool for marketing. You can use social media posts to promote your affiliate offers and make extra money.
There are many different ways to promote affiliate offers on social media. You can post links to your products, run ads, or even create videos about your products.
Here’s How:
1. Choose the Right Social Media Platform
If you’re promoting products for a younger audience, you’ll want to be on social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
If you’re promoting products for an older audience, you’ll want to be on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Affiliate marketers have taken over TikTok, which would also be a good platform to consider.
Once you’ve chosen the right platform, you need to create engaging content that will get people to click on your links.
Do a product review, show someone how to use something, compare two products side-by-side, or make a funny video.
3. Use Hashtags and Tracking Links
Hashtags are a great way to get more eyes on your content. When you use relevant hashtags, your content is more likely to appear in people’s feeds.
Tracking links are also a must for social media marketing. These special links allow you to track how many sales or leads you get from each social media platform. This information is important to see which platforms are performing well and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Use a link shortener like Thirsty Affiliates that tracks clicks. Use a platform like Affilimate to track conversions and actual income from affiliate link promotions.
4. Run Ads
If you want to reach a wider audience, you can run ads on social media. These can be video or image ads with links to your products. Check the terms of service for the brand you are promoting. Many do not allow ads with affiliate links. PPC ads are allowed by a select group of affiliate programs.
5. Publish Youtube Videos
1. Add links to your videos
If you’re promoting a product or service, you could include an affiliate link in the description of your video content. This will allow your viewers to easily purchase the product or service you’re promoting from your youtube videos.
2. Create a video review
In your review, you can share your experiences with the product or service and include an affiliate link to it. This will allow your viewers to purchase the product or service you’re promoting easily.
3. Add links to your channel trailer
If you want to introduce your audience to your channel, consider adding an affiliate link to your channel trailer. This will give them a taste of the products and services you promote on your channel.
4. Add links to your playlists
If you have a playlist of videos on a particular topic, consider adding an affiliate link to that playlist. This will allow your viewers to purchase the products or services you’re promoting easily.
6. Use an Email Signature
Consider adding an affiliate link to your signature if you use email to communicate with clients, customers, or others. This will allow recipients to quickly and easily purchase the product or service that you’re promoting.
7. Use Offers in Forum Posts
Be careful about spamming groups. But if there is a conversation where you can promote an affiliate link, consider doing so. This will allow interested parties to quickly and easily purchase the product or service that you’re promoting.
8. Mention Affiliate Offers on Podcasts
If you have a podcast, you could mention products or services that you’re an affiliate for in the episode. Create a short and memorable URL with tracking, and include the link in the show notes.
9. Use Links on Pinterest
As an influencer, you’ve probably heard of affiliate marketing. You may have even dabbled in it yourself! Affiliate marketing is a great option if you’re looking for a way to monetize your blog or website. And what better place to promote your offers than on Pinterest?
Plus, visual platforms like Pinterest are ideal for promoting products and services. People come to Pinterest to be inspired and find new products. Here are three ways to get started:
1. Create shareable images with your affiliate link included.
When you create images for Pinterest, make sure to include your affiliate link in the caption so that people can easily click through to the product page. You can also add a call-to-action in the image itself (e.g., “Click here to learn more!”) to make it even more clickable. Creating shareable images is a great way to increase traffic to your links.
2. Use rich pins.
Rich pins provide extra information about the products or services that you’re promoting, making them more likely to catch people’s attention in their feeds. If you’re unfamiliar with rich pins, they’re basically just regular pins with additional data pulled from the website to which the pin is linking. This could include things like price, availability, description, etc.
If you’re promoting affiliate products on Pinterest, make sure to use rich pins so that people can quickly see whether or not the product is something that they’re interested in. To set up rich pins for your website, check out this helpful guide from Pinterest.
3. Join relevant group boards.
Group boards are boards where multiple people can contribute pins. When you join a relevant group board, your pins will be seen by a wider audience, increasing the chances that someone will click through to your affiliate link.
Joining group boards is a great way to get your content seen by more people, but it’s important to ensure that you only join boards relevant to your niche. Joining irrelevant boards will result in your content getting lost in the shuffle and won’t do anything to help promote your links.
9. Use Links in Online Courses
There are a few potential advantages of adding links to your online courses. First, it’s a relatively easy way to monetize your content. If you’ve already put in the time and effort to create a high-quality course, why not try to earn some revenue from it? Including links is a great way to do that with minimal additional work on your part.
Second, affiliate offers can be a valuable resource for your students. Suppose you carefully select products relevant to the course material that you believe will be helpful to your students. In that case, adding links can provide them with additional resources that they might not have otherwise found. Remember, your goal should always be to provide value to your students; including affiliate links is just one way of doing that.
10. Resources Page
A resource page is a page on your website where you collect and organize links to external resources that would be useful to your website visitors. For example, if you have a blog about gardening, your resource page might include links to articles about planting, watering, and fertilizing garden plants.
Including affiliate links on your affiliate website is a great way to monetize your website and earn some extra income. A great resource page often includes affiliate links.
Here’s how:
First, decide what products or services you want to promote. Choosing products that would be relevant and useful to your website’s visitors is important. For our gardening example, we might promote gardening tools, plants, or furniture. Once you’ve decided on the products you want to promote, sign up for an affiliate program like Amazon Associates or Commission Junction.
After you’ve been accepted, you’ll be given a special link that you can use on your website to promote the products or services offered by that merchant. When someone clicks on one of your affiliate links and makes a purchase, you’ll earn a commission on that sale. The commission rate will vary depending on the merchant, but it’s typically around 5-10%.
There are two ways to use links.
1. You can manually hand-pick each product or service you want to promote and add its affiliate link to your resource page. This is a good option if you only want to promote a few select products or services.
2. You can use an automated service like Skimlinks, which will automatically turn all of the product links on your resource page into affiliate links. This is a good option if you want to include many different products or services on your resource page.
Once you’ve chosen the method you want to use, you need to add the appropriate affiliate links next to each listing on your resource page. And that’s it! You’re now earning money from your resource page with very little effort on your part.
12. Newsletters
You work hard on your newsletter and put a lot of time into curating the perfect content for your readers. So, it’s only natural that you want to get paid for your hard work—and one way to do that is by including affiliate links in your newsletter.
There are tons of different types of affiliate programs out there, so it’s important to choose one that’s relevant to your audience. For example, if you have a cooking newsletter, you could include links to kitchen appliances or recipes on Amazon. You could include links to hotels or airlines if you have a travel newsletter. And if you have a fashion newsletter, you could include links to clothing retailers. The possibilities are endless!
Below are some examples of newsletters with affiliate links:
Newsletter #1: The 10 Best Products for Busy Moms
In this roundup of the best products for busy moms, I’ve included affiliate links to each product so you can easily find them and purchase them if you’re interested. From the Instant Pot (which will save you hours in the kitchen) to prime-time TV show downloads (which will keep the kids entertained while you get some much-needed me-time), these are the ten best products for busy moms!
Newsletter #2: The 5 Best Travel Destinations for Retirement Planning
If you’re thinking about retirement and where you want to spend your golden years, this list is for you! I’ve compiled the five best travel destinations for retirees, complete with affiliate links so you can easily book your dream retirement vacation. From exploring ancient ruins in Greece to soaking up the sun in Baja, California, there’s something for everyone on this list. Bon, voyage!
Newsletter #3: The Top 10 Must-Have Spring Fashion Trends
If you’re looking to update your wardrobe for spring, this list is for you! I’ve rounded up the top 10 must-have fashion trends for the season, complete with affiliate links so you can shop ’til you drop. From floaty sundresses to straw handbags, these are the trends that everyone will be wearing this spring—so jump on board and get ahead of the curve!
Finding an Affiliate Program
How To Find an Affiliate Program
There are a few different ways to find and promote affiliate links. One way is to search for “affiliate program” + the product or service you want to promote. For example, if you want to promote kitchen appliances, you could search for “kitchen appliance affiliate program.”
Another way to find affiliate programs is to use an affiliate network like ShareASale or Commission Junction. These networks list tons of different affiliate programs in a wide range of categories, making it easy to find one that’s relevant to your niche.
Lastly, you can always contact the merchant directly and ask if they have an affiliate program. Many companies do have affiliate programs, but they don’t always advertise them on.
FAQ
Can I run paid ads to promote affiliate links?
You can run paid ads to promote affiliate links. However, you will need to be careful and make sure that your ads comply with the terms and conditions of the network or platform you’re using. For example, Facebook has strict rules about running ads for affiliate products, and if you don’t follow their guidelines, your ad could get rejected or even banned.
Can I share affiliate links in Facebook Groups?
Yes, you can share affiliate content on Facebook, provided the affiliate disclosure is included and the page or group you are on allows it.
Where’s the best way to promote affiliate links?
The best way to promote affiliate links is through demonstrations, comparisons, and personal stories (case studies).
Can I Add Affiliate LInks to Email?
You can add affiliate links to your email marketing, provided that the email complies with all applicable laws and the terms and conditions of the network or platform you’re using. For example, many email marketing providers have strict anti-spam policies that prohibit using certain affiliate links, such as those that redirect to landing pages or sites containing little original content.
What are the best ways to increase affiliate sales?
The best ways to increase affiliate sales are by providing value when promoting affiliate links. Include an obvious call to action, make it easy for people to find your affiliate links, and offer a variety of content types (such as text, images, videos, etc.) to appeal to different audiences. You should also consider running paid ads to promote your affiliate links.
What are affiliate managers?
An affiliate manager is a person who manages an affiliate program for a merchant. The affiliate manager recruits the affiliates, communicates with them about the merchant’s products or services, and handles any questions or concerns they may have.
