Not every affiliate program is a good fit for your blog. I know that comes as a shock.
When I first started blogging I thought that every affiliate program I promoted would convert well.
I thought that if it didn’t then I just needed to promote it more. Wrong!
If you’re promoting like crazy and still not making a sale the problem is the affiliate program itself.
Your audience will tell you what they like. If no one is signing up for any of your affiliates the problem is the affiliate. It’s not that the affiliate program is bad. It’s that it wasn’t the right fit for your blog. A more accurate way to say it is your audience wasn’t interested in it.
The key is to find the right affiliate programs for your blog. Ones that your audience will purchase.
In this blog post, I’m going to show you how to find the best affiliate marketing programs for your blog. So you can start earning the passive income you’ve been wanting.
*Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my full disclosure for further information.
Table of Contents
1) Try it for yourself
I think this is one of the best ways to see if an affiliate is a good fit for your audience. If you love it then they will.
If you’re thinking about promoting a course or ebook buy it yourself if you can. Go through it and see if it helps you.
If you go through it and are dissatisfied with it then you’re audience will be too.
I’ve experienced this myself. I bought a few courses from well-known bloggers and they had affiliate programs for them.
Well after I went through the courses I was dissatisfied. I didn’t sign up to be an affiliate because I knew that my audience would feel the same way.
When you try it for yourself and you love the affiliate then you’ll be able to promote it better. Your passion for it will shine through.
It’ll be easier to write and talk about it because it helped you.
2) Does it solve a problem for your audience?
I know this sounds kind of basic but it’s so fundamental.
In order to find the best affiliate marketing programs you need to know what your audience struggles with.
I didn’t know this when I first started. I was throwing spaghetti at the wall hoping that something would stick.
I know many of you are doing the same thing. Instead of picking random items from Amazon and throwing them in a roundup post, start writing down what your audience struggles with.
If you don’t know take a poll on social media, ask people in Facebook groups, or do a search on Google to see what questions people ask in your niche.
Keep in mind that an affiliate program doesn’t need to solve every problem. It just needs to solve one of their problems.
3) How much is your audience willing to pay?
You can’t promote a monthly subscription that charges like $100 a month if your audience isn’t willing to pay that.
Some readers go in the opposite direction. Some people think that if the item is priced too low it’s no good. If you promote a lower price item they may not buy because of that mindset.
Don’t automatically assume that because you wouldn’t pay that amount that your audience wouldn’t.
I made that mistake myself. I would only promote low-cost affiliates because I assumed my audience wouldn’t pay a certain amount.
But one day I decided to try promoting a higher cost affiliate to see what would happen. I was surprised that my audience actually bought it. To this day it’s my best-converting affiliate.
Once again if you aren’t sure just ask your audience. Ask them how much would they be willing to pay.
Take a look at others in your niche. See how much they’re affiliates cost. That gives you a good indication for your audience. If you’re still not sure try it. You’ll never know unless you try it.
4) How much is the commission
You don’t want to put in all this work and effort for peanuts. If the commission is like 10% of $20 it’s not worth it.
If you don’t have a lot of traffic yet a higher paying affiliate is the best route. You won’t have to make hundreds of sales to make good money. You can make a few sales and make a good commission.
For smaller paying affiliates you’ll need a lot of traffic to make decent money. Take a look at the commission and cost of the product. See if it’s with what you need. You have the right to make a living from your blog.
Don’t ever feel guilty about that. Don’t settle for peanuts or pennies. Pay attention to when they pay you and the payout amount. For example, with Shareasale, you need a $50 minimum. You can’t get paid unless you make at least $50.
5) Look for pay per lead affiliates
With these types of affiliates, you get paid per sign up. Whenever anyone signs up you make a commission.
It’s similar to pay per click except the pay is higher. With this type of affiliate, it’s more about getting people to try it.
It’s not really about getting them to make a lifetime commitment. Rakuten formerly eBates is one company that pays per lead. You get $10 for every person who signs up from your link.
Another one is Shareasale. You earn a commission whenever anyone signs up for their network. The best part is it costs them nothing to signup for affiliates that pay per lead.
6) Do they offer discounts or sales?
People love discounts or sales! I’ve made some affiliate sales thanks to sales or discounts.
They really do help. You definitely want at least a few affiliate products that throw a sale every so often.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to an affiliate provider and ask if they can give you a special coupon code just for your audience. Some will offer it just so they can make some sales too.
Mark my words your readers would rather get a coupon code than a bonus. Usually, you’ll see them around black Friday. Your affiliates will send you an email about any black Friday sales they’re offering.
7) Do they offer graphics or swipe files?
I love it when I don’t have to make my own pins for an affiliate. It makes things a lot easier.
I have some affiliates that not only provide pins but email swipe files.
Swipe files are done for you email templates that you can send to your list. It’s easier sometimes just to copy and paste.
One affiliate that does this is Teachable. Whenever they host a conference they send their affiliates swipe files.
Look for at least a few that provide graphics or swipe files. Instead of posting the link, you can add a graphic to break up paragraphs. Then add a clickable link to the graphic.
8) Do they allow you to promote on social media or in emails?
Not every affiliate marketing program allows you to pin your link to Pinterest. Some don’t even allow you to post your links inside of emails.
Amazon and Etsy don’t allow you to pin your links directly to Pinterest. Amazon doesn’t allow you to post your links in emails either.
Pay attention to the terms of the affiliate agreement. It’ll list exactly how you’re allowed to promote their product or service.
9) What affiliates do others in your niche promote?
I don’t mean to go out and start promoting what they are. It really depends on what affiliate they’re promoting.
Even if you’re in the same niche your audience might not be interested in it. For example, a lot of bloggers in my niche promote Teachable because they’re an affiliate.
I don’t promote Teachable all that much because so many bloggers in my niche do. As a result, many people in my audience are tired of hearing about it.
So instead I became an affiliate for a different course provider. My readers responded to that one a lot better.
Whatever affiliate is being heavily promoted in your niche try being an affiliate for the competitor. You’ll get a lot more sign-ups. Believe me, people get tired of seeing the same affiliate product over and over.
It’s all about finding the best affiliate marketing program for your blog or audience.
10) Research the affiliate
Don’t just blindly become an affiliate of anyone that’ll accept you. It’s important to do your research.
Just because you see others promoting it doesn’t mean it’s a good fit. For example, the product or service might not have a good reputation.
A good example is Bluehost. Bluehost is a WordPress hosting provider. There are quite a few bloggers in the community that doesn’t recommend it. Even well-known bloggers don’t recommend it because they had issues with them.
Now I’m not saying every blogger doesn’t like Bluehost. I’m sure there are plenty who do like it. But there is a decent amount who don’t.
As a result, they switched hosting providers. Or they saw how many bloggers don’t recommend it. So they decided to not click on that link to signup.
This means many bloggers out there didn’t earn that commission from Bluehost because of it. You don’t want to recommend something that people will want a refund from later. Do your own research to make sure.
Blog Posts You’ll Love
10 Simple Ways to Make Money Blogging
How to Promote Affiliate Links Without a Blog
How to Start a Money Making Blog
How to Monetize a Mommy Blog
How to Use the Amazon Affiliate Program
Conclusion
One of the keys to making money with affiliate marketing is to find the best affiliate marketing programs for your blog.
In other words, find affiliates that’ll be a good fit for your audience. Ask yourself, ” What problem does this solve for my readers?”. Not every affiliate converts well. Believe me, I thought that. I’m in the process of removing affiliates and adding new ones.
Do your homework first and find out. Once you find the right ones that convert well you’ll be on your way to making money blogging.
Are you a new blogger and don’t have a clue about what affiliate programs are out there? Then I recommend this list which contains over 500 affiliate programs for you to join. You’ll find a bunch of affiliates for your niche.
