How to Use Affiliate Links on Your Blog
One of the best ways to make money as a blogger is to use affiliate links on your blog. These links create a passive income stream; they’re one of the top ways bloggers earn an income.
Most brands you love have an affiliate program. It is a way for them to reach new customers without having to pay for advertisement aside from cutting you a portion of the sale.
You can find all sorts of affiliate programs from Amazon to high paying programs for specialized items your audience needs. Best of all, you can start earning from affiliate links before ad income that relies on traffic.
Let’s look at all the best ways to use affiliate links on your blog.
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Related: 12 Ways to Make Money Blogging
What Are Affiliate Links?
Affiliate links are URLS used to track the traffic sent to another website from your website. When a reader clicks on the affiliate links on your website, it creates a record that tracks any sales and affiliate commissions.
You typically only earn when someone makes a purchase from your website, but in some cases, you are paid for leads. They also use cookies to track the activity on your links, giving your account credit if a product is purchased within the cookie duration window.
How to Use Affiliate Links on Your Blog
Affiliate links are an excellent way to make money as a blogger. Here are some ways to use affiliate links on your blog.
1. Put Links into Your Content
The easiest way to use affiliate links is to put links – I suggest bolding them – into your content. It might be things you mention throughout your content, such as a product your reader needs when baking the cake recipe or stakes you need to hold up your garden tomatoes.
These links typically come naturally as you write, but they also serve as a way to help your reader.
For example, if they are looking for ways to help get crayon off the walls of their home, you can suggest what works for you. These affiliate links help your readers solve the problem they have that they came to your website to solve.
Remember, readers often come to your website because they need help with an issue or need recommendations to make their life easier.
Related: 12 Reasons Your Blog Might Not Be Growing
2. Write Reviews of Products
The next way to use affiliate links on your blog is to write honest reviews about the products you promote. I suggest not creating reviews too often; it shouldn’t be the bulk of your content. Too many review articles discourages trust in your readers who assume you only write the articles to get their money.
Always remember trust is essential.
However, if you have a product you love and works for your niche, spend time focusing on keyword research and understanding searcher’s intent. Why are people looking up this product and how can you match their intent?
When you write a product review, make sure you include these details.
- How to set up or use the products.
- Include pros and cons of the product – you have to include cons. All products have somewhere they could improve.
- Examples of how you used the product.
- Tips to be successful with the product that your audience can use.
3. Offer Tutorials for the Products
Some products require tutorials on how to use them appropriately, and it’s a great way to promote affiliate links. It’s how to take a dive into “how to” focused content.
When you create tutorials for products, you want to include details about it like how to order it, the pros and cons, and where to find the product.
For example, if you want to make an article about how to use a soil meter, include your favorite one and all the details about how to use it in your garden correctly for the best results.
4. Place Banners for Products in Your Content
Another idea besides putting text links in your blog content, some programs include links in the form of banners. Place these clickable banner throughout your website, such as:
- In the sidebar of your blog
- The header and footer
- Embedded in your blog content
- Email marketing messages
However, a lot of readers don’t pay attention to banners anymore since they’re so common. So, always use contextual text links as often as possible.
5. Offer a Resources or Tools Page
Another way to create passive revenue from your affiliate links is to create a resources page on your website. This is where you highlight the top tools and products you love.
When you create a resources page, list and discuss all the products you use regularly – be genuine and honest – and discuss them. No, people don’t want to see the specs rewritten on Amazon; they want to see your thoughts and experiences.
Always be authentic when recommending these products.
Related: How to Blog Regularly: 10 Tips Bloggers Need
6. Inside of Digital Products
If you create digital products, like online courses or ebooks, advertise your affiliate links there as well. These digital products give you the perfect opportunity to embed links, but Amazon doesn’t allow their links in ebooks.
Always follow the rules and regulations of any affiliate program you use.
Use affiliate links organically in your text of the digital product. It shouldn’t feel like sales materials, but instead, gives readers resources that go along with whatever the topic of the digital product.
For example, gardening bloggers may recommend a specific insecticide to get rid of pests on their tomato plants. This isn’t spammy; it goes along with the topic of the content.
7. Put Links in Your Emails
Email marketing is a great way to drive traffic to your website and help manage relationships with readers. It builds trust with your readers, and once they subscribe, utilize affiliate links by sharing relevant articles and products.
Avoid being spammy – you NEVER want to come off as spam.
When used in the right way, affiliate links are a great way to make money blogging. Try these tips to use affiliate links in your blog to maximize your income while building the trust of your readers.
