I mentioned this tip in the Live Q&A Sessions this week, but I wanted to show you a live illustration and explain how I use Google Adsense for "lead gen" as an affiliate...
The screenshot above is a post I was writing on my niche blog this morning. Google Adsense is just one of the ways I monetize that blog, and I am always scanning the ads that display with my content for potential money-makers.
There are two VERY GOOD reasons you would want to do this...
In this particular example (the image above) the ad is for a product my target market would be interested in. I never click on my own ads, but rather open a new tab and go find the website. This one was easy because they placed the URL right on the ad. 🙂
I looked it up and discovered they do indeed have an affiliate program.
Bingo!
This is exactly how I find most of the products I end up promoting as an affiliate.
It's fast, easy and efficient!
What if they don't have an affiliate program? That happens too. But you have to keep in mind that they are actively marketing their product, and they are paying (via Google Adwords) to put that product in front of their target market.
That means they have an objective... and an advertising budget! So even if they don't have an affiliate program, or perhaps you simply can't find it, these are the perfect merchants and brands to contact and strike a profitable deal with. 🙂
If you're not sure how to pitch brands and merchants, Shannon Acheson has a great guide that's also full of templates and fill-in-the-blank pitches.
See Making Money With Brands & Sponsors.
If you're NOT doing this... you're leaving A LOT of money on the table!
Google Adsense is a great way to monetize your content. But it's pennies compared to what you could earn as an affiliate for the same products, or by working with those companies directly on a paid campaign.
I love ads. I love them on sites I frequent, I love them on Facebook, and I love the ads that put money in my pocket. 🙂 They are great to study and learn from, and they are also great for finding awesome new products to recommend to your audience - like I illustrated here.
My next step? I'll sign up for the affiliate program, then I'll purchase the product myself. Not just to test & review it, but also to review the buying process and the shipping - to get a REAL feel for what it's like to be their customer, before I send my own readers their way.
So there you have it... a great reason to fall in love with Adsense - again. 🙂
Best,
Lynn Terry
ClickNewz.com
p.s. I have a 4-part series on how to sell advertising and work with sponsors & brands you may like. It's a great addition to Shannon's guide. That series is part of my popular Niche Success Blueprint, and you'd be smarter to just get the entire blueprint/course free as a member of my Private Brainstorming Group.
About Lynn Terry
Hey Lynn,
Great tip. I should do this more often. You mention finding the url of the ad which in this case, as you pointed out, is on the ad itself. If the url is not listed one can find it by right clicking on the ad, select "copy link address" then paste it into note or word. Filter through past the first domain to the second which starts with http:.... Once you see it simply copy that in your browser or search Google for that domain.
That's exactly what I do - thank you for pointing that out. Or sometimes I just google the product/brand and go from there. Either way it's a GREAT way to find affiliate programs and promotions to work with!
Hi Lynn,
Cool trick for the bloggers and also merchants.
This process might consume more time and effort. Why not go with the spy tools? They are cool; we can keep track of all over the web, spy with the keywords, etc.
More data in very less time 🙂
Cheers
Suresh
Good question. I actually find it quicker & easier to just work with what's in front of me (the ads). I also run a minimalist setup, so very few plugins / addons / very little software. It makes my life and business easier, and run smoother. 🙂
Gotcha! If the thing/requirements gets bigger then there is always a way to use via spy tools.
Seems like you following the principles of Essentialism book.
Per the "Weekly Challenge", I got Adsense set up for my blog. Still waiting approval, but I went ahead and put the code in my side bar. I really like this idea, it's nearly a head slapper as in, " why didn't I think of this".
You should get some great ideas to work with. 🙂 Tip: put the Adsense IN your content, in the dynamic area of your site, vs your sidebar (a static area on your site). Most people are viewing sites via tablets and mobile devices now, which means they don't see the static areas of your site at all - like your header, sidebar, footer, etc. For maximum ad views, put the code in your actual posts & pages (within the content).
Thank you, I was noticing that on mobile my theme pushes my side bar to the bottom and is only seen if scrolling all the way down there. I'm in there making changes so I'll go ahead and do that.
I was all set to snuggle up with my iPad in bed last night and watch the two sessions from last week you did for non-members... only to find that you cannot access them on mobile. So I guess I have to take my smaller laptop to bed with me tonight! LOL!
~Marge
p.s. more than likely will be late to tonight's Brainstorming Hour... have a meeting to attend at 6:30 and not sure how long it will last.... but hope to see you for part of it!
It would be great if the AdobeConnect replays were mobile friendly. Fortunately you can attend live via the mobile app. You might try the mobile app for the replays actually - I haven't tested that...
Timely advice Lynn as I am just a few months into my new blog. One of the things I was scratching my head about from the beginning was what products could I potentially promote there. Aside from popular books in my niche I couldn't really come up with anything. This cool tip is the answer I've been looking for 😀 Thanks so much!
Another great tip along these lines... is to use Amazon. You mentioned popular books. Look at those, and look at Amazon's links: "customers who bought this item also bought:" That section is FULL of great ideas! 🙂
Once you start making sales, check your Amazon sales stats. Your readers buy more than just the products you recommend directly, which can give you A LOT of insight into who they are, and what kinds of things they buy online. 😉
Lynn I added Adsense yesterday after leaving my comment here but it is not showing up on my most recent blog post. Does it take a while to propogate for the first time?
It does usually take some time to show up. Just keep an eye on it and see. 🙂
wow this is great! Thank you Lynn! 🙂 loving your blog! I just recently got started with mine... i had a lot of resistance before because it's a bit challenging for me as English is not my native language & I had no clue how to set it up correctly... thankfully I found the right mentor... anyway, I love learning from others and I honor & appreciate such a wonderful community worldwide 🙂 Kindest Regards & Infinite Blessings.
Thank you, Erik. 🙂 Welcome to ClickNewz!
I want to give this a go today. I noticed an ad that is pretty consistent for a patent services company (which I'm actually interested in). The company has an affiliate program, but they don't list what commissions are and such.
My questions are;
What is the best way to approach this when emailing them?
Should I attempt to offer them paid advertisement spots?
I have quite a bit of related content I'll be putting out that would go great with there services.
Should I just sign up to be an affiliate and call it a day on the approach?
I don't think this is the type of service that gets instant turn around on leads so I'm concerned that by the time they make a conversion I'd just lose out on commission.
I prefer direct contact and being personable, that is how I instantly got approved to be a Media Temple affiliate.
The traffic to my blog is just now going over double digits so it's not like my blog is real appealing to advertisers yet, but I'd like to put this into practice so I can set up a repeatable process.
Oh wow, I never knew you could use adsense for this. I can't wait to go and check it out now. Thanks for the handy tip! 🙂
Hello Lynn are you concerned that people see what you are promoting and will go direct to the source and cut you out of a possible sale? And has that happened to you before?
Great Advice! I had some niche sites but in spanish market, i think my niche has not adsense
campaigns like in you example 🙁
But its a great example! TNKS!