Once you choose your niche, and the products you want to sell online, you need to find good affiliate programs so you can earn money recommending specific products.
You need - at minimum - three different merchants to work with. Never put all of your eggs in one basket, meaning don't rely on a single merchant or a single affiliate network. "Stuff happens" (said from personal experience, lol) so you want to diversify and have backup merchants & networks to work with.
The days of building "Adsense sites" or "Amazon sites" are long gone. You need a variety of merchants and networks, and even product types, to secure your business and truly serve your market. The key is in finding the right products and the right affiliate programs. There are several things you need to consider...
How to Find Affiliate Programs
Finding affiliate programs is actually easy. You can go to Google and search "your keyword + affiliate" to start. I have a low carb blog, so I would search that:
You can also search your main keyword in affiliate networks such as Commission Junction, Shareasale, LinkShare, ClickBank, etc.
Another option is to go to Amazon.com and search your keyword, which will usually give you a variety of products to consider. Obviously Amazon has their own affiliate program, but I often do this just as an idea generator. You'll see a variety of both physical & informational products (books), which should spark some ideas.
In that Amazon list I see Quest Bars, so I can then go to Google and type "quest bars affiliate" and find their affiliate program directly.
I tend to promote products I use, so I always look for an affiliate program for those products specifically. It really helps if you ARE your target market, because you can simply look at the products and services you purchase yourself as a starting point for what you'll recommend to your audience.
TIP: create a Swipe File of resources and products/services that interest YOU. The blogs you read, videos you watch, forums or groups you join, products you buy, services you subscribe to, etc. Your swipe file will be a goldmine for both content ideas and for products to promote.
See: Choosing Products To Sell Online
Recommending Products You Haven't Tried Yourself
For the most part I at least test products I'm going to promote, though most things I recommend are something I am personally familiar with.
That said, I'm not against promoting proven brands even if I am not using them myself for some reason. In some cases I go with big name brands that are trusted anyway. Amazon aside examples include Ticket Masters, Wal-Mart, 1800Flowers, etc. It depends on your niche obviously.
Given I *am* my target market in the niches I work in, that makes it easier. As an example I promoted Curves (a gym for women) on my low carb blog last year. I'd never been before. I actually used the coupon I was promoting, and signed up for the free week. I blogged about it, and even did a video about it, which really helped conversions.
Your market wants to hear about personal experiences, and your enthusiasm and/or results will encourage them to try it themselves!
Physical Products vs Informational Products
Don't get hung up on selling information products just because the commission is higher. In most cases, physical products actually convert better. It also depends on your market, and of course the keyword phrases you are targeting. Don't try to sell information to someone that wants to purchase a physical product, and vice versa. š
Keyword Research will tell you a lot about what your market actually wants to buy. But if you want to see if they purchase "information" you can always test that by promoting a book from Amazon, or a low cost informational report, prior to creating your own information products to sell.
Proven Products vs New Products
Many people look at various metrics to find affiliate programs that already have proven conversion rates. There ARE benefits though, to working with new merchants or products that don't yet have stats.
For starters, newer merchants may be more willing to work with you on unique angles or exclusive discount codes. You'll also be informing your audience about new products, which is a great service to your market. There is also less competition with newer products, especially before they accumulate any real stats.
What If They Don't Have an Affiliate Program?
Sometimes there are products you want to recommend, but there is no affiliate program for it. Contact the merchant directly to inquire if they have a private affiliate or referral program, or if they are interested in working with you directly.
You may also find other merchants that carry that brand, or that particular product, such as Wal-Mart or Amazon or other online stores.
Anytime you can work directly with the merchant it's best, but sometimes they aren't open to it. In that case, simply search for the product on Google and find out where else it is sold.
How Do YOU Find Affiliate Programs To Work With?
The tips above are from MY experience as a Super Affiliate. I would love to hear some of the ways you've found and/or selected products to recommend online.
Best,
p.s. Recommended: The Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner. It is currently on sale for only $27, which is a steal. This was the guide that turned ME into a Super Affiliate. š
About Lynn Terry
Lynn,
This topic never gets old. After all, like the title of Joe Vitaleās book says, āThereās a Customer Born Every Minute.ā Kudos to you Lynn for talking about how to get affiliate products. Thank you.
Personally, after I check out the keyword + affiliate approach, I run over to JV Notify Pro. Mike Merz really has all the goodies when it comes to affiliate products to promote. And nearly every niche is there as well.
Iām excited to mention that yours truly has a featured product there. Good times, fuzzy bunnies!
Something Iāll add to your post is this. Donāt get so hung up on how much commission youāll make per sale. Especially if youāre new to the affiliate marketing game. Let me run some numbers for you.
Letās say you get a measly $17 commission for selling a product. If you sell 2 a day, thatās $34 which equals $12, 410 a year. Modestā¦sure. But what if you sold 10 a day? Thatās $62, 050 a year.
And thatās just in ONE niche. But what if you do that in 2 niches? BAM! Youāre over the 6 figure a year mark. And you did itā¦$17 at a time.
But hereās the rub. Nowā¦youāre not focused on how to earn $100,000 a year. Your focus is on how you can sell 20 products a day. No more will you wake up wondering how to eat the ENTIRE elephant. Your focus is only on āwhat steps do I need to take to sell 20 products today?ā
And like I mentioned in another one of your posts Lynn, you can achieve these large goals by simply taking 6 steps a day. So get to work!
Cheers!
Shane
Firstly Shane your so right set your goals on daily tasks/ monetary amounts make sure you achieve them and the bigger goals and monetary awards will come.
Hi Lynn I have been following you for years love your work and everything you do. You are so genuine and this makes such a difference as knowing who to trust and who is just trying to make a fast buck (or pound for me in the UK) is so important as so much much time can be wasted following the wrong people.
Also this is so weird just when I am need to get some advise about something you write a post about it! (spooky)
Question if you use a product you own or have just purchased can this help in the conversion and does making a video showing and explaining the product on your website increase conversions or will a good story and article convert just as well?
Keep up your brilliant blog my favorite on the web and the one I always go to first for information.
Many thanks
Rob
Hi Rob,
I like to show proof & discuss personal experience with a product - it definitely improves conversions. In fact, it's one of the 7 elements I put into my product reviews:
http://www.clicknewz.com/1995/how-to-write-a-product-review/
Those are the things that make product reviews real, and help readers make a solid buying decision. They want your personal input and your personal experience when they are shopping online. š
Recommending products we haven't tried is a bit tricky in affiliate marketing success. Some people manage to make proper sales with this strategy but we should not go for long term business purposes.
It's all about audiences' trust. When we talk about it, it's more than just a couple of dollars commissions.
Great tips Lynn
The tips mentioned are great, Lynn. I totally agree with you that you should not hung with the informational products only for the purpose of yielding profit because that could be fatal in some cases. Rather, physical products can be better in those cases.
That's always a great place to start looking, the G. There are so many options it can sometimes be overwhelming. I have also searched for specific merchants I was familiar with to check their sites. If they have a program you can usually find the link at the bottom of their site, but you probably know that.
Anyway, I always enjoy reading your site for some great tips and tidbits.