Affiliate marketing is a great complement to any other business model. Basically, you recommend products and services to your readers, and every time one of them makes a purchase through your referral link (a piece of code inserted in your blog), you receive a commission. Commissions can range from a few percent of the purchase price, to upwards of 50%. Physical products usually have a lower commission rate, while digital downloads have higher commissions.

The upside of affiliate marketing is that it’s simple. If you’re established as an expert in your industry, you likely already tell people what products and services you use in the course of your business. You’ll continue to do the same… only now you’ll get paid for it!

There are a number of widely-known programs online to find products and services to promote. Some of the most popular are:

You can also google the industry you’re in, along with “affiliate programs,” such as “scrapbooking affiliate programs” to see what other retailers and programs are available for you.

When promoting products through affiliate programs, there are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. Only promote products you believe in. If you start promoting any product under the sun, whether or not you’ve tried it yourself, you’re going to lose credibility and trust with your audience. You want them to believe that you have their best interests in mind – and that means only recommending products you know and trust.
  2. Give value. To have a viable business, you must offer value. How can you make it easier on your readers to buy the products they want and need? Can you give more details so they can make informed buying decisions? Can you offer coupons or tell them where to get the best deals? Or  maybe you can perform a full review so they can evaluate products before they buy. Figure out a way so you’re adding value to the purchasing process.
  3. Promote the products. You can’t just throw up a bunch of links or even review posts and expect to see massive traffic and sales. Instead, actively promote your affiliate links through social media, article marketing, and more. For instance, if you write a blog post comparing two popular vacuum cleaners, link back to the post from other blog entries and promote it on Facebook, Twitter, and even YouTube.

Because of its versatility, affiliate marketing is the perfect addition to any blogger’s repertoire of money-making methods. You can spend as much time or as little as you like, but it’s a method worth considering.