// The American Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires advertisers and endorsers (i.e. publishers, bloggers and influencers) to disclose their relationships when promoting any affiliate content, or receiving something in exchange for their promotion method, such as: Receiving commission if someone uses your affiliate link. Receiving a product or compensation in exchange for writing a post on your blog or on your social media (sponsored content). If you are one of those who aren’t sure about using affiliate marketing because you fear scaring people away by co...

It doesn’t matter whether you started your blog recently or have been blogging for a while! It doesn’t even matter why you started blogging in the first place…was it as creative outlet to share your passion or as a means to make money online and quit your day job? Or were you looking for a stress-free-life or the flexibility to stay home with your kids? No matter what your motivation, treating your blog like a business is one of the first things you need to do. Let’s start by understanding what it actually means to relate to your blog as a business and then we’ll discuss wh...

If you are new to affiliate marketing, you can familiarize yourself by reading the Basics of Affiliate Marketing, When Is the Right Time To Start Using Affiliate Marketing, and the Best Affiliate Networks for Beginners. Our Affiliate Marketing Guides should help you better understand the advantages of affiliate marketing and get you started. Why is now the time to use affiliate marketing? Although it’s been around for over 20 years, there are a few reasons why affiliate marketing is flourishing today. E-commerce is constantly growing and still has...

// Presentation tools are of great importance when evaluating which affiliate network to join, especially in niches where images are a major factor in converting readers into customers. Although, for digital products, you can get by with only incorporating affiliate links into text, that is not the case for lifestyle related items (clothing, hotels, food, accessories, beauty, wellness and fitness).  A picture is worth a thousand words, so you should take advantage of images wherever possible.  The incorporation of image related tools, such as Shop the Post widgets,...

// Here is what Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income says are the two most important rules for affiliate marketing:  1. I only recommend products as an affiliate that I’m extremely very familiar with—preferably products that I’ve used before and have helped me achieve something. If I’m not confident in the product and I don’t feel it will positively help people, I will not promote it. 2. I never directly tell anyone to buy a product. I always recommend products based on my experience and in the context of what I’ve done or what I’m doing. While this...

Affiliate marketing has been chosen as one of the top two revenue generators for publishers. To learn more about the Basics of Affiliate Marketing, When Is the Right Time To Start Using Affiliate Marketing and the Best Affiliate Networks for Beginners check out our Affiliate Marketing Guides.  Here are some general guidelines to help you evaluate if you are ready to join: If you have a blog or a website with established high-quality content and constant traffic, then you will probably have no problem being accepted to any affiliate network you apply to and any programs yo...

There are thousands of affiliate programs available online, and most of them include many products. As there are more influencers, more businesses, and more understanding of the importance of affiliate marketing for online sales, the number of affiliate programs is likely to keep on growing. In our downloadable free Affiliate Marketing Strategy Cheat Sheet you can follow the steps for creating your own Affiliate Marketing Strategy Map to help you get started and master the monetization of your content. In this post we relate to how to find, evaluate, and join an affiliat...

Your mission is to earn money as an affiliate partner. Period! Think of the encouragement of being rewarded for your hard work and the satisfaction of making a living or providing to your family with financial help by fulfilling your dreams. That doesn’t, of course, mean that you should do anything for a sale. If not done properly, you may get very low or negligible results which can be frustrating and discouraging. Doing it the right way is important; it will allow you to build your long-term credibility, it will help you be authentic and true to yourself so that you can enjoy...

Why is this the right time to be using affiliate marketing? Are you using affiliate marketing? Generally speaking, we can split publishers into three groups. Where do you see yourself?  Those who aren’t using affiliate marketing, because they fear scaring people away by coming across as pushy salespeople, because they think it’s too hard and a waste of time, or because they think people won’t be interested. Those (usually fashion bloggers) who only join sub-affiliate networks and who are looking for the comfort of an aggregated tool for both connection with brands and prese...

// A great definition of what affiliate marketing is can be found on Pat Flynn’s blog Smart Passive Income: "Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting another person’s (or company’s) product. Products exist in your target market right now (that people are probably already buying) and if you can become the resource that recommends those products, you can generate a commission as a result.”   If you are completely new to affiliate marketing, you may want to first check out our other blog posts explaining: The...