If you want to add passive income to your revenue streams, affiliate marketing with a blog is a great way to do it. Before you dive into creating your content, there are a few things you should know. Check out these three tips to create content that converts and gets fresh eyes on your site.

3 Tips for Affiliate Marketing with a Blog 

1. Share the experience, not just the details.

Like all marketing, affiliate marketing with a blog includes an emotional component. Listing the details of a product isn’t enough to move a lot of folks to make a purchase unless they’re very rooted in logic. (And even then there’s often some feeling that drives them to commit.) When you’re affiliate marketing, give folks a look into the hands-on experience of using something. Here are some ways that can look:

• Did the product have a learning curve? What was that like?
• Were those jeans actually comfortable all day? What did they feel like on your body? 
• How does the texture of this baking flour compare to others’?

The most important piece of making your blog post experience-oriented is that you show the transformation. What is different for you after using the product? Some entrepreneurs get tripped up here because they think the transformation has to be deep. Maybe you’re promoting a skincare product that gave you next level confidence. Maybe you’re just promoting a pan that makes a better fried egg. Center your post in the truth of your experience, and it will be compelling enough.

2. Show your audience all the ways they can use the product.

Help your audience imagine using the product in as many ways as possible. This doesn’t work for all affiliate marketing with a blog, but you might be surprised it’s applicable. The more explicitly you can show your audience how to use something, the better.

Here are some examples of blog types, products, and blog post ideas for marketing them:

• For a fashion blogger promoting a shirt: “10 Chic Ways to Style Your Button Down”
• For a business coach promoting a CRM: “5 Ways Honeybook Elevated My Client Experience”
• For a photographer promoting prints: “How to Create a Jaw-Dropping Gallery Wall”

In each instance, readers get multiple examples of the transformation that the product makes possible.

3. Leverage SEO keywords to blog a product multiple times.

If you’re blogging at all, let alone affiliate marketing with a blog, ideally you’re optimizing your posts with keywords. Try creating multiple posts around a product and optimizing them all for different keywords. It’s a powerful way to grow your audience beyond what’s possible on social media. You’ll also have that much more content to Pin.

Bonus: Be transparent!

There are a few reasons why you should always disclose when you’re affiliate marketing with a blog. Firstly, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires it. The earlier you mention it in your post, the better, too.

Secondly, it’s critical for ethical marketing and building trust with your audience. Imagine how you would feel if you bought something based on the recommendation of someone you respected only to find out later that they made a commission. You might feel duped or question whether you could actually trust that person’s content. Disclosing affiliate links maintains your integrity and keeps you on the right side of FTC guidelines.

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