Q&A Tuesday: Affiliate Programs for Niche Blogs

by Jeff 6/24/2008 12:32:00 PM

Time for another edition of Q&A Tuesdays where I answer a question of yours and you (hopefully) answer a question of mine. Today's topic has to do with Affiliate Marketing on niche blogs.

Your Turn

Grizzly Adam of EpicRiding.com writes and asks:

What do you think is the best way to monetize an existing blog, within an already small niche?

My response to Grizzly is:

Hi Grizzly. I would be very surprised if you couldn't find an affiliate program in your niche that will allow you to make money recommending products you like. Try doing a Google search for "<my niche> affiliate program" and see what pops up. You might find a product you actually like. Something you won't mind writing about and can get paid by referring users for.

I have read your blog a number of times (I love mountain biking) and I know there are tons of programs you can join to make some money from your blog. One Affiliate Program I have been using lately is ShareASale.com. A quick search of their programs turned up 42 different Outdoor Recreation affiliate programs! You can sign up to refer your readers to places like Mountain Plus Outdoor Gear, OutdoorsPro.com, and many others. Just select a program and join it. Then, whenever you even mention a piece of gear in a blog post, just make it a link and you will get paid a commission anytime someone orders something via that link (within the next 120 days!).

I really like the main header image of your blog. You are already displaying logos of brands and gear that you like. You are giving them free advertising! Try reaching out to them and seeing if they have some kind of referral program or will pay a small monthly advertising fee. You might be surprised - all business like to (need to) advertise. If they don't, then make those images a hotlink to one of the affiliate programs from ShareASale or something.

Your niche might be small, but I think it could be VERY lucrative. I know that I personally spend a boat load of money online for outdoor gear! Good luck!

My Turn

I have had some good success using ShareASale.com and Commission Junction affiliate programs. I have heard some mixed reviews about them though and don't really know how they compare to some of the other affiliate networks. For the most part, I don't believe there is a single network that is best. It just depends on the individual programs. But in general, what Affiliate Networks do you like the most and why?

Thanks!

Got a question for the Tuesday Q&A? Send it to me!

Jeff

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Tags: affiliate marketing, blogs, monetize, niche

Q & A

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Comments

6/25/2008 10:20:55 PM

Thanks!

Grizzly Adam

6/26/2008 9:32:42 PM

I started out with Clickbank when I was first introduced to affiliate marketing almost 2 years ago. I made a couple hundred bucks the first month, but later realized I was limiting myself due to the fact Clickbank mainly consists of "digital" or "info" products. Info products are okay but almost all landing pages aren't optimized well and have low conversion rates. People are just plain tired of "informational e-books."

6 months later I began using Affiliate Networks like Commission Junction, and Rocketprofit. They offered products that weren't simply "informational," you are able to affiliate yourself outside the "make money online" niche. A mistake I notice a lot of affiliate marketers just starting out do, is promote "make money online" affiliate programs or anything under that niche i.e. home business, online opportunities, work from home, etc.

If you check out other affiliate programs through other networks they have credit card affiliate programs, where if you get someone to sign up for a credit card and they get approved, you can make any where from $20-$100. You can affiliate yourself to things like name brand electronics, and furniture which have professionally designed, high converting sites. Things people already want, and are comfortable buying. - Not some site with an extremely long sales copy, promising to make you $57,348 a month.

Currently I use Commission Junction, AzoogleAds, and RocketProfit. I belong to plenty other networks, but these are the ones I am the most active in.

Personally, I've seen most success with ring tones, leads (sign ups, no purchase required) electronics, - Things you don't need to "convince" people into buying.

Luis Gross

6/26/2008 9:39:21 PM

Hey Luis. Thanks for the excellent advice!

Its funny how you mention pushing products in the "make money online" niche. I just wrote about that the other day.

www.buzzmyblog.com/.../...Niche-to-Make-Money.aspx

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

Jeff

6/27/2008 2:14:16 AM

Anytime Jeff!

I'm on my way to check out that other post.

PS Running your affiliate links through PPC campaigns with networks like Google AdWords and BidVertiser works best in my opinion. Much better then putting banners or links on your site. I mean banners and links work well too, but only for those bloggers who have a good reputation, and are established.

PPC campaigns are better, unaware consumers think they clicked directly to the site. They have no knowledge of an "affiliate re-direct". That's why it's also good to promote products away from the MMO niche, - Unaware consumer+PPC Campaigns= No bypassed affiliate links.

Luis Gross

6/27/2008 8:55:45 AM

Thanks for the tip Luis!

That is a great idea that I haven't mentioned before - buy PPC ads directly to the affiliate site. I guess the trick there is to either:

1. Spend less on the click than a lead pays
2. Make sure the conversion rate is high enough on a sale to cover the cost of the ad.

I guess the real "art" is finding the profitable campaigns along with the affordable PPC campaigns, huh? I tried it a few times and ended up spending more on the PPC campaign than I earned with the affiliate program.

Jeff

6/27/2008 12:46:24 PM

well i am using CJ now and SFI is great too

revenue

6/27/2008 3:50:30 PM

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