“Articles are great at pre-selling products. They give folks a sneak peek at what’s being sold, sparking curiosity. They **click through to the sales page**. **BINGO!** A commission earned.”
Earning affiliate commissions can really work that way, but it works much better if you have a good solid plan for your affiliate articles. And that plan should include carefully choosing topics, providing the right information in your articles and effectively engaging the reader’s interest in the product you are promoting.
Step 1: Choose Your Topics
Take some to make a list of topics you could write for each product you want to promote. Making your list is fairly simple. All you need to do is make a list of problems that the product you’re selling actually solves and you’re well on your way.
For example, as an affiliate for [insert company name], here are some problems our product solves:
1. [Insert problem solved.]
2. [Insert problem solved.]
3. [Insert problem solved.]
Step 2: Put Your Information Together
Your topic will obviously guide you in what type of information you’ll provide. To make it easier to come up with ideas, try writing simple articles like:
“Top 5 Ways to XXXX”
“12 Steps to XXXX”
“6 Important Ways XXXX”
These type of articles allow you to keep your articles simple with just an introductory and concluding paragraph with some informative bullets in between.
But what’s important to your articles is what you DON’T say. In your content, you want to give as much information that will help readers gain a good understanding of their problem and a part of the solution (the actual solution should be the product you are trying to sell).
Step 3: Link to the Product
The most effective links and recommendations will come within the context of your article. You can introduce the product at an appropriate place within your article and tell your readers to “Click here to learn more about this time-saving product,” for example. Or “This is the all-in-one [insert type of product] that I most recommend.”
Follow it up with an extra recommendation at the end of your article. Try a bold subheadline that says “Recommended for Further Study,” or “Recommended Tools” or whatever happens to be appropriate for the product that you’re linking with. Then list the product or product(s) you’re recommending.
WARNING: Keep it simple. Don’t give your readers too many links and choices or they’ll have trouble deciding what they do. Recommend only one or two products per article.
If you’re publishing the article on your own site…there are no rules and choosing to link within the article and at the end is often a beneficial choice. However, if you’re submitting your article to a directory or another site, they may have rules about submission. They may not allow links within the article, but be sure to take advantage of the link or links you’re allowed to include in your byline that comes at the end of the article.
Final Thoughts
Put yourself into the minds of the target product’s customer. Imagine their problems, their desires and goals. Help them with those things by giving good information and recommending relevant products and you’ll be well on the way to earning nice commissions with articles.