How to Actually Make Money Using Affiliate Links

There is a huge difference between sharing affiliate links and actually making money with them. Affiliate links don’t work unless you know how to use them. Chances are you’ve heard from people previously that you can’t make decent money with affiliate sales, but I’m here to tell you it’s possible! Affiliate sales are my second largest income source on the blog.

In my last post about blogging I shared Why I Use Affiliate Links in my Blog Posts to start the conversation about affiliates. Start by reading that post if you need a basic introduction to affiliates and how they work. Today I’ll be talking about how to convert those links into real money.

You’re An Affiliate: Now What?

Congratulations on signing up for your first affiliate network. Or maybe it’s your fifth network. Either way, it’s time to dive in! Once you login you’ll find your dashboard, familiarize yourself with it. Each network provides their information differently, but you should be able to generate reports that tell you how many sales and clicks you’ve had daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Start thinking about your promotion strategy. Below is a screenshot from my RewardStyle account.

The dashboard provides my conversion rate and has the ability to create custom reports. The conversion rate is the number of sales you have divided by clicks. I drove 13,000 clicks to other websites that brought in about 300 sales so my conversion rate is 2.39%. An average affiliate marketer’s conversion rate is 1% so I’m above average and happy with my numbers.

My sales convert because I only post things I like and my readers follow me for my taste.  I’m also very consistent with my posting. I’ve heard so many times from other bloggers that they aren’t getting any sales. You need to consistently share affiliate links (daily) in order to generate results. If you share one or two affiliate blog posts a month, that’s not enough.

My Promotion Strategy

As a lifestyle blogger, my blog and life are heavily intertwined. Each week I share between 1-3 new blog posts on Horses & Heels. Not every blog post contains affiliate links, but most of them do. It’s easy for me to find affiliate links. My DIY posts include links to supplies. My fashion posts have links to cowboy boots and accessories.  My recipe posts share specific kitchen items. Chances are, anything you would normally post has an affiliate link available. As you get more familiar with your affiliate network, you’ll begin to find stores that align with your taste. My strategy is simple, I create content I love that inspires me.  I’m so lucky to be able to share my home projects, horse updates, recipes, and fashion crushes.

Once I post, it’s time to promote! This is such an important aspect of blogging many people forget. It’s not enough to just publish a post and expect readers to roll in. You should spend more time promoting your actual post than you do writing it! Below are the steps I follow with every single post.

1. Share on Facebook – I post each new blog post 2 – 3 times on my page. First I will publish a direct link, then a few days later I share an image with different text and a link, and then in another month or so, I schedule that post to be shared again. I have 42K followers on Facebook, but they don’t all see my posts every single day. That’s why I re-share them.

2. Tweet and repeat – I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. Twitter is the only place where it’s perfectly normal to repeat myself often and I do! I’ll schedule each blog post (I use Hootsuite) 5 – 10 times throughout the week after it’s published.

3. Use the power of Pinterest – Pinterest is my leading traffic source so I’m always spending time here. I pin every image immediately and then I use Tailwind to schedule the same pins on different boards later in the week. Consistent pinning has given me a large following and I also participate in Tailwind tribes. If you have a western or horse blog, I invite you to join my tribe!

4. Call attention on Instagram – I will share my favorite blog post image once on Instagram and will then link to the post using the swipe up feature in IG stories at least 3 times. The swipe up feature is only available to accounts with 10K followers or more (you need a business account or verified account), but this is an amazing feature.

5. Send a newsletter – Every Friday I send out my weekly newsletter to subscribers. The newsletter includes all of my blog posts from the week and bonus content. Newsletter subscribers engage with my content way more than people on social media. These readers are more likely to buy products I post. In fact, so many of my subscribers hit the reply button and tell me how they want to buy everything I post! If you’re not a subscriber yet, click here!

6. Additional reach outs – If I featured brands/stores who aren’t familiar with me, I say hi via email and share a link to the blog post featuring them. A lot of times the brands will then repost my content on their social media so everyone wins! Simply tagging a brand on Facebook or Instagram isn’t enough to cut through the noise, so be sure to send over a personal message to make sure they see it.

7. Recycle hits – I’m always surprised when content I think was going to be a hit doesn’t do well or on the flip side, a post is more popular than expected. I keep an eye on popular posts with my Google Analytics and will share them again whenever it’s appropriate. Holiday posts often see a spike in traffic every year so I repost that content again in November. Don’t let your amazing content get buried in the archives, always keep on sharing!

Sharing Your Affiliate Links Directly on Social Media

With proper disclosure I also use my social media accounts to share affiliate links directly without using my blog. Always check to make sure your affiliate network allows this (some require you to post from a blog only). I’m constantly sharing my Amazon Influencer Shop and idea lists that I create. I make collages using Photoshop to offer an amazing visual that makes readers want to purchase. 

I also share affiliate links on Pinterest with RewardStyle or Shopstyle. I always make sure I disclose that the pin contains an affiliate link to abide by their policy. I’m careful to just share a few affiliate links per day in order to create a balance of authentic content and affiliates.

I occasionally will share affiliate links on Twitter and I use my swipe up feature on Instagram to promote my Amazon shop.

Increase Your Affiliate Networks

Start off with just one affiliate network so you can get comfortable with the system and implement a routine of sharing affiliate links daily. The you can try out new affiliate networks that offer different products and/or brands. Signing up for a few different networks allows you to see what works and what doesn’t. I like to see what is getting more clicks and sales, then I know what to focus on more.

Having a second or third affiliate network is beneficial but you need to put in the work and time to see sales. Give each network at least several months to reach its full potential. Sales cam happen instantly or sometimes a reader discovers an old blog post and makes a purchase from there.

The most important thing is to stay consistent and keep sharing. On average it takes 100 clicks until someone makes a purchase, so the more traffic you have the better.

I hope this blog post was helpful. Remember if you have a specific question about a network, brand, or ANYTHING related to affiliate sales, ask away! Send me an email, reach out on social media – Instagram, Twitter,  Facebook, or leave a comment below.