You Won’t Make Any Money Just Giving Away Your Affiliate Link

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started my blog was sending affiliate links to my readers. It seemed like a good idea at the time because I thought it would make me more money, but it didn’t work out that way.

Not everyone is a fan of affiliate links. They either don’t want to buy them or they think they’re too spammy.

You see, it’s not enough just to send your readers an affiliate link in your email to make more money. You have to build true relationships with your readers, and show them why they should buy from you before you ask them for money.

I’m not saying this will work for everyone, but if you’re struggling to make any affiliate sales for your blog, etc., this is something you might want to try.

Keep sending emails to your readers

I’ve found the best way to increase my affiliate sales is by continuing to send out emails. Sending an email every few months is so much better than sending one email and then leaving your readers alone for six months.

The thing is, many bloggers think they’re done after sending an email with an affiliate link in it. That’s not true, though! You need to be building relationships with your readers if you want them to buy from you.

“Email has an ability many channels don’t: creating valuable, personal touches — at scale.”

— David Newman

You don’t want them to feel like they’re just another number on a list.

You want them to know that you care about what they think and their experience on your blog. That’s why I always send out emails after I publish a post or send another article out in my newsletter.

This is also a great opportunity for me to ask my readers if they found something useful in the article or if there’s anything else they would like me to write about.

Build a relationship with your subscribers

If you’re not sure how to build a relationship with your subscribers, here are some ideas:

• Engage with them on social media
• Share their content
• Give them exclusive offers
• Offer advice on how they can use your product or service
• Create valuable free content for them

Give them something free

I know it sounds counterintuitive, but giving away something free is a great way to build relationships with your readers and entice them to buy the rest of your products.

For example, if you have an e-book on cooking, give away a recipe for free before sending them to the affiliate link. This will help them see that you’re an expert in your field and that your products are valuable.

Free downloads are also a great way to make customers feel like they’re getting a good deal by giving them something for nothing.

“We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.”

― Orison Swett Marden

If you were giving away one of your affiliate links instead, they would probably be skeptical about how much value it has.

What’s most important here is building relationships with your readers, not asking for money right off the bat.

It takes time to build trust with someone, so doing this will help you establish connections with potential customers.

And once they do trust you, they’ll be more likely to buy from you when they need or want something related to what you offer online.

The Final Thoughts

Affiliate marketing is a great way to build your blog’s income. But, if you’re struggling with affiliate sales, you may want to try this.

The problem I ran into was that all my readers are different people, so I had to do some research to find out what their interests were.

This helped me provide them with content they would be interested in before asking for money. It’s important not to sell too hard when you first start by sending an email with affiliate links.

Build relationships and show your readers why they should buy from you before expecting anything in return!

I orignally published this on medium. check it out!