The original blog post below was published on Mar 10, 2023. It was updated to a podcast episode on Jun 15, 2023.
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Have you ever seen something created by another business that you love? You think, dang, why didn't I think of that? This product is selling well for this business. I want in on the profit.
You love the idea so much that you think I can make this same thing and make money from it. You spend hours zooming in on the product, analyzing its makeup, or may even buy it to see it up close so that you can recreate it for yourself. That sounds exhausting beyond being unethical to directly knock off a product without any credit to the original ideator. Sounds icky, right?
Affiliate marketing allows you to earn a commission based on sales made through your product link or discount code. The more you share results, the higher likelihood of increased sales. Affiliate marketing is a desired program for two main reasons: passive income & supporting the original ideator.
Passive Income
On your journey to Turn Down The Hustle, you can only sometimes fulfill and press orders in the office. Maybe you go on vacation, or you have a baby. If you aren't producing, money isn't flowing into the bank.
Running wholesale aside, what if you could make money without flipping on the heat press switch?
Affiliate marketing allows you to make money without directly engaging with those who bring you in a referral sale. They may find an old post that you shared relevant to their needs. They may run across your blog on your website, which includes your affiliate link about the product that solves their problem. With affiliate marketing, you can often work once and reap the rewards repeatedly.
Support the Ideator
No matter how many people say, don't worry about it. It still doesn't change the fact that you feel hurt. While it is smart as a business owner to not get emotionally tied to your business, the reality is as creators, we are not emotionally detached from our products; we feel every high and every low as we put our heart and soul into building our businesses from the ground up. If you ask for an affiliate code not to make some extra money, at least do it for the simple moral principle of supporting the ideator.
Ask for a code
- Create a media kit – Get the template here
- What products/services do you already use and love?
- What does your audience need?
- Select 2-3 brands
- Apply for their affiliate program
- If they don’t have one listed, send them a pitch email and attach your media kit. Get the email template script with the media kit template.
Share your code
- Reviews laws and guidelines for affiliate marketing
- Create a pretty link
- Shopify (Online Store > Navigation > Create URL Redirects)
- Create a resource page full of things you recommend and add to your site, for an example visit www.sunkissedva.com/resources
- Add it to the footer of your website
- Create a pinned post in your group
- Add it to your email block
- Share it organically on your stories or page.
- Build it into your content calendar to share your products
You should normalize asking for an affiliate code before you think about all the ways you could knock off a product, both digital products and physical products.
What if your perceived local competitor could put money in your pocket? *cha-ching*
Links mentioned in this episode- Canva Media Kit Template & Pitch Email Example
- Content Calendar
- Resource Page
- Podcast Community Facebook Group
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*This podcast contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them – but rest assured, I only recommend products and services I truly believe in and think will bring value to you.