Zac Johnson
As content creators and marketers, our mindset is always focused on how to get a user to convert into a lead and monetizing content whenever and wherever possible. We are all chasing after the mighty dollar, and this can sometimes make us forget about the basics and what methods often work best.
If you are already creating content for your own websites and blogs, the idea of when, where, and how to link out to site partners and affiliate links is something you might be struggling with.
The good news is, this is something that we can quickly improve above and it’s only going to take a few moments to reset your thought and content creation process.
Let’s get started.
Why Content is Created and Why People Read Through It
As we all know, the internet is completely flooded with billions of articles of content, and new junk is being added daily. So what makes some content better than others, get shared more often on social media, or even rank at the top of Google?
In short, it’s the value provided.
The important thing to keep in mind here, is that people use the internet for three different reasons:
- To be entertained
- To buy something
- To find information
As long as the content you are providing to your audience fills one of these needs, then there is no reason why they shouldn’t find value in, and ultimately become a qualified lead, sale, or a new customer.
Now let’s move onto when, where, and how your affiliate links might fit into this value-added process.
When, Where and How?
With all of this in mind, knowing when, where, and how to place affiliate links and monetization into your content is key.
Again, you need to look at this from the perspective of the end-user and not as just a way to make a quick buck. Much like how non-relevant banners and ad placements on a site won’t convert when they are out of place, the same happens with in-content links as well.
For example, let’s take a look at the world of finance.
Every day millions of people are searching for ways to make money online, get paid faster, or to lower their debt and improve their credit score. If you can create a valuable resource article on any of these topics, and then provide the end-user with a step by step process, and use a reputable offer as your call to action, this makes perfect sense as a way to provide value and monetize your content in the process.
A quick and easy example of this would be if you were to create an article titled “5 Ways to Get Paid Faster at Work”, and then you were to list multiple methods such as direct deposit or direct to a debit account or cash card, and then include a solution like Earnin.com as well.
Again, this all ties back into providing your audience with real value and solutions in reference to what they are looking for, while also adding in a quality service or offer that you might already have an affiliation with.
For this process to work best, it’s always a good idea to include a link near the beginning and end of your articles. Links should be in a color that match your site color scheme, but also makes them pop out from ordinary text content (bold, underlined).
It’s also a good idea to add in screenshots and visuals to make your reference guide or tutorial easy to follow. And if you are doing any type of “list-style” articles, big button call to action sections are often used to improve click-through rates and engagement as well.
How to Best Monetize Your Content with Affiliate Links
Having touched upon the data points and examples above, it’s important to emphasize how much the user engagement and need for value is in this process.
Don’t start by creating an article and then finding an affiliate offer you want to include it, but do the opposite. Find a high-quality offer you are looking to promote and then do some reverse engineering to see what type of service and value the product offers, and then how it might be used to improve someone’s life or fulfill the need of what they are looking for.
Lastly, always remember that if someone is searching for something in Google and then end up finding what they want within an article or on a site, they are much more likely to act upon whatever it is you might be offering.
Focus on the end-user value and making sure your affiliate offers are relevant to what they are looking for you and should do great!