It has been a year since I have decided to blog and within a year I have learned allot about the blogging world and yet there is still much more that I need to learn. The beginning of my blogging journey has not been easy and has mainly centered on my desire to hone exactly the kind of content that I wanted to produce and publish. Now, I have reached the point in my journey where I have been seeking out avenues of growth through social media as well as marketing strategies and funnels that can provide value to my readers and followers as well as monetize my content. If you find yourself sympathizing with this feeling then you probably have the same question running through your mind and that is WHAT’S NEXT?

I am always growing and researching different ways that I can grow in order to help other people so I have done the work and created a list of Affiliate programs that can get you on the right track towards providing value and making money. Making money online is not a 1-step process but it will take time, strategy and patience to eventually see a good end result. Joining an affiliate program shouldn’t just be as simple as joining and waiting for the money to roll in. Bloggers and entrepreneurs everywhere should always begin with a business plan. What marketing strategies will you utilize to create leads which in turn will result in repeat readers or customers who are interested in your content or product. A few marketing strategies that a blogger can add to their arsenal include a lead magnet, an opt in, a newsletter, online courses, webinars, or even building an online community.

A lead magnet can be anything that you know that will provide value to your reader for free. At the end of the post, at the top or on the sidebar of your page you can then provide your reader with the opportunity to opt into your newsletter to receive the freebie associated with the lead magnet. Next, in the newsletter you can continually send post updates, send them notifications for online courses, webinars or even invite them to join an online community. Essentially, it is important to have several different lead magnets or sales pages in which you can use to funnel leads into specific sales opportunities that can provide value as well as monetize your content. Affiliate programs come in as the icing on the cake. If you are a going to throw a link into a post then why not make some money off of referrals.

There are a few things to consider before selecting an affiliate program which include the following:

• How well the program fits into your niche
• The payout schedule which may be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly
• If the program offers banners or images that can be used with the affiliate link.
• The length of cookies which associates with the length of time an affiliate link will register with a retailer in the case that a buyer takes time before making a purchase.
• Whether the link provided is a deep link to the product versus the company page
• Lastly, whether there is customer support or account manager available

Here is a list of 5 affiliate programs that you can add to your business plan:

• Share -A-Sale: Offers a variety of a large market place affiliate programs in several niches that offers payout in pay-per-sale, pay-per-lead, and pay-per-click programs. A few notable affiliate programs through share -a- sale include WP Engine which provides WordPress hosting with a referral payout of $200, Warby Parker which provides quality sunglasses at an affordable price point and Stella & Dot which provides fashion, jewelry and accessories that can be sold through social media.
• Ebates- Ebates is a great affiliate program to begin with as a blogger and they offer cash back for thousands of stores as well as $5 for every referral as well as bonuses. Ebates also pays out their affiliates at a minimum of $5.01 quarterly. Ebates also provides an image for placement on your site as an acknowledgment of your association as an affiliate.
• CJ Affiliate- One of the largest affiliate marketplaces with a variety of options for specific ads if you do not want to solely rely on Google Adsense. Affiliates are also offered support with resources such as a deep link generator, deep link automation,  CJ Affiliate pays out their affiliates monthly via direct deposit. Also, CJ Affiliate will close out accounts if no revenue is made within 6 months.
• Amazon Affiliate- Amazon also offers a large variety of options for affiliates as affiliates can promote any product available on the site. Affiliates earn commission on anything that is bought within the 24 hours in which the link has been clicked. Amazon pays out affiliates once a $100 threshold is reached.
• Rakuten Affiliate- Rakuten Affiliate holds major retailers such as Macy’s, AT&T, and PetsMart and more. Affiliates can easily join Rakuten but then need to apply to each brand through Rakuten. Affiliates are also paid out in thresholds of $50. Other benefits of the program include account support, access to analysts for helpful insights.

Comment down below if you have used any of these affiliate programs or have crafted a business plan that has catapulted the growth of your business.