Content marketing is the key to unlocking thousands of dollars in affiliate treasure. But without the right content marketing tips, it can also be a recipe for failure. Let’s be honest, there are dozens of partners competing in a competitive market. In this environment, it’s no wonder that publishing a blog every day is no longer enough to win big with affiliates. So what do you have to do? Back to basics. Here are seven content marketing tips you should use to increase your affiliate earnings in 2018.
Select a Niche and Stick to it
The first mistake rookies make is jumping into the affiliate pool without having a clear direction and plan.
Remember, maximizing your earnings by marketing as many different products and services is tempting. But there’s a big flaw in this.
You become an easy prey for some of the biggest sharks in the industry, those who have been using content marketing tips and best practices for nearly a decade. Thus, it isn’t a surprise why most affiliates fall short of getting enough traffic or building a clear brand personality.
One of the most important content marketing tips you should follow is to first select a niche (one that doesn’t have a lot of competition) and be all-inclusive in your offering. For example, say you want to start a news website. Become a specialist in financial news, and cover all types of updates, news, trends related to finance.
As soon as you’re able to draw in a sizeable amount of traffic and sales, you can move on to other niches. Taking the news example, expand to feature news in business and tech.
Tailor Your Content To Your Target Audience
While it’s important to select a niche, matching your content to your target audience is even more so. Content that is developed with the intended audience in mind has a better chance of converting readers.
So, know your target audience as you know your friends. Find out their age, their lifestyle, what they search for, and what solutions they are desperately looking for. Get this right, and creating quality and engaging content becomes a piece of cake.
Always Put Trust And Credibility Before Traffic
Don’t rush to monetize your content. Instead, invest time in building your reputation as a trusted source, providing valuable and magnetic content that makes your readers’ lives easier.
But here’s the thing: most beginners in affiliate marketing do the exact opposite. They buy in to the idea of maximizing traffic and, in doing so, fail to build a base of loyal, interested readers who are eager to buy items that are recommended to them.
“A lot of people see affiliate marketing as a way to get rich quickly. This leads to poor-quality content that just doesn’t convert. Visitors to your blog will be turned off if you don’t offer something besides product recommendations. Instead, focus on building your reputation and brand by offering value, so that your product recommendations are taken seriously,” says Scott Chow from The Blog Starter, a site about starting a blog.
For this reason, establishing your own credibility is one of the best content marketing tips you can follow. The following are a couple of ways you can do this:
- Invest in premium themes and plugins for enhancing your blog’s appeal
- Build strong relationships with bloggers by engaging in forums and through blog comments
- Do guest posts in your niche to direct traffic to your blog
- Respond to your readers’ concerns and questions
- Network through events and social media
So sure, numbers are good. But never put it before trust and credibility.
Pay Attention to User Queries, Not Keywords
Google has been slowly pushing on using long-tail keywords instead of short-tail ones.
The reason: ranking your website on one particular keyword is not a big deal anymore. What’s more important is that you capture visitors who are more likely to show interest in what you want to sell.
Don’t get me wrong, keywords still matter. But, what people search for are specific topics and search queries. Thus, your focus should be on specific topics that spark interest and induce readers to buy the products. The action tip here is to prioritize search topics over one or two-word keywords to craft original content for your readers.
Use a Broad Spectrum of Content
You have to be creative in the type and variety of the content you publish. Otherwise, your audience will be bored and might even move away. But how exactly do you get this done? Simple. You captivate your audience using a variety of content marketing tips and ideas in your arsenal. Here are a few:
How-To Guides and Tutorial Articles
How-to guides and articles get instant traction. Putting these to use are an excellent way of offering value that your readers will benefit from and share with their friends and family.
Some of the best how to guides and articles are those that are in-depth, are long-form and consist of plenty of visuals to engage readers.
Online Reviews (And Testimonials)
Reviews and testimonials are the most important type of content you have to offer as an affiliate. In fact, studies show that 84 percent of online customers prefer online reviews for making buying decisions. Honest, in-depth reviews that present things from the end user’s point of view will amplify the reach of your affiliate links.
Comparison Articles
Every now and then, publish blogs that compare two or three most sought-after items that are in your niche. For example, a trending comparison post these days would be Amazon Echo vs. Google Home.
You don’t have to take sides in such posts. Your intent should only be to analyse the similarities and differences, and then mention how each is useful.
Success Stories
Regardless of what you sell, stories will always turn heads. Sharing a success story of yourself invites others to share a positive and personal experience of a brand.
For example, if you’re selling a content marketing course, a post titled ‘How I used videos to double my traffic’ is a great way to pique readers’ interests and get them to share the post. Be sure to add success stories or case studies in your editorial calendar.
Here is an example of a success story with Cloudways hosting:
Source: WPMU DEV
Expert Opinion
There’s only so much information you can offer yourself. Once in a while, get an expert on board to share a hot off press insight that will knock the socks off your readers. A good way is to approach experts in your niche and request them to write a guest post. These can include anyone from:
- Authors who have a new book release
- Experienced bloggers
- Influencers and public speakers
- Professionals who work in reputable companies
Here’s a look at Social Media Examiner’s guest post by expert Mari Smith.
Industry News
Posts offering the latest insights into your niche or industry are excellent hooks to fascinate your audience. Create content around topics such as ‘5 best non-fiction books of 2018’ or ‘3 latest tech trends’.
Use Videos to Amplify Your Content Reach
If you have noticed the buzz around video content marketing tips, there are plenty of good reasons for it. Firstly, video is a powerful way of amping up brand personality and marketing. According to HubSpot, video is a relied marketing tool for 81 percent of businesses in 2018, which is 63 more than in 2017.
Secondly, customers themselves are more likely to watch a video than consume other forms of content. Wyzowl finds that around 80 percent of consumers prefer watching video than reading a blog article. This goes to show that while blogs are important, videos play an even greater role in helping you earn more as an affiliate.
So how can you use videos as an affiliate? Here are three ways:
Comparison Videos
As with comparison blogs, you can post comparison videos in which you talk about two or three similar products and highlight the pros and cons of each followed by your own preference. You don’t have to be an expert on the topic at hand. Simply speak from a user’s perspective, and give your thoughts on which product or brand you’d prefer with reasons.
Reviews
Uploading an online review video is an excellent way of endorsing your thoughts and experiences about a particular brand or company. Below is an example of a customer sharing his thoughts on Cloudways and why it is his recommended hosting provider.
Tutorials
Detailed tutorials that offer an easy-to-follow walkthrough of installing or using a specific product or tool is one of the best ways of educating audiences, as well as getting traffic and conversions.
Unlike other videos, tutorial videos tend to be far longer in duration and usually are filled with a step-by-step approach. Here is an example of The Generalist IT’s tutorial on how to install WordPress on Cloudways.
Make Sure Your Content Is Mobile-friendly
According to Google, mobile devices account for more than two thirds of sales. So, as one of the top content marketing tips, you should ensure all of your content is adapted to the mobile platform to boost your affiliate commissions.
It has become common for customers to search for New Year and Christmas deals from their smartphones. If you’re content is optimized for mobile, it will help you increase your website’s visibility and direct more traffic. Remember that mobile-friendly content gives you the edge in your SEO efforts.
Conclusion
Increasing your affiliate earnings doesn’t have to be that difficult. By using the aforementioned content marketing tips, you will have the edge in attracting more visitors to your site and get more conversions.
If you’re bent on striking the affiliate goldmine, Cloudways has a fantastic opportunity for you. The revamped Affiliate Program can help you earn upto $10,000 a month, all without any setup costs or having technical product knowledge.