Whatever form you use to publish your books, traditional or self-publishing, affiliate marketing is a great way to earn a second income stream through your platform. With countless books being published in both spheres, daily, making money from writing can feel daunting.
However, being an author today is quite similar to being an entrepreneur. Gone are the days when writers sat down at their desk, handwrote their manuscript, and mailed it in to the publisher, only to repeat the process.
Today, author’s largely rely on platform to make sales, but marketing is not the only way to bring in revenue from your books. Affiliate marketing could be a helpful method to look into, and could be conducive to your making a lucrative career from your author website.
In this article, we cover the following:
Ready to monetize your website, engage with other brands, and give your readers new opportunities? So how to use affiliate marketing on Your writing website? Let’s first lay the foundation of what exactly this form of marketing is.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a way for writers to earn a commission based on their promotion of a product or service with a different company. Since companies want marketing, and writers want revenue, affiliate marketing is the common ground between the two.
This form of marketing is results-based. Usually it relies on one of three points of contact between the author and their audience for the author to earn a commission:
- A sale (a course, a book, etc.)
- A lead (such as readers opting in to a lead magnet)
- Clicks (signing up for a webinar, free class, etc.)
An additional bonus to adding this stream of income to your website is that there are traditionally little to zero start-up costs. For instance, you’re in business if a company:
- Reaches out to you
- Asks you to be a “brand ambassador”
- Invites you to use a unique coupon code
- Tells you to promote the code to your followers
- Ensures you will earn a commission for any sales with the code
This is another form of affiliate marketing common to social media and specifically, influencers. But how much can you actually earn using your platform to market other brands? Is it worth it to saturate your own, curated platform for a commission of sales you may or may not make?
How Much You Can Earn?
According to one site, statista estimates the affiliate marketing industry will be worth $8.2 billion by 2022, up from $5.4 billion in 2017. However, the way you execute affiliate marketing largely determines if you can create and grow it as a successful income stream. We will dive into this in a little bit.
That said, what you earn is entirely based on commission. You can’t rely on a steady income, and how you market products, who makes up your audience, and even the trends in the economy can influence the amount of commissions you receive.
If you have a large platform, market effectively, and your audience has disposable income to use on the products or services, you can expect to do well. The percentage of commission you make will vary company to company, so make sure it is an acceptable percentage before you agree.
However, Payscale researched over 7,000 profiles and reported the average salary for an affiliate marketer was over $53,000. Remember, this was the average annual salary, and Payscale also reported that a large number of affiliate marketers make much more.
What Are Some Examples?
Three concrete examples of affiliate marketing are as follows.
#1 – Pay per sale: This may be one of the most common examples for ways in which affiliate marketers make their commission. When you make a sale for the company, the company pays you a percentage.
#2 – Pay per action: Marketers want their audience to take action. Whether they create what’s stereotypically called a call-to-action at the end of a blog, ask users to trade their email to receive a newsletter, or something else, affiliate marketers can make money each time a user completes an action.
#3 – Pay per lead: Are you looking to grow your email list? Chances are high that at least one company you market for is as well. With offers being made around the clock in order to draw in leads, guide them through a sales funnel, and eventually make a sale, this is a common way you could receive your payout.
For instance, let’s say you team up with a successful author and promote their writing course. You could get paid every time a user purchases the course, opts in to their newsletter, or enters a sweepstakes or some other lead.
Check how to earn money with affiliate links.
Things To Be Aware Of.
When it comes to affiliate marketing, integrity and honesty are the name of the game. Social media users know that influencers can make six figures, if not more, for simply posting a square to their grid. Maintaining integrity in posting about products or services is crucial if you want to keep your affiliations, not to mention your honesty.
Do your due diligence prior to making a post, and read the room globally before pressing post. Some affiliate marketing may be acceptable and even needed during specific times, others could appear tone-deaf and intensitive.
Different Affiliate Schemes
Depending on your personal brand goals, you may want to choose to go with either ClickBank or Amazon. For instance, Amazon sells physical products. Are you a writer wanting to promote ergonomic keyboards, your favorite planner, or your go-to pen? Consider working with Amazon.
ClickBank, on the other hand, focuses more on digital products. Take note of any percentages that may be taken from your commission rate: “At ClickBank, we do charge a small commission to our vendors on product transactions, so as an affiliate, your commission is based on the remaining total.”
You may also want to consider the eBay Partner Network. They are known as one of the highest programs, with commissions going from 50-70%. Even if you choose to work with eBay, they allow you to work with other programs and do not demand exclusive rights.
What’s Right For You?
Your next best step will depend on your brand, your career goals, and your website presence. What do you want viewers to think first when they land on your website? Do you want to come off as salesy, and if not, what’s the best way to start affiliate marketing?
Consider these questions before setting out. While this form of marketing can be extremely lucrative for some, for others it may hijack the brand you’ve worked so hard to build. Remember that growth will likely be slow and steady whether you increase your income through book sales or other income streams.
Regardless, affiliate marketing could be just what you need to get over a growth hurdle and continue in an upward trajectory. Take your time, research different programs, carefully access your brand and long-term goals, and only then take the plunge. Best wishes on whatever route you choose!
