Everyone has the dream of making big bucks online.

Checking your email while sitting on the beach.
Checking your bank deposits in the morning to see how much cash you received while you were sleeping.
The 4-hour workweek.

Living the Dream with Affiliate Marketing

People like Pat Flynn, Tim Ferriss, and Jeremy and Jason make it so easy. So simple.

If they can do it, well so can I.

For those that are new to affiliate marketing or new to blogging, affiliate links are links that you build into your blog posts. These links have a special code that is linked directly to you. When someone clicks on that link and buys that product or service, you get a commission from that sale. Sounds easy. Right?

So you have your website up and running. You have done your homework and found some affiliate links that will fit into your blog post and its something that your readers will find useful. There no reason to write a blog post about fashion and have a link to the new Xbox video game. Most likely your reader will not find that useful. Why? Because they went to your site to read about the latest fashion and are not interested in the video game. You understand, so you keep your links relevant.

Affiliate Marketing, the Basics

Everything is set up and now you are ready to go. You go to sleep and in the morning you check your account.

$0.00.

Nothing.

Zilch.

Nada.

Affiliate Marketing Is Not an Instant Money Maker

Next week is that same thing.

And why is that?

Because you forgot the most important part of buying online.

Your reader will not purchase anything on your website until they KNOW you, LIKE you, and TRUST you. Trying to sell before KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST has been established is useless.

So, what can you do to build the KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST factor.

Tip Number 1.
Do not add affiliate links into your blog post for at least one year.
When I go to a website or blog post and it’s filled with affiliate links, it’s a big turn off. To me, the writer is only interested in making money and most of the time, the post is subpar at best.

Tip Number 2.
Create AWESOME content. This is the backbone of your website existence. No one will return to your website if your content is subpar. Sit down and answer this question, what problem is my reader having and how can I help them resolve it. Then come up with 25 topics, 50 is better. Now you have a half year’s or better yet, a full years’ worth of topics.

Tip Number 3.
Make sure you are writing evergreen content. This is content that is relevant today, tomorrow, or sometime next year and it is not trendy or a rising fad.

Tip Number 4.
Work on driving traffic to your website.

Tip Number 5.
Engage with others. Leave comments on other people’s blog posts. Share other people’s content through social media.

To answer the question, are affiliate links worth it?

The answer is Yes.

Affiliate links can be a great way to put some cash in your pocket. But most likely this will not happen within your first year. Honestly, if you are new to blogging, you have so much to learn before you can dive into the world of affiliate links.

Concentrate on the basics, work on creating great content and building your brand and your audience. After you have mastered these basics, then take a shot at affiliate links. By then, you will have built the KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST factor that is so important to affiliate marketing.

Be sure to leave a comment below. Your comments really help and I read and respond to each one.

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To your success.

Dan