Affiliate Income Planner | MompreneurMoney.

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AFFILIATE INCOME PLANNER

Passive income. It’s the holy grail of online business, the dream that many
mompreneurs and solopreneurs chase.

But passive income isn’t just one plan or income stream. It’s made up of several
different types of cash flowing into your business, and one of the most popular is
affiliate sales.

Promoting products and services through affiliate programs allows you to:

 Earn cash without having to write books, create courses, or do any of the heavy
lifting associated with product development
 Get paid for sharing valuable resources with your readers, fans and clients
 Earn recurring income thanks to cookies and ongoing referral tracking

Imagine referring a client to a product, and when she makes a purchase, you get paid.
But even better, because of ongoing referral tracking, the next time she makes a
purchase—even if you haven’t made another promotion—you’ll get paid for that as
well! That is the power of affiliate marketing, and why it’s such a big part of your passive
income plan.

(Note: This free planner contains my affiliate links, which makes sense, right?)

Of course, you can’t just start signing up and dropping links everywhere. Well, you can,
but you won’t have a lot of success. Instead, you’ll want to put some thought and
planning into your affiliate promotions, so that you can provide your audience with
relevant resources they need and want, and so that you can grow your passive income
as well.

This planner was created to help you get a jumpstart on how to make affiliate marketing
work for you.

If you need/want a step-by-step action plan that you can implement in a matter of
hours, I highly suggest signing up for my friend Rosemarie’s Core Affiliate Strategy
Guide. This strategy helped her go from $0/month to $12,000/month in less than a year.

Another great resource is my friend Michelle’s online course called Making Sense of
Affiliate Marketing. It’s one of my favorite courses and it works!

Now, let’s talk for a minute about affiliate programs. Not all are created equal, so when
you’re researching options, be very careful to thoroughly read the terms of service. You
want to fully understand how sales are tracked, how long cookies last, when payment is
made and any payout thresholds that exist. If something isn’t clear, reach out to the

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program manager before you begin promoting. It’s frustrating to make sales and not be
paid due to a misunderstanding of the fine print, so take the time to do this first.

STEP 1: SET UP THE INFRASTRUCTURE

You can get started with promoting affiliate offers quickly—all it takes is to sign up for a
program, grab your link, and start sharing.

But if you take the time to correctly set up your infrastructure, you’ll find it’s much
easier to:

 Collect data (so you know what’s working well—more on that in step 12)
 Promote products on the fly (without having to log in to an affiliate center and
hunt down a link every time you want to share a resource)
 Change your mind about what you’re promoting (especially important when
companies go out of business or change their offers)

You don’t have to spend a lot of time or energy on this either. There are just a couple of
pieces you need:

1. A way to create branded short links

2. A way to track your results

There are a number of ways to create branded short links. You can purchase a domain
just to house your affiliate links, such as www.yournamelikes.com or
www.yournamehelps.me. From there you can either install software such as YOURLS
(open source and free, but a little techy to install) or go with the somewhat simpler
HTML redirect files. A third option is to use a paid service, such as short.cm or
shortswitch.com.

Yet another option—if you’re running a WordPress site—is to install a plugin such as
Pretty Links (this is the tool that I use). Both the free and paid versions of this plugin give
you unlimited link redirects, allowing you to turn ugly, long affiliate links into more
clickable short links.

And make no mistake, short links are more clickable. Think about it. Which are you more
likely to click on, this:

http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?B=346198&U=974064&M=28169&urllink=

Or this:

https://www.mompreneurmoney.com/genesisframework1

Clearly, the second link, which is shorter and readable will earn many more clicks than
that scary looking long one.

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The second goal of your affiliate marketing infrastructure is tracking. You need a way to
track the number of clicks your links receive, and while any good affiliate program will
provide you with this information, it’s nice to have it in a handy dashboard where you
can compare programs. Any of the paid platforms or plugins will provide this
information, and allow you to see, for example, which of the hos ting companies you
recommend receive more clicks.

Note: It is not a good idea to rely on unbranded link shorteners such as bit.ly or goo.gl.
While these services are convenient, the links are often seen as spammy, and the service
can vanish, leaving you with hundreds of broken links to track down and fix.

Exercise: Plan for the Future

I have purchased a domain to use as a link shortener:

- OR -

I already have WordPress installed on this domain, and will install a plugin to handle
my affiliate link redirects:

STEP 2: START WITH THE PRODUCTS YOU USE AND LOVE

Now that you have the infrastructure in place, it’s time to start thinking about what
products and services you’ll promote. For most business owners, that starts with the
products you’re already using. Here’s why:

 You know the pros and cons of them and can speak about them with authority
 You’re already a fan—and fans make much better evangelists than anyone else
 Buyers will trust your recommendations knowing that you use the product

Think about the bloggers and entrepreneurs you follow online. You’ve likely seen them
promoting affiliate products. You may have even purchased some of them. And by far
the most effective promotions are those that maintain their authenticity. You’re more
likely to click through to find out more about a product or service if the email or blog
post is authentic and transparent, sharing not only the good but also the bad.

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You can’t write or speak with authority unless you’ve actually used the product or
service.

Here’s another reason to begin with the products you’re already using: chances are
good that your ideal audience needs them, too. For example, if you’re a business coach
and one of the marketing strategies you share with your clients is to create free
webinars to grow their mailing list, this is likely a technique you’ve used yourself. That
means you have a preferred:

 Landing page creator such as LeadPages or ClickFunnels

 Webinar hosting solution
 Mailing list provider

Promoting these to your clients and fans is a natural, easy fit. In fact, making
recommendations of this sort is more about helping your readers than it is about
making a sale.

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Exercise: Find and Sign Up for Affiliate Programs

Start by creating a list of products and services you use and love:

Then visit the websites to see if they have affiliate programs. You’ll generally find the
answer in the footer of the website (look for a link called “affiliates” or “partners”) or on
their FAQ pages. Here are 3 Super Easy Ways I Find Affiliate Programs.

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Sign up for each program and make note of your login details, your unique link, and the
short link you’re creating in your system.

Affiliate Program Login Credentials My Unique Link My Short Link

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STEP 3: RESEARCH COMPLEMENTARY PRODUCTS

What other resources do your readers need? Complementary products and services are
handy to have as well, and this is true whether you’re a business coach, a lifestyle
blogger, a personal finance blogger or even a service provider.

Think about the strategies and solutions you most often recommend to your
readers/clients. What other help will they need to make use of your ideas? Using the
example above of a business coach recommending free webinars for list building, your
client may want to run Facebook ads to drive traffic to her webinar. If you’re not an
expert, this is an ideal complementary training you can promote. All it takes is to find a
valuable training program with an affiliate program, and you can add to your revenue
stream while helping your clients.

The list of possibilities for complementary products is endless, and you can find dozens
simply by searching for [product] + “affiliate program” in Google.

A few options to consider are:

 WordPress themes and plugins

 Business training
 Facebook ads training
 Graphics programs
 Service providers (VAs, copywriters, etc.)
 Software
 Business and life coaching
 Templates and checklists
 Web hosting
 Project management systems
 File sharing programs
 Social media tools
 Shopping carts
 Payment processors

Exercise: Brainstorm Complementary Products and Apply to Their Affiliate Programs

Note: Not all products will offer affiliate programs. If the product is good and your
clients and followers need it, you should share it anyway. And if you’re going to share it,
I would encourage you to create a short link for it. You never know when a product
owner will open an affiliate program, and if you already have a short link, you can
quickly add it to your marketing plan, just by changing out the redirect in your link
shortener.

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Affiliate Program Login Credentials My Unique Link My Short Link

STEP 4: CONSIDER THE COMPETITION

We all have “competition”. Other bloggers who target the same or very similar
audience, for example, and you may think that their programs are off limits when it
comes to affiliate promotions.

You’d be wrong!

Consider this: Even if you and Jane the Finance Blogger both offer personal finance
advice to stay-at-home moms who want to save money with budgeting, you have very
different styles. Maybe you take a no-nonsense approach, while Jane makes heavy use
of positive affirmations and manifestation techniques.

Clearly, you speak to two very different people, even though you operate in the same
space. This makes for a perfect opportunity to promote Jane’s services and products to
readers in your audience who may not actually be a good fit for you. You get to connect
them someone (Jane) who may better fit their style…and you may earn income from it
in the long run!

Or what about clients who come to you needing more advanced services than you can
offer? Or those newbies who are just getting started when you prefer to work with
more established businesses? Or even those who really want to learn how to create
their own products, while you focus on earning money through advertising networks?

These are all great opportunities to promote your competition as well.

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Of course none of this means that promoting your competition should be your first
choice! Ideally, you want your readers and fans to buy from you. But when it becomes
clear that you just aren’t a good fit, don’t be afraid to offer a different solution. I call this
getting in “creation mode” rather than “competition mode”.

Exercise: Scope Out Your Competition’s Affiliate Offers

Affiliate Program Login Credentials My Unique Link My Short Link

STEP 5: OTHER TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Not all affiliate products are digital. In fact, everyone’s favorite online retailer, Amazon,
runs one of the largest affiliate programs, and it’s the perfect solution for books,
planners, electronics and other physical goods recommendations.

Regardless of the type of products or services you provide, chances are good you read
books in your field, use a computer, a microphone, a lighting kit for videos, and other
physical products. And your readers use them, too! Why not incorporate these items
into your affiliate promotions? Not only will you earn commissions, but again, you’ll be
helping your audience to make the best choice for their business as well.

Be aware, however, that physical goods typically pay a much smaller commission than
do digital goods. The reason for this is clear if you think about it. There is no
manufacturing cost for an ebook or training course. While it might cost a bookseller $7
to produce a $10 paperback, and ebook can be delivered for pennies.

For most digital goods, you can expect to earn between 50% and 75%. For physical
goods, between 4% and 8% is typical.

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Besides Amazon, there are many, many other affiliate programs available for tangible
goods. Two large affiliate networks, Share-a-Sale and Commission Junction, offer
hundreds of small and large retail stores you can work with. You can also find dozens
that are run independently, just by searching Google. And again, keep in mind the
products you personally use. Many of those sellers will have affiliate programs as well.

Exercise: Brainstorm Physical Products

Make a list of physical products you can routinely recommend to your clients and
followers. Include those you use yourself as well as other related items.

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Exercise: Register for the Appropriate Affiliate Programs

Affiliate Program Login Credentials

STEP 6: INCORPORATING AFFILIATE MARKETING IN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

OUTREACH
Once you know what products you’ll be promoting, it’s time to begin working them into
your everyday conversations. For most of us, that means social media. Your Facebook
page and groups (that you own), your Twitter stream, LinkedIn and other platforms are
all ideal for sharing the tools and resources you recommend.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, either. Something as simple as a Tweet that says, “I

just picked up this new book, and it’s filled with great business ideas . Have you read it?
[LINK]” can lead to sales.

Of course, you can (and should) incorporate relevant products and services into your
campaign strategy as well. For example, if you’re a business coach rolling out a new
group coaching program that will require members to take big steps out of their comfort
zone, you might consider warming them up with some books on mindset and goal
setting. If a podcasting course is on the agenda, then it’s important that your followers

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have the right equipment, so you might want to share links for microphones and
recording equipment.

The real keys to success with affiliate marketing—regardless of the venue—is relevance
and authenticity. Just dropping links to random products and programs will not bring
you success. But when the products are clearly related to your overall strategies and
teachings, and you can speak about them with authority and authenticity, affiliate
marketing can be extremely profitable.

One word of caution about promoting affiliate products via social media. Some social
platforms, like Pinterest for instance, allow you to promote affiliate products only if you
announce that the link is your affiliate link. A good habit to adopt is to always add a
hashtag like #affiliatelink or similar wording to any affiliate product pins you post.

If the social media platform completely forbids the use of affiliate links, then you should
create social media posts that link to your website or blog, and from there link to
relevant offers. The bottom line? Always read the terms of service, both for the product
you’re promoting as well as the platforms on which you promote them.

Exercise: Add Affiliate Promotions to Your Social Media Calendar

Product Social Post Link

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STEP 7: BLOGGING AND AFFILIATE MARKETING: THE PERFECT MATCH

In step 6, I mentioned that if you cannot link directly to affiliate offers from some
platforms, and that you should instead link to your blog or website first. This is good
advice, and will become the heart of your affiliate marketing strategy.

There are two easy ways to do this:

1. Product reviews
2. Resource pages

If you’re blogging in your business (and you should be) then product reviews offer an
ideal way to not only add more content to your blog, but also to earn a nice affiliate
commission—even if you hate a product!

A good product review isn’t just cheerleading. Remember, your followers count on you
to give them the best information. You’re the person they trust to be fair and honest
with them, and they’re counting on you to give them real advice, not just push products
to make a buck. So it’s critical that your product reviews are thorough and that they
share both the good and the bad aspects of a product (there are always things you don’t
like!)

Here’s another tip: Don’t make it a habit to accept free products in exchange for a
review. While this can help you save a few dollars, you’ll often times miss out on
important issues (i.e. confusing steps for readers, customer service problems, etc.).

These issues—when they do come up—can cause endless frustration to your readers,
and if you don’t know about it, you can’t warn them. Always pay for the products you
intend to review. It will make all the difference in your authenticity.

There’s another important reason to pay for products you review. In the US (other
countries may vary) if you are given a product for free, then you are considered to have
written a paid promotion, and that relationship must be disclosed, according to the FCC.

You also must disclose if you are being paid an affiliate commission, so be sure to follow
the guidelines for your country before adding links to your blog or website. You can
learn more about affiliate disclosures here. If you have specific questions or concerns,
you may want to consider speaking with a lawyer who specializes in this area.

The second way to promote affiliate products on your website or blog is to create a
resources page (here’s my resource page). Done well, this page can be one of the most
visited pages on your site, simply because your readers want to know what tools and
programs you’re using to run your business.

On your resources page, you’ll want to include a categorized listing of the tools you
personally use, such as WordPress themes and plugins, training programs, software and
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other tools, books to read, planners, project management systems…the list of

possibilities is long!

Ideally, you want your resources page to be a valuable, well, resource for people, so
don’t limit it to just affiliate programs. Even if a product doesn’t have a commission
structure, include it anyway if your readers need it. Also, be sure to add a short
explanation (a paragraph will do) about what the product is and why you endorse it.

Exercise: Create a List of Products to Review

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Exercise: Create a List of Products for Your Resources Page

Product Why You Recommend It Link

STEP 8: YOUR PRODUCTS AND PROGRAMS

Whether you’re writing ebooks or developing a 3-month online course, there are lots of
opportunities to share your tools and resources with your readers. Don’t make the
mistake of thinking that just because they’ve paid for a product (your course, for
example) that you should never promote anything via an affiliate link. You are not
obligated to eliminate an income stream simply because someone has paid you—just be
sure you’re promoting with integrity.

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Remember, too, that your buyers have trusted you to provide the best advice to them,
and part of that advice relies on recommending the right tools. Not only that, but by
earning a small profit from those recommendations, you can help keep the costs of your
program down.

Just as you do on your website, your products will benefit from including a list of
resources. Some ideas are:

 A downloadable shopping list for members

 A resource guide to include as a welcome gift
 A resources page in your members’ site
 Relevant resources and tools shared in your private Facebook group or forum
 Next step products and services for those who are graduating from your
program
 Recommended reading lists for new clients

The key—as always—is to ensure you’re promoting products and services that offer
value to your readers/clients, that are relevant to your trainings, and that you personally
feel good about endorsing. Always come from a place of service and integrity, and you’ll
stop selling, and instead simply enjoy a little profit just for doing what you would do
anyway.

Exercise: Map Your Products and Relevant Promotions

My Product Relevant Resource Link

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STEP 9: REVIEW YOUR EMAIL AUTORESPONDER FOR OPPORTUNITIES

Your mailing list is the ideal place to make affiliate offers. Since the majority of people
on your list are likely not buyers, but instead are seeking information, it’s the perfect
chance for you to share your best resources with them—both your products and
affiliate promotions.

Note: The Core Affiliate Strategy Guide is the plan that myself and several of my readers
are implementing to increase our affiliate earnings.

If you have existing autoresponders, now is a good time to read through them looking
for opportunities. For example, if you have a series of emails that promote your ebook,
what happens to subscribers who get to the end without purchasing? For most online
businesses, these subscribers are simply lumped into a segment to be sent the
occasional broadcast message.

But what if instead you move them into another sequence that promotes your
competitor’s product or service? Perhaps these subscribers, like the potential clients in
step 4, simply don’t resonate with you. They might find your competitor a much better
fit, and you would be doing them a disservice by not introducing them to her products.

Look for related product placements as well. If you send an email with instructions for
setting up a new website, you should also link out to your preferred hosting provider,
WordPress theme developer, and any important plugins you recommend. The same
goes for any actionable content—if you’re asking your readers to do something, be sure
you’re also sharing the tools they’ll need to get the job done.

You can also create an entire autoresponder series around affiliate promotions! People
love to know how others run their business, manage their time, organize their
household, budget their money, and any number of other tasks. Create a downloadable
resource guide with affiliate links to your recommended tools, then set up a landing
page to collect addresses.

In your email follow-up series, you can dig deep into each tool, explaining what it is, why
you like it, and any tips you have for making it work better. And of course, you’ll
populate these emails with your affiliate links.

You’ll grow your list AND generate some passive income as well!

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Exercise: Map Your Autoresponders and Relevant Promotions

Autoresponder Product to Include Link

Series/Email

STEP 10: CREATE CANNED RESPONSES IN YOUR EMAIL (FOR THOSE

LOOKING FOR PRODUCTS YOU DON'T SELL)
One place that’s often overlooked when it comes to affiliate promotions is your
everyday email. While you might think that the only correspondence that will take place
will be about your blog posts and products, you’d be mistaken. In fact, you are likely to
get emails looking for advice on a variety of topics, and you cannot possibly have a
product to cover them all.

Of course, you don’t want to respond like, “Sorry, I don’t offer anything like that.” So
instead you make recommendations, because you genuinely want to be of service,
right? The only difference now is that you’ll start making those recommendations
through an affiliate link (if possible).

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Take a look at your emails and blog comments, and look for frequently asked questions
and problem areas your readers are having. Take a little bit of time to create resources
you can share. For example, if you offer courses to bloggers who want to grow their
income from low six figures to high six figures or more, you probably don’t have much to
offer a brand new blogger. But that doesn’t mean they won’t show up looking for help.

So next time you receive a support ticket asking something like, “How can I get started
as a blogger?” you can pull out your canned response and reply:

“Here at [YOUR COMPANY NAME] we work with established bloggers and

marketers, but for those just starting out, we highly recommend [PRODUCT OR
PROGRAM LINK]. Their training is exactly what you need to get started quickly!”

Another option for promoting affiliate offers is on your FAQ page using the same
parameters as above. Create recommendations for products and services that do not
directly compete with you, and list them on your FAQ page.

Finally, don’t forget about your email signature. A simple P.S. can be a great place to
remind people about books and tools you routinely recommend.

Exercise: List Your Most Frequent Questions and Relevant Affiliate Promotions

Question Recommendation Link

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STEP 11: TRACK, TEST & TWEAK

Affiliate promotions are great for adding dollars to your bottom line, but unless you’re
keeping track of your results, you won’t be able to improve.

Now is the time to set a goal for your affiliate income, and start tracking your sales so
you can make any necessary changes. This can be as simple as an Excel spreadsheet.

Start by listing all the products and programs you’re routinely promoting either via
social media, in your blog, or in your autoresponders. You can leave out one-off
promotions, such as a new training launch. For this, you want to concentrate on the
getting the most bang for your buck with ongoing promotions.

Remember way back in step 1 when we created the infrastructure for your promotions
by installing a link shortener? This is where that tool will really shine. You’ll be able to
see how many clicks you sent to a link, and when you compare that number with the
dollar value, you will instantly see if there is room for improvement.

You will also be able to quickly change any programs that are not performing, without
tracking down every single link out there in the wild. For example, if you used to
recommend a certain hosting company, but sales have dropped off due to their
increasingly poor reputation, it’s a simple thing to switch out those links, just by
updating your link shortener.

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Exercise: Create Your Tracking Sheet

Product Clicks Sales EPC (sales / clicks)

i.e. Daily Planner 157 $54 $2.90

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NEXT STEPS
My hope is that you will use this planner as a springboard to generating more money
from your affiliate marketing efforts.

For me, I took it a step further by purchasing The Core Affiliate Strategy Guide and by
joining Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. These resources go into even more detail on
how to be successful with affiliate marketing.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to start implementing the steps in this planner. If
you have any questions, you can email me at mompreneurmoney@gmail.com.

Wishing you much success on your journey. Enjoy the ride!

Kari Sayers, MompreneurMoney.com

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