Read Time: 2min / Work Time: 40hrs

In this edit of the 2hr Workday, I’m sharing the affiliate strategy I use to promote someone else while boosting my own brand street cred. Let’s roll.

If you are building your multi-earning empire (aka side-hustles or multiple revenue streams), you will inevitably run into the PROMOTE/DELIVER issue.

That’s why I like to take the ‘deliver’ out of the equation as much as possible.

Pre-recorded courses and tools (hello evergreen) is my preferred way to streamline the delivery (make once, automate the delivery) of whatever I'm selling but that’s not all.

I also affiliate with tools and even other course creators to sell without having to create/deliver/maintain a full program.

Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Make money, someone takes care of the client.

Not so fast…

The Downside of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliating for another course is basically promoting someone else’s offer instead of yours so it comes with some wear and tear:

• Offer and list fatigue: People can only be ‘offered’ so much better tuning out, unfollowing or unsubscribing.
• Leaky leads: If you are using ads or posting on social media but sending people to the creator’s lead magnet, they get a primed list of leads, while you end up not growing your own audience and list much.
• Break the trust with your audience: if you decide to promote something that is not aligned with your audience’s views, you might get a case of the ‘unsubscribes’ or get canceled altogether (if you are a big shot there is).

Before we dig any deeper, read the Affiliate 101 post if you need a refresher on how to get started with affiliate marketing.

How to promote an Affiliate and still boost your Expert Status

Even with all the cons, affiliates can fill your promo calendar without the burden of having to create new offers or launches.

After 3 years of affiliating for bigger programs, I have 3 hacks that guarantee you will boost your own brand even if you are ultimately selling someone else’s offer.

Pick the Right Offer to Promote

There are a million affiliate opportunities out there: tech, courses, memberships, apps and even newsletters. Which means you are the one responsible for CURATING the right offer to the right person, in this case your audience.

The first and most important thing to look for is AUDIENCE FIT. Is it really solving a problem that they have right now? Does it complement what you help them with (e.g. Digital Course Academy helps people that are just starting out with courses and are not ‘ready’ to evergreen).

A second major checkbox when selecting affiliates is to recommend WHAT I USE or what works really well for clients in the agency.

The third criteria is STABILITY. If I’m creating a whole ‘thing’, it better happen every year so I can just copy and paste my promo. I only affiliate for courses that have been around for a couple of years or more and for evergreen programs/tools.

The final checkbox is REVENUE POTENTIAL. Since my audience is not big, I can’t assume I will sell a ton of something. The numbers are just not there. So I prioritize affiliates that pay $1000 or more per sale so even if I sell a few, it is still worthwhile.

Be Intentional
​I wrote a whole post about it so I’m just gonna say…Either you are in or you are out :) Make a plan, mark on your calendar* and behave like it is one of your launches.

*Quick question: I just finished my next QUARTERLY LAUNCH PLAN…do you want me to share about it or you got it? Can you reply to this email and let me know your thoughts? I will make a $2 donation to a charity for your time.

Create Your Own Launch

The most successful hack for affiliate promos is to create your own mini launch around the main event.

2 years ago I created a 10-day bootcamp IN SUPPORT OF Amy’s course launch. It was super clear that I was an affiliate and they would be invited to join her program but I gave them a small win on my own and it worked like magic. Almost 10% conversion rate + I got to keep all the leads from the ads I ran.

Creating your own way to nurture and grow your list is the best way to win double with the effort.

I also create a ‘CATCH-ALL’ page. Big affiliate programs don’t allow to share your bonuses until a few days before the launch and if you use paid ads (which I always do) the links go to their pages - meaning you can’t retarget traffic or optimize for conversions 😭

I’m getting very technical here, but my ‘workaround’ for those issues was to create my own page with my own waitlist form so I can create my own mini list. It was a big hit when I shared it with James Wedmore’s team and they are using it for their affiliates as well.

I call it CATCH-ALL because I add all lead magnets, interviews, anything I have from the creator into that page. One place to catch all things launch.

Bonus Hack: Put Your Face On It
​From ads to any piece of content, I add my face next to it. No shame! I want to be very clear that I’m the one related to this product.

I also like to create my own mini branding for the effort to make it even more recognizable that I’m a part of it.

The idea is that you generate some goodwill for your own brand for being associated with the creator or tool you are promoting. Here is an ad I literally just ran for this affiliate:

Alright, this email was deep but I wanna challenge you to add one affiliate launch in the next year to see how it feels. Even if you can’t do all the things, try one to see if you like the game.

And check out DCA if you want to create a digital course....I’m here to help automate the rest!

Roberta

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PS: I'm an affiliate for Digital Course Academy because it is sort of a pre requisite...I cannot help you evergreen a course if you don't know how to create one :) If you decide to join us inside this cohort use the link here and I will send you a full bonus program for free! and I might get a small commission 😂

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