This past week I met with a client who has a solid business plan. Her business has been growing steadily for the past ten years, she has a great web presence, and her products and services are well defined. 

Like most businesses these days, she’s looking for new ways to bring in income. Her company is growing, but there’s always room for improvement.

So I mentioned affiliate sales.

Affiliate Sales
Most people are familiar with Google’s Pay Per Click advertising. By placing ads from Google on your blog or website, Google will pay you a fee for every time someone clicks on one of the ads. Depending on the traffic your site receives, you can earn anywhere from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars per month.

For a lot of businesses, Google Ads are to salesy. They want the primary focus to be on their products and services, not ads from other networks.

Yet for every business model, there are logical products and services that go along with your business model. They enhance it, and in some cases make your products and services sell even better. A couple of ideas are:

• A web designer can sell domain names and hosting packages
• A nutritionist can sell vitamin supplements

If you’re new to affiliate marketing, here’s a comprehensive list of affiliate networks:
http://www.paulsonmanagementgroup.com/affiliate_center/affiliate_networks.php

Because you are forming a business relationship with these networks, they will require you to apply and be approved before you start using their information on your sites. But with most, you can go in and take a look at the companies they represent before you get started.

These affiliate networks are just your starting point. They are built around companies that use affiliates as a large portion of their sales team. But for many industries, you may find yourself doing better with smaller, more personal business. And in many cases these businesses have affiliate programs, but don’t promote them through networks.

In order to find these programs, come up with a list of businesses that are complimentary to your own. You could easily promote their products or services in addition to your own. Then begin your search.

As was the case with my client, she had a handful of companies that she’s already worked with in the past. They have complimentary products, and they give finders fees when one of her clients uses them. By contacting these companies, we solidified the relationships, created a tracking system for referrals, and began building a small income stream that takes little to no work on the part of my client.

One important tip is not to grow your affiliates into a huge selection. The last thing you want to do is confuse your web visitors. Your affiliates should compliment, not overwhelm.

If you’re placing banners on your home page, think two to six advertisements. Keep it simple, professional, and use as an accent to your existing products and services.

You can also use your affiliate products and services as blog posts. Talk about the relationship, and how these products or services complement your own. Show people how to use them. Show them why they should trust you and your referral. And don’t be afraid to mention your affiliate relationship. The last thing you want to do is surprise a client and have them find out you made money on the referral through another source.

image source woodsy

Definitely.

There are many other opportunities for you to earn income from other businesses products and services.

Think about your business. If someone uses your products or services, are there complementary products and services that you don’t sell, that your customers also use regularly?

Let me give you an example.

Through my company, I offer web and blog design, online marketing strategy programs, and a variety of coaching and training products. In order for my customers to get started online, at a minimum, they have to have a domain name. So I’ve become an affiliate of a program that sells domain names. I use it as a convenience for my customers, and yes, and a small, extra stream of income.

How can you set up something similar for you own business? Take a look at these tips.

1. Take a look at your current products and services. Is there any other product/service you recommend to your own clients on a regular basis? Talk with business owners that sell these products/services, and see if you can put together a package deal. You’ll both get more income by selling the two together.

2. Analyze online affiliate programs. There are a ton of companies that offer affiliate programs. Find one or two that fits with your business model, and use them on your website/blog. You can look through CommissionJunction, ShareASale, or OneNetworkDirect for ideas.

3. Tell people about your connection. Being an affiliate is a normal part of doing business these days. People are used to two companies partnering up, or receiving a commission for a referral. It’s a part of doing business. Don’t hide the fact that you’re doing the referring. Have faith in what you are selling, and really believe the service/product is the best you can buy. You can’t refer what you don’t use yourself.

I was talking with a friend over the weekend who already has a successful business. She owns a service business, and consults with local business owners.

She already works 40 hours per week, has no desire to increase her hours, but would love another revenue source that she really doesn’t have to work that hard for. Her question was, “Can I do that with a blog?”

You bet

Anytime you work one to one with a client, you have the ability to turn it into a one to many relationship.

So if you’re spending one hour with a client giving them technical advice, wouldn’t ten other business owners pay to hear that same material?

And if you’re spending one hour with a client in Denver, Colorado, would someone in Florida (or Australia, or Ireland, etc) pay to hear that same advice?

Enter my newest piece of software, the Membership Plugin. With this program, you have the ability to set up any of your information as a membership site – meaning people will have to pay to have access to it.

You can create pay per posts, allowing you to set a price for individual posts, or set up entire portions of your blog behind a password, requiring a fee to access it.

My newest release of Six Figure Photographer is set up on the membership platform, and I’m very impressed with the way it runs.

The great thing about a blog is you can attach anything to it. So if you’re attaching text, photos or videos, you can just as easily charge for your information (even a nominal fee).

Will people pay for your information? Definitely – if its of value. People love step-by-step programs, how-to information, and things that make their lives easier. If you can create it, you can find people willing to pay for it.

[Need some help setting up your blog with the Membership plugin? We’ll have you up and running in no time.]

image source Renaudeh