5 Ways to Make Money With Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot

One of the most frequently asked questions I get about how to do affiliate marketing centers on which affiliate marketing strategies I have success with.

Afterall, what good does it to do find affiliate programs unless you are able to make money with your affiliate marketing?

Many times, blog posts or other online outlets list different types of media used, but I want to share specific affiliate methods that earn me continual commissions on autopilot.

Videos live on forever and can drive traffic/sales on autopilot as can podcasts and blog posts. With email, those can be repurposed and rerun at later dates. After you send an email that is successful, you can take a moment to schedule future mailings so that those also happen on autopilot.

Affiliate Marketing Strategy #1 – Interviews

Whether you use email, videos, blog posts, podcasts or any other media, interviews with the founder of a company or the creator of a product/service can accomplish a few important things:

• Build trust with your audience.
• Allow followers to get to know/like the company/person.
• Answer questions.
• Overcome objections.
• Increase curiosity.

When you’re looking to make money with affiliate marketing interviews, focus on what problems your audience has and incorporate those into the mix. For example, if you are promoting a course that teaches printables, think about the issues your followers have when creating printables.

Do they have problems with finding types of printables to sell? Is the trouble with actually creating the printables? Whatever the issue, make sure to offer solutions during the interview.

There are two types of affiliate interviews I recommend. The first talks about the product/service and the second does not.

• Talking About the Product/Service – Even if your main purpose is to introduce a new product/service to your audience, you’ll still want to include solutions to their common problems.

Also include the story of the product (how it came to be), the story of the creator (why s/he thought to make this product), etc.

Then discuss the actual product, what it is, what the customer gets, why it is special/different/better than other options, etc.

• Not Talking About the Product/Service – This type of interview is more about the overarching topic surrounding the product/service. Keeping with our printables example, you might discuss with the course creator what printables are, why they are so awesome, who can use/sell printables, the struggles many printables sellers face, trends, and so on.

You never mention the product during the interview, but at the end of your video, blog post, podcast, etc. you include the details about how someone can buy (link, coupon, etc.).

Affiliate Marketing Strategy #2 – Reviews

One of the most popular search phrases when a customer is in the information-gathering phase of the buying funnel is “_______ reviews.”  People want to see what others think about the products/services they are considering buying.

While you might think there’s only one way to write reviews, you’d be wrong. You have the freedom to choose from at least three types of reviews that can be presented as videos, blog posts, podcasts and more.

• Single Product Review

This traditional method outlines what the product/service is, why you were interested in it, what it includes, the price, what you like about it, what you don’t like about it and so on. The trick with this affiliate marketing strategy is to bring out the most unique features/benefits to get the interest of shoppers.

• Two-Product Standoff

Very similar to the single product review, a two-product standoff pits one product/service against another and ends with a comparison or even you choosing one over the other.

For a comparison affiliate product / service review, you’ll do better to choose two products that are the same, but offer very different features. Perhaps one meal program that offers gourmet foods and one that provides Keto foods.

If you plan to choose one program over another you’ll want have clear reasons in mind (better value, wider menu, etc.).

Write your reviews then either compare the two products/services or choose a winner.

• Case Study

Creating a case study review requires that you (or someone you know) have some experience with the affiliate product you’ll be promoting. The basis of a case study is to go through the problem someone had that led them to need a solution, how they found the product/service, what steps they took using the product/service and the outcome.

If you’ve used an affiliate product for a while, you should have lots of information you can include in a case study. If not, you can either purchase the product (or gain access free if the product creator allows for that) or connect with someone else who has used it. Then you can tell their story in your case study.

Affiliate Marketing Strategy #3 – Make Use of Affiliate Freebies

When trying to figure out how to do affiliate marketing, using affiliate freebies is one of my all-time favorite strategies.

If the affiliate product/service you’re promoting doesn’t offer freebie funnels (and sadly many don’t) you can still make money with affiliate marketing by creating your own freebie with follow-up funnel. Here are some ideas:

• Think about the issues your followers have that would lead them to want the product/service you’re promoting then create a “5 Ways to Avoid _____” making one way to use the product.

• Maybe there are certain things your audience wants to be able to do that this product excels at. If it’s an antivirus program, for example, create a short ebook/guide, checklist or other freebie that explains the issue and how the software overcomes it.

Affiliate Marketing Strategy #5 – Demos/Tutorials

Demos and tutorials work extremely well for hands-on affiliate products. Software or training that shows how to create something is especially applicable.

When you record or write a demo (be sure to give plenty of screenshots in your blog post, if allowed), have a particular processes in mind that you want to highlight. That way, in addition to clicking around and explaining the features, your followers will walk away with something of they can use.

When you’re wondering how to make money with affiliate marketing, the key is providing value. If you lead them by the hand and introduce them rather than shoving them into the middle and demanding they buy, you’ll find greater success and higher commissions.