A Beginner's Guide to Affiliate Marketing by Lucy Rycroft

What is affiliate marketing?
It is the means by which bloggers and other online influencers can earn commission on the books and other resources they recommend online.

How does it work?
When you sign up to become an affiliate, you're given the resources to create unique links which lead your readers to a particular product, but tracked back to you, so that if they make a purchase, you receive the commission.

How much can you earn?
5% is standard, but it can be higher - it depends on the company. Some companies offer increased commission rates at particular times of the year, or on particular products.

Is it legit?
Absolutely! When you buy a product in a shop, the shop effectively earns commission for bringing that product to a market (you). That's how shops make money.

What you're doing is no different: you are bringing products to a market. Your readers have begun to know you through your writing, so they trust your recommendations. You've done the hard work in gaining their trust, so earning a small commission is a just reward.

Does it cost my readers anything?
Nope! And you can reassure them of this when you write your disclaimer. They pay exactly the same as they would have done - your commission comes from the company as a thank you for sending customers their way.

Do your readers need to know you're using affiliate links?
Yup. By law (I believe), you need to make it very clear that you're using affiliate links. I've set up a blanket statement via a free Wordpress plug-in called FMTC Affiliate Disclosure (search for this under the 'Plugins' section of your Wordpress blog). This means that I don't have to type out the wording each time - it appears automatically at the top of each blog post. I also have the same wording at the bottom of each email I send out.

The wording I use - which you're free to copy - is:

'I use affiliate links in some blog posts. If you click through and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to yourself. Thank you for your support.'

In addition, if you're an Amazon affiliate, you need to have the following statement visible on your website:

'This site is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.'

I did this simply by adding it to the bottom of my fixed front page. Failure to include this wording on your website will result in Amazon striking you off their list of affiliates, so it's really important.

Which companies offer affiliate marketing?
Pretty much all of them! Try Googling the company which sells the product you're mentioning, plus the words 'affiliate scheme' and see what comes up.

You may find yourself directed to a third-party site like Awin, Rakuten or Webgains - that's OK, these are trusted affiliate sites which look after the affiliate side of a lot of different companies. You may even get a higher rate of commission than going through the company directly (if that's even an option, as many companies don't run their own affiliate scheme).

How do I get started?
Simply find the affiliate schemes you want to join, and sign up for an affiliate account. It takes minutes to do (although you may need to wait several days for approval.) Here are some links to popular affiliate sites:

• Amazon
• Rakuten (they have Eden on their list so are a good one if you're likely to be recommending Christian books and resources)
• Awin (they look after Wordery, Book Depository and a whole load of other companies - although Wordery also has their own scheme)

Where should I use my affiliate links?
Anywhere you can! Blog posts, emails, social media - just make sure you always add your disclaimer so people know they're clicking on your affiliate link.

In terms of types of blog posts where affiliate links can be used, book reviews are the obvious choice, but how about a round-up post, where you recommend your 10 favourite Christian novels, or your top 20 Christmas gift ideas? These can be great ways to insert a few affiliate links.

I have affiliate links in the free ebook I offer to new subscribers. The ebook is all about how to connect with God in the early stages of parenthood, so naturally I've mentioned books and other resources that I've found helpful.

Think creatively, too. I recently wrote a list of 100 free/cheap summer holiday activities for children. A week after I wrote the post, I went back in and added as many affiliate links as were relevant. Whilst the activities were perfectly possible with what people would already have, I thought it wouldn't harm to add the affiliate links for products in case people had a few pounds to spare and were looking to buy some new games and activities for their kids.

Does my reader have to buy exactly what I recommend?
Nope! And this is the beauty. Once a reader has clicked through your link, anything they purchase will earn you commission.

And there's more. Most affiliate schemes store their cookies for 30 days (although Amazon is much shorter, just 24 hours). This means that if a reader clicks through your link and decides not to buy anything, but has a change of heart a few days later and returns to the website to make a purchase, as long as they haven't clicked anyone else's affiliate link in the meantime, you will still earn the commission.

How do people actually make any real money from affiliate marketing?
I remember my very first affiliate earning. I was at our church toddler group with my sons, briefly checked my email, and saw that I'd earned the grand sum of 80p!! Within the morning I'd racked up a few more sales, and earned £3!!

Excited though I was, it would take me a year to hit the £25 payment threshold with that particular affiliate. So, having shared all this info with you about affiliate marketing, I'm hardly making a salary from it.

Essentially, you will make money from affiliate marketing if you:
* keep building your blog audience, attracting more traffic to your blog and increasing your list of email subscribers
* get smart about using affiliate links in as many blog posts/emails as possible

The way I see it is that if you're recommending books and other resources anyway, then you may as well earn a little money - however little - for your efforts. As we plug away building up our audience, you and I will find that, little by little, our earnings will start to grow.

Good luck!

Lucy Rycroft writes Christian parenting blog Desertmum. Formerly a teacher and PGCE lecturer, she now divides her time between freelance writing and raising her kids. Her first book, 'Redeeming Advent', releases on 11.10.19, and a children's book (which has spent most of its life being delayed) will hopefully follow early in 2020. Lucy lives in York with her husband and four children.