Introduction

By now, it is quite possible that you own a blog and you are searching for different options in order to monetize the content and generate profits. If you arrived at this article just through curiosity, I’m sure you won’t regret it once you have learned some expert monetization tips after reading this article. 

In fact, according to 68.52% of people, a blog gives a website credibility, they are more likely to buy the products from a trusted blogger. In addition, our own experience as consumers reveals that we get more engaged with content that includes images and videos. According to this report, 85% of people are more likely to buy a product after seeing an explainer video, and 91% of people say they want to see more online videos from brands in 2023. So it is clear that consumers love to interact more with videos and their whole experience becomes more satisfying for them. 

One effective action that will generate more traffic to your blog is by adding coupons and discounts. Nearly always, end users’ attention is on the price point of a product, they are more likely to pick the advertising option with any type of discount. 

As long as monetizing your blog starts with attracting potential leads who are more prepared to buy your product, it is crucial to invest additional time in the way you generate qualified traffic. 

5 steps to monetize a blog with affiliate marketing

1# Learn the concept of affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is the process by which affiliates refer with the aim of trying to sell the products or services of any brand in exchange for a previously established commission. Affiliates can be webmasters, influencers, bloggers, YouTubers, or even a marketer with an Instagram account. In essence, the affiliate earns a commission each time a user makes a purchase, or the action specified through the unique link associated with their promotion. 

Read more about affiliate marketing and the reasons why it is effective and useful for any business in our article 5 Reasons to Use Affiliate Marketing.

2# Choose your niche and identify your audience

Google Trends is a useful tool to discover what is up in the popularity search currently. Carry out an in-depth analysis to identify the most followed niche by a large audience and think about your knowledge and interests related to the niche. If you share ideas and thoughts that you feel more comfortable talking about, the audience will recognize you as an authentic creator that can be trusted.

Join online communities, Facebook groups and forums to learn market trends and how consumers interact with the products before and after the purchase stage. Search for product reviews, so that you can build a good picture of the target audience and popular products that can be aimed at your audience. 

3# Find top-performing traffic sources

A traffic source is a platform through which users find your website, landing page or affiliate link. The aim of using traffic sources is that they can drive potential customers to the CPA offer you are promoting. In this way, the traffic source becomes an essential factor for the online advertising of your product or offer. 

Additionally, traffic sources can be either organic or paid traffic. Organic traffic comes from non-paid sources. It is not surprising that Google’s search engine is the most popular type of organic traffic. On the other hand, paid traffic comes from any advertising platform, such as an ad network, through which you pay to advertise your brand or products.

Let’s take a look at the list of top free traffic sources for affiliate marketing:

• SEO Traffic
• TikTok
• Instagram 
• Forums
• Pinterest
• Youtube
• Quora

and here is the list of top paid traffic sources:

• Google ads
• Push ads
• Native ads
• Display ads
• Social media ads

Choosing the best traffic source is not a simple step as it depends on many factors that you should consider: expertise in online advertising, niche and target audience, investment capability, model price, etc. However many of the paid traffic platforms have campaign automation tools that can help you optimize a campaign such as smart bidding to win ad zones for the optimal price, sending the most traffic to the best-performing ad creative and landing page, conversion tracking and more.

4# Find the best affiliate program

Probably the most important step to being successful in affiliate marketing is to work with a reliable and trustworthy affiliate network. The role of the affiliate network is crucial to pick the most appropriate CPA offer and achieve the best results. 

Indeed, there are plenty of affiliate networks out there but only a few of them are the best ones for your affiliate business. Most commonly, affiliate networks differ in their focus on verticals and GEO’ approach. However, there are many other factors that help make an affiliate choose one affiliate network over another, such as campaign performance, payment frequency, payout prices, conversion flows and last but not least the support from Account Managers.

Here at TORO Advertising, we have been working within the affiliate industry for more than a decade and we are well-known for our premium partnership with advertisers that provides exclusive offers, high payouts and excellent performance. Our team of Account Managers are highly experienced and talented, with a mission of maximizing the revenues of each and every affiliate. Additionally, we have been recognized with several industry awards year after year which confirms our willingness to provide high levels of satisfaction to both affiliates and advertisers. Contact our team through this link and don’t miss the chance to boost your conversion rates with our network.

5# Create high-quality content 

Quality content means that your content is relevant, engaging and useful for your target audience. This is key to ensuring you capture audience interest in what you are promoting. Your goal as an affiliate is to make end users perform a desired action such as buying a product, adding some item to the cart, downloading a movie, subscribing to a service, etc. in order to earn the commission payout. 

Bear in mind that there is no magic formula by having a unique approach to creating high-quality content. Everything depends on the needs and preferences of a specific target audience. That being said, you can work out what will motivate the audience, what the pain points and how your audience will behave in order to create the right content. This may seem like a simple action, but it is tricky as it requires employing a content strategy in order to create readable and engaging content. Don’t panic though. If you want to find out more about how to create high-quality content, you can read this article for lots of great tips and insights. 

4 Tips to make the most of your blog

1. Make sure you understand the needs and problems of your audience
2. Stay up to date with the latest news of the niche
3. Write product reviews and recommendations
4. Focus on helping instead of selling 

Final thoughts

At this stage, all the steps mentioned are equally important. Don’t forget, it is also of prime importance to track and measure the performance of your blog. There is little chance of success without testing and measuring the results. Affiliate marketing KPIs will help you to evaluate the success of any campaign and so optimize it accordingly. Finally, with some patience and effort, you can have a great revenue source from blogging with affiliate marketing.