BlogWorldExpo 08: Affiliate Marketing Secrets for Bloggers

Posted on Oct 16, 2008 in Affiliate Marketing, Conferences & Networking | 6 comments

I was looking forward to attending this panel despite knowing that I probably knew all there was to know on this subject, because I knew two of the panelists.  Boy was I wrong – it just goes to show you that there’s always something new to be learned when attending trade shows! The panel consisted of:

I was proud of the boys – despite having a crowd of general noobs to affiliate marketing they did an excellent job and really threw out some solid information.

Bullet Point Review!

  • Blended ads look nicer and work better.
  • PopShops has a WordPress plugin that’s super easy to use.
  • Remember to work the ads in creatively.
  • Think and plan for the long term.
    • Your blog is your brand.
    • Be the expert.
    • Share your space.
  • Affiliate marketing is a great start but doesn’t stop there.
    • Be careful – advertising the wrong way can tarnish your image.
    • Think like a business and set goals.
    • Craft a business plan and follow it.
    • Look for other retail opportunities (your own affiliate program?)
  • There’s lots of opportunity for creativity.
  • Most people don’t know it’s an affiliate link and most don’t care (when using text links).
  • .htaccess redirect helps clean links up – fairly simple process.
  • 50%+ of subscribers come by email.
  • Utilize social media to build readership and establish yourself as an expert.
  • People have to get there before they can click.
  • MaxBlogPress, OpenX are good free ad serving plugins.
  • Ninja Affiliate 1.5 is a paid plugin that automatically ads contextual links to keywords you enter in.
  • Peel away ads (page ears) also work well
  • Target your ads to your audience.
  • Yahoo! Answers works well to help establish yourself within your niche as an expert.
  • Don’t venture too far outside your niche.  You want to upsell and compliment your blog.
  • The first thing you’d do?  Tim says sign up with the affiliate networks.  Shawn suggested doing a Google Search to get a feel for your competition.  Mike advises to make sure your site works and that content is up before applying for the affiliate programs – the merchant has to want you.
  • Spend the $10 on a domain & it’ll get over the first threshold when affiliate managers review your application.

I don’t have any notes from the Q&A portion of the panel because a lot of it was specific to those bloggers asking the questions – they wanted to know specifics.  Personally I don’t think a Q&A session is really the time for that but I understand the desire for people to take any opportunity they can get to ask a question of an expert!

6 Comments

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  1. Andrew Wee

    Hi Trisha,
    I am really liking all the synopses you do from the events.

    I bet you could even bundle a “Best of” from various events into a small and highly useful PDF report!

  2. josh-affiliate programs

    There are thousands of affiliate programs on the internet for anyone to make money with, a concern i keep on receiving from many people is. It takes so long to make money with affiliate programs. I always reply that this is a business like any other business.

  3. TrishaLyn

    Thanks Andrew! That's a great idea!

  4. TrishaLyn

    Too true… some people really see this as a way to make a quick buck, but that's really not the case.

  5. ginger

    Just seen this, It is great!!!
    Thanks, Ginger

  6. internet marketing secrets

    This is some really good stuff for beginner affiliates. Just to reiterate, affiliate money is not easy! There is money in it though, just keep working away.