- Hey, everybody, this is Roberto Blake of robertoblake.com
helping you create something awesome today.
So today, we're gonna talk about passive income
and affiliate marketing.
This is a topic that I've covered in the past
but I wanted to get into five tips
that can help you guys with your affiliate marketing
because a lot of you told me in my video about it
and my video about Amazon affiliate marketing
that it's something that you guys were struggling with
and that you weren't able to be successful at.
I think that with the tips that I'm gonna give you
and the strategies that I've used,
you can be more effective at it
but it's going to take some work.
It's not gonna be overnight success
and this isn't limited to Amazon.
So let's start with tip number one.
Tip number one for affiliate marketing is that
whatever you're advocating for,
you actually have to have some authority
and people have to think that you're credible
in order for you to recommend it.
One of the things that I have an advantage in
is that I have a career in design and photography
and creative services and in business and marketing
and technology.
I have a lot of actual experience
but before I ever got into affiliate marketing,
I was making a ton of content
that made me credible in those things
to people who are not familiar with me
so it gave them an opportunity
without me pitching them anything
or selling them anything or recommending them anything
to trust my information and to trust my advice.
The other thing is in my content
they've seen me use these things every day.
They've seen me use these in my business and in my career
or for fun or whatever it is that I'm doing.
So they can trust that I'm being genuine and authentic
when I decide to recommend these things
because there are things I've bought with my own money.
So whatever you're going to do affiliate marketing for,
you should be an authority in it.
If you are a fitness instructor and a trainer
then again, recommending the supplements
and recommending the workout programs that you bought
or recommending the workout equipment that you use regularly
but also showing people,
whether it's showing them through your Instagram account
or your Snapchat or your YouTube videos,
that actually really matters a lot.
People need proof that you believe in this thing
and you're not just selling out for money.
So that actually is a really important factor of it.
So number one is be an authority
in the thing you're talking about and be credible
and I'd say that content is a big part of it
because it is your proof.
So before you ever do any of this affiliate marketing,
I would say build up some content
and build up an audience and a relationship with them
so that they feel comfortable to buy from you.
Number two, start with your friends and family.
Maybe you don't have a big following in social media.
Maybe you don't have an email list or a YouTube channel
or a large following in Instagram or Facebook.
That's okay, you have family and you have friends.
You have people who are going to buy things
at some point anyway.
So if you're putting them in a situation where
they're not spending any extra money
and they can help you out,
they're usually more than happy to do it.
So if you have an Amazon affiliate link,
if they're gonna buy stuff from Amazon anyway,
they might as well use your link
so make sure that they have it.
Make sure you put them in a position
to be able to utilize it every time
and that can definitely help you out
and this works beyond Amazon.
Anything else that you want to recommend.
So you can recommend this to friends, family,
coworkers, colleagues, classmates
and that's where you can start to grow
your affiliate marketing
and just depending on what it is
that you're referring and selling,
that could be more than enough for you.
Obviously, there is more of an advantage
if you have a following of some kind
but back in step number one, you will grow that
and I have a ton of videos on the channel
to help you grow that
and I'm gonna be doing more videos
not just for growing on YouTube or growing your email list
but the other social media platforms as well
since I do have some traction there
and I do know what would work.
Tip number three.
Tip number three is a very important one
at least from my perspective
and that is to diversify your affiliate marketing revenue.
I don't just do affiliate marketing with Amazon
even though I do believe it is
where I make the most affiliate money.
On average, I do about 1500 to two thousand dollars
in Amazon affiliate marketing alone.
Amazon lets you disclose those numbers
so I'm okay to tell you guys that.
But again, that's on average.
There could be an up month.
There can be a down month.
But it's still really decent money
as far as affiliate marketing
and a lot of people, they don't make that much
with Amazon affiliate marketing
but I think it has to do with
the category of what you're selling.
In my case, I do reviews for some high end products.
That includes laptops.
Some of those I bought.
Some of those were sent to me by sponsors
but I also review all the camera gear
that I use for my setup here
and all the components and things like monitors
and everything I use to build my desktop computer.
So I have a lot of opportunities there
for affiliate marketing
and there are a lot of people that are curious in my setup
and wanna build something of their own.
Certain product categories in Amazon
will just make you more money.
The electronics category is a primary example of that
but it's not even just Amazon.
There are other platforms that would make you more money
faster as well.
I have a background in web design
and I also used to be in the web hosting industry
so I know a lot about web hosting and I've built websites
so I'm able to recommend those things to other people
and when I do tutorials around coding or websites
or how to start an online business,
I can recommend things like Bluehost or HostGator
or Wix to people
and there's a lot of affiliate revenue in that.
Even a three to five dollar a month web hosting plan
has like a 65 to 100 dollar bounty on it
and sometimes there are specials and contests
where that money is increased
and so there's a lot of opportunity for you to,
by diversifying the affiliate programs
that you're a part of, make a lot more money.
Another tool that I use here on the YouTube channel
to help do better SEO
and for my videos to reach more people is TubeBuddy
and because I use it and because people see
that I've been able to grow a substantial YouTube following,
they're willing to buy that with my affiliate link
to help grow their YouTube channel
and I've done some content around that
and so that definitely helps me
and I probably do like five to 600 dollars a month
in commissions on that.
So when you add all these things up,
you can be successful at affiliate marketing.
I still wouldn't quit your day job to do it
but I do think that you can build
a great passive income system that definitely helps you
and so let's talk about tip number four,
building a system.
In general, a passive income,
one of the things I'm looking at
is moving a lot of it from being exclusive
to YouTube and social media.
I still think that websites themselves
are a very strong platform for generating passive income
and they still might overall be the best one.
So I'm looking at developing niche microsites
and so since I have a lot of web hosting accounts
for testing and for demos and for other things,
I've actually decided to start building microsites on them
that do very specific things like a laptop buyers' guide
so that I can put all my laptop review videos
embedded on that site, write more articles,
put together some computer build logs
and I can do a lot more affiliate marketing that way
around computers and electronics
and I can probably double the Amazon money that I make
from that category.
I can do the same thing for stuff for video editors
as far as putting together stuff around
all the things that I did to build my PC,
some PC build logs, my video editing equipment,
my video production setup, all of that
and again, I would make more money there as well
and I also, for video editors,
they would care about TubeBuddy
so then I have multiples on top of that.
I could obviously put up ads from Amazon
and make more money there
that's not necessarily affiliate marketing money.
Some of it would be but then they also do PPC ads,
kind of like Google AdSense
so that'd be another angle for me to play.
The list goes on and then I'm also developing some websites
that will have tutorials around building websites
and starting online businesses
and you need a website and web hosting to do that.
So that means that if people want to use Bluehost
then I can get a commission.
If they wanna use Namecheap,
I can get a commission for that.
If they wanna use HostGator,
I can get a commission for that.
If they wanna use Wix and don't wanna code anything,
I can get a commission from that.
So by having multiple affiliate programs
giving yourself multiple opportunities to make revenue
then you definitely have more shots
and by having these micro niche websites
that are very specific, that only talk about one topic
that lets you do affiliate marketing and content around that
and be an authority then that definitely can help you
and that's something that works for you.
So instead of having to get up
and post something in Facebook or social media
or Twitter all the time or make a Youtube video,
you have a website that has articles.
You might only need 20 or 30 of them just to get started
and it's not that hard
and then you have something that's in there
generating revenue for you all the time,
at least potentially.
Again, references and links
for everything that I'm talking about here
and some more details will be in the description
so you can definitely use that and of course,
a lot of those are my affiliate links.
So you can help me out.
The fifth and final tip that I have for it
is to just keep doing it and to be patient.
I think that if you use what I talked about
and use a content strategy
and talk about the things that you know
and you're consistent about it,
maybe you don't make a lot of money your first month.
Maybe you'll make a lot of money your first
three to six months
but over time as you build up this content
and you build up authority,
that's how you build a following in social media anyway
and as you build a following
and as you get subscribers to your email list
or your YouTube channel or to Twitter or Facebook
or wherever you're doing your affiliate marketing
and you're marketing in general,
as people relate to you,
as people trust your information,
you have a better shot of converting them
and that's going to really help you in the long run
so the more product reviews that I do on YouTube,
obviously the more affiliate money that I stand to make.
The more YouTube videos I make in general
since I find a way to work affiliate marketing
from one platform or another
for one product or service or another into them,
the more money I stand to make.
The more websites I build
that have affiliate marketing links in them,
the more money I stand to make.
So building a stack, being consistent,
playing the long game, putting in the time,
that adds up and that matters.
So those are my five tips for affiliate marketing
and I think that that's gonna really help you
with passive income in general.
I think it's gonna help you really take
affiliate marketing to the next level for you
and this is why I don't think affiliate marketing
is hokey or a scam.
I think it's just hard for people to figure stuff out
because sometimes you're trying to go for the shiny object
or you're trying to go for the thing for the money
but if you focus on hey, I can solve a problem
and I've used something that solves this problem
and you're trying to use your information as a resource
that helps people with their problem,
you're doing them a favor
and it's not costing them anything extra.
It just means that you can remove some of their anxiety
before they commit to buying something.
So primary example, I've used those web hosting companies
I told you about so I can recommend them.
There are web hosting companies that I've used
that I don't like
and even though they have affiliate programs,
I don't recommend them.
I could recommend 10 web hosting companies
that have affiliate programs but guess what?
Six of those guys, I wasn't satisfied with the service.
I felt the interfaces were too clunky and I don't like them
so I'm not recommending them.
I'm sticking with the ones that I really actually believe in
and that I think would be good for you
and I have different reasons for using all of them
and I'll probably do reviews on all of them
and thus make more affiliate money.
So it's totally practical
and it's fine to be up front about something.
And again, only recommend things that you believe in
and that you either are using or that you would use
and show your audience the evidence
that you are using these things
and they're part of your every day life
or your business or whatever.
I think that as a sixth tip,
I would say that it should go without saying
to just be authentic and be real with people
and explain to them exactly why you're recommending this
and of course, just let them know
that if they use your link, it helps you.
If you provide them with valuable information,
I think that a lot of times people are more than happy
and they want to help you.
It's not like it costs them anything extra.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this video.
If you like this kind of thing
and you want more videos about passive income
and growing an online business
then let me know in the comment section
and feel free to ask me your questions.
Anyway, like this video if you like it.
Don't forget to subscribe.
Remember, there are more videos like this
all around the channel so check those out.
As always, you guys, thanks so much for watching
and don't forget, create something awesome today.