Content is the Key to Making More Affiliate Sales

Want to earn passive income with affiliate income? One of the keys to increasing your affiliate click-throughs (and purchases!) is through content. Content provides credibility. It gives your visitors the value and information they are looking for online. Some types of content also help put people in a buying mood. And, of course, content is the key to driving traffic to your website. If you have affiliate links on your resume website, more traffic brings with it the potential for more affiliate sales.

So what type of content works best?

Reviews
Some content puts people in a buying mood. And to be fair, when people seek product information and reviews online, they are already looking to make a purchase. Reviews are one of the most powerful ways to promote affiliate products or service -- simply because they help provide that potential buyer with the information, and the link, to make a purchase.

When writing a review be sure to present an unbiased opinion. A prospect won't trust a review that is all good. Be sure to point out any downsides to the product or service. You can then counter it with a positive statement. Consider reviewing features, prices, and any personal experience you have with the product or service.

Be sure to include a link or two to the product sales page so you can earn your commission.

Free Downloads
The most common type of free downloads are reports and ebooks. You can create these yourself or use Pass-Along Materials. Reports and ebooks offer a tremendous amount of value to the reader because they offer more information and benefit than a simple article.

When relevant, you can include affiliate links in your ebook or report. You can also include them again in an appendix dedicated to resources. However, make sure to not go overboard with the affiliate links. Use them only when relevant and appropriate.

In addition to reports and ebooks, consider giving away other downloads. For example, printable checklists or calendars, useful resource lists, blueprints and other easy to use and informative resources.

Email Marketing
Hopefully, you are collecting email addresses and building an opt-in mailing list. This list may be your single biggest commission-generating resource. Each person that signs up for your list is a qualified prospect. They are interested in the information you have and the products and services you represent.

If you don't have a growing opt-in list, spend some time creating your opt-in strategy. This often includes a giveaway with the sign-up. (Once again, you can use Pass-Along Materials for this purpose.) Once you're collecting email addresses, don't wait for a magic number -- even if you only have 15 or 20 people on your list. Start sending them informative messages right away. You can include an occasional affiliate link, or two, when relevant to the information you are presenting.

Test and track the methods that generate the most affiliate sales, and focus on building and growing those tactics. Affiliate marketing commissions will almost certainly increase as you provide more content.

If you want to learn more about how to earn passive income using affiliate marketing, check out the recording and transcript of "Building Affiliate Relationships to Grow Your Resume Business." (Just $5.)