If you’re a photographer who isn’t taking advantage of affiliate marketing, you’re leaving money on the table. In this episode, I’m sharing my experience with affiliate marketing and why I think it’s the best way for photographers to diversify their income.
We’re diving into all the basics and I’m giving you a step-by-step guide to get started with affiliate marketing. You’re going to want to grab a pen and paper for this episode because it’s full of tangible tips that you can use to make more money for your business.
Today’s episode is brought to you by my Affiliate Marketing Jumpstart Guide. I’ve developed an affiliate marketing strategy that has brought me freedom in my business and I’m sharing this strategy in my free guide!
Listen to this episode now:
Search for episode 133 of Called to Both on your favorite podcast player!
What is Affiliate Marketing?
When you break it down, affiliate marketing is a simple concept. It’s when you share about a product or service with your audience using a trackable link, and you earn a commission when they use that link to make a purchase.
By simply sharing about things you love, use, and would recommend to your friends, you can create another stream of revenue in your business.
I fell into affiliate marketing by accident when I started sharing a few links to products I loved. I wasn’t taking it seriously, but one day my husband (who does the books for my business) pointed out that I made $1000 from one company.
I went all in with affiliate marketing from there, and now I believe that not taking advantage of affiliate links is leaving money on the table.
The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing for Photographers
The first benefit of affiliate marketing is that it’s a low-risk and high-reward game. You don’t actually have to produce a product or fulfill it on the backend. You can keep doing what you’re already doing in your business and introduce affiliate marketing at the same time.
With affiliate marketing, your job is done after someone uses your link. If they have questions about the product or need a tutorial, they can go to the company they bought it from.
Once affiliate marketing becomes a steady stream of income, it also takes some of the pressure off of your other revenue streams. As a service provider, this was a huge relief for me. No matter what happens, I know I’ll have my affiliate marketing income.
I don’t have to take clients I know I’m not aligned with just because I need the money. My affiliate marketing income was also a huge relief when I had my first baby–I didn’t feel pressured to go back to work too soon.
All of these reasons are why I love affiliate marketing for photographers. Unfortunately, so many photographers have a misconception that setting up affiliate marketing will be an extra thing that they don’t have time for, which is a myth I want to debunk.
How Photographers are Leaving Money on the Table by Avoiding Affiliate Marketing
You could be missing out on major income potential by avoiding affiliate marketing, especially if you fall into one of these categories:
- You’re already creating and marketing content
- You offer guides and helpful education for your clients
- You’re already getting traffic to your website, blog, and videos
If you’re doing these things, you’ve already done 95% of the work to get started with affiliate marketing. All you have to do now is weave your affiliate links into the content and guides you’ve already created.
You Don’t Need a Large Audience to Get Started With Affiliate Marketing
Another common myth about affiliate marketing is that you need a huge following to be successful. This is simply not true, and most affiliate programs don’t even know how many followers you have.
It’s not about audience size, it’s about trust. Some of the most successful affiliate marketers are micro-influencers who have built a loyal audience in their niche. They find how their audience’s interests overlap with their affiliate marketing links and work them into their content naturally.
Personally, I believe that the smaller the audience you have, the more likely they are going to trust you. It’s easier to believe that smaller influencers actually love the products they’re promoting.
How to Get Started With Affiliate Marketing for Photographers
I recommend that photographers get started with affiliate marketing by getting links for products or programs that are tailored to their photography business. This could be gear, software, or online tools.
Start with products that feel natural to you and that other people commonly ask you about. Photographers follow other photographers, so sharing about the gear or software you love will come easily to you.
One of the very first tools I became an affiliate marketer for was HoneyBook, which is a software I genuinely use and love.
I wrote a blog post and created a video with HoneyBook in the title and included my affiliate link in both pieces of content. It was easy to share how HoneyBook saves me time and helps keep my business organized, so it was a really natural affiliate for me. It was also a natural fit for my followers since many of them are also business owners.
How to Find Affiliate Programs That Fit You and Your Audience
There are tons of options when it comes to affiliate programs, which can feel overwhelming. My first tip is to think about products or programs you’re already using so that sharing an affiliate link is a natural next step.
Make a list of the things you love and could easily talk about. Think about what your friends ask you about when they’re looking for a recommendation.
If you don’t have people who ask you for things, you can check out Facebook groups for photographers. Do a little research to see what kind of things people are asking about in groups so you can get an idea of what they’re searching for online.
How to Create Content With Affiliate Marketing Links
Once you know what you want to promote, you can start creating content that includes affiliate links. Use your research to create search-driven content so that people find you when they search for what they need.
Some affiliate marketing programs make you apply to become an affiliate, while others simply provide a shareable link for you automatically.
When you’ve gathered the links you want to use, you can start creating your affiliate marketing content. It’s important to note that your content should always build your brand and credibility, and the affiliate link should fit in naturally.
There’s never going to be a time when I create content solely for the affiliate income. I want my content to work for other reasons, like growing my business or showing behind-the-scenes of my life. Affiliate marketing is never the whole point of the content, it’s more like the cherry on top.
When you’re planning your content, think about the places where you already get the most traffic. You can go back to old content and add affiliate links to it. For example, if you have an old blog post that still performs really well, add an affiliate link to it. Sprucing up what you already have is a great place to start.
If you’re enjoying the content we’re creating on the podcast and want to connect with others who are called to both, make sure you come join us in the PhotoBoss Facebook Group!
Find it quickly:
2:22 – What is affiliate marketing?
3:02 – My affiliate marketing story
5:42 – Low risk, high reward
7:03 – You’re already doing content marketing
7:54 – You’re already providing education
8:26 – You’re already driving traffic to your business
8:56 – Why affiliate marketing is better than other types of promotions
12:04 – Relieving financial pressure on other services
13:45 – The affiliate marketing myth
15:50 – Where to start with affiliate marketing
Links:
The Affiliate Marketing Jumpstart Guide: joymichellephotography.com/affiliate-marketing
More ways to connect:
Joy Michelle Website: joymichelle.co
Joy Michelle Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle
Joy Michelle Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography
Joy Michelle Coaching: joymichelle.co/coaching
If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this podcast.
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