Promoting Affiliate Products on a Blog

It can be tempting to just throw some graphical ads in the header and sidebar of your blog in an effort to make sales. These types of ads can be effective, but they're rarely as effective as mentions of the products in your blog posts. If you are building a rapport with your readers, they will be interested in the products you recommend, or even just mention.

Just casually working in a reference to a product is the simplest way to get your affiliate link out there. You could mention using the product, or discuss a news story that involves it. If the product appeals to your target market, you should get some clicks, and eventually some conversions.

But the most effective way to generate affiliate sales is to review the products you're promoting. If the product is appropriate for your audience, they will appreciate an in-depth review. And if you've established trust with your readers, a recommendation could be extremely lucrative.

Reviews are also great for bringing in search engine visitors who are interested in making a purchase. Those who are debating whether or not to buy a specific product often do searches for reviews of it. If the search brings them to your blog post, and they like what they see, there's a good chance that they will click your affiliate link and complete the transaction. There's also a good chance that they will bookmark your blog.

When doing product reviews, it is essential to be honest. Your first instinct might be to avoid saying anything bad about something that could make you money, but if every product gets glowing reviews, your readers are going to get suspicious. It's better to lose a sale and keep your readers' trust than vice versa. If you lose a reader's trust, you may never get another opportunity to make a sale to him.

Blogs and affiliate marketing are a match made in heaven. But in order to get the most out of your blog, you must keep it updated with fresh, high quality content. If you can't work an affiliate link into every post, that's okay. In fact, throwing in a promotion-free post every now and then will keep your audience from feeling like they're nothing more than a prospect to you.