The document discusses various ways for bloggers to generate income through their websites and blogs, with a focus on affiliate marketing. It describes affiliate marketing as recommending products and earning a commission when readers make purchases through affiliate links. Several major affiliate networks are mentioned, especially rewardStyle which is described as best for designers. Tips provided include choosing products at a range of price points, using analytics to find top-performing content and links, being active on social media, and creating a newsletter to promote products and drive sales.
3. 3 Main Ways to make money on a blog
• Ads
• Sponsored Posts
• Affiliate Marketing (Direct Affiliate and Affiliate Network)
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4. What is Affiliate Marketing?
• A process that allows you to make money on items you are already
recommending.
• People follow you because they value your opinion and trust you as a
tastemaker.
• It is a natural fit for blogging because you are always recommending products
anyway.
• The links you use are embedded with a code that tracks them. The retailer
pays you the commission and the consumer pays the regular price. The
retailer wins because you are giving them free advertising and bringing them
potentially a new customer.
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5. Why do I use Affiliate Marketing?
• Additional revenue stream to my design business
• An easy way to share what I am already doing with clients and a
broader scope of people while benefiting monetarily from it
• Earn money with the blog traffic you already have.
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6. Affiliate Marketing Networks
• rewardStyle
• Amazon’s Affiliate Program
• Shareasale
• CJ Affiliate (AKA Commission Junction) – paid per click vs. sale
• Linkshare
• Skimlinks
• Clickbank
• Viglink
• Ebay’s Partner Network
• Affiliate Window
• Pepper Jam Network
• iTunes’s Affiliate Program
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7. The first and largest invitation-only end-to-end content monetization platform
for top-tier digital style Influencers and Brands around the world.
rewardStyle is the only platform that measures and monetizes the influence of
content on a global scale, across owned and social channels, powering
influencer compensation that is in-step with true brand and retail influence.
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8. Why rewardStyle?
• rewardStyle is an affiliate network that allows its members to link out to shopping sites
from their blogs with coded hyperlinks.
• What makes rewardStyle different is that it works with a lot of premium brands and is
not available to everyone.
• It is by far the easiest to use of the affiliate networks than I have tried
• RewardStyle offers gorgeous widgets that you can use within blog posts to showcase
your affiliate link items.
• Most importantly RewardStyle is the best ways to use Instagram for affiliate marketing
by using liketkit.com
• To maintain a standard for its premium retailers, rewardStyle does not accept all
applicants.
• Your chances of getting accepted to rewardStyle are improved if you are referred by
someone who is already a member.
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9. Best Sources for Design Items on rewardStyle
• Wisteria
• Pottery Barn
• PB Teen
• Horchow
• One Kings Lane
• Lulu & Georgia
• Barneys NY
• Neiman Marcus
• Amber Interiors
• Pier 1
• Crate & Barrel
• Etsy
• Amazon
• Assouline
• Bellacore
• Biscuit Home
• Catstudio
• Design Darling
• Gilt Groupe
• Grange Hall
• Hayneedle
• Joss & Main
• Parker Thatch
• Chairish
• Williams-Sonoma
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• Gilt Groupe
• Rejuvanation
• Serena & Lily
• Shop TEN 25
• Society Social
• Target
• Taylor Burke Home
• Terrain
• West Elm
• Burke Décor
• The Well Appointed House
• Minted
• Arianna Belle
• Wayfair
• World Market
• Interior Define
• Jaxon Home
• Jonathan Adler
• Amazon
• Anthropologie
• Furbish Studio
• Waiting on Martha
• Shop Latitide
• Lumens
• CB2
• Home Decorators
Collection
10. Examples of Successful Affiliate Marketing in
Design Blogs
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•La Dolce Vita
•The English Room
•Copy Cat Chic
•Mark D. Sikes
•The Jungalow
•Saavy Home
•Furbish Studio
•Elements of Style
11. Disclosure Requirements
• You must disclose affiliate links in a conspicuous manner on your blog.
• The FTC has specifically said that “affiliate link” by itself is not adequate
disclosure. The FTC has suggested that “I get commissions for purchases made
through links in this post” is sufficient.
• I often say *This post contains affiliate links*
• Example from Look Linger Love - “At times Look Linger Love contains paid
advertisements & contextual affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase
from one of these links I may receive a commission on the sale. Please note
the purchaser pays no extra when purchasing through an affiliate link. All
sponsored posts & gifted product will be marked within the post. All of the
content I share is that of which I genuinely like and is not influenced by any
other manner. By purchasing through Look Linger Love you're helping me
bring you more ideas.”
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23. Tips for Success
• Explore Various Price Points
• Use the triple threat – hyperlink text, link images and shop the post at the
bottom
• Watch your analytics using bit.ly links
• Use the liketknow.it home app
• Consistency is key
• Come up with series that readers can count on
• Try to mix in items / posts that are not only affiliate links
• Stay true to your brand / builds trust with your audience
• Share to your Instagram & Pinterest
• Build your email list!
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24. Ideas for Posts using Affiliate Marketing
• Top 10 (Lighting, Sofa, Mirrors)
• High /Low Comparisons
• Copy an Editorial Room (see Copy Cat Chic)
• Trend Watch
• Market Recaps
• New Introductions
• Gift Guides for all Holidays (this is a HUGE $$$ maker)
• Host & Hostess Gifts
• Sale Watch
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25. Google Analytics
The following questions are all things to take into consideration when formulating
a strategic plan:
• Who is your audience?
• What is their demographic?
• What is their age range?
• What country or state do they live in?
• What time or day that your readers visit your site or interact with
your content more than another time or day?
• Where is your traffic coming from?
• What trends are visible from your audience? Do you consistently have
more engagement on your interior posts than fashion, for example?
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29. Be More Social w/
• Post consistently (try for twice a day)
• Link to top-performing, multi-option retailers
• Link to lower price point items
• Use your captions as an opportunity
• Educate your audience about LTK
• Use LTK category hashtags to get your content in front of a hyper-
engaged shopping audience. You should be using #LTKHome!
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30. Add a Newsletter
44% of email recipients made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email.
Sending out a newsletter provides you with another channel for monetizing your content and to keeping your readers
up-to-date with important announcements, sales, updates to your site, etc. upcoming plans for your site.
Tips for Creating a Newsletter:
• Include an eye-catching email subject line to increase your open rate
• Use imagery and keep the text to a minimum
• Stick to a consistent format or style
• Link out to your site, social channels and various products that are currently available
• Make sure it’s mobile friendly
• Set a cadence for sending your newsletter – weekly or monthly
When it comes to newsletter content, you can:
• Give your newsletter subscribers exclusive access to special content, by giving them a sneak peek at your next week’s
content or first access to a giveaway, for example
• Answer your most frequently asked questions
• Highlight content that may not be your primary vertical
• Include your favorite retailers’ sale information or coupon codes
• Implement your rewardStyle text links and include a clickable product collage via the Money Spot widget.
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31. Call to Action
• Always include a call to action in your affiliate-enabled posts!
• Call out products that are on sale and those that are selling fast.
• Frequently check your active favorites folders for sold out items and
re-promote them when they come back in stock. Be sure to edit
products linked in your top-performing LIKEtoKNOW.it posts as they
sell out and if they come back in stock.
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32. SEO Strategy
• Post Consistently | It is important to plan to post consistently, not only to
provide your audience with ample resources to shop, but also to improve
your SEO ranking. The more often you’re posting, the more Google will index
your site, which improves your overall SEO ranking. We suggest posting at
least 4 blog post per week and 2 times per day on Instagram (LIKEtoKNOW.i),
if not more, during the holidays, events or great trips.
• Focus on Steals & Deals
• Use Keywords Wisely
• Include Visuals and Graphics
• Ensure That Your Site is Mobile Friendly Be Social
• Promote Your Brand on Social Channels
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33. Questions?
Feel free to email me with any additional
questions or if you would like a referral to
RewardStyle.
holly@theenglishroom.biz
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