Finding new ways to drive passive income is a business-savvy move. That’s why more accountants are learning how to do affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing programs can help you earn thousands—or even tens of thousands—in additional income per year.
One study found that 33.08% earn at least $10,000 annually from affiliate marketing alone. And in many cases, getting started is a minimal lift.
Ready to enter the potentially lucrative world of affiliate marketing? Read on to get started.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing earns commissions when you successfully promote a company’s product or service.
Affiliate marketing is common in blog articles and social media content. For example, articles with affiliate links typically have a disclaimer reading, We may receive a commission from affiliate partner links.
So, how does affiliate marketing work? Typically, you join one or more affiliate programs. Once accepted, you can share unique affiliate links with your audience. The company you work with tracks the unique link to determine your commissions.
How do you get paid? Typically, you earn a commission from the company you’re working with when someone:
- Clicks your affiliate link and makes a purchase (pay per sale)
- Performs an action (pay per lead)
- Clicks your affiliate link (pay per click)
Can you make $100 a day with affiliate marketing?
It is possible to make $100 a day (or $36,500 per year) with affiliate marketing, but not all affiliate marketers make this amount.
Only 16.87% of individuals make more than $50,000 annually with affiliate marketing.
Individuals who bring in high affiliate income typically:
- Are persistent
- Have experience in affiliate marketing
- Have built a sizable audience
- Devote more time
Be sure to set realistic goals and start small. Beginner affiliate marketers typically earn between $0 – $1,000 per month.
Here’s the bottom line: If you make $100 a day when you start affiliate marketing, great! But, don’t bank on it. It’s a work in progress for most new affiliate marketers.
Does affiliate marketing really pay?
Yes, affiliate marketing can really pay! Again, how much affiliate marketing pays depends on factors like your audience size, strategies (e.g., blog, social media, etc.), and the affiliate programs you sign up with.
Find reliable companies with strong products and a large market potential. For example, the Patriot Software affiliate program pays out $150 per new customer, and there are over 35 million businesses in the USA that can use the software.
Affiliate marketing challenges
Additional income is great. But affiliate marketing isn’t without its challenges for accountants.
Affiliate marketing takes time to get off the ground. You have to build an audience and content to promote the affiliate to said audience. As an accountant, you may have a strong website audience already who enjoys reading your blog articles. Or, you may need to start from scratch.
Affiliate marketing is also competitive. Many individuals have found success in affiliate marketing, which has driven competition.
Affiliate marketing can be time-consuming. Although affiliate marketing is a way to earn passive income, most people have to scale it to find continued success. This can be overwhelming for busy accountants. Keeping up with FTC guidelines (e.g., disclosing affiliate links) and industry trends can also be a time-suck.
How to do affiliate marketing
As an accountant or bookkeeper, you have an audience of individual or small business customers who depend on your expertise and advice.
By recommending tried and true tools, like accounting software and online payroll, you can further position yourself as a trusted advisor and increase your income.
Take a look at the following tips to get started with affiliate marketing.
| Don’t be sneaky—disclose it! |
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| Remember to stay compliant with regulations. Disclose affiliate relationships with a clear disclaimer, such as “I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.” Check with the FTC for more information on affiliate disclosure rules. |
1. Decide what you’ll market
Many accountants choose to join affiliate programs that line up with accounting. After all, you already have the audience (e.g., your clients). For example, you could partner with accounting and payroll software providers, like Patriot Software.
Alternatively, you can choose a niche that aligns with your personal interests. For example, you may decide to create a personal outdoor recreation website that promotes equipment like bikes and tents.
Whatever you choose to market, start with research. Determine what makes sense for your audience and what you would be proud to promote.
2. Build your platform
How do you want to promote affiliate links? Do you want to include them in blog articles on your accounting firm website? Do you want to promote your links in social media posts? Want to send emails with affiliate links?
Or, do you want to do all of the above?
When you’re an affiliate marketer, the choice is yours. But first, you need to build your platform.
If you want to promote company products or services in blog articles, create a website. Set up social media accounts and build followers to promote on social media. Build an email subscriber base if you want to email. And so on.
3. Apply to reputable affiliate programs
Building your audience and promoting links to them is only half the battle. You also need to partner with strong brands to promote.
Look for and apply to reputable affiliate programs in your niche. Want to promote fast, easy, and affordable payroll software to your audience? Apply for Patriot’s Affiliate Program. Affiliates earn $150 for each new customer.
4. Promote your unique affiliate links
Once you’re part of an affiliate marketing program, you can start creating content and promoting your affiliate links.
You can include affiliate links in:
- Blog articles (e.g., product reviews, how-to guides, etc.)
- Social media posts
- Emails
Be sure to use the special affiliate link your partner gives you. Otherwise, they won’t be able to track your efforts (or pay out commissions!).
5. Assess what works and doesn’t
Feel like you’re not getting much out of your affiliate marketing efforts? Track and optimize performance to improve your chance of success.
Use analytics tools to track metrics like:
- Pageviews
- Click-through rates
- Conversion rates
You can retire strategies that are underperforming and replace them with new tactics. For example, you can delete and redirect a blog article with no pageviews to a brand-new article that’s getting traction.
Remember that affiliate marketing takes time. Determine if you want to devote more time to growing your affiliate marketing business.
This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please click here.
