To me there are two main ways to approach affiliate marketing.
Imagine this scenario.
You are walking down the street and a random stranger comes up to you and recommends a new coffee shop.
Then walks away.
Changes are you’d think they were weird, and probably would not go to the shop just because a stranger said it was good.
THEN
A close friend or family member tells you they have been to this new cafe, and the food is great and that you should try it out.
In this case, there is a much higher chance of you going at some point right?
Why?
Obviously as you know, like and trust the person in the second scenario.
My approach to marketing is to become that second person where I can.
Let me explain.
How To Do Affiliate Marketing Ethically
There are a lot of people that want to earn an income online.
I want to connect with a certain section of them, and become, to a degree, a person they know like & trust.
But that does not happen overnight.
So, how do I do that?
Well, I create content (videos, articles etc) that people find.
People have a problem, they look for an answer and there is my video or post in the search engines.
And from that content, I get them onto my list by offering a congruent gift.
Also, I sell my courses, such as the case study (and a few people promote them).
I build communities (I closed my last FB group, but I have a newer one for one of my brands).
Finally, I spend a bit of money on paid advertising, which I would avoid if you are new.
ALL the above help me build my list.
Not a huge list, but that does not matter if you know how to use it.
Build a List, What Next?
As soon as someone joins my list, I do my best to build a relationship.
I encourage questions.
I reply to people one by one, make videos just for them, record audios, answer questions…all with the goal of providing as much value as I can.
Money does not need to be exchanged for me to help people.
For so many folk, it’s the first time they actually get a real reply that is not trying to get them on a call or to spend lots of money.
And it puts a face/voice to what otherwise would be another random list they subbed to.
Then, I earn trust.
Not by selling gimmicks or promoting trash that I know does not work.
By being real!
By treating folk how I would want to be treated.
It’s not rocket science.
Over time, these people buy MY courses and invest in stuff I recommend (affiliate).
All the time I am super careful ONLY to advocate things I think will help them.
Sell trash, promote gimmicks and you may be forgiven once but soon the trust will be lost.
And it’s very hard to win back.
This is why you see serial product launchers.
They do the polar opposite to me, and as such, lose trust over and over again.
So they need to replenish their lists consistently and to do that, must make up a new gimmick to sell.
It’s a cycle that is never ending and all the while they are doing this knowing they are hurting you, the customer.
So do not be like that.
Whatever your niche, become the trusted adviser that truly wants to help.
Then, you will not only make a decent income, you will feel good too.
It takes time for sure, focus, consistency, dedication.
All the things you do not see talked about on most sales pages.
But that’s the truth.
Case Study On This in Action
And it’s how the actual case study was possible.
No one else in the IM world I know of promotes things to 325 people and gets the same results.
So, if you have a list, it’s not enough just to try to sell to them.
You have to help them first.
Be real.
Be authentic, put them first.
If you have built your list via solo ads, as an example, chances are you have the wrong kind of list.
That like scenario one.
You gatecrashed a strangers inbox.
You were not invited but you turned up anyway,
Then when you try to sell something you wonder why no one buys.
NOTE: Not all solo ads are bad, but there are much better ways to build a list in my opinion.
They mostly benefit the seller.
How to Do Affiliate Marketing Ethically – Final Words
At the end of the day, the secret sauce to all this is just being a decent person.
Rather than bash the products that are clearly awful, don’t give them free advertising.
There are a lot of people who will tell you product A is bad, just to get you buy product B.
Even if product A is and, you are inadvertently helping the bad creator get known.
And it’s a lot of negative energy to do this ( not to mention long term you will not earn enough to make it worthwhile).
If you see sales pages with fake screenshots, fake testimonials and things that push push button traffic, ignore it.
Yes, they have nice sales pages, good copy and big prizes.
But they are based on lies.
And who wants to be remembered for that?
