I believe that having multiple income streams is good for any business owner. One way you can add another income stream to your wellness business is with affiliate marketing.
In this post I’ll discuss ways you can add affiliate income to your business and how you can add affiliates to products that you sell.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is when you are paid for sales you make of someone else’s product. The products can be physical or digital. Marketers of these products give you special links so that you use to promote the products. That way they can keep track of when someone makes a purchase using your link they can pay your commission.
What types of physical products can you promote?
There are many physical products that can be promoted by wellness business owners. If you’re a yoga teacher then yoga mats, blocks and bolsters are obvious choices. There are an endless array of fitness products you can promote for your fitness business. If your focus is fat loss, then scales and body measuring devices might be your focus. Or if you focus on nutrition then kitchen tools and cookbooks might be a good place to start.
Affiliate networks for physical products
There are several affiliate networks that allow you to promote many different products.
Amazon associates is one of the most popular. Amazon has low commissions, but if someone clicks your link, then you’ll earn a commission on everything they buy for a period of time (I believe it’s 24 hours). You’ll need to apply to become an associate and you need to make 3 sales in the first 6 months to maintain your status. However you can reapply if you don’t make the sales. The only problem with this is that you’ll need to update your affiliate links where they are promoted.
If there are products or companies you know you want to promote, then check their websites for how to become an affiliate. Many use networks like ShareASale, Awin and Rakuten. Or check out these networks to see if you should apply. For some there are minimum requirements (like number of website visitors) so you may not be eligible.
What types of digital products can you promote?
Many established online wellness practitioners have affiliate programs or would be willing to let you be an affiliate. You’ll want to choose products that compliment your existing programs, but don’t compete with it. You may also want to offer a bonus for people signing up with your affiliate link. But make sure you check with the owner of the program to see if the bonus is appropriate.
How do you promote these products?
Generally affiliate products can be promoted in most of the same places as your own product. For example you can add affiliate products to blog posts, podcasts or social media posts. For most email service providers you can promote affiliate products directly in your emails. But with Mailerlite you need to send people to other content which can contain affiliate links.
How you promote will depend on what type of products you are promoting. You could have a blog post about creating a home gym and link to all the products on Amazon that you like and a description of why these are great for a home gym. Or a post on meal planning services which links to a service that you are an affiliate for.
Don’t forget to add an affiliate disclaimer
If you are receiving a commission from these products you’ll need to include a disclaimer. Many affiliate programs will include the wording you need to use. If not make sure it’s clear that you will receive a commission if a product is purchased using your link.
Things to avoid with affiliate marketing
The biggest issue I see with affiliate marketing is not promoting products that are relevant to your audience. Since my audience is business owners I promote some courses and products for businesses, but that likely won’t work for a wellness business. You’ll want to promote products or programs that your audience would find useful.
Avoid promoting products that you don’t believe in. For physical products choose brands that you trust and products that align with your business and beliefs. For digital products only promote products from people you trust. And choose products that compliment your own.
Understand that you’ll need a fairly large and engaged audience to make the most out of affiliate marketing.
How are your links tracked
For every affiliate product you promote you’ll have a unique link that the company will use to track purchases made. Usually a cookie is used to track purchases for a period of time. And often it will transfer over to other purchases made in that timeframe. For example if someone comes to your Amazon link to check out a dumbbell you recommend, but decides to purchase a 2000 dollar gym machine, you’ll get credit for their purchase.
How to set up your own affiliate program
If you have a successful program, you could offer this as an affiliate program for others to promote. This will allow you to reach a different audience.
You can use a shopping cart software like ThriveCart or SamCart to track. Some course platforms also include affiliate tracking. Offer your programs to businesses that have complimentary services.
Summary
Affiliate marketing is a way to add value for your audience and to supplement your income. You can use it as part of your strategy with physical or digital products. Or you can make use of it for your own products and offer them for affiliate promotion.
