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How to Create Irresistible Content for Affiliate Marketing

October 26, 2022

Have a website that’s generating traffic but can’t figure out how to monetize it? Or do you already have an income stream or two, but want to increase your revenue?

There’s a reason why affiliate marketing is so popular with content marketers — it allows you to focus on content strategy and creation while someone else handles fulfillment for products and services.

But by no means is it “passive income.” Like any type of content marketing, you need to put in the work upfront and create stellar content for your affiliate marketing efforts to pay off.

Let’s explore what types of content you can focus on for affiliate marketing and how to plan your entire affiliate marketing strategy.

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What is Affiliate Marketing Content and how you can Leverage it

Affiliate marketing is a business model in which content creators can earn a commission from product sales when those sales can be traced back to them. Most affiliate sales happen through “affiliate links,” links that help the vendor tag any visitors and customers the affiliate sent their way.

To get started, find a product with its own affiliate program (or that participates in an affiliate network) and promote it with a unique affiliate link. You may also get a unique coupon code that you can share with your audience over video or in a podcast.

If someone clicks your affiliate link or uses your coupon and then makes a purchase, you get a cut of this revenue, called an affiliate commission. Percentages vary by industry and product, but for digital products, you can earn as much as 50% of the sticker price per referral.

Affiliate marketing is a great way for content marketers to earn money by talking about products they already use. It’s a lot easier to create engaging and valuable content about products you’re actually familiar with. Instead of regurgitating existing reviews or opinions about the product, you can share your unique perspective.

Affiliate marketing content is content that you create specifically to generate affiliate sales. All affiliate marketing content must legally have a disclaimer that explains the nature of your relationship with the brand.

Screenshot of affiliate disclaimer on Codeless website
Affiliate disclaimer on Codeless website

So why does affiliate marketing matter for content marketers?

If you’re already generating traffic from your blog and content strategy, mixing in affiliate links and dedicated affiliate content is a powerful way to monetize that traffic.

By just mentioning a couple of products, you can start earning serious cash — Wordable customer and power affiliate Adam Enfroy routinely makes $80,000+ from affiliate marketing per month.

Content affiliate marketing is also a great way to leverage SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for keywords with high purchase intent. For example, if you run a fitness blog and want to rank for “best ab wheel for beginners,” you need to consider that most people searching for that term are likely ready to purchase an ab wheel.

They’re not at the point where they want to learn the best ab exercises — they already know an ab wheel will work for them. It’s the perfect opportunity to generate some affiliate income.

7 Types of Content for Affiliate Marketing

Here are seven examples of high-quality content you can create for affiliate marketing purposes.

1. Case Studies

A case study is a focused piece of content about one use case for a product or service. It also outlines the results obtained for this use case.

The product doesn’t have to be the core focus of the case study, but it should contribute to the results. For example, Rabi Abuvala discusses how he used ActiveCampaign, an email marketing and automation platform, to set up automations for his $1M+ company in the video below.

Case study video example for affiliate marketing
Case study video example for affiliate marketing

It’s a more how-to-oriented approach than a product review and makes sense for software and products that take serious know-how to use effectively.

Plus, with case studies, you don’t have to focus on a single product; you can feature (and share affiliate links or coupons to) every product you use for a particular process.

For example, while ActiveCampaign is a central topic for this video, there could be other products and services involved in their automation processes, such as Zapier.

2. Product Reviews

A product review is a detailed breakdown of a product or service. It includes everything you need to know about an offer, like pros and cons, pricing compared to other products, and more.

Unlike a case study, product reviews don’t focus on one specific use case, but on the general experience of using a product. The best product reviews will cover everything a prospective buyer needs to know before they make a purchasing decision.

For example, this Yoast SEO review not only explains how Yoast works but also dives into the tool’s limitations.

Screenshot of Yoast review on the Wordable blog
Yoast review on the Wordable blog

3. Product Comparisons

Product comparisons are essentially detailed reviews that explain how two or more products stack up against each other — focusing on features, pricing, usability, and more.

Unlike reviews that only have one featured product, product comparison posts (obviously) must compare at least two or more options.

Consider what your target audience wants to know about the differences between each product before you outline a product comparison post. For instance, this Shopify vs. Woocommerce post breaks down the ease of use, features, and pricing options for both tools.

Screenshot of Shopify vs. Woocommerce comparison post
Shopify vs. Woocommerce comparison post

Comparison posts work uniquely well for affiliate marketing because they reach potential customers who are already at the bottom of the sales funnel. The search intent of someone Googling “Shopify vs. Woocommerce” is to figure out which tool to use for their online store.

That makes organic visitors to bottom-of-funnel or BOFU content much more likely to click an affiliate link and make a purchase than someone who searches for “what is ecommerce,” for example.

You can also frame comparison posts as alternatives-type posts to compare several alternatives for a popular product. For example, this post covers several Weebly alternatives.

Wix as an alternative to Weebly on the Wordable blog
Wix as an alternative to Weebly on the Wordable blog

4. In-depth Tutorials

In-depth tutorials are guides that explain how to use a certain product or service to its full potential.

They can also guide your readers to achieve a specific outcome that features the affiliate products you want to promote. For example, this Google Docs to WordPress export guide also features Wordable.

CTA to Wordable in Google Docs export guide
CTA to Wordable in Google Docs export guide

In this case, it’s our own product, but the concept works exactly the same way for affiliate links.

Video tutorials are another popular medium for how-to content and another great way to promote an affiliate offer. By using a video downloader, businesses can easily save and share these video tutorials, making it easier for their audience to access and follow along with the content.

5. Resource Hub Pages and Curated Posts

Resource hub pages are also called roundups. They’re a list of products, tools, or services that fall under the same theme or purpose.

For example, the excerpt below is from a resource post about eight freelance business tools.

Grammarly affiliate link in a resource post
Grammarly affiliate link in a resource post

These posts often target keywords with a higher search volume and more competition, so it makes sense to create this content as a “pillar page,” and then build reviews and comparison posts to support it.

6. Buyer’s guides/Gift guides

A buyer’s guide or gift guide walks readers through what they need to know before they purchase certain products. You can feature several affiliate products or services throughout the guide (don’t forget the disclaimer, though).

They are essentially the original “roundup post,” pioneered by retail magazines to promote multiple products to consumers at once.

7. Email Newsletters

Affiliate marketing isn’t just about dropping a few links on your blog. Email marketing generates a whopping $36 ROI for every $1 spent by marketers, so it’s not a channel you can ignore. Even if you have no list, start building it and sharing affiliate content with your subscribers.

Especially if you’re promoting long-term services or bigger-ticket offers, a more personalized approach can be much more effective (and pay off handsomely).

Here’s an example from Tarzan Kay:

Example of an affiliate offer in an email newsletter
Example of an affiliate offer in an email newsletter

If several people are promoting the offer simultaneously, it can be hard to convince someone to use your affiliate link or coupon specifically.

So how do you separate yourself from the pack?

Provide a real incentive for your subscribers to purchase from you. Package together relevant products to offer as a bonus, or offer personal coaching or a video course to train them to use the product (Tarzan does this well in the example above).

How to Plan your Content Affiliate Marketing Strategy

Now that you know about different content types you can deploy, here’s how to make the most of that content for your affiliate marketing strategy.

1. Choose your Affiliate Products Strategically

It’s not enough to just sign up for Amazon Associates and start linking to your coffee mug and yoga mat. You need to choose a portfolio of products that meet certain criteria:

  1. They are directly related to your blog and online presence. Don’t try to push car parts on a marketing-focused YouTube channel.
  2. They pay a reasonable commission, so it’s worth your time to promote them. How much that is, depends on your volume of traffic. But aim for at least a couple of dollars per sale.
  3. You either use them already, or you can find a use for them. For example, if a highly touted product in your niche has an affiliate program, and the one you’re currently using doesn’t, it’s a great opportunity to make a switch (and do some comparison content in the process). Remember, a hands-on perspective is the key to standing out in today’s saturated digital world and metaverse.

2. Find the Right Balance of Affiliate and Regular Content

Is affiliate marketing your main focus? Or is it a passive income stream?The role affiliate marketing plays in your business will impact which approach to take.

If you have existing products and services, how do your affiliate products contribute to the results people can get from your main offers?

For instance, let’s say you’re a content agency charging a premium price tag for your services. You can feature affiliate links in comparison posts and how-to content, but obviously, landing a $100,000 deal is a bigger priority than a $3 affiliate commission. So in things like case studies and other content, you’ll want to focus solely on your services and the results you can deliver.

I speak from experience here, as we work closely to strike this balance over at our sister company, the content marketing agency Codeless.

Codeless case study for EarlyBird
Codeless case study for EarlyBird

If affiliate marketing is your main focus, you can focus most of your efforts on creating content for that purpose.

3. Research Keywords

Focusing more on keyword research helped 43% of content marketers drive more organic traffic in 2021. Just like with any other type of content marketing, start with the keywords. If your main priority is affiliate marketing, identify attainable BOFU keywords that indicate an intent to buy (or at least a serious interest in the affiliate product).

Research keywords for your portfolio and map out your target keywords and content for the first 3-6 months. If you do it right, you’ll probably identify more affiliate opportunities on the way.

Of course, the intent is only one piece of the puzzle. To get more in-depth advice, read our content marketing tips post.

4. Consider the Long-term Vision

Content marketing is a long game. Consider how your affiliate content works as an ecosystem and not just as individual posts.

Remember to implement a content strategy, and not just randomly target keywords. For example, tie together shorter posts like reviews and comparisons with major content like roundup posts, in-depth buyer’s guides, and how-to content.

Streamline your Content Creation for Affiliate Marketing

If you’re publishing content at scale — whether for affiliate marketing or for other purposes — you know how frustrating it can be to copy Google Docs documents into your CMS and fix everything manually.

You can go from a GDocs file to a fully optimized blog post in a single click using Wordable. Try it out for yourself and get five free exports by signing up for the free trial.

Related reading:

Brad Smith
Brad is the CEO of Wordable. His content has been highlighted by The New York Times, Business Insider, The Next Web, and thousands more.
Brad Smith
Brad is the CEO of Wordable. His content has been highlighted by The New York Times, Business Insider, The Next Web, and thousands more.