As your blog progresses, you may find yourself picking up more and more affiliate opportunities.

Now, that can be an awesome thing! A little extra commission can lead to your blog paying for its own hosting. Or even putting a few extra bucks in your pocket at the end of the month.

That being said, many bloggers find that their affiliate articles are underperforming or not performing at all. And most of that reason lies within how you write the articles.

Affiliate articles shouldn’t be treated like those late-night cable TV infomercials — just a straight sales pitch. Let’s look at 5 rules of thumb you should follow when writing affiliate articles.

#1. Support Your Affiliate Product or Service

This should go without saying, so I’ll keep it short: You shouldn’t be pushing a product you don’t believe in. 

So when searching for an affiliate partner, find something you can get excited about. 

#2. Be Honest

When writing affiliate articles, honesty is a must. Have you ever been reading an article and it seemed like pure baloney? Chances are it’s because it was. 

A good affiliate article will not just have a positive angle, but will also look at the negatives as well. You’ll earn more trust from your reader, and that can lead to an actual affiliate sale. 

If a product doesn’t do something, don’t say it does. This can lead to angry readers, refunds, and the loss of your affiliate privilege. 

A great example of this is from selfpublishing.com where they breakdown pros and cons of Chandler Bolt’s Self-Publishing School.   

#3. Write from Your Own Positive Experience with the Product

This goes back to the “support your partner” point. A potential customer is much more likely to buy from an individual who has personal experience with the product. 

As buyers, we love to hear success stories with the product. So go ahead and share yours! You’re promoting the product because you think it’s great. Let the people know why.

This Scrivener review is a great example. 

#4. Make the Article Engaging!

This isn’t the time for a masters’ thesis. You want your readers to feel excited about the product. Which is why you should get excited about it too!

Play to your readers’ emotions. Using humor is probably the best place to start here. It keeps an upbeat tempo to your writing, and that will grab the attention of your readers. Also, you should know your audience and communicate to them on their level.  

Another great tactic would be including a video presentation along with your text. Videos tend to lead to longer time on the page which in turn leads to more sales. And depending on how much of your focus is on actual affiliate sales, you can create a sign-up form for your readers so they won’t miss out on new, updated information.

#5. Make it Easy to Buy.

For whatever reason, this often gets overlooked. People are so focused on writing the article quickly that they just skip this step. 

If you are making your buyer jump through hoops just to find a checkout page, you’re doing something wrong. If at all possible, ensure your links lead directly to a sales landing page. If a customer clicks that link ready to buy, there’s a good chance you’re making that sale. 

Consider using buttons to make your links easy to find. The worst thing you can do is convince a customer to buy the product and then force them to google the website because they can’t find your links to click on. 

Check out this article about the best laptops for writers as a great formatting example. 

Last Word

Affiliate articles aren’t just paid commercials on your blog. They turn you into a brand ambassador. So choose carefully who you affiliate with. Be sure that you stand by that product, and give credit and criticism where due.

By staying authentic, engaging with your readers, and making it little to no hassle to buy, you may end up doing really well. There are tons of amazing examples of quality niche and affiliate sites available on the internet making it super easy to find some real direction moving forward. 

There’s nothing saying that you can’t draw inspiration from those who are currently succeeding. 

Cheers! 

Image courtesy of Unsplash–Austin Distel