Monetizing A Podcast Through Affiliate Marketing
If you are familiar with affiliate marketing, you may know that it is often thought of as a monetization tactic for bloggers and influencers. However, it is also an excellent way for podcasters to monetize their content as well. You can potentially earn revenue while doing all the non-podcast related things you love most! Think of this article as a 101 guide to monetizing a podcast through affiliate marketing.
by Christie Lazo
Strategies For Monetizing A Podcast
Affiliate Marketing For Podcasters
Since I started Vida With Christie as a blog, this gave me the opportunity to get started with affiliate marketing. However, as I migrated my content to focus mainly on my podcast, I continued to use affiliate marketing because I found it to be a great way to make extra money, even offline. As a busy mom, I can spend time with my daughter, be at work, or even read a book and know that my website is “working for me”.
What is affiliate marketing?
In the most direct terms, affiliate marketing is when a brand pays you for referring a sale. For example, if someone clicks a link on my post about my favourite social justice books for children, leading them to the Target website and they purchase one or more of those books, Target will pay me a commission for referring that sale.
Is my podcast a good fit for affiliate marketing?
You don’t lose anything by giving it a try. You may be able to effectively monetize a podcast through this method. Signing up for an affiliate marketing platform is free. However, most of them require an application.
While you may not be creating blog posts specifically to review a product, I’m willing to bet that in your podcast episodes, you refer to products you use or make recommendations to your audience. When posting episodes on your website, you can easily add affiliate links for those items in your show notes. When your audience visits your website, they can find the products you referred to in the episodes. If they purchase them, you can make a profit from those sales.
Additionally, you can list the equipment you use to produce your podcast on your website. Add affiliate links to each product mentioned. Some of the equipment we use can be pricey, so getting a percentage of those sales can add up.
Do I need to apply to affiliate programs?
Most if not all affiliate marketing platforms will require you to apply to be a part of their networks. They want to make sure you are a good fit for the brands they work with.
The application process is relatively easy and to the point. They require some personal information, general stats about your brand/podcast (website visits, social media platforms, follower count), audience information (demographics and size), and your preference for how you want to get paid.
After the application process, you will receive an email telling you whether you qualified or not.
Read Next: How To Sell On Your Podcast Without Selling Out
Monetize A Podcast With Affiliate Marketing Platforms
There are countless platforms for affiliate marketing, and it is important to keep in mind that some are more reliable than others. Below are the ones that I have experience with and can personally recommend.
Skimlinks
I have to admit that I may be a tad biased, because Skimlinks is by far the best affiliate marketing platform I have used. I love it because it makes it so easy to add links to my written content—I use the Skimlinks Chrome extension which immediately creates links for me when I visit a website they are partnered with. You also do not need to apply to each individual retailer to work with them; as long as you are sharing an item from one of their partner retailer websites, then you’re good to go!
Share A Sale
Share A Sale works with a wide range of popular brands. However, you have to apply to work with each retailer. The process to do this is easy.
CJ Affiliate
CJ Affiliate is the first affiliate marketing platform I used and it has since received a significant update, which I believe has made it much more user-friendly. They also have a large list of retailers you can work with.
These three platforms I’ve just recommended are obviously not the only ones that you can work with, but they are the ones I believe would provide you with a great start.
Going the Direct Route
There are also direct affiliate marketing programs that do not involve the use of larger networks. Shopify, Amazon, and Bluehost cut out the “middle man”. This is another excellent way to get started in the world of affiliate marketing.
Going the Extra Mile
The best part about affiliate marketing is that you can earn money while you’re not actively working. Your website will do the work for you. However, it is important to have solid SEO (search engine optimization) and re-promote your content regularly. These two components go a long way when monetizing a podcast through affiliate marketing.
What are some other ways you’re monetizing a podcast?
Note: The affiliate marketing platforms mentioned above are recognized as reputable and trusted by many bloggers within various industries. Share a Sale and CJ Affiliate were recently featured in Tech Radar as the “Best Affiliate Marketing Programs of 2021”.
Learn how to create content that maximizes affiliate income by joining our podcasting community — WOC Podcasters Community. Inside the community, watch the replays of two of our affiliate marketing sessions.
Read Next: Tips For Monetizing Podcasts With Patreon
Christie Lazo is a Peruvian-Canadian content creator and mother of one, living in Toronto, Canada. She is a digital marketing strategist by profession who exercises her creative flair through content creation in English and Spanish during her free time. In 2018, Christie launched Vida With Christie, a blog and podcast influencing parents to live their best lives as they raise aware and empowered children. Christie is a tea lover, beauty and makeup obsessed, an avid foodie, a travel enthusiast, and a mamá rebelde.
