Increase Squidoo Income with Affiliate Programs
Did you know that there are other ways to earn money with Squidoo besides the Adsense revenue share and the modules such as Amazon and eBay? You betcha! In fact, almost all of my Squidoo income comes from other sources than Squidoo’s “sell stuff” modules. What I use are affiliate programs, which are programs offered by companies that work with big retailers such as Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and even Hanes and act as a sort of “bridge” between us and the retailer. We can then sell the products offered by these retailers, and receive a commission for doing so.
Why do retailers do this? Well, they spend millions and millions of dollars each year on advertising. When we partner up with them through affiliate programs and promote their products for them, we do it at our own risk. Since it’s cheaper and safer (for them) in the long run to just pay affiliates (us) a cut of the profit for selling something, these big companies prefer to do this and be able to spend less on advertising costs. We spend our time promoting their products, get a share of the profit for each product purchased through us, and the company spends less on advertising. It’s usually a win-win situation.
To join an affiliate program and start promoting products is very easy. There are literally dozens of big affiliate programs that are partnered with hundreds (thousands?) of companies. Some of the bigger and most prestigious ones include Linkshare, Commission Junction, and Pepperjam Network. Simply sign up with one of these programs (free, never pay to join an affiliate program) and look for some products that are relevant to your lenses. Usually, all you have to do is copy and paste some HTML code into your lens and it will generate a link or picture people can click through to buy the product. You’ll then receive a commission for each item sold.
I’ve seen a LOT of lenses that have had great potential for earning money, but their owners don’t seem to know about affiliate programs and a lot of opportunity is lost. All they would have to do is join one of the programs listed above and earn some money for their hard work of creating a great lens. Most of these lenses have some of the Squidoo money making modules such as Amazon, and I have no idea how well they’re doing on that, but there can be other more rewarding alternatives. Don’t get me wrong, Amazon is great–there just are often alternatives that are more targeted. For instance, if you build a lens reviewing art supplies, wouldn’t you rather buy them from a trusted art supply store instead of an all-in-one superstore like Amazon that sells tens of thousands of products ranging anywhere from computers to lingerie to even groceries? I know I would, and I think that a lot of people would agree.
Also, like I mentioned earlier, never pay to join an affiliate program. You should never have to pay to promote other people’s products for them, and any affiliate program that tries to charge you for the “privilege” of making them money is almost always a scam. Stick with the guys that have built up a good reputation, and be sure to check out each affiliate program before you join it to be sure it’s legit. A simple Google search of the program’s name should bring up enough reviews and information to verify it. If you see a bunch of people complaining about it, then find a different program to work with. There are plenty out there. I’m working on a list of trustful affiliate programs that I recommend, so stay tuned for that.
And, if you join Linkshare, Commission Junction, or Pepperjam Network and are having trouble getting started, just shoot me an email and I’ll see what I can do to help you out.
