How to Build an Email List for Affiliate Marketing?
Do you think email marketing is dead? Think again, with 3.9 billion email users and expected growth for the upcoming years, email marketing is more alive than ever.
In 2018 there were more email users than social media users, so it’s fair to say that if you don’t use email campaigns for affiliate marketing, you’re missing out.
Email marketing for affiliates might be tough to start with but can provide you great benefits in future promotion. Read on and find out how to build an email list for affiliate marketing.
Step 1: Get an email marketing provider
Your first step to building an email list is to sign up with an email marketing provider, like Getresponse or Active Campaign
These are software solutions that’ll send out your emails automatically to your list. You can create a visually-appealing email in the platform editor, schedule it, and it gets sent out to your list.
Step 2: Add optin forms everywhere
Next, you’ll need to get people to sign up to your list by adding opt-in forms to your site. An opt-in form is an online form where users provide their name and email address, in order to subscribe to your email list.
Your email marketing provider typically provides you with widgets you can embed on your website, so be sure to add one to your sidebar, footer, and anywhere else you think is appropriate.
Step 3: Create email marketing campaigns
When you send an email marketing campaign, you’re sending out a series of emails on a specific topic, offering information, and educating your subscribers on it.
Start by creating an onboarding (or welcome) campaign to send to new subscribers that explains what you and your site offer. Then, you can create a number of other email campaigns like one to promote your latest blog posts or reviews, one for people interested in a specific product, and another when people fill out a new form on your site.
You’ll save a lot of time using email marketing because the messages go out automatically based on the schedule and actions you set up. And a regular series of emails can keep your subscribers updated and engaged.
Step 4: Create a quiz
Have some fun with your readers by adding a quiz to your website. Quizzes will make your site more interactive and engaging. Plus, visitors will have to enter their email address before they can download their results, so it’s a great way to get more email subscribers.
Now that you’ve got your email list set up, your sign up forms optimized, and your email sequences set, it’s time to incorporate your affiliate links into your email marketing.
But first, let’s look at a few more ways you can grow your email list for affiliate marketing and boost your earning potential.
5 Email marketing tips for affiliate marketing
Most affiliate marketers place their links throughout their website and earn commission whenever people click and buy through them. But you have to attract people to your website for them to click your affiliate links.
Instead, multiply the power of your email list by adding your affiliate links to it. Affiliate email marketing is a slight twist on a regular email marketing strategy and can boost your earnings.
Tip #1: You’re sharing, not selling
First, you have to remember that you’re sharing information, not selling affiliate products. You’re not a sales rep for the affiliate company. You’re merely sharing valuable information with your subscribers in every email; you’re a happy customer talking about the affiliate products you’re promoting, which helps make your marketing sound more natural.
Keep this advice in mind when writing your affiliate marketing emails:
- Highlight the product’s benefits without going over-the-top.
- Personalize the recommendation and explain why you recommend the product.
- Keep the affiliate links to a minimum, say one near the start of the email and one at the end as a reminder.
- Indicate that the link is an affiliate one, so people don’t feel tricked.
Remember, you should write your emails as if you were talking to a friend. It’s a casual conversation over coffee. You found a product that improved your life or business, and you want to let your friend in on the secret. That’s it.
Tip #2: Make sure you can use affiliate links in your emails
Check with your email marketing account to see whether your email provider lets you include affiliate links. Many discourage, or even ban, affiliate marketing because they’re worried about being able to deliver emails consistently.
If you don’t look at their rules before sending your affiliate email campaign, you risk being banned by your provider and losing your entire list. Which means you’d have to build it up again from scratch.
Tip #3: Choose the right affiliate products to promote
The affiliate program you promote will reflect on you and your brand, so make sure you choose one that is relevant to your niche and is profitable for you.
Relevant
Your affiliate links must be relevant to your niche, which makes it a lot easier to share and not come across spammy. Your readers subscribed to your newsletter for a reason because they like you and your content. That’s why they gave you direct access to their inboxes, so don’t abuse that trust.
Your affiliate links should have a logical connection to your brand, site, and niche. For example, if you’re in the food service industry, you wouldn’t send affiliate links to pet products.
Profitable
You’re participating in an affiliate program to make money, so you want to earn as much as you can with each sale. Look for programs that have good returns on investment (ROI) on your promotional efforts.
Tip #4: Sprinkle affiliate links into your current emails
You don’t have to write brand new emails to get started with your first affiliate email marketing. By adding a few subtly into your current emails, you’ll avoid running afoul of your email provider’s guidelines (even if they allow you to add affiliate links.) Their main issue is to ensure the deliverability of all emails, so by adding your affiliate links into emails or email sequences focused on other content, they’ll pass through without problems (usually).
One drawback of this method is that your affiliate links will get less attention because they blend in with the rest of the email. This can decrease your affiliate earnings, which is why most affiliate marketers prefer the next tip.
Tip #5: Write new affiliate emails and insert them into your current email sequences
By writing new affiliate marketing emails that you’ll insert into your existing email campaigns, you’re adding new information, as well as promotional content, to the sequence. That means writing an educational email that warms up your subscribers a little by explaining why you found the affiliate product useful. Show them how it adds value to the niche you usually talk about and again, casually add in the affiliate links.
For example, your sequence for new subscribers could be:
- Email 1: Welcome (Existing)
- Email 2: Recognize your audience’s obstacle and suggest solutions (Existing)
- Email 3: Affiliate link with a concrete solution (New)
- Email 4: Nurturing email with cool content you want to share (Existing)
- Email 5: Nurturing email with more educational content you want to share (Existing)
- Email 6: Affiliate link email with product related to content from Email 5 (New)
The biggest thing to remember is that your affiliate emails should be heavy on education and nurturing, and less about selling.
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