Categories: Podcast MonetizationPodcast Resources

How to Use Affiliates to Make Money Podcasting

originial photo by Joanna Kosinska

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money podcasting. This article will give you tips on starting and what affiliate programs work best for podcasting if you are not doing it already. We'll also go over some essential things about affiliate marketing that podcasters need to know to succeed with their campaigns.

What is an affiliate, and how does it work with podcasting?

An affiliate is someone you are working with and pays a commission if your podcast refers customers to their products or services. Podcasting can be an affiliate-friendly business, so it's important to make sure that whatever you choose to promote on your show is in line with your values and what affiliates offer their audience members.

You should consider any marketing materials that will let them know about your podcast as well – this includes email signature lines, social media posts, blog articles, and more!

If there isn't an affiliate program for the product or service that you're interested in promoting via podcasting yet, then don't worry; keep checking back because they might add one soon! And if there is, but it doesn't fit within your niche? That's okay too! You can always reach out to the company and ask them if they offer affiliate marketing in a different category.

If you're looking for ways to make money through podcasting, then it might be time that you start thinking about using affiliates. If you know of an affiliate program related to your podcast's topic or niche, you should sign up for it right away.

When signing up for their affiliate marketing system, be sure to mention upfront in your application what types of products and services you plan on talking about on your podcast so they can find a good match as soon as possible.

How does it work? The first thing you may want to consider doing before working with affiliates is to create a website for your podcast where listeners can go to find out more about your particular niche or topic and then sign up for a membership. We love platforms such as WordPress and Podpage.

Affiliate programs work by giving you a unique affiliate code linked with the specific products offered on their site. You would place this code at the end of any links in your podcast episodes, show notes/blog posts, live streaming videos, and social media sites.

When listeners click on a link, they can register and buy products related to the episode's topic. This way, when your audience purchases something through these types of marketing methods, affiliates get paid commissions based on what kind of agreement they have.

How to find affiliates for your podcast

The best way to find affiliates that would be an ideal fit for your audience is to look around and ask yourself what are some products or services that my listeners would be interested in? Once you have a clear understanding of using affiliate marketing, start looking for programs to join.

Once you've found a few, it's time to put them through their paces which will help you decide if they're the right fit for your podcast audience. This process could take anywhere from one day to six months. It depends on how many affiliates you want at once and how much work is involved in each program.

Another way to find affiliates for your podcast is to research and review current podcasts popular with listeners who already consume your content. Do these podcasts have ads? If so, what companies do the podcast host mention during the episodes? The companies mentioned in these shows are a clue.

Here are a few other options to consider:

Amazon Affiliate Program – “A” Standard Links, the Amazon Associates program is a free and easy way for websites like mine to earn advertising fees by promoting products on Amazon.com. When you link your website with an affiliate code, they provide the podcast host with a small commission when someone clicks from the podcast site and buys something at no cost to you!

Zazzle – Zazzle offers a long list of affiliate programs, including all types of apparel items- hats, shirts, polos, etc. Home decor items- pillows, coasters, etc., outdoor decor items- candles, pillows, etc. You get paid a commission of up to 40% for things that customers buy through your website link!

Commission Junction – Commission junction offers programs with tons of merchandise from Amazon.com, computer games or hardware from Fry's Electronics®, books, and much more.

Check out Buzzsprout's Affiliate Marketplace for ideas.

What are the benefits of using affiliates in your podcast?

You don't have to worry about being a salesperson- affiliate marketing allows you to build relationships with other businesses and brands instead of selling products.

It doesn't take much time or effort. You can set up a free account and start advertising online in just minutes.

The commission rates (usually 30% – depending on the company and product) are still higher than what most podcast hosts make per episode!

The marketing work is done for you, so all you need to do is promote the affiliate link with your podcast!

Affiliates are an easy way of making money because they're self-sustaining. If someone clicks on your ad and buys something from the retailer, this person will have their affiliate ID, which means that sometimes when people buy things from other retailers using YOUR affiliate links, it could lead back to YOU! Thus, generating revenue without any additional effort required.

The best way to use affiliates in your podcast episodes, show notes, and social media posts

The best way for podcasters to use affiliates in their content is through recommending products or services by mentioning them during the episode and in your show notes. You could also say a product you're interested in on social media posts promoting upcoming and previous episodes.

An example of this is if you were doing a podcast episode about replacing your car battery, it would make sense for you to mention products like Walmart and Best Buy.

For social media posts, be sure that when linking out from one of these posts (i.e., Facebook or Twitter), all links are clickable so listeners can easily buy whatever the topic is in the post without having to copy & paste anything into their browser window. If there's an image included with the link, this will help even more because people often won't use certain affiliate links if they have too many steps involved to find what they're looking for/want!

Note: It is an excellent practice to let listeners and social media connections know if a link is an affiliate link. Also, it is a compliance requirement in the terms and conditions for some companies such as Amazon. You can keep it simple by saying, “if you decide to purchase through this link, the show receives a small commission.”

Why you should include affiliates on your podcast

It is the path of least resistance. You can sign up to become an affiliate and start promoting your unique link on your next episode.

Affiliate marketing costs less than creating and managing ads on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms (i.e., paying for clicks)

Affiliates can provide recurring income!

Note: You may want to consider using an affiliate network such as CJ Affiliate by Conversant to help automate the process of tracking commissions from various affiliate programs. That way, when it comes time to fill out your taxes at the end of the year, filling them out will be much easier. Plus, if you have multiple people podcasting under one banner, this takes care of all that accounting work, so they only need input once per month instead of having individual books/accounts. Check out their affiliate management dashboard for more info.

Resources for finding good, reliable, and trustworthy affiliates for your podcasts

EcomCrew: Ecom Crew has a podcasting category in its directory of affiliate marketing sites. You can also do keyword searches for “podcasts” and affiliate marketing to find more options. (Note: Some affiliates may be looking for reviews, so you'll want to stick with only the ones that provide services such as web hosting, domain registrars, etc.)

If you want to make money for your podcast, try using affiliates. You can partner with other companies who offer products and services related to your show’s topic. We’ve mentioned various tips about how affiliate marketing works in podcasts, as well as a list of resources where you can find potential partners. Do you have an opinion on using affiliate marketing as a part of your podcast episodes to make money? If so, please feel free to share them in the Podcast Movement Facebook Community or in Podcast Movement University.