You may be wondering to yourself are affiliate marketing articles still effective? This would be a valid concern because the internet is always changing and what used to work at one time, may not work anymore.
Back many years ago, about a decade ago, when Google clamped down on article directories, everyone panicked because their own affiliate marketing articles were suddenly tanking in the search engine rankings.
This was called the Panda update and it basically eliminated content farms, as they called them, because Google saw these as mostly full of low quality content and thin content and even scraped content.
These article directories were extremely popular at one point in time and were actually very effective when doing affiliate marketing.
However, Google decided that content farms were no longer going to have a place in ranking in the search engines.
The result was devastating for those affiliate marketers that actually used article directories to publish good content.
The rotten apples ended up spoiling the bunch and this was no longer a good strategy for affiliate marketing.
There are still some effective ways to utilize article marketing in your affiliate strategy, but the outdated method of thinking you can whip up a 300-word short description with a link back to your site and rank well is long gone.
When it comes to writing articles, you want to create share-worthy articles.
These should be good quality and therefore people will want to share them with other people online.
Articles should never be just flimsy teasers.
They should satisfy the reader enough that they want to share the content with someone else, or bookmark it because it’s so good.
Another strategy is to not only increase the quality and length of your articles, but Increase the volume of articles you release.
You may not rank really well with 5 articles, but increasing the amount of content you place online can help boost traffic to your affiliate website.
Consider press releases in addition to typical articles.
This method is not as popular as it used to be, but it still exists and can be effective.
A press release is an article that’s designed like a story for a print newspaper.
It typically is fact-based, and includes one or two quotes from sources (one of which could be you as the expert).
You can launch a press release all over the internet for free or using a paid PR service.
Start by answering who, what, when, where, why and how and then expand on the information you’re sharing by quoting yourself.
Make sure you include a link to your website.
Some people prefer to put their articles on their own sites.
This is also known as blogging (or you could put them as static pages).
Owning your own content certainly helps search engines view your domain as an authority figure.
Personally, this is the route that I chose to go when publishing content.
You can also ask to place your articles in other marketers’ newsletters or on their websites.
There are many website owners who accept and cultivate guest blogs or articles for their niche.
They’re happy to provide you with a link to your domain in exchange for the content you provide.
This is also an older method of content creation and marketing your brand.
This is still being done because it can help the website owner add more content to their website and helps the affiliate marketer promote themselves.
I still personally prefer all of my effort to be for my own website, instead of publishing on someone else’s website.
However, it can still be a great way to market for those that don’t mind spreading their efforts to have content on other websites.
If you decide to go this route, just make sure you follow the rules and guidelines for what the website owner wants and then polish your submission before sending it over for possible inclusion.
Another idea is to consider the traditional offline article route with trade magazines.
This would involve researching various trade magazines and finding the editorial contact information and submission guidelines included.
You can submit an article and reach a highly targeted audience who appreciates your expertise.
Some of the magazines will pay for the article, while others don’t pay, or pay in copies instead of cash.
This is yet another strategy that can help you market your brand, but this is also a very slow process.
Also, more and more newspapers and magazines are turning digital and there may actually be a way to publish in their online version.
In my experience, the best way to publish your articles is on your OWN website and use your content to build an authority site.
It takes time to build, but when you have your content published on your own online real estate…you can continue to build it for years to come.
As an affiliate marketer, you want your own hub online where people can come to read your content.
Teasers can be shared on social media linking back to your articles or blog posts on your own website.
Also, you can do videos or podcasts and embed these in your website as well.
Your content creation will just build on itself and you will attract more visitors to your website where you can share your recommendations of products and services.
So, are affiliate marketing articles still effective?
Yes and in fact, content creation is what makes the internet work. Without content, there would be nothing to see.
So, as an affiliate marketer, your job is to keep creating content and using that content to recommend the products and services that your niche market is looking for…in order to help them solve whatever problem, need or want that they have.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day 🙂
To Your Success,
P.S.- Grab your free gifts below as a “Thank You” for visiting my website 🙂
About
Nicole Lynn
from
Resources for Online Success
My Online Journey
You don’t know me.
I’m not some flashy internet marketing “guru” with my name and face all over the internet.
I’m just an ordinary person that had to figure out a way to make money online when I lost my job in 2008, due to health issues.
In the offline world, I gained several years experience in Customer Service, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable and various other clerical type positions.
Much of it was drudgery, especially working in call centers.
I was good at my various jobs, but I did not enjoy being hostage to a cubicle and headset..lol 🙂
But, you do what soul sucking jobs you have to do, in order to make money to pay the bills.
As a free spirit, I always had the deep desire to break free from the cubicle-zombie-robot rat race world and have full control over my time, income and life, without having to have permission from a boss.
I was tired of being just another “number” that was expendable, no matter how dependable I was or how hard I worked (just to help build someone else’s wealth and make their dreams come true).
I wanted to create MY freedom…not just build it for someone else.
Unexpectedly in 2008, severe neck issues forced me out of the 9 to 5 corporate world rat race (before I was actually ready financially, which really sucked a lot and was pretty scary).
My neck issues got worse after years of being trapped at a computer, with little to no permission to get up and move around and stretch.
This is not good when you are suffering from old car accident injuries.
This was especially the case in call center jobs with low cubicle walls. They didn’t want you standing up, due to the noise while on calls.
And although losing my job and the paycheck was a less than pleasant experience, my goal was to be an online entrepreneur anyway.
But, I was forced to make it happen at that point…which was not ideal.
Wasted Time Dabbling
It’s better to have a 2nd income already coming in regularly before losing your main source of income, but I had no control over what happened.
I had already been “dabbling” in internet marketing, on the side, since 2004…basically wasting time.
I treated it as a hobby, instead of an online business.
I actually made a little bit of money with affiliate commissions and some advertising revenue, but it was nothing to write home about because I did not build it up.
If I had realized that my health was going to go sideways so badly in 2008, then I would’ve taken my online business “side gig” much more seriously.
I would’ve hustled, even while still working a full-time job, because 4 years would’ve been more than enough time to have built that online business into a full-time income.
Just an extra 1 hour per day consistently over that 4 year period…would have made all the difference.
So, after I lost my job in 2008, I was in a real bind for more than one reason.
I needed to get serious and stop dabbling and start hustling to make money online, but it takes time to build an online business that brings in consistent income.
I was out of time. My household went from two incomes to one and I needed to get moving.
The problem was my severe neck issues and the accompanying dizziness from nerve damage in my C1 Vertebrae, the Atlas.
So, this meant that I couldn’t exactly hustle like I needed to because being on a computer for hours each day at home is no different than doing it at a job.
I was no longer able to do this, if I wanted to not end up completely disabled or bed-ridden.
The years 2008-2011 were extremely tough in trying to heal, but with proper therapy, the worst of it got better, but it’s not 100%.
Even now in 2022, I still can only be on a computer so much each day, without causing flare-ups.
So again, if I had taken it all more seriously, then I wouldn’t have ended up with so many financial worries, when I lost my job.
I would’ve had something more substantial to fall back on during times that were difficult money-wise and health-wise.
Then, add in beating my head against the wall, jumping from one “program” to another and basically flushing more time and money down the toilet.
Losing my job made me act in desperation because I wanted to make something happen right now.
So, I ended up doing what a lot of people do, which is looking for a shortcut and something “quick” or “push button”…which is not realistic because it doesn’t really exist.
Then in 2012, I joined Wealthy Affiliate because it had the tools and resources I needed all in one place, to help me build an online business.
Fast forward to 2020, I joined The Home Business Academy to add even more great tools and resources to my online business arsenal.
I now use both of these resources to build my online business.
I talk more about this over on my Recommended Resources page listed under Resources #1 and #2.
I enjoy making money online because I can work from anywhere and on my own schedule, while still being able to take care of my health.
You Can Do It Too
So, why do I tell you all of this?
I share all of this with you, so you’ll know it’s possible to make money online and have total freedom from the 9-5 grind.
It takes time to build an online business, but it’s worth it to build either a side-income to supplement your full-time job or replace your job.
If you have found yourself in a similar situation to me or you simply want to get ahead of things and plan for the future, your goal going forward should be to not waste any more time.
Whether you love your job or hate your job, it’s always a good idea to have a Plan B to supplement your income or replace your income.
You never know what can happen with your job or even with your health.
Don’t waste time, like I did.
Just get started and keep going.
Do not dabble.
Take action now.
And most importantly, believe in yourself.
You can do it!
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