Affiliate sites done well - Trispace.co.uk
Time and time again people ask me what makes a good affiliate site and time and time again I say that all you need is to be passionate about something enough to write well about it. I truly believe that if you are knowledgeable enough about a subject to write engaging content then you will be a success.
Some people think that to become a successful affiliate they have to become a Google AdWords expert and blow a load of cash on PPC. Or they think they have to build a site about broadband/mobile phones/finance/gambling because that’s where the money is, meaning they will spend weeks/months trying to build something they have no interest in - painful. Or worse still create a cashback or discount code site just because everybody else is so there must be money in them thar hills. Believe me, that’s not the case.
WordPress has made creating and owning a website so accessible and simple that it’s now the only tool you need to build a good affiliate site. It’s easy to install, modify, has thousands of plugins to support and enhance it and most importantly is a doddle to use.
A friend of mine has just followed this advice and set up a new blog/affiliate site about his passion, the Triathlon. He’s a proper athlete, fitness nut, coach and sports therapist and what he doesn’t know about the sport isn’t worth knowing. So he’s set up a site called trispace and is now set to unleash it on the world. The beauty of creating a site around your passion is that it doesn’t seem like “work” when you’re updating it. Which makes it the best “job” in the world, as because you’re writing for the love of it, when the money starts to come in, it will be a bonus.
And the money will start to come in. All he needs to do is some grass roots marketing via word-of-mouth, some relevant forums and a few well placed links here and there. Honestly that’s all it takes for starters. If the content is good, people will tell others, the inbound links will flow and so will the traffic.
At the moment the site isn’t over-monetised and that’s fine. If it was plastered with ads etc. it could turn people of and give the impression that it only exists to make money. Instead opt for having 1 or 2 premium sponsors that you can feature and a few affiliate ads/links that are relevant. When the user base grows people will be knocking on your door for the chance to advertise to such a rich targeted demographic.
So there you go, affiliate marketing should be about monetising sites that exist because people have built them to fulfill a hobby and passion. All too often in this day and age affiliates build sites purely to “cash in” on trends and sectors, not because they have a real interest in something.
What I’m listening to right now: Stereo MC’s - “Connected” old school baby!!!
Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Affiliate Marketing, Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Welcome to my blog. My name is Kieron Donoghue and I run UK Offer Media Ltd. I thought it would be fun to post a daily (well hopefully daily) blog, writing about my experiences in Internet Marketing and more specifically Affiliate Marketing. I'll include some personal stuff too, probably about my other passions, music and cars. Please feel free to post your comments and thoughts too.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Hi Kieron (& Your Mate)
Yep, starting off by blogging about a topic that interests you makes a great deal of sense.
As I do a bit of running (and used to do cycling) I’ve just tried to leave a comment on the trispace blog ..unfortunately the site gave a server error?
Also, maybe switch to custom permalinks too before you get too much indexed content on there?
Good luck with it - I’ve subscribed anyways!
John
July 24th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Thanks for that John, the permalink issue has already been highlighted and is first on the to-do list. Not sure what has happened with the comments but will look at that too. Thanks for the feedback.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Thanks for your comment John, & your help Kieron. The server error may have been because of issues whilst updating the .htaccess file in wordpress. I’m on the case though.
Cheers
Jeff
July 24th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Was UK Offer borne out of a passion for online discounts?
Do you have content sites too as per the above?
July 24th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
The Don - lol no of course not. And yes I do have content sites, I just launched one of them at http://whitecarworld.com/
July 24th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
How true writing about something you are passionate about. I have written my site round dieting and weight loss as it is a subject i feel very strong about and have experienced over my years.
It is a good job wordpress is there - I am not techie by any stretch of the imagination!!
July 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Kieron
Great post and you are absolutely right - it is a mistake I have made in the past and paid for it through frustration and money down the drain! - trying to get away from that now though!
July 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
What percentage of your income would you put down to writing about subjects you’re knowledgable/passionate about and what percentage comes from PPC/Bingo/Voucher Codes?
You’re clearly passionate about white cars but I’m guessing it’s PPC/Bingo/Voucher Codes that paid for the white RR and the nice looking house
I’m sure this post is well intentioned but it comes across as “don’t do as I do - do as I say”
July 24th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Jon - let me give you a real life example - this blog. I started it because I’m passionate about this industry and I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions. I never built it with the intention to monetise it, I never for one minute thought that I would make a penny from it. Now, 3 years later it brings in a substantial amount of revenue from private adverts, gets my name out to a global audience and has opened up a LOT of doors and business opportunities for me.
Sure, PPC, discount codes and online gaming all make me money too. BUT I’ve been in those sectors for years and times have changed and its not easy for new affiliates to make an impact and break into those sectors now - especially on a budget. However anyone can write about something they are passionate in, its just a much easier approach and can be very rewarding. Basically what I’m saying is don’t look for the obvious.
July 25th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Hi Kieron -
Just tried to forward this post to someone using the Share This plug-in email, as it has direct relevance to one of our sites. The message bounced back as undeliverable, once when I tried direct from the Bloglines entry and once from this page. I’m off to test it on one of our sites in case the plugin has a wider problem, but you might want to look into it at your end too.
July 25th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Thanks Andy, will take a look at that. It’s probably because I’ve upgraded to the latest WordPress release - it’s already knackered a load of other plugins!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Thanks Kieron, I’m finally going to create something I’m passionate about. I’m starting a p*rn blog!
August 7th, 2008 at 9:17 am
I’ve seen similar advice given elsewhere and it certainly rings true. I’ve tried building affiliate sites and it’s not easy to maintain the kind of momentum and interest needed to make them succeed.
I’m just starting out in the world of blogging. You sing the praises of Wordpress but my first blogs are elsewhere (e.g. Blogspot). Do you think I’d be better off switching to Wordpress now, while I’m still starting, or doesn’t it really matter all that much?
August 7th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Ben - I’ve used Blogger before and WordPress is about a million times better. If I were you I’d switch now. The more you get into blogging, the more you will want from it - and Blogger won’t be able to provide it.