Promoting Financial Affiliate Programs 
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Check out my new guide for starting a blog to learn how to go about properly creating your own blog.
Although I just did my weekly blogging tips post yesterday, I want to share another piece of advice for all financial bloggers.
In particular I want to talk about monetizing your blog. I seem to get a lot of e-mail questions about that very issue. Since I have been running my own websites since 2004, I do know a fair bit about the topic.
Early on most blogs think Google AdSense is all they need to worry about. It’s simple enough to just paste the ad code into your theme and have it up and running. Unfortunately over the years AdSense has become less and less profitable. Google gradually took a bigger percentage of the click price and advertisers got more wary of advertising on random websites. So the price webmasters got per click shrank more and more.
Luckily there is a monetization method with much higher potential. This method is promoting financial affiliate programs. Basically you refer traffic to a specific product or service and you get a commission if they make a purchase. Since finance is a very profitable niche, the commission you can get per transaction can be quite substantial. There are also affiliate programs that pay per lead or per click.
You should be aware that to make much money through these kinds of affiliate programs you do need to attract targeted traffic. If your traffic consists mostly of other bloggers, chances are they will mostly ignore anything you promote. Well maybe they won’t outright ignore it, but it is a much tougher sell. To make good money you’ll want to get search engine traffic directly related to the product or service you are promoting. That way they’re already specifically looking for what you’re selling.
The challenge is that most keywords related to specific affiliate programs can be quite competitive. So you’ll either want to build up a lot of SEO strength first or get creative with the keywords you choose to target. Personally my plan it so start promoting affiliate programs more when my blog has a better chance of ranking well for such keywords.
One page that I have launched already features the best credit card offers. Since I have plenty of experience promoting credit cards on other websites, it was only natural for me to promote credit cards on this blog too. Credit cards happens to be one of the most competitive niches though. So to get headway there I’m going to have to use some extra marketing tactics that I’ve got up my sleeve.
You don’t have to promote credit cards though, especially since I know some of you choose to avoid using them yourself. Pretty much every financial product or service out there has an affiliate program. So think in terms of which specific financial products you are comfortable recommending to your readers.
Some of the things you could consider promoting include credit reports, loans, insurance, online banking, investment brokers, financial software and so on. If in doubt, check out what some of the more established bloggers are promoting. In a lot of cases they have taken the time to test what works best for them.
One affiliate program in particular that I’m interested in potentially promoting is the North-West Financial Broker affiliate program. They are an investment broker that specializes in Forex (Foreign Exchange Trading).
The part that intrigues me the most is that you can make commission on each day your referrals do any trading. With most other affiliate programs you just get commission once and the company gets the full profits after that. When there is ongoing commission you could potentially make a lot more. Forex happens to be the exact kind of industry where members might be making regular transactions.
So when I take the jump into more affiliate promotion, there is a good chance that I’ll be giving Forex promotion a try. Sometimes you have to do your own testing to figure out what works for you. This one definitely seems worth giving a try.
Have any of you had any success with specific affiliate programs? Or are there affiliate programs that you plan on promoting in the future?
45 Comments
Nice! I’m going to make sure that Greg reads this. We are just starting to learn of such things. Have a great day!
Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted..Combining Finances: Holly’s Perspective
Feel free to shoot me an e-mail about this kind of stuff. There are certain details that I chose not to share in this post. I didn’t exactly want to share my entire strategy publicly.
I already read it:) We have had very little luck in terms of affiliate marketing. While I’ve had some minor success with Amazon, we have had about zero success with anything else. Part of the issue is that we probably need to promote it more. The other part is we need to grow more traffic, specifically non-blogger traffic. I think it will come around in due time. However, it is kind of frustrating all the same.
Greg@ClubThrifty recently posted..Combining Finances: Holly’s Perspective
Wow back to back Club Thrifty comments. I feel like a true VIP now
Most blogs really won’t make anything from affiliate programs early on. At that stage they’d probably have better luck with blogger specific programs like web hosting, theme buying, marketing services, etc. Search engine traffic is so much easier to convert since the right keywords show that the person wants that product or service now.
I’ve added some affiliate programs to my site, but haven’t had much luck in making anything from them to this point. With affiliate programs I try to be real selective in what I’ll vouch for. I don’t want to mislead my readers into signing up for bad/risky products just because they give me a higher $$ conversion.
Good point about only promoting products you truly believe in. If you promote junk, you really risk your creditability and trust. Don’t worry about not making money from the affiliate programs yet though. That will come in time as your blog grows. So really it might be best starting with something like AdSense…although they require a 6 month blog history first. So that kind of throws a wrench in that plan.
You’re better off building a value-added list (backed with some really good premium product but given up for free). Then promoting products that you yourself find very helpful and wonderful. Lists make money. Affiliate links in your posts look eeky and people don’t appreciate affiliate ads all over.
That sounds like a great affiliate program they offer! I agree…I have to get my SEO stronger before I’ll really start making anything off these.
femmefrugality recently posted..Fees: It’s How I Support My Community
Affiliate promotion does take a certain amount of SEO strength to do well with, but there are other ways you can monetize your blog in the meantime. Some just carry more risk than others.
I’ll admit: I only tried this one time with Mint. It worked well, and I should have kept up, but of course, I got busy with other courses of action. Moving into the fall, I’d like to dig into some programs and see which I can honestly suggest to people as “good products.” I don’t want to be the guy who slimes his readership.
AverageJoe recently posted..You Have No Idea What I Paid For This Room
Thanks for the reminder about Mint. I had their banner in their sidebar early on, but took it down since it was just providing them mostly free promotion. An actual review of their product would work well though.
I haven’t had much success yet but my blog is still pretty small. Time and hard work will change that though!
Lance@MoneyLife&More recently posted..How Theme Parks and Movie Theaters “Price Gouge” for Food
I’m sure you’ll eventually get there with all the hard work you put in Lance. SEO largely comes down to patience though. Keep building up solid links and you’ll slowly get there.
I just recently started doing this. I added a credit card offer page a month or so ago, and have actually had one person sign up though my site (earning me a payout). Other than that, I have two sidebar affiliate banner ads (for Mint.com and Perkstreet Financial). I get a fair amount of clicks on those, but what I need do is pick out some products and write an actual post descripting the product with a link to the offer.
Justin @ The Family Finances recently posted..Update Your Kitchen Cabinets the Frugal Way
That’s awesome that you’ve made some credit card commission on your blog already. That first big commission can be quite satisfying. You’re right though, you’ll want to write posts related to specific offers to really convert well. Sidebar ads may generate some interest, but the people often still need time to consider the purchase. In the meantime they might go directly to the site later skipping you, the middleman.
This is something that I plan on getting into very soon. I’ve had some luck with e-books, and that’s pretty much as far as I’ve gone so far.
I definitely recommend you jump into it soon. With how long your blog is around and how many links you must have, you might have the SEO strength to rank for some good search terms.
I’ve had only a few buyers on my affiliate ads, but I haven’t promoted them heavily. I do have some plans in store from some of my favorite affiliates, and I want tp ;aunch them once my SE traffic grows a bit more. I have seen an increase in SE traffic over the last month, so I’m hoping it’s a continuing trend
Jacob @ iheartbudgets recently posted..What’s In Your Wallet?
Just keep what you’re doing and it should keep improving. Shoot me an e-mail if you need any advice with any of your planned affiliate promotion. I do think it is a good idea to hold off early and focus on growth.
I like that sort of affiliate program. I know there are a few gambling related ones in the UK that have a similar profit share scheme! For now I will stick with adsense, but one day I will switch to finance products too. Maybe when I reach PR6
Savvy Scot recently posted..Four Ways of Making Things Frugal at Home
lol I guess you won’t be switching anytime soon then
Gambling related affiliate programs do pay well, but it is often a bad idea to associate a quality site with the gambling niche. Some things just aren’t worth promoting.
Jeremy, how did you get a pic of yourself in the tub like that? I use both Adsense and some affiliate marketing. So far, Adsense is more profitable to me but only because I need to keep increasing traffic. I will say this though – of the sales I have made through some products easily outperform Adsense in terms of dollars. I can definitely see how affiliate partnerships are more profitable.
MoneySmartGuides recently posted..Have You Ever Taken A No Spend Challenge?
Adsense is easier to profit from early on. People may be interested enough to click on an ad, but converting that into a sale is another story. Overall affiliate promotion is way more profitable though. As for the tub shot, as much as I’ve wanted to do that, those are US bills not Canadian. So I am in full denial lol.
I use affiliate marketing and would recommend it to all bloggers. As for the credit card angle it’s something I’m looking at, your credit card page looks great.
Money Bulldog recently posted..Make Money By Starting Your Own Website
It seems that most popular finance bloggers focus on credit cards. Since I’ve been promoting them on other websites for a long time, I know just how profitable they can be. It does really come down to being able to get competitive search engine traffic though.
I think affiliate programs are awesome. I haven’t done many articles that recommended certain products but I’ve made a few bucks on the ones that I have done. I keep getting denied though for all the credit card company affiliate programs..
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..A Review of My No Cost Refinance With Amerisave
That is surprising about getting denied by credit card companies. Shoot me an e-mail about who rejected you. I can hook you up with my affiliate rep. He helped someone else who got rejected. There are several networks out there, but just 2 or 3 that pay top dollar.
I think I’ll write an ebook about how not to do SEO. My first attempts have been hilarious. I’m so far from any money, but am just having a blast putting myself out there. We’ll just have to see how it goes.
Kim@EyesontheDollar recently posted..The Cost of Pet Ownership
I wouldn’t call your SEO a failure. It is far too early to be able to tell that. For example, my blog is 7 months old yesterday (shit forgot to say happy anniversary to her). Just recently I’m getting more comfortable with the amount of SEO strength I’ve built up. In those 7 months I did a ton of marketing and I have a ton of experience. So as a beginner, just be super patient and consistently build up links and traffic gradually.
Every time I review a book, I always put an affiliate link to Amazon. Haven’t made anything yet, but I figure a chance is better than no chance. Besides, my review of 7 Habits of Highly Successful People has been getting some search engine traffic lately.
Thanks for the reminder. I’ve been meaning to do a book review soon. I think the trick is to do some keyword research to find a keyword besides ‘book name’ + review. That phrase will be competitive unless the book isn’t well known. If you can get that search engine traffic it should convert.
Maybe use the subject as your primary keyword?
My ranking for “7 habits” is 210!
Well I think something with the exact book name in it is going to convert much better since it will attract traffic looking for that exact book. Someone searching for that subject isn’t very likely to be looking to buy a book.
Great post and good information! We’ve been on ‘away’ for the last few months, but now back and ready to srart blogging again. Not a good start to have a 9 month old blog and be ‘away’ for four of them! I’ll have to look at some affiliate marketing, but first things first – time to write some good articles!
sleepydad recently posted..Neglected Yvrdad.com
Good to see you back sleepydad. You’ll have to come out to one of the blogger meetups we’ve been having lately. But yeah, 4 months off from a blog makes it tough to keep any momentum going. At least it’s early on before you have a ton of followers left wondering where you are.
I’m sure this will be a big topic at FinCon. I’ve make a few pennies each day with Adsense and a buck or two with other affiliates. The money will come with time…33 months I hear is the golden ticket. I’m aiming at growing my newsletter list, guest posting, and growing nonblogger traffic at the moment.
Brent Pittman recently posted..End of Summer State of the Blog Address + September Blog Goals
33 months? What a strange time estimation. Really there is no set time frame because it comes down to how much time and effort you put into it, as well as your experience level and a bit of luck. Just work hard and you’ll see results down the road. By the way, good to hear from you again Brent.
I tried affiliate programs in the past but they didn’t do to well. Now that I have build more readership and my site has grown they would probably do better. I really should look into them again.
Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter recently posted..Teaching Children to Sell Helps Them Excel
Yes I highly recommend that you do. They should do better with how much your blog has grown. Shoot me an e-mail if you need more tips. Or I’ll probably do another post about it here.
Hi Jeremy, I have a Forex news blog “PipsToday” where I share my experience and latest market news. It is created to assist new traders so that they could avoid loss in forex trading.
I did not try for Google Adsense due to its complex and hard rules. However I am searching for good affiliate programs related with forex or trading. Your blog post helped me (I found some affiliate but these are not so good as I aspect.). I visited “North-West Financial Broker affiliate program” website and it is matching with my requirements. I hope, it will help me to make some money.
Thanks Jeremy for your great post.
PipsToday recently posted..EUR/JPY is Trading Within a Range
I hope it works out for you. With affiliate programs it can take a bit of searching to find one that is a good fit. Even then you should keep looking around for other opportunities. Sometimes combining multiple affiliate programs works out well too.
I have a few affiliate links but the only one where I’ve ever seen anything is Amazon. I keep track of my links, and my Mint affiliate link has been clicked over 200 times, and I can’t believe that not a single person has signed up, but that’s what CJ tells me.
Kathleen @ Frugal Portland recently posted..State of my Debts: September Check in
That is some pretty lousy conversion rates, but that can happen when people are just kicking the tires on a product or service. When you get traffic specifically looking for a product it converts significantly better. Some things just have fairly low conversions rates too. I know with Mint the major drawback is them wanting to have access to your bank account which is bound to scare off a lot of people.
Choosing to become an affiliate marketer or promoting other company’s products or services online can work out well for people who are looking for a successful work at home business model. There are millions of people who use the internet each day and the entire online world is your potential customer Just remember, you should look at it as an online business opportunity and put in the time and effort to make it a successful work at home business.
You’re absolutely right that you need to put in substantial effort. Just because it seems as easy as putting up some ads on your blog, it doesn’t mean that will automatically turn into a stream of income. You have to work hard to make it work.