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Affiliate Marketing For Podcasters

April 13, 2021

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is about monetizing podcasts. Some people are determined to find sponsorships while others are worried about turning their podcast into one big ad. Then there is another group who thinks that their audience is not big enough to monetize. 

If you are trying to figure out where to start with monetizing your podcast, then today’s episode is for you. I’m talking about the easiest and quickest way to start generating revenue no matter what your audience size is; affiliate marketing is the answer for many podcasters. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know to become an affiliate marketer.

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What is affiliate marketing for podcasters?

Affiliate marketing is when a company provides you a unique URL link to one of their products that you can promote on your platforms. Whenever someone clicks on that link and purchases that product, you receive a sales commission from the company. Usually it’s a percentage, but sometimes it’s a flat commission depending on the affiliate agreement you have with the company. 

Affiliate marketing is a great opportunity for podcasters because it’s really easy to get started. There is no audience size requirement since you only get paid when you make a sale. This is an ideal way to start monetizing your podcast if you don’t have your own product or service to market or are still figuring out your offers.

What should you promote on your podcast?

This is an important question that will make or break your affiliate marketing income. If you promote products that are not in line with your own brand or that are not interesting to your audience, then no one’s going to buy the product.  

Choose products that are in line with your brand and are interesting to your audience. Think from the perspective of your audience. What is interesting to them? What would they benefit from? 

When deciding which products I was going to promote with this podcast, I thought about the questions I typically get from my audience and what products would help answer those questions. So for me, that was things like which mic is best for podcasters and what hosting platform to use. If you take a look at my show notes, those are the products I promote with affiliate links.  

Keep in mind, promoting products that you don’t personally invest in or use is a quick way to alienate your audience and lose credibility. Kajabi has an amazing affiliate program, but it has nothing to do with podcasting. If I were to share an affiliate link for Kajabi, it wouldn’t be beneficial for my audience and it definitely doesn’t fall within ethical marketing practices. On the first episode of this season, Amie Finlayson shared that to meet ethical marketing standards as an affiliate marketer, you should only promote products that you personally use and recommend yourself.

How to get an affiliate link?

Once you’ve identified quality products or services that your audience can benefit from, you need to obtain your personal affiliate link. Some companies make this super easy through affiliate marketplaces. Buzzsprout is an example of this, but with the marketplace acting as an intermediary, your commission will be lower.

Alternatively, you can reach out to the company directly to inquire about their affiliate program. This tends to be the most profitable method, as well. Of course, not every company will have an affiliate program, but your inquiry may just be the nudge they need to create one.

Where should you list your affiliate links?

Your first inclination may be to list your affiliate links on your website’s resource page. The problem with this is that not many people go from your podcast to your website’s resource page unless you have a really large audience. If you talk about a product in your episode, it should be in your show notes. This way, the links are right there when your listener is in their podcast player.

Another place you can put your affiliate links is your episode’s blog post. For every episode, I create a full blog post, which has so many benefits (check out this earlier episode about generating continuous leads through SEO). Another benefit is that I can add my affiliate links to the post. 

I also like to put my links in broadcast emails and my ebook freebie. Anywhere I am talking about one of my affiliate products that will benefit my audience, I’m including that affiliate link and making it easy for them to access the product and for me to earn that commission.

Not ready to turn your podcast into a monetization machine?

Are you feeling overwhelmed when you’re thinking about podcast monetization? You’re already so busy, you don’t have time for this! And also, you probably need more downloads to get a sponsor anyways.

You are wrong! I’m hosting a free masterclass to talk about 5 strategies to monetize your podcast, when you should pick which one, and how to get started. Skip the overwhelm and sign up here.