Mark Ormiston and affiliate marketing

When you find a product that you love, the first thing you do is go tell your friends about it (if you’re a good friend, obviously). In this current climate, many of those businesses who create that product are willing to pay you for that recommendation. 

Frankly, that has always made me nervous. I’ve been invited to one to many “dinner parties” that were actually my “friends” trying to sell me jewelry and makeup and knives and some other kitchy trash I’ll never use.

What makes a great affiliate program that isn’t a scheme? Let’s take a look at some key elements to make sure you don’t accidentally become a multi-level marketer. 

1. Something you really believe in

This is probably a given, but the easiest way to sell something is if you use it in your actual real life. Then you know who needs it, how it works, and if it’s actually worth someone else’s time. 

We approach folks in the freelance creator space all the time and we love when someone presses pause and asks to actually see Moxie first and how it works. We believe in our stuff and we want people who promote it to believe in us too. 

2. Fast payouts (with no up front fees)

You shouldn’t have to pay to promote something. If someone asks you to pay them and THEN you’ll get paid back “and more!” that should send up a red flag faster than someone who wants to pay you “in exposure.” 

That said, if the payout is going to be in a year or several months after your initial recommendation, take that as a bit of a yellow flag. Sometimes that’s how payouts have to work, but Mark loves to grant his affiliates a quick payout. He believes that’s one of the keys to his success in keeping his affiliate marketers happily promoting. 

3. Tracking system

Your affiliate program should allow you to track the people that you’ve referred to the company. For us, we use a third party called First Promoter. They created a unique, trackable link to use for people you refer to use. They also create a dashboard for you to see who has used that link and how much you’ve earned. 

4. Marketing support

Since you (probably) know this product, you know how to talk about it and what you use. But a great affiliate program will have some resources for you to use with graphics or logos and even swipe copy for you to use so sharing with others is as frictionless as possible. 

Affiliate marketing can work for you and your business. Several newsletters I love have ways to share the newsletter and get something in return. Austin L. Church uses SparkLoop, but there are lots out there with a handy search.

Mark Ormiston has created and grown affiliate marketing as one of the key revenue streams for his business. If you want to learn more about what he does, you can watch his full workshop.