How Can I Be Successful at Affiliate Marketing When My Audience is Small?

The first step to affiliate marketing is to have a product to promote.

But after that you need an to whom you are going to promote that product.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. “I don't have an audience! My blog is tiny right now! Don't I need to concentrate on growing my blog before I can make money with it?”

I agree that you need to work on growing your blog, but I disagree that you do not have an audience. Bigger does not necessarily mean better. Would you rather have 10 followers who are truly interested in everything you say or 1000 followers who are just there because they entered a random giveaway, signed up for a freebie, or accidentally clicked the like button on your Facebook page? Having 10 people who know you and care about what you have to say can be just as profitable as having 1000 who don't even know how they got on your email list.

If you have 1 follower, make that relationship worthwhile to that person and you will find that they will be more than willing to buy through your links when you offer a helpful resource.

(Likewise, if you have a million followers, strive to view each person as an individual with needs that you can help meet rather than just as a random mass of people.)

Your audience is not limited to just your blog either. Here are some other places you can find your audience:

1. Your personal Facebook account

Please, please don't be the person who posts 10 times a day about whatever miracle product, oil, makeup, nails, etc. that has changed your life! That is not how you make sales. That is how you annoy people and make them never want to see you again. Be a true friend. Never make your conversations about how you can make more money. I understand that you might honestly and truly love the product, but other people do not understand that, so please don't talk about it all the time.

However, if you are involved in other people's lives because you truly care about them, there will be plenty of times that it will be appropriate to suggest a product as the solution to a problem they are having. Sometimes they will flat out ask for suggestions and if you are involved in their life in an ongoing basis, it is not tacky to use your affiliate link when you give your own suggestion for a product that would help them with their problem.

Additionally, you can occasionally put out an affiliate link on your status update if you are truly trying to help others by recommending the product. This is especially true if the product is on sale and you want to make sure people who were thinking about getting it know about the sale price.

2. Facebook groups

The same principles apply for Facebook groups as apply for your personal profile. Be genuinely involved in people's lives; don't just look for every opportunity to drop an affiliate link. But when you are involved in the conversation, those opportunities will occasionally come up. Don't ignore them when they do. (Please be aware of the rules of the group, though. Some groups do not allow affiliate links at any time.)

3. Your blog's Facebook page

Use your page to either link to articles on your blog that have affiliate links included, or use your affiliate link directly on your Facebook page.

Understandably, your reach is limited sometimes on your Facebook page. Take a look at the Facebook crash course in the Facebook group for help improving your page. We also recently had a discussion about PostPlanner, which I have been using for a couple weeks now and absolutely love.

4. Forums

The same ideas would apply here as apply to Facebook groups. Be genuinely involved in the conversation and follow the rules.

5. Your email list

If you are not actively building your email list, you are making a big mistake.

What are more people going to see? A billboard on one specific road or a flyer that lands in every mailbox in the city?

What are more people going to see? An ad on Facebook that may or may not get shown to followers or a letter from you that lands directly in every single follower's inbox?

There is no faster, easier, and lucrative way to do affiliate marketing than through your email list. There's just not. If you are not finding time to build your list, you need to make some time.

Again, the same principles apply. Always be genuine. Don't make every email a sales pitch. Just be helpful and involved and opportunities to share your favorite products will naturally arise.

6. Twitter

Think Twitter is dead? I know for certain it's not! Every single time I get myself over there, I get clicks on what I post. Sometimes LOTS and LOTS of clicks. It truly baffles me. But it doesn't have to make sense. If it works, do it!

7.Pinterest

The beauty of Pinterest is that you don't have to have a ton of followers to get seen. Pinterest is a search engine. Use the right keywords, and people will find your content.

When you create evergreen posts that include affiliate links and pin them to Pinterest, anyone and everyone can find those posts. What's great is that sometimes people are searching for a certain keyword because they're shopping for it. If they're shopping for something, what do you think they're going to do when they find it? That's right, they're going to buy it.

8. Instagram

Instagram is a great way to show your authenticity to your followers. You get to show them a little of the behind-the-scenes life at your house. If you get a new product in the mail, post it to Instagram with the affiliate link in your profile. Show people the things you use and love and then tell them where they can get it for themselves.

9. Other social media

I haven't personally dabbled in too many other platforms, but if you're on other social media platforms, use them! Don't be afraid to use your affiliate links when you're following the principles of authenticity that I've mentioned over and over.

10. SEO

Don't overwhelm yourself with this at the moment if it's not your strong point. Just take one step at a time. But if you do understand a little bit about SEO, write optimized posts about products. You don't have to have “followers” for people to find your posts via search engines. And just like on Pinterest, when they're searching for a product it's because they're shopping for it. And when they find it they're planning on buying it.

10. Real life relationships

Now you're not going to make millions using affiliate links this way, but regardless, when you take the time to recommend a product to someone, I think it's fair for you to get paid for it. Say your friend tells you she loves your lip gloss and you tell her where you found it and how ridiculously low-priced it is. You can tell she's planning on hopping online to order some for herself. It's not at all inappropriate to say “You can order it at such-and-such, but if you wait until I get home, I'll email you a link and I'll get a little credit if you order through that link.” Chances are your friend will be tickled that she's getting some lip gloss and that you're getting something out of it too.

See? Your blog doesn't have to be huge for you to have an audience. Your audience is in lots of different places. Just focus on cultivating relationships and using affiliate links where it makes sense. Keep practicing and it will be more and natural to know when it's appropriate and when it's overkill. (Hint: less is better if you're not sure!)

I've got lots more ideas that I'd like to share when it comes to affiliate marketing, but this is really long already so I'll stop for today.

If you have any questions, though, feel free to shoot me an email or ask in the Facebook group!

Free Healthy Living Pack (Updated and Expanded)

I've expanded the printable Healthy Living Kit with some more pages, and I'm offering it free for a limited time!

The set is 9 pages and includes:

-Menu

– Daily schedule, water, exercise, and supplement reminders

– Shopping List

– Meal Tracker

– Supplement tracker

– Price comparison worksheet for your healthy living products

– Natural Remedies and Recipes worksheet

To get your free copy, enter your name and email below and you will receive the link in your inbox!  (Check your spam folder if you don't see it.)

[wp_eStore_free_download_squeeze_form id=16]

Starting Natural from Day One

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are 100% my own.

When I think of baby essentials, I naturally think of larger items like a crib, stroller, and car seat. But then I realize that babies need so much more than that. Smaller essentials like baby wipes, baby wash, and diaper cream also need to be collected before a new baby arrives in the home. I prefer to use only products with natural ingredients on my babies (and on myself for that matter.)

We have used and loved Burt's Bees diaper rash cream for every single one of our babies because it is the only one we've found that does the job on even the worst diaper rash — and it usually clears it up overnight!

Burt's Bees sent us a package with some Baby Bee Nourishing Lotion, Shampoo and Wash, Chlorine Free Wipes, Cream-to-Powder, and Multi-purpose Ointment.  We have enjoyed trying out these other products, and I love that there is a whole line of baby care products that is based on natural ingredients.

Now, I'll be completely honest and say that while most of the ingredients in these products are easily recognizable and definitely natural, there are some that I would need to check into a little further.  I also would prefer that they didn't contain soybean and canola oil as those are usually genetically modified, and I like to keep exposure to GMO's to an absolute minimum, even though it is only external exposure.  (Remember, your skin is your largest organ.)

With that said, I'll go back to saying that I'm okay with using the diaper rash cream for the reason that it works so well.

I just want to be completely honest with you.

I like the way Burt's Bees products work, but I do think their ingredients could be cleaned up even more than they are.  Are they better than some of the alternatives?  I think so.  You'll just have to make your own call on this one.

Update: Burt's Bees has offered the following information about their products:

“We actively engage with our suppliers regarding their sourcing practices, including the starting materials they use for our ingredients. Both the suppliers of our soybean oil and canola oil have signed a declaration that these are non-GMO ingredients.”

That's nice to know!  That actually makes me love their products so much more!

Baby products that work really well and are natural and non-GMO?  Yay!  I love it!

(Maybe Burt's Bees should add to their packaging that their products are non-GMO for the paranoid mothers like me?)

Some of the other natural ingredients you'll find in Burt's Bees products:

• Buttermilk for moisturizing.
• Beeswax to help lock in moisture.
• Shea butter to soften dry skin.
• Aloe vera to soothe irritated skin.
• Coconut oil to help nurture, young sensitive skin.

Want to know more about Burt's Bees baby products?  Follow them on Facebook:

How will you go natural with your baby?

This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Burt’s Bees blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.

Save Money, Reduce Stress, and Feed Your Family Healthy Food

Answer this question right now.

What's for dinner tonight?

If the answer is “I don't know,” when are you going to figure it out?

Will you wait until 5:00, when you will throw something together, inwardly kicking yourself for not feeding your family something more nutritious?

Planning your meals ahead saves money (no picking up takeout), reduces stress (no guilt trip over feeding your family sandwiches for supper), and helps your family be more healthy (always have the ingredients you need to prepare balanced meals.)

The problem with meal planning for some people is that it requires a window of time each week to sit down and figure out what to put on the meal plan.

Build a Menu is an easier way to meal plan, but you still get to choose what you want to prepare rather than having the menu determined for you.  They are running a special right now where you can get 3 months for $15.  This is a great way to try it out and see if you like it!

You can also choose specialty menus if you need them, like gluten free or Trim Healthy Mama!  You can choose the store where you'd like to shop, and your shopping list will automatically be created for you as you create your menu, along with the approximate total you'll be spending for the week.

I posted a few months ago exactly how it works if you'd like more information.  Check it out here.

To get the 3 months for $15, use the coupon code 3For15 when you check out.

What I Learned From a Week With No Internet

My internet is down right now. I had to order a new modem, and when the new one came it didn't work either. So I am patiently waiting until I have internet again to do much online.

I thought this would be a fitting time to republish this post from last year…

While having a computer with internet access is almost a necessity these days, we all get distracted with it sometimes, don't we? We sit there in front of Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, or whatever it is you like to look at, and end up sitting there longer than we intended.

When my computer's modem broke last week, I thought it would be a huge blessing. I would be forced to stay off the crazy computer and focus on more important things. It would be a breath of fresh air to not even sit down in front of that screen. I thought I might even have the chance to see for sure just how evil that computer was and decide to get rid of it for good!

But I learned a different, very important lesson.

It's not the computer that's the problem. It's me.

Computers and internet are incredible tools. They help us do all sorts of good things, like preparing Sunday School lessons, blogging encouragement to Christian women, and staying in touch with long-distance friends and far-off missionaries to name a few.

But they can be huge time-sucks too. We get on Facebook to say hi to a friend from church that we didn't see on Sunday or to read the latest update about an injured teenager we know, and the next thing we know it's been half an hour. Then we need to hop over to Pinterest to look up that recipe we were planning to make for supper. Another half hour gone. It's so easy to get lost on the internet even when you get on with the best of intentions.

You can see why I thought it would be nice not to even be able to get on.

But here's where the story didn't turn out like I thought it would.

First, it was terribly annoying not to be able to take care of things that needed to be taken care of – paying bills, sending emails, making a couple purchases, etc. I think having internet is getting to a point where it could actually be considered a necessity.

Second (and this is the part I don't like), I found out that I can find ways to waste time even without getting on the internet!

I am a born procrastinator! I hate it! Without even thinking about it, I find myself doing the least important things possible, instead of doing what I really should be doing.

Furthermore, when I do have some legitimate “down time”, I automatically seek out something entertaining rather than edifying.

I made a promise to the Lord years ago that every day I would not look at any type of media (books, magazines, movies, computer, etc.) unless I had already spent time reading His Word and praying. I haven't kept that promise perfectly, but I can honestly only think of a handful of days where I haven't.

But, here's the thing. Is there anything wrong with reading my Bible two times a day? Three? What kind of a person would I be like if I ran to spend time with the Lord every time I had a moment to sneak off?

As I think back to the days when my husband and I were dating, I can say for sure that I took full advantage of every possible opportunity to be with him. He was a dorm student at a local Bible college, and I was a commuting student, living only about 5 minutes away. I was in that cafeteria sharing every meal that I could with him. We were allowed a certain number of hours of dating every week, and you better believe we used up every minute. If I knew he was going to be somewhere, I would purposely make sure I ended up in the same place at the same time, even if all I had time to do was to say a quick hello.

If I can be that in love with a man, should I not be even more in love with the One who gave His very life because He loved me? And if I'm truly in love with Someone, wouldn't I want to spend time with Him every chance that I had?

Instead I've found the ugly attitude of “Well, I've already read my Bible today, so I shouldn't feel guilty doing something fun right now.”

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with entertainment, as long as it is wholesome. Everyone needs some rest and “down time” occasionally.

But I am wondering what kind of person I would be if I had such a passion for Jesus that I couldn't keep myself away from spending time with Him — if I went apart to spend time with him because I wanted so badly to be with Him. (Psalm 42:1)

No, friends. The computer is not the problem in my home. It's me.

I am begging God to continue to do a work in my heart – to give me more of a desire to be with Him and to be like Him. However, I must also remember that love is an action. With that in mind, I will be making the choice to spend time with the Lord during my down times, even if I feel like I'd rather do something entertaining. I think the results will be better than I could ever hope for.

What about you, my dear readers? What would our nation be like if we all got a passion for Jesus and just couldn't stay away from Him? I believe that's when we'll see revival. And it can happen. But we must make the choice to love him. Our love must be based upon action, not feeling.

What will you choose to do today to love your precious Lord?

A Little More Sanity (Plus a Giveaway!)

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me in partnership with One2One Network and Huggies. All opinions are 100% my own.

People.

I have 4 kids 6 and under.  Some days I wonder if I have a brain left at all.

Anything I can do to give myself a little more sanity is a big, big plus in my book!
And since diapers are also a very big part of my life right now, it is extremely important for me to find something that works great and doesn't cost a fortune in order to preserve what little sanity I have left.

I was recently sent a package of Huggies Little Movers to use on my “little mover”.

Here is one of my latest Instagram photos:

See nothing but a blur?  Me too.  The caption says “Literally 147 tries later and this is still the closest I could come to her looking at the camera.”

She's crazy, y'all.  (She gets it from her mother.)

Huggies Little Movers have Double Grip Strips for a comfy fit that lasts, a SnugFit waistband for all around stretchy fit, and the trusted protection Huggies LeakLock™ system.  The also have new colors and graphics (because diaper changing should always be as enjoyable of an experience as possible.)

What's even cooler is that when you buy Huggies Little Movers at Walgreens, you get rewarded.  Yes, ma'am.  I'm all about getting rewards for something I'm going to buy anyway.

Here's how it works:

-Buy Huggies Diapers at Walgreens
-After purchasing Huggies Diapers at Walgreens, go to Huggies.com/alittlemore and enter the Huggies Rewards code and Walgreens receipt number to earn great rewards.
-Play the instant win game (no purchase necessary) and earn great rewards like gift cards, and Huggies Diaper coupons.  (See official rules here.)

All right, moms.  Ready for a little more sanity?  Enter below to win a $25 Walgreens Gift Card to get you started with A Little More!

a Rafflecopter giveaway