James has the ultimate affiliate marketing side hustle. By day, he works for a data driven marketing company that targets the automotive industry. Since the automotive industry is a turbulent market to bet on, James decided in January that he would dive into a side hustle.

When An Affiliate Marketing Opportunity Knocks…

While talking to a friend over drinks one night, James was introduced to FreshCheq. A cloud based software platform designed for restaurants, FreshCheq automates food safety systems to help restaurant owners hold employees accountable. (Full disclosure: I am an owner of FreshCheq) The discussion went something like this:

William: My team and I developed this amazing food safety product. Every restaurant that uses it, loves it. But we are a small start up and need to cast a wider net. We need some affiliates to help us sell this product.

James: I know some people in the restaurant industry. What would it take to be an affiliate?

This is how it all began.

PLEASE READ MY DISCLAIMER ABOUT AFFILIATE LINKS.

What is the “Secret” to Affiliate Marketing Success?

There are no secrets. But, there are steps that you can take to ensure your own success as an affiliate marketer. Opening yourself up to unique and non-traditional strategies and stepping away from the “I need traffic” affiliate mentality will allow you to become an affiliate master. Not all affiliate marketing needs a website and savvy digital marketing. Let’s get back to basics and remember that there are an unlimited number of ways to introduce a product to a prospective customer.

1. Education

James went home that night and thought about the FreshCheq opportunity. He followed up with William and asked for a product demo. Making sure that an opportunity will match your audience and has a high enough commission rate is the first thing to consider. FreshCheq pays $100 for each restaurant sign up and is aligned with a target audience that James has access to.

James made sure that he learned the product inside and out. He left no stone unturned.

Time for a gut check. Go through your list of affiliates right now. Ask yourself these questions:

Are you on a first name basis with the affiliate manager?

Do you understand every feature that the product/service offers?

Have you either used the product or spoken with people who actively use the product?

Does the product match your existing audience?

Is the commission payout worth your effort and time?

2. Planning

James didn’t start randomly posting information about FreshCheq on his social media accounts. He didn’t allow himself to have a knee-jerk reaction from the excitement of the opportunity. Instead, he carefully planned his strategic approach. He made certain that he fully understood all of FreshCheq’s strengths and weaknesses. He made a list of every objection he could think of that a restaurant owner could throw his way. Then, he carefully considered the objection and wrote down 1-3 responses that would ease the objection.

Here are the planning steps that James took before he ever launched his affiliate marketing campaign:

1. List Objections/Responses
2. Create an email marketing list in Constant Contact from his existing contacts.
3. Create a list of prospects with their phone numbers.
4. Reach out to restaurant related trade magazines and offer to submit a product review of FreshCheq.

The planning stage took about 10 days. Remember, James has a day job, so this planning was done in only an hour or so per day. During this time, James didn’t even try to sign up a single FreshCheq affiliate. He understood from years of sales experience that his conversion rates would be much higher if he spent time planning his strategy.

3. Strategy Execution

Email Marketing. James created an email marketing series that introduced FreshCheq and walked the prospective users through the benefits and easy of usage. He also focused on testimonials from users and even sent an email with a brief interview of one of the owners. The email series was automated to resend every 2 days to those who had not yet opened the email. From this effort, he had a few conversions. He tracked the clicks and made a list of restaurant owners who opened the email and clicked on one or more links.

Landing Page. James didn’t have a website and did not plan to start one. He decided to set up and quick and easy landing page through Leadpages. He used the landing page to educate prospects and deliver a convincing Call to Action using his affiliate link.

Personal Contact. Several franchises clicked on the links in the emails. He researched these franchises to determine how many locations they have and where they were located. For restaurants that were within 50 miles from him, he reached out to set up physical appointments with the owners. It seems like too much effort, but think about it in terms of numbers:

James met with one franchise owner who owns 32 locations. If he sells FreshCheq to the owner and the owner decides to use the product in each of his restaurants, the commission is $3200. Would you agree to a 1-2 hour meeting that could result in a $3200 payout? Of course you would.

This is a product and an opportunity where scheduling a lunch meeting becomes very lucrative.

Continued Referrals. Once James signed up one franchise, he urged the owner to provide him with contact information for other franchise owners who may be interested. The conversion rate for these referrals was high because he also had the trustworthy recommendation of the first owner. Checking back in with previous affiliate sign ups and requesting referrals is a great way to make sure that your prospect list never dwindles down too far.

4. The Results

After only 8 months of marketing FreshCheq on a part time basis, James added up his affiliate commissions and it totaled $11,000, averaging $1375/month.

Here is the breakdown:

Restaurant #1- 32 locations= $3200

Restaurant #2- 26 locations= $2600

Restaurant # 3- 52 locations= $5200

With only three restaurant owners, James sold FreshCheq to 110 locations for a total of $11,000 in affiliate commissions.

The Short and Sweet

Although it is tempting to sign up with as many affiliate opportunities as you can, remember that quality trumps quantity. By focusing on a few high commission affiliate marketing opportunities, your earnings will add up much faster than if you spread yourself thin. Remember to go where others aren’t. FreshCheq has many affiliates, but James is the only one that personally reached out to prospective customers. While everyone else is posting content and driving traffic, think outside the box. Can you reach your prospects at trade shows, at Chamber of Commerce meetings, or through LinkedIn? Cast a wider net and be creative with affiliate marketing to find what works for you.

Don’t allow limited technology to hold you back. James doesn’t have a website or very much tech knowledge, but with a drag and drop landing page, a drag and drop email marketing platform, like Constant Contact, phone calls and a few meetings, James made his affiliate marketing side hustle pay off big.