A Fitness Pro's Guide to Podcast Monetization with Affiliate Marketing
- Jamie Kennedy
- May 9, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 8
Hello! I am Jamie Kennedy, the executive podcast producer of Brave Moon Podcasts. I am here to clarify affiliate marketing for podcasters. I will share insights on how anyone, regardless of their number of listeners or followers, can get started with affiliate marketing. I will outline three approaches to affiliate marketing and share five hacks for success.
In this blog article, we delve into the world of affiliate marketing, exploring its benefits and how it can be seamlessly incorporated into your podcasting strategy.
We discuss the three main approaches to affiliate marketing: joining an established affiliate network, partnering with specific brands through their affiliate program, and directly partnering with specific brands. Additionally, we share five useful hacks for successful affiliate marketing, providing you with the tools you need to master affiliate marketing for your health and fitness podcast.
In this episode, we talk about…
The basics of affiliate marketing and how it can benefit podcasters.
Three different approaches to affiliate marketing.
Five hacks for successful affiliate marketing.
Transcribed Podcast Episode
Hey coach, so many people I talk to believe that affiliate marketing is just for the podcast big timers, but they're wrong.
Affiliate marketing is definitely not for the elite. You don't need to have a certain amount of listeners or followers to get started either. If you have a health and fitness podcast, business or website, adding affiliate marketing to your plan can not only boost your income, but can also be used to bolster the relationships you have with your listeners, even driving new listeners to finding you too.
Affiliate marketing really is something you could be doing right now in your podcast to generate commission for every recommendation that you make.
So how does affiliate marketing work? There are three ways you can approach affiliate marketing, and I'm going to share with you all three approaches in this episode. Let's go.
Thank you for joining me today. I'm Jamie Kennedy, Executive Podcast Producer at Brave Moon Podcasts. We've produced podcasts for Virgin Active Health Clubs, Functional Training Institute, Wellbeing Coaches and Speakers, and many more. I'm including all of the insider secrets I've learned along the way being a podcast producer for some of the top health and fitness brands on the charts today.
So whether you're a small business owner, health and fitness professional, or a wellness enthusiast looking to boost your brand through podcasting, this podcast is for you. For a comprehensive list of the equipment and software my clients use, head to my website and grab my free start a podcast guide. I've condensed months of research into this guide, offering you the industry's best choices. Download it today. The link is in the show notes.
Did you know that affiliate marketing industry is expected to grow to $8.2 billion by 2028? This is not a small stat. Affiliate marketing works for brands and it works for the little guy, helping us earn money from our heartfelt recommendations.
And when I say it's working for the little guy, I am not kidding. The average monthly bonus income earned from affiliate marketing is $7,194. And you could join the affiliate pack.
But let's start with the basics. What is affiliate marketing?
Think of it like this. Imagine you host a podcast dedicated to helping listeners achieve their fitness goals, or maybe you already do. So you've built a loyal audience who trusts your advice and recommendations. Affiliate marketing allows you to partner with companies that offer products or services relevant to your listeners' health and wellness journeys.
Here's how it works: You identify companies whose fitness trackers, workout apparel, or healthy meal delivery services align with your podcast message and what you genuinely believe in.
You sign up for that particular company's affiliate program. Some companies have their own affiliate program and some go through a mass affiliate program. And some you reach out to directly, but we'll get to that later in the episode.
During your podcast episodes, you then mention these products.
highlighting their benefits and how they can help your listeners reach their goals. You'll then include a unique affiliate link in your show notes or description.
If a listener clicks on your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission for that sale.
It works on so many levels. Your audience discovers valuable products that can help them achieve their fitness goals, you're rewarded for the recommendation and the company you admire makes a sale. It's a win, win, win situation!
Think about it - Your clients already turn to you for personalized advice on products, supplements, and healthy food options. Podcast affiliate marketing lets you extend this service to a much wider audience. You're essentially broadcasting your trusted recommendations to thousands of listeners, all eager for your insights. It's like having a massive group fitness class where you can share your expertise and help countless individuals on their journey.
The key difference here is scale. In one-on-one sessions, you wouldn't receive a financial reward for recommending a healthy meal delivery service, would you? However, podcast affiliate marketing allows you to partner with these companies and earn a commission when listeners you've influenced make a purchase through your special link. It's a fantastic way to generate income while staying true to your core mission, helping your audience achieve a healthier and happier life.
Now let's talk about the three approaches to podcast affiliate marketing, and then I'll share with you my favorite affiliate programs to help you get started.
The first approach is my favorite because it's simple, straightforward, and rarely requires talking or convincing a person to let you join. And it's to join an established affiliate network.
These networks are often vast digital marketplaces filled with products. And in your case, fitness products like protein powders, yoga mats, the latest fitness trackers, you name it. A perfect example of this is Amazon Associates Central. When you become an affiliate with Amazon Associates, you can suggest any product, book, item, or even service offered through Amazon. And you get a commission for every person that you convert. You can even make money from a person who clicks on Amazon through your link, but then purchases something else.
Here's how it works:
You sign up: you create an account on the network and browse their product listings. You do have to share information like where you'll be posting these recommendations, like your podcast, socials, website, etc. And you do need to make three qualified sales within three months. But I have faith you can make it happen.
Once you're approved, you then select products that resonate with your podcast theme and that you genuinely believe in.
You then generate a unique affiliate link for each product you want to recommend. The network helps you do this very easily.
Then you weave these links into your podcast content, highlighting features and benefits relevant to your listeners.
Finally, when a listener clicks your link and makes a purchase, you are in a commission from the sale.
What is great about podcasting and affiliate links is that your podcast is evergreen, forever attracting new listeners who potentially would love your recommendations. So you always have the opportunity to make money from your recommendations as long as your podcast and affiliate links are active.
The second approach is by partnering with specific brands through their own affiliate program.
This approach is also awesome because you don't usually have to convince someone too hard of your worthiness to be part of their affiliate program.
There are a lot of companies, whose product or service are on a shared affiliate network like Amazon, who run their own affiliate program. Examples: MyProtein, Fitbit, and Alo Yoga. They are just a few of the thousands of health and fitness companies that allow you to become affiliates for them directly. Let's say you live in Alo Yoga; leggings. Why not recommend them to your listeners with your unique code?
What's great about this approach is that many companies are keen to participate in this way of marketing. Essentially, it's no money out of their pocket and they only pay you when you help them make a sale.
What I also love about this approach is that you can have such great brand alignment. Where areas Amazon can sometimes be considered very generic, a direct connection with a brand like Fitbit can really boost your own brand image by aligning yourself with these top notch brands.
Remember: when using this approach, commissions come in different forms. So be sure to review the affiliate program you're signing up for to ensure you're happy with your commission opportunities.
The third approach is by partnering with specific brands directly. You can guess this is the hardest way because it does in fact require you to put in more effort by approaching the brand directly. You'll need to find out who their marketing team is and get in with them. It's 100 % achievable, but it does require you to sell yourself and your podcast a bit more.
Essentially, you would need to connect directly with the brand, discuss their products, and negotiate a unique code for your listeners. Ideally, it would be a discount code. Something like "BRAVEMOON15," offers your audience a percentage off of their purchase. Oftentimes, these small discounts are very approachable to companies like this. That 10 or 15 % is something that they give regularly, and it's something that helps customers make that final purchase. And the best part is that companies are very often keen to collaborate with you on something like this because there's no financial commitment required to get started and it's a low risk way for them to test your effectiveness.
What I also love about this method is that you're developing a direct connection with the brand, potentially influencing product development or securing exclusive promotions. Imagine suggesting a new flavor of protein powder to my protein or requesting a special makeup from Fitbit.
To recap the 3 approaches, you can (1) join an affiliate network like Amazon Associates. (2) You can join an affiliate program with a specific brand you love, or (3) You can reach out to a specific brand to discuss an affiliate collaboration.
Now that you know the three approaches, it's time for five hacks, in which I'll be sharing some awesome affiliate networks to consider along with some insider secrets of how I personally handle my affiliate marketing programs.
Hack #1 - The top three affiliate networks are Amazon Associates, ShareASale, and CJ Affiliate. Amazon is great because it has such an enormous product selection across various categories. Plus, it's got such trusted brand recognition. It also offers recurring commissions for any customer who does the Subscribe & Save feature.
They also have so many sales, so it's really easy to suggest sale items to your followers on socials, too.
2. ShareASale: Extensive network of merchants across diverse niches, advanced tracking tools, and dedicated account managers for high-performing affiliates.
3. CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction): Large network of reputable brands across various industries, high-quality marketing materials provided by merchants, good commission rates for certain programs.
Hack #2 - When you're trying the third approach to affiliate marketing, which is to collaborate directly with a brand, a sneaky trick to get your foot in the door is to start posting on your socials about the brand you want to affiliate yourself with and tagging them every single time. Feel free to share the post to their DMs as well. The bigger the company, the harder it will be to grab their attention.
I should also mention I used to be the marketing manager at Virgin Active. And if there had been any person that posted regularly about visiting Virgin Active and sharing how much they love the gym, I would have for sure reached out about a collaboration. This advocacy is exactly what companies love and need.
Hack #3 - If you do start to collaborate with a brand on an affiliate basis, make sure you establish ground rules and the amount that you would earn per sale. After all, you want to make sure that you know what you're working towards,
Hack #4 - always make sure that you disclose to your listeners and followers that you are a part of an affiliate program. It's important for legal reasons, but also so that you're fully transparent with your audience. If you're looking for a decent disclaimer statement, check out the one in my show notes. You're welcome to borrow it.
Hack #5 - One of my clients who recently signed up to be an affiliate was concerned about the value she was offering her listeners. What were her listeners getting out of her affiliate links? After all, there was no discount. And so I reassured her, and I reassure you now, the true value lies in your expertise. You've spent time researching and using products that make a difference. Now you're the curator sharing these gems with your audience who trust your knowledge.
Leave these recommendations naturally, focusing on products you truly believe in and what complement your content and your listeners will love you. This "curator" approach builds trust and sets you up for long-term affiliate marketing success.
Thank you again so much for joining me on your podcasting journey. Don't forget to subscribe. And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a five-star review. It helps people like you find this podcast as well.
Until the next episode, keep those conversations flowing and keep being the amazing powerhouse that you are. And as always, remember that consistency, authenticity, and promoting your podcast are key to your success.
Ready to master your podcast affiliate marketing?
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Happy podcasting.
