Article Writing for Affiliate Marketers: How to Write Content for Affiliate Marketing

If you’re here and reading this – it’s probably because of one of two reasons. One, you’re just starting out and are trying to understand how to write content for affiliate marketing to get traffic. Or two, you have a running site with content and visitors, but you’re failing to convert. The good news is that I intend on covering all the bases insofar as article writing for affiliate marketers is concerned.

Affiliate marketing is an incredibly lucrative endeavor if done right. There are success stories everywhere – take Jason Stone for example. Jason’s affiliate marketing earnings have skyrocketed to the extent that he now rakes in around seven million a year.

It’s a great source of passive income, and while there are other means of promoting affiliate sales, writing an affiliate blog post is the go-to for most marketers. But before you even get started with that, you need to brush up on what works and what doesn’t by reviewing examples for affiliate marketing content. From writing informative affiliate marketing articles to coming up with unique content ideas actually get you traffic, this guide should help you out with that and much

Types of Affiliate Blog Posts / Articles

Before we get into the affiliate marketing content writing aspect of it all, I want to open your mind to the possibilities in front of you. There isn’t a cookie cutter approach to writing articles, and neither should you adopt one.

From tutorials to products reviews to top ten lists, you have options and it’s best to mix things up.

List-style posts

I’m going to start with what seems to be everyone’s favorite these days. Is it the most effective type of affiliate article? Well, the jury is still out.

However, a sound affiliate marketing content strategy combined with quality content will always perform. So, if you’re expecting to immediately get traffic to your website from affiliate marketing, start off with developing a solid understanding of the role and types of content you can use.

List posts are quite self-explanatory. You want to create lists of products within your niche and review them. For example, if you’re running a home and garden site. Your articles would be on topics like ‘Top X Fertilizers for Indoor Plants’ or ‘X Best Patio Chairs Under $200’.

Of course, the strength of this type of post is that it allows you to promote more than one affiliate product in one post without the kind of ‘in your face’ marketing people hate.

You can do a rating comparison and share your opinion or give recommendations. Also, since you’re doing a specific type of product list, you can always go the extra mile and provide your readers with extra information that they are already probably looking for. It’s great for SEO, and let’s face it – why would you let them jump to another site if you can help it?

Check out the image below of a blog I really like. I love it for the presentation, but it should give you some ideas of what kind of titles you can go for too.

Individual Product Review

Another great way to promote affiliate products is through product review articles. In such articles, you’re basically going through the product’s features and then sharing your opinion of how good it is.

You want to give an unbiased opinion, which means your product selection has to be on point. I mean, if you’re reviewing a product with the objective of getting an affiliate sale, and giving a poor review – you’re probably not getting that sale.

The objective of a review article is to look at a product from the eyes of the end-user. You want to understand their problems or needs, and then see if the product provides solutions. Be honest, because you’ll lose credibility in the long term if you aren’t. A poor product will always be found out!

This isn’t direct selling. The only way readers will trust you is if they know you have their back.

If I were you, I’d be thinking, “But wait, don’t all products have some weaknesses”. You’re absolutely right, they do. You downplay those weaknesses and prove to readers that the strengths offset them enough to make the product a worthwhile purchase.

Case Studies

Case studies take your product review one step further. It’s an in-depth use-case study, and you can expect some extensive research time for one.

So for instance if you’re doing a case study for a hosting service, you want to test out the service for a few months at the very least before you can publish anything. Furthermore, you want to put it through a few tests and see how it fares.

Consider the example of shampoo. Again, there are certain things you’ll learn about the product the first time you use it. You’ll learn how much to use, what it smells like, viscosity, etc. But there is no way for you to measure real results without using it for a few months at least.

A well done case study can be a virtual gold mine of conversions. Unfortunately, this type of article writing for affiliate marketers is also the hardest.

Tutorial or How-To Articles

Tutorials go hand-in-hand with reviews. If your affiliate product is such that it merits a tutorial or how-to article, go for it.

Fact is, depending on your product, tutorials might be in high demand.

For tutorials, it’s best you break down your article into simple steps. Be as clear, be as detailed as possible. Images always help because they provide readers a reference point.

Of course, if you can add a professionally made product review video, that’s even better.

Make sure your tutorial starts from A and ends at Z. You don’t want to end up missing vital steps in the middle or some features that aren’t all that obvious.

Informative Non-Reviews

Last but not the least – informative general articles.

In these articles, you’re covering anything and everything you can about your niche and trying to plug a product or two very succinctly.

Make sure that you do not overstretch your reach. I mean, if your niche is hosting services, you don’t want to talk about content marketing with the hope of getting traffic. Such traffic is hard to get, and also impossible to convert.

Affiliate Marketing Content Examples

Service / Product Review Examples

The first example I have for you is a SEMrush Review.

It’s very well structured and presented. Brimming with information and unbiased. While the focus remains on the Pros, the Cons are delved into too, so the reader knows what they’re getting into.

No big promises – only facts.

I found the comparisons to other tools interesting, especially the value for money and pricing comparisons. The affiliate link is within the body of the text and there are banners to support the sale.

The 2^nd example is a video review of Tesla’s Model 3. Casey Neistat is one of those larger-than-life affiliate marketers, and his videos are always worth watching.

You can learn a lot about personalization from this man.

You’ll notice, as with all video reviews, the affiliate link is in the description.

Affiliate Product List Post Examples

Writing affiliate articles is as much about presentation as it is about information. The example I’m sharing with you for list-type posts drive this point home.

The first example is a golf ball list post. In the image below, you’ll see how the article starts off with a summary and star rating of all the products before jumping into the details.

The check price buttons carry the affiliate links for the products. The images and product names too are clickable with links. Very easy to find and click for the reader.

Even the detailed review that follows the initial summary is visually appealing. The reviews are short, but the vitals are covered and rated.

A click on the image or product name opens up the affiliate link again.

One way of going about a list-post is to start off with a comparison table like above. The other way is to go down the table of contents route.

The example below is for golf balls again, but notice how the information is presented differently.

Is it as good as example 1? Maybe not. But, it’s a very close second. The thing going for this is format is that it’s much easier to execute.

Informative Article Example

The internet is brimming with informative articles and you find great examples for any search term in your niche.

The affiliate marketing content example I’ve shared below shows you how you can go about promoting a product within an informative article. Notice how specific products aren’t being plugged directly. Yet, the affiliate links are there.

Of course, conversions within such posts are much lower. Their purpose is more for authority-building and traffic.

How to Write Content for Affiliate Marketing

Article writing for affiliate marketing can be challenging for some, as there are a number of considerations that go into your article. You have to make sure you get eyes on the content first. And you need to make sure your content is compelling enough to trigger a sale.

1. Do the keyword research

You can’t jump into your articles for affiliate marketing without keyword research and/or a SEO plan.

There is no point reviewing or selling products that no one wants to buy.

Make it a point to search for low-to-mid competition keywords that are relevant to the products that you want to sell. With this in mind, if you find keywords with 1000+ search volume per month, you’ve hit the jackpot. However, in most cases 100+ searches are good enough to merit an article.

Once you have your keyword research done, vet the data for inconsistencies. Use Google trends for keyword research and further refine your list.

It’s a good idea to have one primary keyword, but always use at least 3-4 additional or secondary keywords.

When writing an affiliate blog post, keep the following in mind.

• You article title should have the primary keyword.
• Try and use it in one of the headings too, as long as it isn’t forced.
• Use the other keywords where they fit organically.
• Optimize your meta title, meta description and image tags with keywords too.

2. Create an affiliate marketing content strategy

Right at the beginning of this article, I discussed the various types of affiliate articles that you can create.

Well, this is the time you put that information to use and create your affiliate marketing content strategy.

Keep your keyword research in front of you and decide what your readers would be looking for when they enter a search query into their preferred search engine. You want to structure your articles accordingly.

An individual product review would be much different compared to a ‘Best of’ post.

Some pointers that apply to all content:

• Use headings freely
• Bullets are always welcome
• Keep content skimmable
• Keep sentences short and to the point
• Add ratings
• Adds stats and facts

3. Have an approximate word count in mind

Search engine algorithms have changed. There was a time not too long ago when Google loved long-form content, and it still does, but not as much.

However, if your content quality is up there and you’re not fluffing your lines, word count has a role to play.

The ideal length of a blog post should be at least 300+ words, and your list-type posts can stretch up to 2000+ words.

Start off by matching the word count of other ranking posts for your target keyword. If your blog post does well, you can add more content or maybe products to further strengthen it.

4. Resonate with readers and fulfill their needs

The only way you can impress a reader to read till the end is if you step into their shoes and offer solutions to their problems. And not problems that product manufacturers or advertisers tell you they might have – but actual problems.

Keyword research becomes incredibly important here, but there are other ways you can do this.

Jump onto Quora, Reddit or any other platform / forum that may have a thread about your product. User reviews are a great resource.

There is so much you can find about what potential buyers are thinking on such platforms. Incorporate what you learn in your articles. Include the questions you find and provide answers.

5. Be objective and review both pros and cons

I’ve touched upon this earlier, and it bears repeating.

When we’re talking about how to write affiliate articles, it’s vital you don’t forget that these aren’t promotional pieces.

The key for you to make it as an affiliate marketer is being unbiased in your reviews.

Nothing makes readers trust you as an authority more than objectivity and honesty. If you can build trust, you can be sure that people will click on your affiliate links.

Pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages – all go hand-in-hand. Nothing in this world is perfect, so don’t try to make it perfect.

This is especially important so that you can compare 2 or more products, as and when needed, and help readers make the choice.

When everyone is a winner, no one is a winner – and this stands true for the affiliate products you promote as well.

6. Be personable

Personality differentiates you from others.

Don’t be afraid to express your opinion in your articles.

Let me qualify this by mentioning that if you’re writing an informative article that isn’t specific to a product, preferring one would be counter-productive. It’s best to keep the tone informative.

Coming back to product reviews, having a face or an identifiable voice behind reviews works miracles for conversions.

7. Always disclose you’re using affiliate Links

The Federal Trade Commission has some regulations in place for affiliate marketers.

The regulation is quite extensive, but simply put; you must clearly disclose your relationship with any brand, merchant or products on your site. Furthermore, the disclosure must be visible, especially near a point of sale or affiliate link.

For those of you who don’t know how to do this or what to write exactly, I’ve included a couple of examples.

Affiliate link disclosure examples

The first example shows a disclosure on the right side-bar of an affiliate article. Notice the language of the disclosure. It mentions that links are being used and that the site may get some sort of compensation if a reader chooses to click on a link.

The second example has a disclosure appearing right before the article starts. This one is shorter, but puts the point across.

8. Use affiliate marketing links creatively to drive conversions

The placement of the affiliate links within your article impacts click-through-rates and conversions majorly.

Depending on your affiliate platform, you’ll have access to a number of options to create affiliate links, -from banners, to products images, to in text-links.

For in-text links, make sure you use relevant words as anchor text. Click here for further information doesn’t quite work anymore. You want to target anchors that are highly relevant.

Image links, button and banner links work better than in-text links but they have to be executed well. Too many will come across as spammy. If you don’t place them correctly, they could be missed altogether.

Here’s an example of an affiliate product link, where text is used below the image with the affiliate link. Click on check price to get the ball rolling.

Another example; this time showing the use of buttons.

If you’re wondering how to create an affiliate link that converts, there is no easy answer. You’ll need to do some A/B testing and see what works for your niche.

Mix up the links and track results.

Why Hire Professionals for your Affiliate Marketing Copywriting Needs

Article writing for affiliate marketing isn’t a walk in the park – there’s a lot to do. And results will depend on how well you do them. Nevertheless, I hope if you came here to learn how to write content for affiliate marketing, you’re going away having learnt something.

In case your affiliate writing efforts don’t work out or you feel that you don’t have enough time or expertise to do it alone – let our team of affiliate marketing copywriters help you.

As professionals, we will do the keyword research for you, create high-quality articles that will leave your readers wanting more, and optimize your posts for SEO and conversions.

Still wondering how to write affiliate articles? Why not leave it to the pros? If you’re an affiliate marketer looking for an affiliate partner within the sphere of content marketing, your search ends here. Join our affiliate program and earn big on every transaction.