How & Why to Redirect Your Affiliate Links

If you want to keep better track of your links, have more control over necessary changes to your links and possibly even have more clicks on your affiliate links, you should be redirecting your affiliate links.

I don’t trust websites online that shorten links like Tiny URL or bit.ly as you never know when they may disappear from the web forever taking your affiliate link with them!

This means where your affiliate link may look like:
http://www.virtualbusinesssolution.com/cmd.php?af=XXXXXX

You can change it to a link coming from your own website like:

http://www.yourdomain.com/vbss

There are a number of reasons to redirect your link and here are a few:

1. Many affiliate links are long and they can actually break into 2 lines if you’re sending them in an email. Once they break up like that, your readers won’t be able to click through.
2. Sometimes affiliate programs change their links or even shut down. Our programs are going to be here for a long time, but always be safe with your affiliate links as a matter of practice and redirect them. That means if you ever need to make changes to your link, you can simply make the change from your redirected link, instead of trying to find where you placed all those links on your website and in your emails.
3. If a link is showing as coming from your site, your readers might be more likely to click on it than if they see a long strange affiliate link direct from the program. You can even name your file something creative or descriptive (ex. mydomain.com/must-have-toy.html) and your readers might be more likely to click through.
4. If you redirect your links the way we describe in #2 in this tutorial, you’ll be able to log into your website statistics and track click throughs for your links. The affiliate program you are involved with may already provide some of these statistics, but you can track multiple links and get all your data from one place.
5. It also just makes it easy to remember your affiliate links for promotions on the fly. Whenever you want to recommend our products, you’ll know your link right away. Ive even set up affiliate links for people too so I can promote their current products knowing I can easily change the affiliate link to redirect to whatever product I want to sell of theirs.

http://VAnetworking.com/lynnterry

http://VAnetworking.com/nicoledean

http://VAnetworking.com/karriflatla

3 Ways to Redirect Your Affiliate Links

I’ve come up with instructions for 3 different ways to redirect your affiliate links depending on your resources and knowledge.  Any questions, just call me.

1. How to make your redirected link using Cpanel:

You must have cpanel installed where you host your website to be able to do redirects through it.  If you do, bonus as it makes them very easy to do redirects.  Need a host that has cpanel? Check out my hosting at Mediamage Business Solutions.

1. Login to your cpanel  at your host which is typically at http://www.yourdomainname.com/cpanel  Just call your hosting company if you don’t know the link to your cpanel.

2. Look for the Domains section of icons and then click on the Redirects icon

3. In my example below I am redirecting it from my mediamage.com domain by choosing it in the dropdown box. In the box beside it, I put the name I wanted to call the link (vbss). I try to use something memorable like if I’m promoting the VBSS then I would put vbss.  I then add my long affiliate link into the box that says “redirects to” and click ADD to save it all.

Now when someone clicks on my link:

http://www.mediamage.com/vbss it goes through my affiliate link to the page I want to promote.

2. How to make your redirected link manually using HTML:

Here’s a simple way to redirect a link using what is called a javascript redirect.

1. Create a new blank page for your website. Name the page whatever you’d like (for example: vbss.html).

2. Remove any HTML code and paste this instead:

3. Be sure to replace http://www.INSERTAFFILIATELINK.com with your full affiliate link.

4. Test your link to make sure everything is working. Simply type in the location of your new page into your web browser to ensure it is redirecting (ex. type in yourdomain.com/vbss.html).

HTML CODE:

<html> <head><meta http-equiv=”refresh” content=”0;url=http://www.INSERTAFFILIATELINK.com”> </head> <body> </body> </html>

WORDPRESS:

<html><head><meta http-equiv=”refresh”content=”0;url=http://www.INSERTAFFILIATELINK.com”></head><body></body></html>

3. Advanced Users Only – Redirect links directly in .htaccess file

For those that have access to a FTP program and are familiar with it’s use, I find using it to be the easiest way to redirect links. I hard code the redirects in myself into the .htaccess file which you’ll find in your root directory.  If you log into your FTP program and cannot see the .htaccess file make sure the settings in your FTP program are showing hidden files.

Here is the code to add into your .htaccess file to redirect your affiliate link:

Redirect 301 /vbss http://www.INSERTAFFILIATELINK.com

This would result in a redirect link that looks like this: http://yourdomain.com/vbss

Above code broken down:

Redirect 301 /[this is the short name for the redirect] [Your affiliate link goes here]

Almost Finished! Now just SAVE the file to the server and test your link to make sure it works!

You build a site, throw up some banners and links to a bunch of products and eagerly wait for your affiliate sales to start rolling in.  A few days later still no sales and you think affiliate marketing doesn’t work and you throw in the towel.

Make no mistake, when applied properly affiliate marketing most certainly works and it’s a fantastic way to make money online.

Here are a few tips to help you avoid those dreaded mistakes many beginners make in affiliate marketing.

Banner Central – Banners don’t often work as well as text links.  Of course, it does depend on your subject and you should test both individually to determine what works best but often times you’re better off sticking to text links rather than turning your website into banner central.

Unrelated Products – You’d be surprised at the number of people who do this.  Make sure all offers on your website are related to the context on your site.  For example if you have a site about pet care don’t offer baby care products.  Sometimes it’s tempting to promote other products but stick to what your target market is looking for.

Missing your Target Market – Before starting any business venture (including affiliate marketing) you should always know who your target market is.  To become a super affiliate you’ll need to build a website which speaks directly to the market you are trying to attract and you’ll need to understand the needs of that specific market.  So who’s your target market?

Hype, Hype, Hype – Avoid it all costs.  People can smell hype a mile away and will run quick with their credit card clutched tightly in their hands.  If you review products on your website makes sure those reviews are honest.  More importantly, try to take the time to actually use the product (or at least look into it) so that you can genuinely speak about its features and benefits; and don’t forget to add the not so good sides of the product too.  If the product is lacking in some way, say so.  People will appreciate your honesty and grow to trust you.

Not Tracking Sales – In order to know whether a program is worth you promoting or not, you’ll need to track how well it converts.  Try out different things in your promotions and track each one of them.

Affiliate marketing basically means selling other people’s products for a commission online.  Affiliate marketing is similar to offline sales where sales people earn a commission for selling a product; the difference is that all selling is conducted online.

As an affiliate marketer you will research and find products to promote on your website.  Each time you make a sale through your affiliate link you will earn a portion of that sale.  The commissions can vary from as low as 7% to a generous 50%.

The sales are tracked through your unique affiliate ID which is assigned to you at the time you sign up for a specific affiliate program.  Your unique affiliate ID is tracked and each time a sale is made through your link it is recorded.   A good affiliate program will give you plenty of tools for promoting their products as well as a comprehensive member’s area where you can track your affiliate sales and commissions.

Affiliate marketing is a good way to get started making money online.  You can be set up and ready to go within a few days and there is no need to spend any time creating your own products or purchasing inventory.  You are simply promoting other people’s products, which means the vendor is actually responsible for order fulfillment, customer service and anything else related to the sale – you simply refer the sale to them and get paid for doing so.

For example if you have a love of cooking, you can create a website around cooking related topics and include tips, recipes, and reviews of all your favorite cooking gadgets.  You can then find affiliate programs online and promote some of those products on your website.  You can find programs by doing a search under your chosen topic such as “cooking” and adding the words “affiliate program” to that term.
You can also find affiliate programs at places like CJ.com or Clickbank.com

Although affiliate marketing is an easy way to get started online, there is a little more to it than just throwing up a few links and banners and waiting for the affiliate check to arrive.  A good affiliate marketer knows it takes time and effort to make sales.

A good way to do this is by providing quality information on your website and only linking to affiliate products where appropriate.  Another good tip is to review the products you promote so that you can accurately describe all the features – good and bad.  Your customers will appreciate honest feedback and will be more likely to buy from you if you give them good quality information and honest reviews.

It was a great day today, do you know why?  I found an affiliate check in the mailbox! Now I’m not going to retire on the income but the check will pay to fill up a tank of gas in my car… not a bad return on investment, right?

Affiliate marketing is not hard, it just takes a firm conviction and belief in the product you are referring.

Tips on How to Promote Your Affiliate Link:

1. Write a Blog Post: Writing a blog post as a review about the product you are promoting is a great way to link (indirectly) to the affiliate product you recommend. For example, write a short 1 or 2 page summary on your blog about what you have learned from being a VAinsider Club Member. Here’s some ideas:

The ProActive Virtual Assistant Series by Yvonne Weld – Have you gained  ideas from Yvonne about how to market your business locally or create a contingency plan?  If so, then write a short review about how this knowledge affected your business and why it would help others. Make sure you add the VAinsiders Affiliate Banner or your affiliate text link to the end of the post to direct people to the VAinsiders URL. Once you have the blog written then tweet about it, add it to Facebook or send it to your mailing list (if you are building one).

2. Video Testimonials: Video is a powerful medium for any type of Internet marketing promotion. Think about purchasing an inexpensive Flip video and make your own video testimonial about a VAnetworking product. It doesn’t have to be in depth or long… just make sure your personality comes through and that you are convening the benefits of the product. Here’s some sample text you might want to use.

“After choosing to begin my Virtual Assistant career I soon realized that there was so much more involved than just sitting at my computer typing documents. I was soon introduced to the Virtual Business Start Up System written by  Tawnya Sutherland of VAnetworking social network for VAs.  I couldn’t believe how much information was included in the product. I was immediately able to get my business up and running in less time than if I started from scratch. I’m all about not inventing the wheel so if you are looking at starting or moving your VA business to a different level, consider saving your time and purchasing the Virtual Business Stat Up System, it will be the best investment you make.“

Whatever you choose to do, create a blog post, a video testimonial or even audio testimonial just remember to be genuine and authentic…affiliate marketing is all about just creating conversations…SO GO FOR IT!

Twitter has got to be one of the best tools for affiliate marketing out there! Why do I say that?  Because it’s quick, to the point communication with other “like-minded” twitter enthusiasts.

For most Virtual Assistants, you probably follow plenty of other VA’s, makes sense, so it makes even more sense that those VA’s would enjoy reading your “tweets” about all things VA. So how do you then go about using Twitter as an affiliate tool?  Read on and then try it out…

1. Mask Your Affiliate URL:  Use a Twitter tool such as Hootesuite or Tweetdeck to manage your affiliate account. These programs will automatically shorten your affiliate URL to make it fit into your tweet.

2. Show Your Genuine Side: Twitter is all about being sincere so let your sincerity come through in your tweets. If you genuinely received concrete value from a Virtual Assistant product or service you purchased, then your “tweets” will reflect this. If you need suggestions about what to tweet, check out our product pages on this site for some great suggestions.

3. Case Studies Sell: If you experienced a good outcome from using a specific Virtual Assistant product or service, then describe your situation – for example: “Just became a VAinsider Club member, responded to an RFP and am now 1 more client richer” - (add affiliate link through shortened url)

4. Listen and Respond: Twitter is a 2-way communication channel. If you send out an affiliate tweet about how fantastic it is to be a VAnetworking member and someone responds to you with a question, respond to the conversation and create an ongoing dialogue – you’ll be more apt to gain an affiliate sale that way!

5. It Makes a Difference Who You Follow: If you are a Virtual Assistant, there’s a good chance you are following a bunch of other VA’s who are your colleagues or friends. Be conscious of your tweets and respect your colleagues when tweeting about them.

6. Tweet in Moderation: Change up your tweets and then occasionally throw in an affiliate tweet but don’t overload your followers by pushing a product.

• Tweet regularly about many different subjects
• Always ask questions
• Promote other people’s blog posts
• Regularly retweet other followers tweets when they post something interesting or relevant to your followers
• Be complimentary
• AND always be genuine…be yourself!