322 – Affiliate Marketing as an Additional Income Stream with Rick Magennis of Bear Cat Media

Gift biz unwrapped episode 322.

It's a phenomenal way to make some extra income on top

of what you're already doing.

Attention. Gifters bakers,

crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.

Now you are in the right place.

This is gift to biz unwrapped,

helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

Join us for an episode,

packed full of invaluable guidance,

resources, and the support you need to grow.

Your gift biz.

Here is your host gift biz gal,

Sue moon Heights.

No thanks for tuning in today before we do anything I

want to know.

Did you take me up on my offer from the last

episode? If you missed that one,

go back and listen.

After you're done here,

I have a special offer for my fast action takers and

it's a big deal.

And well,

you just have to go back and take a listen.

When you find out what I have in store,

you'll be disappointed if you don't that's for sure,

we are entering into a motivating new season.

In-person shows are opening up again and the opportunity to present

your product and find new customers in this face to face

format is finally here.

I want to remind you that doing events like craft shows

and farmer's markets offers great photo and posting opportunities for social

media. We talked about this in one of our tips and

talk episodes in the podcast just a couple of weeks ago.

And I bring this up because you've told me you're discouraged.

When you don't see any of the time and effort you

put into social media,

moving the needle on your sales.

So given the time we're in right now,

take this as a changing point to do something different,

putting in more time posting in the same way isn't going

to magically bring you results.

You need to change the way you're posting and what you're

posting. You don't need to put in more work.

You need to put in the right work.

That's when things will change.

If you need some help with this,

I've got you covered with the content for maker's program.

Content for makers will enlighten you as to why your social

media activities aren't converting into sales.

It will also show you how to put less time in

and start seeing activity that will increase your sales.

Just imagine a day where you know exactly what to post

and to get it done in five minutes or less,

then you can spend your time interacting with potential customers,

deepening relationships with those you already know too.

And it builds upon itself naturally.

Yes, this is possible.

Content for makers includes a strategy to formulating your unique plan

based on your business and your products.

Then you'll have 375 social media prompts over a full year

of ideas.

Along with the 375 prompts come 375 image suggestions.

So you're not left hanging on the creative.

These prompts and image suggestions can be used for all platforms

and all types of posting images,

live streaming reels,

even email direction,

but that's not all posts aren't going to work.

If the right people aren't seeing them.

So you'll also receive a video and a worksheet on how

to choose and use hashtags.

This is a way to attract the right people who will

become your customers.

Most people are doing this wrong.

There's more to content for makers to,

to see all the details.

Just jump over to gift biz,

unwrapped.com forward slash content for makers.

But honestly at only $27,

it's a no brainer.

Why carry on posting as you've been doing all along expecting

different results.

Sign up for content for makers now and see the transformation

of your posting experience change before your very eyes gift biz

on wrap.com

forward slash content for makers ready and waiting for your immediate

access. Right now today,

we're talking about something new.

If you've been listening for a while,

you know,

we talk about various ways to bring dollars into your business.

Most of these are by selling your products through online platforms

or in-person through retail or craft shows.

What we're covering today is totally different.

It's about bringing in another stream of income that aligns with

your brand,

but doesn't involve you producing more product or even creating patterns

or courses to sell.

The thing I like most about this strategy is it gives

you something else to talk about with your audience and it

draws them in closer to you deepening your bond so that

they stay connected.

You support them and they support you today.

I am so excited to introduce you to Rick McGinnis,

who is president and founder of bear cat media.

Rick has been an affiliate marketing for nearly a decade,

primarily managing affiliate programs for brands,

but he's been an affiliate too.

So he has a unique position with insight on both sides.

He knows what it takes to get started in affiliate marketing

and promote other people's products and services.

So Rick is joining us today to talk about how affiliate

marketing could fit into your overall income strategy,

being a handmade product maker.

Rick, welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

Hi Sue,

thank you so much for having me.

I am so interested in,

so looking forward to this conversation,

but I'm going to put it off for just a second,

because I have to ask you about yourself in kind of

a little bit of a different way,

and that is through a motivational candle.

So apart from the intro that I already did,

give us a little peak into you by describing what a

motivational candle would look like by coloring quote,

that would really resonate with you.

Yeah. This is Something that I was thinking about for a

little while that color,

would it be blue just because it represents a confidence and

stability. And that's something that I had to work hard on

getting both of those.

So in my branding is blue,

like two different blues in my braking.

So I now exude a lot of confidence in I'm stable

in my life.

So that would be the color.

And then the quote is something that is very basic,

but it really hits home for me.

And didn't many times when I hear it it's if you

think you can do a thing or you think you can't

do a thing,

you're right.

That's from Henry Ford.

It's just all about confidence.

Like having the confidence that you can do something.

And if you think you can do it,

you're right.

You can do it.

And that's the quote I've been living by for quite a

long time.

Well, I got to say,

you just hit a chord with all our listeners because confidence

and stability are things we talk about all the time.

Just having the confidence in yourself,

because we're all handmade creators here that what you're going to

create is something that people will pay money for.

There's always that hurdle that people have to overcome.

And then once they see that it actually happens,

then their confidence can grow.

But it's that starting point?

What could you share with us?

You had made the comment that now you've got your confidence.

You know,

you have any tips for people out there who are still

struggling with that and just really concerned on the confidence side.

Well, what helped me was I used to be very,

not multitasking,

but I had a lot of things on my plate.

And when I didn't get things done,

because I was working on so many things,

my confidence would suffer because I'm like,

oh, I'm not getting a lot done.

I'm not hitting my goals.

And then I realized that you just got to make it

simple. And you got to focus on the things that actually

matter. So for example,

if you're starting a business,

you can't be focused on the logo and the tagline and

all that stuff.

And like the colors of the website,

you got to actually focus on making the best product and

finding out who your market is and start selling it to

them. Then you can start working on those little things because

a lot of people get caught up in those little details

and it's not necessary.

And I learned that the hard way.

And that's how I've grown today.

Just so learning to put those little details that don't really

matter much,

or they're not as important off until the important things are

done. And you can start saying I'm making money,

my products set and the market's ready to handle me.

Yeah. I mean,

excellent, excellent advice.

And I think that people gravitate myself included.

You just said you were a victim.

I've been the same.

It's something that is easier to do.

And when you look at a business,

when you think of a business,

well obviously I'm going to need a company name.

I'm going to need a logo.

So those are kind of easy,

fun things to do,

but validating that your product will sell and actually getting those

first sales in and getting some feedback and starting to get

traction is way more important because what if you go through

and get your company name and your logo and everything,

and it is so connected to the product,

but then the product doesn't sell,

then you have to go back to the beginning.

Exactly. And that's what it comes down to is you laid

it out perfectly.

You can do all the fun stuff,

but if the market doesn't like your product or whatever,

it's all gonna be a waste of time,

then you're gonna lose your confidence even more.

And then you're going to just give up and who knows

what? You might not even try it again.

You might just decide that,

Hey, business isn't for me and move on.

But with all this,

I was diagnosed with adult ADHD.

My brain operates differently and I always have multiple things on

my plate,

but I got to just sit there and just write everything

down. And I put everything in columns from like important to

somewhat important to can wait.

And I that's how I had to do my tasks.

Otherwise I'll get lost.

And this,

this shiny object will come.

And I'm sure there's people out there listening that feel the

same way and it becomes overwhelming.

And then without competency,

you can't really move forward.

Right. I completely agree.

So is that how you run your days?

Like you set your lists like that and then you just

make sure I know we always go off task for a

second. That's just human nature.

Right. But you just pull yourself back to your list and

then make sure that you're following it.

And those things,

they may not be the easiest and the most fun things,

but they're the things that are going to move the needle

the most.

Yeah. That's what I have to do.

Otherwise, my days will spiral right out of control where like,

I do need to update my homepage on my website,

but I know that isn't as important as business development and

taking care of the clients I already have.

So that might be a project I might just do for

a couple hours at night,

maybe just here and there just to figure it out.

But I can't be that task of like updating my website.

Won't really move the needle that much in my opinion.

So that's why I focus on off hours.

And you got to just focus on the tasks that are

going to move the needle,

like the business development,

your product development,

and making sure that your product is tested properly,

those types of things.

And then your marketing is all set up and ready to

run because without a proper marketing plan,

it's going to be tough sledding.

Right. For sure.

I didn't think we were going to get into a productivity

conversation and we'll get out of it pretty quickly.

Cause I really do want to go to the topic at

hand. But I also think,

and I'd be curious about your thoughts on this too,

is for me,

my brain works better in the morning.

So some of the things that like you were saying,

like adjusting your homepage,

things like that are fun for me to do.

So I like doing that when my brain is starting to

get tired because I know how to do it.

I might not do any copy creation,

but in terms of design and layout and all that.

So I don't put some of those things at the times

of the day when I have the most brainpower,

I put the things that I really need that brain power

for in the morning.

So I schedule it based on how I know my rhythms

are and when I'm most productive.

Yeah. That's pretty much what I do.

I try to get to task the most important,

but also the ones that may take up more of my

time, I try and get them done first.

So that later in the day before they'll get my kids

from school that I can just do some tasks that are

less brain intensive and more fun.

So then when the kids come home,

I can be present with them.

And then when they go to bed,

I can just tackle the website stuff and things like that.

So yeah,

we're kind of on the same page with that.

Yeah. It sounds like a perfect plan,

Rick. So talk to me a little bit about how you

identified and got involved with affiliate marketing.

It's really a story of just by accident.

This was my daughter turns 10 on Friday.

So it was just 10 years ago.

I was unemployed and I was a pharmaceutical rep unemployed and

no prospects of a job.

And I needed to figure out a way to make money

on a baby.

And so I started to search ways to make money online

and affiliate marketing came up and I actually became an affiliate.

That's how I started in this whole industry.

I created a website that reviewed baby strollers and I would

link them to Amazon.

And every time I would get a click from there,

someone will buy it from my Amazon store.

I would get a commission.

And then that's how I made money for the family.

And then it evolved into actually working for brands and managing

their affiliate program.

And yeah,

that's, that's pretty much my story.

It's not exciting,

but it was just pretty much accidental.

Well, it is kind of exciting because you did something as

a need just to bring in money and you had no

idea what it was going to evolve into.

Look at this now.

Like that's pretty crazy.

No, I had no clue.

My wife was like a little hesitant.

I don't know if it's going to work,

but I'm like,

it's better than nothing at this point.

And then you're right.

It just evolved into where I am today.

And now I'm a get up every day.

I love doing what I'm doing for work.

I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Amazing. I love that.

And we can hear it in your voice too,

that you really enjoy what you're doing.

So for people who may not be totally sure they're understanding

what affiliate marketing is.

Let's start there.

Let's do a definition here of affiliate marketing,

and then we can start applying it to our listeners.

Sure. So affiliate marketing in the simplest terms is people or

independent marketers will promote a brand's product or service for a

commission. That's as simple as you can get.

So a person will either create a website based around a

product, use,

email marketing,

social media marketing.

They will promote the product to their audience.

And every time a sale is converted through their links,

they will get a piece of that sale.

That's basically affiliate marketing in layman's terms.

Okay, perfect.

And you guys,

I know all been exposed to this because think of even

me, you guys know I'm a huge proponent of Shopify and

sometimes I'll tell you guys go over and look for the

link in my resources page.

The majority of those are affiliate links.

Now I suggest and recommend these resources to you because I

use them and I love them.

And I know they're solid and I know they work,

but I also,

and it says it right on the site.

I know you've seen this,

not just from me.

Lots of people will make recommendations like this.

And so then what happens is if you were to use

our links,

me and other people who make recommendations of their products,

then we get a little bit of a kickback for recommending

them. It doesn't cost you any more.

And it's not a lot of money.

It's, you know,

$20 here or there maybe,

but it adds up if you're doing this on a regular

basis, I wanted to share that end of it too.

Cause I know you guys have seen affiliate links out there

before people will say,

make sure to use my code Amy or whatever the different

links are.

So that's what this is all about.

And so I don't know that you've ever thought about this

in relationship to your products.

So Rick,

what I'm thinking here just to do still like an overall

view is if,

whether it's a candle maker or a jeweler or soap makers,

the ingredients that people use in their products,

is there an opportunity for some affiliate marketing there or like

a cake maker who uses Wilton products for the forms or

other types of things that they use when they're making their

product? Could this be a place where they could add affiliate

marketing to their overall strategy?

Yeah, absolutely.

So you were talking about the ingredients that people use for

their products and it comes down to just identifying those products

and finding out if they have some sort of referral program

or affiliate program or our ambassador program,

they call that many different things.

But in reality,

it's still an affiliate program.

If there's a share of revenue being given,

that's what it is,

it's affiliate marketing.

So yeah,

there's definitely ways you just got to make sure that the

brands or companies you're working with,

like those materials have some sort of program like that.

And if they don't,

it's not even a total bummer,

you can actually go to them and see if you can

do something with them privately where like,

it would be,

you get like a special link or a code or something

like that,

do it that way.

But there's really unlimited possibilities when it comes to affiliate marketing,

you can do it in so many different ways.

Just about every brand nowadays has some sort of affiliate program,

whatever the name is.

It's just the way it is.

And it's the number one customer acquisition tool for many brands

because it's a performance-based program.

So the brands are all over it.

So they want to get involved in that and maximize that,

Right? Because it's almost like how testimonials are to our businesses.

If you're an,

then you're really validating the quality of whatever that product is.

Yes. That's A hundred percent,

right? Because I have products that I use daily that I

recommend and just like you to get a kickback from it

as well.

But I love the product.

It's not like I go out there and promote them harder

every single day.

But if someone asks me,

I'll tell them.

And then of course you got to say,

Hey, this is an affiliate link just to disclose it.

But it's just a phenomenal way to make some extra income

on top of what you're already doing.

Right. Okay.

So I'm thinking some people might be saying,

well, this is a disconnect for me because I want people

buying my products.

I don't want to necessarily share my sources for them to

be making their own products.

So why in the world would I do this?

And you may have some ideas.

I'll spit out one that's on my mind right now is

let's just go with candles.

Okay. Let's say you make the most awesome candles in these

containers. You have special qualities to your candles,

et cetera.

And you're selling your candles.

You may have customers out there who are like,

oh my gosh,

this looks so interesting and so fun.

I want to try it making some candles.

And one of the sources where you buy products might have

a little beginner candle making kit,

for example.

And so you could share with them with an affiliate link,

right? I love making candles so much,

like whatever your story is.

If you're interested in seeing what this is all about,

try it with a little starter kit here through so-and-so you

can get one with a LA.

Now you might be saying to me,

yeah, but then I'm selling them away from buying my product.

And I'm going to say probably not number one,

the quality,

the expertise,

and the special unique spin you have on your product means

they'll still continue buying from you.

And more than likely when they start trying to make the

candles themselves,

especially if they're working and they have focus elsewhere,

they'll see how much work it is.

And then they're want to buy from you even more because

they're not going to do it.

That's Correct.

And they will also see you as a trusted resource.

And what that'll happen is then they'll come back to you

or they may refer their friends and family to you.

So the trusted resource pieces,

you provided them an avenue to potentially do this themselves.

Do you pretty much put your name on it,

saying this starter kit to make candles I'm doubting for a

hundred percent,

try it and have fun.

And then like you said,

it comes overwhelming.

They realize it's too much.

Then they'll come back to you,

but they'll see you as their trusted advisor in a way.

So you may end up giving them away for a short

period of time,

but there'll be back and there'll be happier than ever when

there are back.

Right. And I've got to say people who like I'll stay

with candles,

don't just buy from one place either.

So they might make handles.

They'll also buy from you and they might buy from somebody

else too.

And that's all.

Okay. Yep.

Absolutely. And the other thing I'm really thinking,

Rick here is we've been talking about just products that you

use in creation of your own product.

So the ingredients that we make in developing our end product

that we sell,

but also think about what are other things that you do

and use in your life that you could promote forward,

for example,

and now that we're saying this,

I've got to do this rec,

so it's triggered something for me,

but I use hello fresh right now.

I'm busy,

we're working all the time.

I get hello,

fresh delivered to me every week.

And it has nothing to do with my business,

but it does have to do with my lifestyle.

So there are other things that you could be an affiliate

for that aren't necessarily product related,

but are lifestyle related.

Like for me,

I'm an empty nester now.

So it's just my husband and I,

but I love HelloFresh.

And I would endorse that all day long and probably be

an affiliate for that.

What about any other products that you use that you integrate

into your life?

Whether it's,

we were talking about productivity earlier.

So if there's journals out there that you like or special

apparel that you like to wear when you're throwing your clay,

if you're a Potter,

you know,

things like that.

So think broader than just your product.

And that might also be a little bit more comfortable of

an affiliate link type relationship for you too.

But I don't want you to just limit yourself to the

ingredients of the product.

That's Perfect.

Speaking of hello,

fresh. I just got my first shipment last week.

Oh, you're going to love it.

I'm excited.

I see a lot of people through social media,

especially promoting like the hello,

fresh don't types of businesses and literally has nothing to do

with their business.

It's just,

they love it so much that they are endorsing it and

they're going to get whatever,

hello, fresh pays per sale.

They're going to get it.

And they built the trust with their audience.

And it's amazing.

And then also like females,

you can like skincare products that you use every day,

makeup, things like that.

It's basically whatever you have in your house that you use

often that you love.

You can make money with it because I can almost guarantee

you that there's an affiliate program for whatever is in your

house that you love so much.

We're giving you a whole new idea of how you can

be having additional income stream in your business that really has

less to do with your product,

but you as a personal brand,

the maker of your product,

and then just how you run your life and guess what?

This is great information for social media posts too.

You know,

everyone's always so concerned about what do I post?

And I'm always harping.

Don't just be showing your product and selling every single time.

So this is a great one,

just affiliate marketing.

And I think we are going to get into the other

side too,

of this in a minute,

Rick, but I'm going to keep this structured here.

So if people are thinking about doing this,

the first thing you said is we'll make a list of

all the products who you would want to consider being an

affiliate marketer for,

and then reach out to them to see if they have

a program.

And that's as simple as doing a Google search think That's

correct. Yes.

So you just type in like the brand name and then

you type affiliate program,

it'll pop up the first couple of results.

And then if not there's affiliate networks out there that you

can look at all the merchants that are on that network

and you can ones that you like or whatever you want

to do.

And then you can sign up for that and become an

affiliate there and then promote one or multiple brands.

But the easiest way to get started is just do a

Google search,

like hello,

fresh affiliate programs.

And I know they have one,

but it'll be the first result.

And then you can just go through,

see what they're paying per sale.

You can see if they have a dedicated affiliate manager who

will help you get started and things like That.

Now from an ethical standpoint,

I'm just going to give you my opinion.

I think you should be an affiliate for brands that you

know, have used and would want to recommend like what you

would recommend to your best friend versus just signing up for

all these affiliates.

Some products you might not even have,

or even really know what they are.

You're just doing it for the money.

I would not do that.

I would agree with you a hundred percent.

The whole purpose of affiliate marketing is to talk about products

that are passionate to you,

that you trust and you use daily or something like that.

Because if you're going through a list of just picking out

brands you want to work with,

but you don't know anything about the products,

you can't have a real conversation about it.

And you can't really talk about the features and benefits because

you haven't used them in ages,

comes back to being authentic with your audience.

You use the product,

it'll come across in your messaging,

the people reading it will know,

but also people can tell when it's just BS and you're

just making up stuff just to make a few bucks.

And that's going to reflect on your whole company too.

And I kind of feel like I love my audience so

much. I kind of feel like that doesn't need to be

said, but I just wanted to flip it in there.

Anyway, another thing that comes to mind as you're brainstorming,

where you could be affiliates,

software programs or apps,

if there are certain things that you use to keep yourself,

we've already been talking about being productive,

but not just from a physical standpoint,

like a planner,

but what about an app that you're using or something else

that you use in your business for project management,

for keeping schedules together with the kids in the business,

you can think really broad with all these affiliate programs.

It doesn't just have to be other physical products that you

use and Those software,

those, they called SAS products,

software as service.

You can make a nice chunk of change because they typically

have higher commission rates because it's not a physical product.

So if you use any apps or software and you're really

passionate about it,

and you want people to know about it and how it's

changed your life,

definitely look into that because they do pay pretty well.

And it's not a difficult process to get signed up.

Perfect. So we made a list.

We have the program or we go and investigate whether they

have programs.

If not,

we can do an email and just reach out and ask

them because maybe not all the programs are published or they're

getting started with one or your question will jumpstart.

Somebody having a program,

Rick, in terms of setting expectations,

this is not the same thing,

like an influencer program where you send out products and hope

that people will refer and talk about your product.

You're not going to get free product by being an affiliate.

You may actually.

Yeah, because my main businesses managing the affiliate program for brands

and I have affiliates that I connect with regularly,

that request products to valid reason why they ask for is

they can't promote a product that they haven't used or validated.

And it makes a hundred percent sense,

but not every affiliate that asks for samples or sample products

will get something just because they may not have the audience

size or anything like that.

So you can't hurt to ask and affiliates definitely do get

product, just like influencers.

I want to go along the line that these are products

that we already know and love.

So you should already have that product.

If you're going to be recommending it.

Now, is there a certain size you have to be as

a business to become an affiliate.

We'll go back to my story.

I started out with nothing.

I'd built the website on WordPress at the time,

threw up a few reviews and optimize it for SEO.

And that was it.

It was just me and I invested a few hundred dollars

and that was it.

So you can be small,

you can be large.

It doesn't really Matter.

And is this then the way you think we should do

it, kind of like how I do,

you know,

I have my resources page,

forget whether it's resources or tools.

I keep going back and forth with what I want that

to be.

But right now it's all more business applications that I recommend.

But I'm going to add in now after this conversation,

some of my lifestyle ones,

is that how you would suggest like that should be the

home base for your affiliate program is a separate page on

your website.

Is this conversation about affiliate marketing,

sparking some ideas for you?

We'll jump back into the conversation after a quick break to

hear from our sponsor.

Yes, it's possible increase your sales without adding a single customer.

How you ask by offering personalization with your products,

rapid cake box with a ribbon saying happy 30th birthday,

Annie, or at a special message and date to wedding or

party favors for an extra meaningful touch.

Where else can you get customization with a creatively spelled name

or find packaging?

That includes a saying whose meaning is known to a select

to not only are customers willing to pay for these special

touches. They'll tell their friends and word will spread about your

company and products.

You can create personalized ribbons and labels in seconds,

make just one or thousands without waiting weeks or having to

spend money to order yards and yards print words in any

language or font,

add logos,

images, even photos,

perfect for branding,

we're adding ingredient and flavor labels to for more information,

go to the ribbon print company.com.

Yeah, absolutely.

I would put everything on one page.

As you mentioned earlier,

you're noting on the page that these are tools or products

that I use often to click these links.

I will get a commission disclose that,

but it's real simple to get started.

So if you have a website already,

you just add a page and then you add those products

or services there,

and just make sure that you have the affiliate links there.

Otherwise you won't get credit for the sale,

but it's very,

very simple to get started.

It's one of the lowest barriers that a tree that you

can do in marketing.

I just want to say now,

Rick, you're not going to know about this as much necessarily,

but when you're associating yourself with some of these brands,

that reputation kind of filters over onto you,

do you guys remember the podcast?

I did just a few weeks back with Molina and she's

talking about how we register things in our brain.

And we talked about imagery and the types of things you

put in your photography to leave the right impression.

This is the same type of thing.

So when you are recommending and suggesting brands that are in

alignment with your customer,

the value and the reputation of that brand also is kind

of an overlay on top of your brand.

So that's an added benefit.

If you will,

if you want to see a page in the works,

you can go over and look at one on my website

and you'll see other people's website have similar ones too.

You can format it any way you want the most important

thing. I think when you start getting a number of affiliate

to break it out into different categories,

and then what Rick was saying most important is make sure

your link is the affiliate link.

So that's your unique link,

not just a link to their website,

because that's the only way it gets tracked that that sale

came through.

Right? And then there's one exception to that.

I don't want to confuse people,

but the affiliate link with your unique identifiers in there is

the best way to do it.

But if the brand doesn't have a program or they're in

the process of setting one up and they give you just

a coupon code,

make sure you disclose that so that the code they use

the code and that you get credit for.

So when you talk to their brand saying,

Hey, how many sales did I have in April using this

code so that they could easily break it down for you?

So that's the other alternative Individual identifier either.

It's that link or a code where you put in your

Right? Absolutely.

Yeah. Well,

one of those two,

if you just put a hyperlink to the website,

it's just,

you're just giving them free traffic.

Okay. Wonderful.

And just make sure on that page that you say that

it's an affiliate link that you may,

I mean,

for me,

I'm providing opportunities and resources and not all of them are

affiliate links,

but they're products.

I want people to think about using.

So I put something,

you can read my disclaimer,

but I put something like some of these are affiliate links

where I may get a kickback or however I say it,

but I also always include in there,

but you are not paying any more,

going through my links.

You want to make sure that they understand that That's good

to have in there,

but you would be shocked that how many links you click

a day are actually affiliate links.

You, you don't even know it.

It's crazy amount of the affiliate links out there.

And all day,

everyday people are clicking them and not even realizing it.

And honestly,

to the recipient,

it doesn't matter.

No one really does it.

It has no impact on them.

Like you said,

they don't get charged anymore.

They're just providing a validation of the product that,

Hey, it's a good product.

I recommend you go check it out.

And if you want to buy it,

great, I'll get a piece of it.

If not,

no hard feelings.

So I have a product,

I have an affiliate link and someone buys through my affiliate.

What happens then With that?

Most of the time,

the affiliate links are track to what we call it.

Affiliate network in the us.

There's like Sheriff's sale Rakuten,

CJ. Those are the main ones where you would have your

account on there.

And your links would be through share sale.

For example.

And every time a sale comes through your dashboard is updated

with the sale.

Now how much the sale was,

your piece of it.

And then depending on how they pay out,

but it's usually every 30 days,

they'll take your account and whatever amount of money is in

there, and they'll just deposit it into your bank account that

you provided them.

It's really straightforward.

Like these networks do,

they do all the tracking.

They do everything for you.

And all you have to do is just copy the links

out and paste it where you need it.

And then the rest is pretty much Beautiful.

And sometimes do they have minimums?

Like we'll pay out when you reach $25 or something like

that. So they let it build for a little bit.

Or would they pay you a dollar 67?

It depends some that works do some don't.

And so some of them $25,

some of them it's more,

some of it's a hundred because I think they get charged

every time that they do like an ACH.

So they want to make sure,

at least it's something that they can at least justify.

Just like we get charged when people pay through a credit

card, same type of thing.

Sending money has service costs associated with it.

So once you've got your page set up and the links

are all working,

then people can buy through those links and everything gets tracked.

So you don't have to worry about that at all.

But I also want to make sure everyone understands just because

you have a page set up doesn't mean people are going

to go there and buy.

You need to actively promote it.

Right, Rick that's Right.

That's the biggest thing I see is people build a page

or build a website.

And then they just think that people are going to show

up. It's like you build it and they will come.

It just doesn't work like that.

You have an audience,

you have customers reach out to them.

You don't want to be like selling a hard,

but just maybe a couple of times a month,

you reach out to them and let them know that you're

something think a product or service that you love.

And you want to recommend.

It's one of those things where if you optimize it,

a guest cl,

if you do the good SEO on your pages,

like you should be good too,

but it's all about taking advantage of your current customers,

your current list,

things like that.

Those are where you're going to maximize the efforts.

They make a nice little residual income.

Okay. I have a really,

really good idea if I don't say so myself.

So as makers,

we sell our products,

but oftentimes we also create basic starter kits or how to

tutorials, if you will.

And this could be a great place.

Like let's say you are a doodle specialist.

And so you're doing a class teaching people how to doodle.

Then if you had an affiliate with Crayola or some other

colored pencil company,

then as you're talking about the doodles,

you could say,

oh, if you're interested in knowing the pencils that I use

for this,

they're from X and I have a link for you.

If you want to get some,

just go,

you know,

and then you say where your link is.

So you could incorporate this into training tutorials that you do

live. Like if you do Facebook lives,

continue with my example,

doodling, you can integrate this into things that you talk about

naturally. So it's not just,

again, direct selling because of course direct selling should be your

product, but this is kind of indirect selling in conjunction with

your product.

Yeah. And I see that all the time with you tubers,

there'll be doing a video and they'll be using certain products.

And then they'll say,

if you liked this product,

you want to learn more about it.

And then the links in the section below,

and that's a nice way to make a few bucks and

make another stream of income.

And it's not difficult.

It's just a matter of knowing how to do it,

how to get started.

And then once you get started,

it's really simple.

And then you could kind of go on autopilot and at

some point when you have a setup,

correct. And I think it's just a different mindset too,

just remembering to make those kinds of comments,

because I'm also thinking if you're out at craft shows and

you have a special tea and you're an affiliate for that

T and you're at the booth and you go on live,

let's say,

and are talking about,

Hey, we're the craft show today.

Here's what's going on,

et cetera,

et cetera.

And as you know,

I'm drinking my so and so T loved the lemon flavor.

You know,

whatever, you should really try it.

Here's a link to go to see exactly what I'm talking

about. Things like that.

You can integrate so many different products in to what you

normally do,

and it can just spin off your tongue,

natural. Yeah.

And even with podcasts,

guests will come on and we'll talk about any tools or

using any products you're using.

And then they get included in the show notes and they

can become affiliate links still.

So you got to think outside the box,

because if philia marketing is the one marketing channel that you

can just be as creative as you want.

And you're not really boxed in,

you can be an affiliate in so many different ways.

You can do email marketing,

you can do social media marketing,

you can build your website.

You can be a podcaster.

You can do just about anything.

And that's the beauty of it.

And for me,

just from personal experience,

that's why I feel like it's so important that it's a

product that you genuinely truly use love and would recommend forward

because I'm never comfortable selling.

I'm not good at selling.

I've been in sales all my life,

but I don't think of it as selling.

I think of it as sharing information forward that people need.

So that makes it much easier for me when something like

that comes up.

I want people to know about that T that's so delicious

that I love,

or the Shopify site that I think you should go on.

If you're going to start your website,

because I fully a hundred percent believe in it.

So it's not me selling it's me sharing forward,

honestly, what I think they should be using.

So I actually didn't think we would get into the reverse

part of this,

but I could see now that we've been talking about some

of this,

I have a Facebook group called gift biz breeze.

And one of the things we do there,

Rick is we're doing a lot of collaborations.

So if someone makes one product and then someone else makes

another product,

maybe they're going to bundle them together.

And each offered them to their communities for a special event,

whether it's Thanksgiving or Christmas or something like that.

So that does make start thinking that there may be some

people who are listening,

who are going to reach out to other people and ask

them if they're interested in doing the affiliate.

So for you as a maker,

you might get a phone call and have someone ask about

creating, or do you have an affiliate program?

Can you take us behind the scenes of that?

And just share a little bit about that.

If you were to create your own affiliate program.

Yeah. Your Own affiliate program,

it's not terribly different than becoming an affiliate,

but there is different nuances of it.

You need to set it up on a platform.

So like as an affiliate,

you sign up for a platform to promote products on there

for this piece,

you're signing up for the platform to actually have affiliates work

on your behalf,

To do all the behind the scenes stuff,

because you don't want to get taken off your task of

your business,

Right? So this piece will be setting up all your links,

all your creatives,

things like that,

and make sure your links track properly.

And then your job is to find people to promote your

products. And that's where the challenge comes in for many brands

is they don't know how to do it effectively.

And they tend to give up on their affiliate programs because

they can't find people to actually promote their products.

And they just don't know where to look and what to

say to them,

to get them to come on board.

So that's the most important part.

But if you are doing that type of thing,

like we want to do an affiliate program for other people

like the,

doing the joint venture kind of thing.

I do have a resource I can share it with you.

You can share with your audience that can help them better

understand it.

It's joint venture marketing.

That's something that a lot of brands do together.

So like two companies you've mentioned they'll work together to create

like a super product or super bundle.

Then they'll kind of split the profits that way.

That's probably a good way to do it too,

versus just setting up an affiliate program.

But some brands may want an affiliate program if they want

to scale.

And as I said earlier,

it's probably the best way to scale is to have affiliates

because you're only paying them when they convert a sale.

So you're not spending all this money on social media ads

and things like that.

Well, it's just a different way to do it is what

I'm thinking.

And so the platform that you were talking about is there

an investment in using that platform?

There's Many different platforms.

So there's some that range from thousands of dollars to set

up to some that are just a small monthly fee of

like 20 bucks a month.

So if you're looking to get started,

I would suggest starting out small,

obviously just getting the setup on the smaller platform,

getting a feel for how affiliate marketing works,

how to find the affiliates,

how to bring them on board,

how to get them,

their links,

how to get them,

to understand your products,

to promote them better.

Things like that.

There's many platforms out there,

but one in particular,

it's called a affiliate really that hooks up to Shopify directly.

And then you can do everything there because I know you're

big on Shopify.

Can you spell that?

A F F I L I a T L Y.

All right,

got it.

That's a basic one.

You can sign up for an account and it's very straightforward.

It's probably one of the most user friendly ones I've ever

seen. That's where if you're looking to start an affiliate program

to get to promote your product,

I would start there.

Okay. Perfect.

And no,

I don't get an affiliate commission on this.

Actually. I don't have an affiliate account with them.

Oh. But if you did,

we will be more than happy to pay it.

That would be just fine,

but I really don't want to confuse everybody here.

So I'm thinking mostly on the affiliate angle,

you should look at what we were talking about first,

you know,

unless you're really established because I don't want you to get

off track of what you're doing,

trying to grow your business.

Right. So,

but if what we've been talking about before this,

in terms of being an affiliate for other people,

and I also think having the experience of doing that,

if you ever were to venture into doing affiliates for your

own product,

having that experience first would be really beneficial.

Yeah, Absolutely.

It goes back to my story.

I started on the affiliate side,

promoting products and I moved over to working with brands.

So I have the perspective of both sides and I know

how we've cited work,

so I can be a benefit to the affiliates and the

brands. Right.

You have unique experience to know both sides,

which is fabulous.

So again,

in summary,

I just want to go through this again.

If you were interested in pursuing this and finding other ways

to add other revenue streams to your business,

through an affiliate program,

the first thing you would do is make a list,

like think through your whole day,

what products do I use in life?

Not only in the creation of your product,

but also as you're going throughout your day,

what do you wear?

What do you eat?

Entertainment? I don't know all of that and just be very

observant and write down anything.

Then see if they have a program.

If it's a product that you really want to be an

affiliate for,

and you're not seeing a program reach out to them and

ask, see what happens.

The worst I'll say is no,

they don't have one.

Right? Once you have your list of people,

then you sign up for the program,

right? Like there's forms that you fill out to be part

of the program,

then create a dedicated web page with a statement there that

says some of these links are,

all of these links are affiliate links.

Is that a legal thing,

Rick? Yes.

It's an FTC requirement that if you are talking about a

product or service,

you got to disclose that you're going to be getting paid

a commission.

If they click the link and they can go through and

make a sale,

it's just that the federal government requires that.

All right,

perfect. So you do all that and then you have to

actively promote it,

like I said,

and not just necessarily direct sales,

just incorporated into things that you talk about.

So that it's natural.

You probably already are talking about some of these products and

have never thought of it that way before.

So I think this is totally a doable program and I'm

actually really excited to see who picks up and starts doing

some of this,

because it can only grow from there.

Like you get started,

it starts to get into your regular routine of things.

And then you can make some decent money doing that.

Yes. It can ultimately turn into like a life changing because

you didn't realize that you can do something that for products

that you use every day and it couldn't an extra 500

bucks a month,

it goes a long waiting,

pays for groceries and things like that.

So you just never know what could happen with it,

For sure.

And I'm even thinking some people who are just now starting

to think about creating a business,

this could be the funding that you need to actually get

your business started because you don't have to be in business

to be an affiliate.

No, you just have to have a website or social media

presence. That's what usually they require them.

But for the most part,

you don't need to be an LLC or established corporation.

If you're just getting started and you're taking people along on

your journey,

you're finding the ingredients that you're going to be using,

or the tools that you're using that are your favorites when

you're baking and you start sharing that with your audience,

as you're learning and discovering and creating your business,

that could funnel in money into your business,

that then you can use to build and grow.

So you guys can all be creative,

you know how to do this.

Okay, Rick,

over at bear cat media,

what types of services do you?

Yeah, so most of the services I provide are on the

brand side.

So I am a,

what they call outsourced affiliate program manager.

That's what my company does.

We manage affiliate programs for brands like on a contract basis.

So we work with affiliates to get them,

to promote my clients.

It varies.

I've worked in just about every vertical,

like the cosmetics,

health, and fitness outdoors.

I do a lot,

like I have a lot of brands in those sectors.

So just basically I help them build the affiliate programs,

grow them,

then scale from there,

like once we grilled in a certain way that we just

say, what are we going to do to take it the

next level?

And we just go from there.

So that's basically what I do.

And we focus a lot on affiliate recruiting.

So we go out and reach out to people who we

would think we could target to,

to promote the products and go from there.

But that's basically what we do and I do consulting.

But if your audience has any questions about becoming an affiliate

and things like that,

I'd be more than happy to take some time and chat

with them and put them in the right direction.

Well, how would they reach out to you?

Then? My website is affiliate program management.com.

There's a contact form there,

or you can reach out to me directly,

rick@bearcatmedia.com. Perfect.

Well thank you for that offer.

And so for people who are listening,

who do represent bigger brands,

now we've sparked a little curiosity about an affiliate program and

they're large enough for someone to virtually manage it for them.

You would be the guy that's Right.

Yeah. Virtually they basically don't have the resources to do it.

And whether it be,

they don't have people or they just don't know how to

do it.

That's where we come in.

Wonderful. And what do you see as you're moving into the

future? Are there any additional things you're looking at doing any

kind of visions that you have as you Tell me to

the course creation now,

and I also want to write a book about affiliate program

management, but that's another thing,

but the courses is what I'm really focused on now is

trying to get brands to fully understand affiliate marketing,

how it can benefit them and actually showing them how to

do it through the courses.

And then they can become certified.

Then they won't have to hire me.

But a lot of the times they would still probably hire

me as a consultant.

But my goal is to just educate them.

That's my that's my mission moving forward is to educate on

why affiliate marketing should be at the top of their list

and to help them understand it and do a better and

grow their affiliate programs without having to hire outside of resource.

I think that is extremely exciting.

And you need to make yourself a note if you can,

because I'm not going to know the timing on this,

but when you have those programs available,

will you let me know?

Because at the very least I want to put it in

the show notes of this show,

but also it might be something that we should be talking

about further.

And I definitely would want to share with our listeners because

if there would be a step-by-step versus what we've talked about

here, I mean,

I think what we've talked about here makes it totally doable,

but you know how it is.

I mean,

you like the guidance and something that's more concrete that you

can walk through.

So I am very intrigued with it.

Yeah, No,

absolutely. I appreciate that.

And again,

we talked earlier about making sure your product is,

the market wants it.

And then I've come to realize that this is something that

is needed and wanted in the market.

People just want to do everything on a performance basis.

Now they just don't know how and understand it fully.

And that's where I come In and we all don't have

time to figure it out.

There's too many other things we're doing.

And I'm going to just circle it back to what we

were talking about at the beginning,

in terms of doing the things that you need to be

doing to move the needle for your business.

You might say affiliate marketing is all in a hundred percent

what you're going to do,

but you also might say,

this has to be an add on,

and you may not have time to figure it out.

You just want to get it done because you need to

focus on the other projects and just not abandon your current

strategy. If it's working for you,

That's a hundred percent.

Right. And that's what most of it comes down to is

these brands.

They understand affiliate marketing,

not a hundred percent don't,

they're not experts,

but they just don't have the time to do it.

And that's the biggest issue I've seen.

Rick, thank you so much for taking the time and coming

on today and talking about affiliate programs.

I think it's opened people's eyes and I,

for one,

I already told you there's action.

I'm going to take based on the conversation that we had,

and I think it's going to be the same for a

lot of our listeners.

So on behalf of all of us,

listening to what you've shared with us today.

Thank you so much.

No, it's my pleasure.

Thank you very much for having me.

So What do you think,

are you going to consider adding affiliate marketing into your strategy?

This conversation with Rick has reignited.

My thoughts too.

I have some new ideas and new plans already in the

works next week.

We're looking inside ourselves is your life the way you have

it set up right now,

really making you happy you practice self care.

You have the family you've always dreamt of you've started your

very own business,

but is it hitting the mark with the happiness factor?

And if not,

what can you do about it?

That's untapped for next week as always.

Thank you so much for spending time with me today.

If you'd like to show support for the podcast,

would you be so kind as to leave a rating and

review, just to answer this question,

what do you like about the show or what have you

learned recently from one of my podcasts or anything else you

want? I've made it really easy for you.

Go to gift biz,

unwrapped.com forward slash review.

Thanks. And now be safe and well,

and I'll see you again next week on the gift biz

unreal podcast.

I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook

group called gift is breeze.

It's a place where we all gather and are a community

to support each other.

Got a really fun post in there.

That's my favorite of the week.

I have to say where I invite all of you to

share what you're doing to show pictures of your product,

to show what you're working on for the week to get

reaction from other people and just for fun,

because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody

in the community is making my favorite post every single week,

without doubt.

Wait, what,

aren't you part of the group already,

if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search

for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.