Simply put, affiliate marketing means promoting product or services on you social accounts or website, and receiving a commission in return. Usually this is facilitated through special links that record the sale came from you when someone buys that product or service (hence the term “affiliate link” that you’ve probably seen before!)
Affiliate marketing can be a lucrative endeavor for interior designers, generating you passive income for your business! But more than just revenue, affiliate marketing can also improve your prestige and elevate your brand. Seeing your business allied with other well-regarded, trusted businesses can make your own business seem that much more credible.
The first step is to find some affiliate programs you’re interested in and set up an account with that affiliate. Now, it can be super tempting to just sign up for programs that have a high commission rate, but this is one instance where you should be picky. Believe us, there are a TON of programs out there waiting for you, so be choosey because ultimately they’re also going to reflect on you.
If someone has a poor experience with the product or service, or just a poor buying experience in general, that’s also going to reflect on your business.
So pick affiliates who’s product or services you like or are legitimately interested in (and that’ll make promoting it just that much easier!) Another thing to note is that each affiliate will have its own set of payout, setup, and terms for what the designer can and can’t do – so use that to inform your decision too!
Once you have some affiliates in mind, often, it’s as simple as heading to their website (affiliates often have an affiliate program section on their website) and signing up for it. If you don’t see one, don’t be afraid to just reach out through email or social to see if they have an affiliate program – the worst that can happen is that they say no!
Now that you have some affiliates and your own links for product or services, it’s time to come up with a strategy. Getting into affiliate marketing programs is just the first step, what really matters is how are you going to promote your links and get people clicking on them? Sounds daunting but this is actually the fun part because you can get super creative with it!
There are a lot of creative ways you can use your affiliate links now. Maybe it’s doing product reviews on Youtube or Instagram, where you link the product for people to buy for themselves after hearing how much you love it.
Perhaps they live on your blog, where you put together beautiful mood boards or inspiration boards with the product, positioning yourself as a sort of tastemaker or trendsetter. This could also make for some neat Pinterest boards too!
At Mydoma, one of our favorite ways we’ve seen designers use affiliate marketing is by selling “shop-the-look” or “room-in-a-box” packages on their website. Essentially someone can go to your website, pay for a completed design, and then be sent the list of product (with your affiliate links to buy all the product!) Now, not only are you making money on the completed design, but also on all the product too – and you didn’t have to do anything to fulfill the sale.
If you want a super easy way to set up and deliver "shop-the-look" or "room-in-a-box" packages, Mydoma lets you easily create and embed design packages that can be bought directly off your website. It's a great way to make use of your affiliate links to expand your revenue with passive income! LEARN MORE >
As much as we say affiliate marketing is great “passive” income, there’s still work involved, and it’s not something you can set and forget! It’s important to measure your affiliate marketing initiatives and make changes when something’s not working!
Take a critical look at how much you’re selling, how much your actually making, and if the work you’re putting into creating your affiliate marketing initiatives and executing your strategy is worth what you’re getting in commission or other benefits and perks.
And if it’s not, adjust your strategy and try something new, or drop the affiliate program altogether and look for another! Remember, this is to help bring in more revenue for your interior design business without taking up all of your most precious resource as a business owner – time!
Affiliate marketing programs can be a very enticing thing for interior designers looking to increase their revenue, but like any partnership or relationship, it’s important to choose the right one! So don’t be afraid to be picky, go in with a strategy in mind that you have the ability to execute, and always be critical of how the program is working for you!
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