This can be applied to any business but since I’m a photographer, let’s talk affiliate links for us. I am the affiliate link queen. It’s a great way to make passive income without having to do so much. You can showcase the items however you want and tailor your message to your audience without having to follow the rules of companies. When an influencer works for certain brands, they can only work for those brands. For example, if you are a Canon girl and Nikon says we want to offer you thousands of dollars to work with us, you have to make a decision. With affiliates, you don’t have to (unless that brand is paying you big bucks, then get that in writing and see how you can make it work to your advantage), do what a certain brand says, or follow their rules. Here is how photographers can make passive income with affiliate links.
First read this post on how I make money from affiliate links. It’s an older post, but some of the things still apply.
So what is affiliate marketing? It’s the link people use that they post in their stories or on their blog or substack that takes you to a website where you can buy something. When you click that link and buy the person recieves some coins. Not a lot but a few dollars. I slacked on affiliate marketing some but I was making a good 2 to 3 hundred a month just by post a link.
I will give an example. Say you want to give people a link to a camera for Mother’s Day. You will go and find that camera. Go to your affiliate marketing hub (I will talk about the two I use in a moment) and find the camera or put the link in. That link will take you to the camera and if you buy that camera I will recieve a % of the commision. So basically, I’m working off of commission.
Now you are supposed to tell people that it’s an affiliate link but I’ve heard from someone who does this on a regular that you don’t actually have to do that because the brand is not paying you and you don’t have an exclusive contract with the brand, and it’s not an ad. Look up the laws, but many people don’t post that there are affiliate links in the post. I do sometimes, and sometimes I forget just know that if the person has a website, a blog, a substack, or an instagram and they put up links…know its most likely an affiliate link.
Now, as a photographer, here are some things I want to point out
- Your audience trusts you already with their photos. Anything you recommend they will buy so why not get paid to recommend things? This can include gear, software, or tools that help you be a better person and photographer.
- Affiliates work even if you aren’t working. You can put a review up and let it sit and people will click and buy.
- You can put affiliate links in blog posts (it’s where most people click mine), instagram stories, newsletters, and YouTube. Here is an example of a YouTuber who has affiliate links in their subscription of the video. If you click more under their name, it’s a list of affiliates. They get paid even if they aren’t taking a photoshoot.
- Types of posts you can do are what’s in your camera bag, tools you use as a photographer, a day in the life of you as a photographer, etc.
- It’s slow, and you won’t get much, but make it habit of linking something every time you come on social media is key.
Now the two hubs I use is Shop My and LTK. I have been on LTK for years and I make good money. I just started Shop My so I’m still learning but you don’t need a lot of hubs use one or two and learn it to make your money.
If you have any questions please ask below in the comment section and I will make sure I get back to you with anything that I can help you with.
