When’s the last time you saw a blogger selling affiliate products…the right way?

If you can’t remember, you aren’t alone. Nearly every day, I see bloggers promoting affiliate products in a way that makes me feel I’m on a used car lot. It’s a turn off, and it makes me trust everything they write a little less.

In this video from past BlogWorld/NMX speaker Darren Rowse, he talks a little about how to promote products the right way. This is how you make sales, not lose readers!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCzPnVteH4U[/youtube]

To follow up Darren’s video, let me just end this post by talking about a few of the biggest mistakes people are making with affiliate marketing on their blogs:

• Avoiding the “sell.” You’re writing about a product because you want to sell it. That’s okay! Your fans aren’t going to get mad and stop reading because you sell something, as long as it is something relevant and you aren’t putting affiliate marketing above actual helpful or interesting content.
• Not following FTC rules. Make sure you are disclosing it whenever you use an affiliate link on your blog. If you don’t, readers may feel like you’re being misleading (and you’re probably breaking FTC rules, which you can read more about here).
• Promoting products just because you can. Instead of promoting an affiliate product because your readers might want to purchase sometime, promote products that you love and really want readers to buy. Just because a product is related to your niche doesn’t mean you should promote it on your blog.

Affiliate promotions are just one way to make money on your blog. Want to learn more? Check out our monetization track at New Media Expo in Vegas!