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Have you been watching other course creators seem to effortlessly launch their programs while you're over here, doing all the outreach and all the marketing yourself. Well, what if I told you there's a way to have passionate fans sell your course for you, and it's not as complicated or as expensive as the gurus may have led you to believe.
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Well, in today's episode, you're going to learn to get affiliates to sell your course without losing your soul or all your profit. Ready to break free from the solopreneur struggle. This is the ease and impact thriving as a solopreneur Podcast. I'm Frankie Jay, a surfer, a mum and an eight year solopreneur myself, join me as I peel back the layers to a thriving online business without the guru hype or the burnout. I'm going to show you the proven strategies and tools that I use so you can build a sustainable digital business without sacrificing your well being. Let's get you thriving as a solopreneur.
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Welcome back to ease and impact your weekly dose of practical advice for the solo business journey wherever you're at now, I'm your host, Frankie j and if this is your first time listening, make sure to hit that follow button, because we're diving deep into strategies that actually work for real solopreneurs, not just the ones with big, million dollar budgets. Today, we're talking about something that can level up how you launch and sell your course, your membership or other digital programs that you may have, and that is affiliate marketing. I'm going to strip away all that over complicated tech nonsense and Guru speak and get to what actually works when you're running a nice, lean, authentic business.
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So by the end of this episode, you're going to understand exactly how to set up an affiliate system that works for your business size and your budget. You'll know how to find the right people to promote for you, what to pay them, and, most importantly, how to do this without needing expensive software. Even if you're not tech savvy.
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Now this isn't about building a massive affiliate Empire overnight. This is about creating a sustainable way to expand your reach through people who genuinely believe in what you do. And yes, you can start this even if you've only sold your course once. Now let's get something straight. First up, affiliate marketing isn't some magical solution where you just sit back and you watch money roll in. But here is what it is. It's like having your biggest fans do some of the selling for you. And when I say fans, I mean people who actually experienced what you offer your transformation, not just random internet strangers.
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So think about it this way, instead of spending hundreds of dollars on Facebook ads trying to convince cold strangers to trust you, you're getting in front of a warm audience through people they already trust. It's clever, really. So
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how does this stuff actually work. Let's get into it without all the fluff. The process is pretty straightforward, but let me walk you through so you can see just how simple it really is.
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So first you recruit your affiliates, and the easiest way is reaching out to your past clients and students, the people who have already gotten results from working with you. Now why them? Because they can authentically say, I tried this, and here's what happened for me, and that in itself, is worth its weight in gold.
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So give them a link, either to your freebie, like a webinar or a challenge, or directly to your sales page. It depends on what works for your business model. Personally, I usually do a webinar or a challenge. Now, they promote that link to their people. You know, their email list, their social media, maybe they mention it at networking events. The key here is they're sharing it with people who already trust them
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then, and this is key. You track who bought from which affiliate, so you can pay them their commission. Now before you panic thinking this requires some fancy, expensive software, I'm going to show you how to do this for free in just a minute. So how do you find your affiliates? And it's easier than you think. That's because your best affiliates are sitting right in your client list, the people who have already experienced your transformation, the ones who can authentically speak about you and what you do because they've lived it. Now, I know some people broadcast to their entire email list asking for affiliates. Personally, that's not my style. I prefer to work with people who can honestly say they've been through my program, and here's what it did for them. I feel this is more authentic, and frankly, it converts better.
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So you could also tap into business groups you're a part of, you know, like a chamber of commerce or professional associations, even Facebook groups where it's appropriate to share, but make sure that those people that you're sharing with are people who really know and understand you and how you help. So now you've got an idea of how to find these affiliates. Let's be real about commissions, because.
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Everyone asks about percentages. So I want to, want to address this upfront. The industry standard people throw around is 50%
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but I don't believe that's realistic for every business model I do, between 15 and 30% depends on the course price. For my old $97 course I did 15% from high ticket items, maybe 35%
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the key is making it fair for both parties, while still leaving you with enough to make it worthwhile. And here's where the mindset shift is really crucial. This isn't money. You're quote, unquote, giving away. It kind of felt like that the first time I set my affiliates up. But this truly is a marketing expense. Instead of you spending lots of money on ads to reach cold audiences, having to warm someone up over six to seven touch points, either with retargeting ads or weekly emails or trainings, you know, etc,
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you're paying someone to put you in front of warm people who trust them. When you think about it that way, it makes more sense and feels more profitable when you do hand over those commissions. But the tech side, you know that can be overwhelming, so let's talk about the tech now. This is where people usually get scared off. They think they need expensive software that costs $200 a month, or that they need to set up some weird coding system that only super tech savvy people can understand. And look both of those is complete. Bs,
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if you're already using something like Kajabi or thrive, cart, check if affiliate tracking is already included in your plan. Many platforms have this built in now. I personally use Kajabi, and they have a super simple setup, but let's talk about a free method, and this is using any existing email marketing software that you might have and creating duplicate landing pages. So stay with me here. It is simpler than it sounds. You create. All you do is you create a copy of your main landing page that you're using for your launch or for your product sales page,
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but you give each affiliate their own unique version. So instead of whatever your site.com/webinar
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your affiliate, we'll call her Sarah. Gets your site.com/webinar-sarah
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when someone signs up through Sarah's page, you tag them in your email system as Sarah dash affiliate. Then when they buy, you can sort by tags and see who came from which affiliate. Right tracking sorted. No expensive software needed, already utilizing what you already have, but making it easy for your affiliates is really key in all this, and this is something most people do miss. Don't just hand your affiliates a link and say, Go promote this that's setting everyone up for failure. Create marketing material for them. Write email templates that they can customize, create social posts that they can adapt, give them photos they can use. And when you're doing this, here's the important part, write everything from their perspective, not yours. So instead of check out this amazing course, it's when I first met, and insert your name, I was struggling with. Insert problem. After going through their program, I was able to insert transformation. I only recommend things I've personally done, and this genuinely changed my business. So you're making their job easier, and you're ensuring the message stays consistent with what you know converts for your product. But how about we take it one step further and talk about scaling your affiliate game. You know when you're ready. So now you've got a solid base of affiliates working for you. Maybe you've got 510, or more, and these people are consistently promoting. Here's a fun way to amp things up. That's to run competitions. Now I'm talking about friendly contests for who can generate the most leads during the launch period. Now the prize doesn't have to be massive, maybe a quick one on one coaching session with you, or a gift card, or even early access to your next program. What this does is create a bit of healthy competition among your affiliates, which naturally increases their motivation to promote more actively. Plus, it makes the whole experience more engaging for them. They're not just promoting and then waiting for commissions, they're actively working towards a specific goal.
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But look, this isn't going to replace all your marketing efforts overnight, but can be a really valuable part of your entire business ecosystem. It's about building relationships with people who genuinely believe in what you do and are willing to share that with your networks.
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The beautiful thing about this approach is it grows organically. You start with one or two past clients who have gotten great results. They refer people. Those people become clients, get results, and some of them become affiliates too. Add in some of that friendly competition as you grow and you've got a sustainable way to expand your reach without constantly being the only person talking about what you do.
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So here's what I want you to do after you finish listening to this episode, is look at your past clients. You.
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Who's gotten amazing results, who's naturally sharing about their transformation, already reach out to them, not with a sales pitch, but a genuine conversation about whether they'd be interested in sharing your work with their network in exchange for a commission. Start small, start simple, and remember, this is about relationships, not just revenue. So if you found this helpful, I'd love to hear from you. Drop your questions in the comments. What's holding you back from trying affiliate marketing? What's what part feels overwhelming? Let's problem solve it together. Thanks for listening to another episode of ease and impact. And remember your business doesn't have to be complicated to be successful. Focus on what matters. Build genuine relationships and keep creating impact with ease.
