My $276 Instant Affiliate Commission Secret with No List, No Ads, No SEO, No Website

Yep, I made $276 in affiliate commissions this week promoting an affiliate program. It’s been ages since I made money with affiliate programs, because… how I neglected this blog. So you can understand why I am so excited. Plus, this time, it felt so easy.

So easy that…

  • I didn’t have to build any website
  • I didn’t pay for any advertising
  • I didn’t wait for SEO traffic
  • It was freakingly instant, like I promoted this morning and start seeing sales after 20 minutes
  • I did not blast an email to a mailing list, or anybody else’s
  • I didn’t spend any time writing new content either

But chances are, I won’t be able to do it again. But that got me thinking, how come I made so much, in so little time, in so little effort. And knowingly that I can’t do this again, how can I change this fact to be untrue.

Actually, I am already a Udemy affiliate. Every now and then Udemy runs $10-sale across the whole site. And recent experiment during one of those promotion made me $104.40 in commissions.

linkshare-sale

But recently, I received an email from Udemy Affiliate Program. It wrote about an upcoming promotion that affiliates will get to be a part of. The promotion is that Udemy will run another $10-sale for all course, but this time only via affiliates. So you don’t get the promotion if you are coming directly to Udemy, only if you follow specific affiliate links. Furthermore, Udemy explained that this will probably be the last $10-sale they will ever do and that future sales might be done at a higher price point.

OK… So I got ready, created all of my affiliate links and got ready for the day.

On the day, here is what I did…

Honestly, this is so easy that I feel stupid telling you about it.

I simply posted the offer on my Facebook.

Yes, that’s it.

OK, maybe I should also tell you that my network and connections on Facebook consists of a lot of programmers and developers in my country. And this group has a certain criterias:

  1. They are passionate about learning new skills in the programming world
  2. They are already spending money on online courses, lessons and development tools

With those, it’s a really hot niche. Just one thing though, like anybody else, they don’t like to be sold to. Which is why I try to keep it a secret from them. From one point, it seems like I am sharing some insider secret.

What is Udemy.com

In case you don’t know what Udemy.com is, it is a online marketplace where people and organizations can create, sell (or give away for free) and buy online courses.

Currently they host over 30,000 courses. You can expect to see courses on almost anything from programming, web design, martial arts, business, productivity and more.

My post on Facebook said something like, “Udemy $10 Sale Is Back. And I heard that this might be the last $10-sale ever. Any future promotions they do will be set a higher price point. So any wishlist you have, better grab them now. [link]”

And with that, I helped sell 72 courses, generated $690 in sales and made $276 in commssions.

But that is not the end of the story…

As soon as the promotion stopped, the sales stopped coming. I knew that they only bought it because of the offer. And since I am using my personal Facebook timeline and some groups I am a part of, I cannot really do it so often, so pushy that as if I had some hidden agenda (which I actually did).

It made me think and started analyze… why did my Facebook friends jumped on the promotion without hesitation?

My post on Facebook. Checkout the "last call" comment.
My post on Facebook. Checkout the “last call” comment.

And these are my main conclusions…

One, Udemy is the new Clickback, but perhaps I write again about that one in another post.

Another conclusion that I have come to is that my Facebook friends and I already have a relationship, and some level of trust in the programming community we are a part of. We are some what Facebook friends after all. And because of that, and the fact this is a really hot niche, they followed my recommendation and bought the courses.

This reinforces my understanding on how important relationship is in online marketing.

Now, how can I apply this to my blogging, internet marketing and other online efforts?

How can I build relationship and trust with a stranger online — instantly?

What we need to be able to do if we want to be successful at affiliate marketing and online business is to be able to develop that first impression, so strong that the reader will develop an instant connection, relationship and trust.

Putting up MoneyClicking.net online again, I need to figure this one out quickly so that I get this one right.

Let’s take a moment and think for a while…

Have you ever arrived at another person’s blog for the first time, whether it is through the homepage, or some of their articles inside that you suddenly developed a strong connection with the author, and felt like you need to know more about this person?

I am sure you have. After reading the article, you are eager to read their About page. And after reading their About page, you developed some feeling that you need to follow this person and learn more about them. You commented on their blog, your left feedbacks, you subscribed to their email newsletter… and you take their advice, bought based on their recommendations…

Now — what did this person do that made us all feel this way?

Is it copywriting?

Is it design?

Is it the content and stories?

Is it their personality?

That is what we all need to learn.

I don’t have all the answers. Perhaps we can learn this one together.

I am currently going through the blogs that I like, read and follow. I am trying to study what is that they do that made me feel that way that I do about them. And perhaps, I can replicate this for MoneyClicking.net.

What about you?

What are the blogs that you read and follow? And maybe you can share with me why?

Have a great day — everyday!

Dino

Dino