July 1, 2025 • 24 mins
Are you looking for innovative ways to boost your nonprofit's revenue and expand your reach? In this episode, we explore the often-overlooked strategy of affiliate marketing and how it can benefit mission-driven organizations. I sit down with Aya Hesham, CEO of Vivian Agency, to uncover the potential of strategic partnerships that align with your cause and resonate with your audience.
Demystifying Affiliate Marketing for Nonprofits
Aya breaks down the concept of affiliate marketing and explains why it's a powerful tool for nonprofits:
- Creating mutually beneficial partnerships with aligned businesses
- Generating additional revenue streams without compromising your mission
- Offering supporters new ways to contribute to your cause
Finding the Right Partners
Discover practical strategies for identifying and approaching potential affiliate partners:
- Analyzing your audience to determine relevant products and services
- Leveraging affiliate networks to streamline the process
- Ensuring partners align with your organization's values and mission
Implementing Affiliate Marketing with Authenticity
Learn how to integrate affiliate partnerships into your nonprofit's communication strategy:
- Crafting genuine stories around recommended products
- Balancing promotional content with your core messaging
- Testing and refining your approach to maximize engagement
Overcoming Common Concerns
We address potential hesitations about affiliate marketing in the nonprofit sector:
- Maintaining ethical standards and transparency
- Focusing on value-add for your audience rather than “pushing” products
- Viewing partnerships as an extension of your mission, not just a revenue source
Whether you're a small grassroots organization or an established nonprofit, this conversation offers fresh insights on diversifying your income streams while providing additional value to your supporters. Don't miss this opportunity to explore a strategy that could transform your approach to partnerships and sustainability.
Want to skip ahead? Here are some key takeaways:
05:23 Identifying Relevant Affiliate Opportunities Learn how to research and select partners that align with your cause and resonate with your audience.
12:47 Crafting Authentic Promotional Content Discover strategies for sharing affiliate offers in a way that feels genuine and adds value to your community.
19:36 Integrating Affiliate Marketing into Your Strategy Explore practical tips for incorporating affiliate partnerships into your existing communication channels and content plan.
26:15 Scaling Your Affiliate Program Understand the time investment required and how to grow your affiliate marketing efforts sustainably.
Aya Hesham
Turning Partnerships into profit, Aya helps brands scale their revenue and visibility through strategic Affiliate & Influencer partnerships. As the CEO of Vivian Agency, she leads a team of top specialists dedicated to building communities for brands by connecting ambassadors and their audiences to the products they love.
Learn more at VivianAgency.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/vivianagency/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aya-elrahman-saad-799638213/
Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey friends, today we'retalking affiliate marketing.
And what that means is when you promotea product or service of somebody
else's, and in exchange you get acommission if people purchase from you
or from your link or from them, right?
When you drive traffic to somebody else,they make a purchase and now you get a
(00:21):
commission for sharing that resource.
And I know this, it isn't something that'ssuper common in the nonprofit space.
But if you think about some ofthe products and services that are
collect, connected, collaborative,or that engage with your audience.
So for example, if you are a petrescue and you have a partnership with,
(00:41):
um, a dog collar company who bringsthings into your physical location.
Um, and you know, you get a portionof what they sell, things like that.
Or if you are providing resourcesfor kids and you have an Amazon link
that if people are buying additionalresources that you don't have,
you get a commission from them.
That's affiliate marketing and that'swhat we're talking to about today with ia.
(01:05):
And I'm super excited for this topicbecause I think it's something that
a lot of people aren't talking about,but once you kind of listen to this
episode, you're really gonna get somecreative ideas for how this might
work out in your unique situation.
Turning partnerships into profitIA helps brands scale their revenue
visibility through strategic, uh,affiliate and influencer partnerships.
(01:25):
As the CEO of Vivian agency, she leadsa team of top specialists dedicated
to building communities for brandsby connecting ambassadors and their
audiences to the products they love.
And I think that's the theme that I loveabout this episode, is it's not just about
selling and like pushing product, it'sreally about continuing to provide the
value that you know your audience needs.
(01:46):
Uh, and that your community needsso that you can support them while
still bringing in an additionalrev revenue stream for yourself.
We all know we need multiplestreams of revenue to kind of
keep the lights on and keep thingssustainable for our organizations.
So I hope that you check itout, give it a listen, even if
you're a little weary about it.
Just see what you think.
(02:06):
Before we get into it, this episodeis brought to you by Oh my high.
Oh, my high is a supereasy website builder.
If you're looking for something to lookclean, elegant, simple, drive your mission
across to your donors and visitors, thenoh my high is definitely a great place to
start and starting at only $20 a month.
It's a great opportunityfor you to have support.
(02:29):
Have the donation features thatyou need embedded into your
website have, um, something thatlooks clean and professional.
Um, but by support I mean theyhave weekly live q and as where you
can literally show up and ask yourquestions and get support right away
with where you're stuck on your build.
So if you're looking for a website that'slow tech, but high reward and has a
(02:52):
great, uh, connection to your donors,definitely check out, oh, my high, in
fact, the news or the nonprofit templatethat they have, um, we helped them with
and helped them design and lay it out.
So I hope you'll check it out and youcan learn more from their co-founder
Becky launder@thefirstclick.net.
Oh my hi.
And that's hi.
Like, hello.
(03:13):
So I hope you check it out.
Let's get into the episode.
You're listening to the DigitalMarketing Therapy Podcast.
I'm your host, Sammy Del Mulhern.
Each month we dive deep into a digitalmarketing or fundraising strategy that
you can implement in your organization.
Each week you'll hear from guestexperts, nonprofits, and myself on
best practices, tips and resourcesto help you raise more money online
(03:38):
and reach your organizational goals.
Hey friends, please join me inwelcoming Aya to the podcast.
Thanks for being here today.
Thank you for having me.
Um, I'm excited to talkabout affiliate marketing.
I was just telling you, we've nevertalked about this on the podcast before,
even though it's something that I love.
Uh, why is, well, maybe just start offwith like, what is affiliate marketing and
(03:59):
why is it something that, uh, you thinkis such a powerful tool for nonprofits?
Um, so in very simple terms, affiliatemarketing is when someone who has
an audience or a community, uh,promotes products and they earn
commissions on sales of these products.
Uh, there are a few differentcompensation models, but the most
popular models are commissioned orpercentage, or a fixed amount per se.
(04:24):
Uh, so that's the affiliatemarketing in very simple terms.
Um, I think it's such a powerful toolfor, uh, nonprofits because it does
help them earn money that they can pourinto, uh, resources, into development,
into more marketing for themselves,into finding more donors to their cause.
(04:47):
I think it's such a powerful toolfor monetization that it's not
fully utilized until this day.
Yeah.
Maybe even think outside the box inyour partnerships with other businesses.
Like maybe they can't donate, theydon't have the ability to donate
straight dollars, but you can kind of,if the product makes sense and is in
(05:09):
alignment with your vision mission,it's like a way for them to contribute.
So this could also look like, um,correct me if I'm wrong, but like
let's say you work with a mortgagelender and they give you a certain
percentage of their commission.
Um, if you promote them as like apartner or something like that could
be another version of affiliatemarketing, even if it's not a product.
Yeah.
Um, so affiliate marketing isapplicable on products, physical
(05:32):
ones, uh, digital products, services.
Um, so it, the concept itself can beapplied to so many different things.
Um.
One thing that also affiliate marketingis not really popular in is B2B,
but the concept is still the same.
Mm-hmm.
It's just finding the right peopleto promote the relevant products
to them and to their audience.
(05:53):
Um, so I think the concept isvery applicable and especially for
nonprofits because typically, um.
Nonprofits have a specific cause,and this is a way that, um, affiliate
marketing can work both ways.
So it's either that maybe somebody'snot even able to be a donor to the
cause, and so we're partnered withthem, so they're indirectly donating
(06:17):
because of the commissions that we'reearning from promoting their product.
But also it could be a way to gettingdonors by forming partnerships on
an affiliate basis first with somecompanies that are relevant to the cause.
And then when they see that thenonprofit is already supporting them,
then they are more inclined to, fortheir, uh, donations and everything
(06:39):
towards them because they're partners.
They're not just, um, randompeople asking for money.
Yeah, no, that's so good.
Okay, so how do we start to find partners?
Like where do we kind of, whereshould we be looking and how do we
maybe even start that conversation?
'cause it's kind of a little bitdifferent than what we're used to
and going in to make an ask for asponsorship or a straight donation.
(07:04):
So the best way to approach this isfirst, you need to segment your audience
and your donors, your email subscribers,your community, your forum, whatever.
Way that you are using to communicatewith people and you need to analyze
this community and audience.
To see what their interests are, whattheir, um, if possible also to get,
(07:25):
like what their demographic looks like.
But I think the easiest way to kind ofdive into this is to go for the companies
and the products or the services thatresonate with the cause of the non-profit.
So let's say.
Uh, the cause of the nonprofitis, uh, something that
supports health and wellness.
Then, um, there is a ton of wellnessproducts out there from really great
(07:50):
companies that would make greatrecommendations on affiliate basis.
Uh, from a, I'd say more technical typeof where to find these companies because,
uh, you could Google companies all daylong, but the easiest way as a publisher
in that sense for the nonprofit to.
Find a lot of affiliate programs in aspecific niche is to actually start a
(08:14):
publisher account on affiliate networks.
So there are so many affiliatenetworks, and each affiliate
network is, uh, more recognizedin either a certain geographical
area or for, um, let's say a niche.
Um, so you have share, sale impact, uh,CJ and so many other affiliate networks.
(08:35):
And as a start, if the nonprofitwould just start a publisher account
and then start looking for programs,uh, that are relevant to their niche.
And on that affiliate network,uh, from that one account, you
can access a lot of programs.
There is no cap on how manyprograms someone can join.
Um, it's for free to join.
(08:55):
So, uh, they don't have to payanything upfront as a publisher.
Um, there they can find the affiliatelinks, their affiliate discount codes,
any assets, uh, communication withthe brands, uh, on there as well.
And so many things that they can, uh,start with in order to just like put
(09:17):
them on the first step of the ladder.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, well, 'cause we are affiliates fora lot of programs and I think for us where
we started was with what we already use.
So I love that you brought up theexample of if you're, you know,
serving people with, in a healthand wellness space, like, well, what
are the products that you're alreadyrecommending to your, uh, audience?
(09:40):
Because I think the other brilliantpiece to this, um, that we don't
think about is if you are supportinga nonprofit or you're a donor.
And you believe in the cause,you're probably likely also
gonna wanna use those products.
And if I can buy those products, knowingthat some of that money is coming back
to my favorite nonprofit, 'cause I'mbuying them anyway, like why would I not
(10:00):
want to make sure that I am doing that?
So I think a lot of times we think aboutit and as nonprofits on the reverse of
like, well maybe that's not ethical forus to get money from a company if we're.
Pushing product 'cause we're a nonprofit,but instead thinking about it as an
opportunity for your donors and youraudience to support you even more on
products you're already recommending.
(10:23):
Um, and using, 'cause the otherexample that comes to mind is if
you're a dog rescue, having, youknow, products in, in your store Yeah.
That people can purchase,knowing that they're also giving
back to your organization.
Yeah, I agree.
And also the concept of.
Pushing product, I'd say isnot the word I'd like to use.
Yeah, it's not pushing, it's, yeah,it's inviting because you're not
(10:46):
forcing anyone to do anything.
And the best way to do that is by justtelling them why you think this product
was actually worthy of your time to spend,to join their affiliate program, to create
content, to share this content with youraudience and community and to put like
a discount code and, and recommend it.
So.
They also need to see, um, why youactually took the time to do that.
(11:10):
Mm-hmm.
And they need to see why this productoffers value and this is not pushing it
on them, but rather than, um, just someoneor a theme just recommending something
that made an impact on their lives.
I really believe in thestorytelling approach.
Um, and whenever, uh, we work with abrand, I always recommend that they send
(11:33):
out a product or a free trial for theirservices to affiliates and influencers so
that they can actually have a real lifeexperience and then they can share that
authentic experience and the impact ofthat product or service that it had on.
Maybe one aspect of their life.
Um, and then it makes sense.
It makes sense for the audience.
(11:53):
They don't feel like it's being pushed.
It's just someone telling thestory and then telling you what
made an impact on, on that story.
I think that's really important, and Ilove that you tied that together because
there, you, you used the word authentic.
That was in my head.
I mean, it's not just about going out,finding a bunch of companies and being
(12:13):
like, okay, we're gonna make all thismoney off of this affiliate income.
I think it's that genuineness of,I. This is tied to our mission.
This is directly related to what we do.
And, and I also like that you said, youknow, really explaining like, we took
time to find these partners becausewe knew that they were genuine and,
and um, something that we could trust.
So you can trust us 'cause youdon't wanna burn those bridges.
(12:38):
Yeah.
Okay.
So you talked a little bit aboutcommunication and how we kind
of share these opportunities,uh, with our audience.
Um, but could you maybe just give ussome additional strategies like how, you
know, how do we make sure that peopleknow that we're partnering with these
organizations so they buy from us?
So the first thing, actually, Imight backtrack it a little bit.
(13:00):
So the first thing yeah.
Is to focus, really, really focus ondoing the research on your audience,
uh, interests and demographics andalso your cause and what relates
to it and who supports this.
So let's say, uh, your cause, let'ssay something environmental, then you.
Have to make sure that the brands thatyou are promoting, even if they're not
(13:21):
directly relating to your cause, areat least eco-friendly or support, uh,
something that's relevant to your cause.
Because relevance is everything.
If the brand is not relevant, uh, theproduct is not relevant and you just lose
and burn bridges with your community and,um, you're not only mm-hmm like losing an
audience or an email subscriber, you'realso losing the donor to your cause.
(13:43):
Um, so that's very importantto maintain the relevance.
And the second thing isto maintain the quality.
So, um, I would highly recommend isto have someone on your team, uh, to
be able to test these products anddo really proper research on them.
If it's something that can be tested,uh, that you could try for a few
(14:05):
days and the brand offers that, thenthat's a great opportunity for you to
really have that authentic experienceand really tell an authentic story.
And at the end of the day, if itturns out that the product is not that
good or it didn't really deliver whatit promises, then you can just, um.
It discluded from youraffiliate offerings?
(14:26):
Mm-hmm.
Or from your store without iteven making it to the audience.
So you didn't burn any bridges.
You did like a quality control first.
Uh, so that second thing is thequality of the products that
you're promoting and the relevance.
And the third thing, um.
Would be is to, uh, of course,like join the affiliate network
and have everything set up there.
(14:47):
And the fourth step would be tostart creating your content strategy.
So you need to identify the communicationchannels that you have right now with
your community and your audience.
And then the second thing is, which ofthose communication channels perform best?
So let's say you have a really highopen rate and really high click
through, uh, rate for your emails.
(15:09):
Then email is the way to go.
And then, um, second thing ifmaybe you have like a forum or,
uh, like a group chat even, um,you need to address and see how.
And how much is it active andhow would you approach that?
Also, don't dive in.
Say, hi, we're promoting this brand today,or we're affiliated with this brand today.
(15:34):
Actually do some preparation.
Uh, so let's say you just receiveda product from the brand and you're
gonna try it and test it out, andthen do an introductory post or an
introductory email first saying,hi, we have just partnered with x.
And we are trying out their productsand testing them to see if, uh, they
(15:55):
really deliver what they promise.
And just give a very brief introduction.
This sparks curiosityfirst in your community.
And then if it turns out thatyou had a great experience,
then you can remind them.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I toldyou I was trying out this product, so it
turns out it did this, this, and that.
We delivered what it promised.
(16:16):
Uh, I highly recommend it.
If you're interested in this.
Uh, also here is an extradiscount code for you.
Uh, or you can buy stuff through thislink and add your affiliate link.
Et cetera.
So just doing a very brief introductionand then if the product didn't really
make the cut during your testing period,then you could just, uh, never show it to
(16:37):
anyone and just never bring it up again.
Nobody would remember, probably.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, and I think the importantthing is you have to share it on
various channels and share it.
Often.
It's not like the first time youshare it, then everybody's gonna
remember, oh, next time I go to reorderthis thing, I need to come back.
So.
Um, like I think it's important tokind of create that cadence for how it
(16:59):
fits into your overall communicationstrategy with regards to the other things
that you're doing so that people, I.
Don't forget about it.
Exactly.
You need to constantly remind them,but also you can't be too pushy,
so you need to have a content plan.
And in that content plan, so let's sayyou're doing social media content for
the nonprofit accounts, and you havelike, um, on Mondays we post this and
(17:22):
on Tuesdays we post this, then have acouple days a week where you're posting.
Something that's very brief and notpushy about the affiliate products.
Just a brief reminder and have themon schedules and then rotate them and
shift them and see how each performs.
See if you get more clicks, uh,from your stories or if you get,
uh, more clicks on the emails then.
(17:44):
Um, you should direct your effortstowards the strategy that has caught the
most engagement, and then also alwaysbe in communication with the brand.
Ask for more if you need to.
If you need more assets, ask for them.
If you, uh, feel like your audiencewill really appreciate a discount and
the brand isn't offering, try to askthe brand for a discount or for a maybe
(18:06):
exclusive bundle just for your community.
Um, even you can even put like productbundles together and you can do like, hey,
this is like, if it's a wellness thing,let's say and say, Hey, this is like my
morning routine and there's like five orsix products from different companies,
but this is like this nonprofits liketrusted bundle and it goes from there.
(18:31):
So, uh, when we get started, uh, becauseI think the power in a strong affiliate.
Platform for you, for you as anindividual company is in working with
variety of brands because you knowthat's how you're gonna really start
to see that income grow most likely.
But we wanna start, whatwould you recommend?
Like really just starting with one,get used to it, figure it out, and
(18:53):
then kind of layer on from there.
Like we don't want to all of a suddenbring in 10 brands all at once.
Don't bring in 10 brands, butalso do not start with only one.
Um, start with maybe two to three brands.
First, just to see alsowhat types of products your
audience is most engaged for.
So make sure that they are in differentcategories, maybe under the same big
(19:17):
category, but addressing different things.
Uh, let's say its wellness, then youhave a supplement, a gadget, and um,
uh, let's say something that's, uh.
What, I don't know, likeanother different category.
Yeah, like I lost words.
So, um, just try out different categories.
See if your audience was moreinterested in the gadget.
(19:38):
Then you know, your next coupleof affiliate programs that you're
joining are probably gadget focused.
And if there's supplements, thenthey're probably supplement focused.
Uh, so don't only start with one, justbecause it's too little for you to test.
And, um, mm-hmm.
There are also so many factorswhy it couldn't convert.
Uh, there are some factors thatcould be relevant to the brand.
(19:58):
It could be, uh, how your audiencetook that specific type of
product or that specific brand.
Um, so maybe a batch of two to threeaffiliate programs for the first month
and then start growing from there.
Adding a couple, um, each month and just.
So to make sure that you're also havingthe time to create proper content, you're
(20:20):
doing everything you can to properly,properly present it to your audience.
Yeah, no, that's really good advice.
And, um, beta testing.
'cause I think we kind of think weknow exactly what everybody's gonna
want, but the, the market will tellus what works and what doesn't.
Um, and that's gonna save youtime in the long run also,
(20:41):
like on your research, right?
Because you'll now, you kind of knowwhere to, where to put your efforts.
And so speaking of that, if we're kindof trying to put this in, if we're
listening to this, we're like, okay,this seems like a cool strategy for our
organization might be really beneficial.
How much time and effort do you think,you know, we would need, I know you
don't have a crystal ball and it'sdifferent for everybody, but roughly
(21:01):
like how many hours in a week or likehow much time do you think we would want
to dedicate if we're, if we're thinkingof adding this in, um, to our strategy
to kind of get it up and running?
So in, in the very beginning whenit's just you testing out a couple
of companies or a couple of products,I'd say maybe it would take.
(21:22):
20 hours per week ofreally dedicated work.
So you are really vetting thecompanies you are, uh, spending
time familiarizing yourself withthe affiliate network that you join.
Uh, you're familiarizing yourselfwith the terms and conditions,
creating content, uh, testingout different content approaches.
I think 20 hours per week soundsreasonable, uh, for like the first.
(21:44):
Mm-hmm.
But it definitely wouldturn in the future if this.
Like beta testing was a success and youstart adding more and more affiliate
programs, then it definitely couldbe something that's a full-time,
uh, position, even in, um, thenonprofit like 40, 50 hours a week.
Yeah.
But I think the thing that's reallyinteresting about it is like you
(22:06):
can really clearly tie it to.
Revenue in different ways, just likeyou would with your fundraiser, right?
Like you, they have an expectationof bringing in so much money, and
the same could be true for this role.
Uh, which I think is, is great.
And I also think like this affiliatemanager person at the beginning, I mean,
this to me seems like there's a greatopportunity for a volunteer to step in
(22:29):
because so much of it is research andso much so if you've got that person
who's like good at technology thatyou trust that knows your mission.
'cause like, like you said at thebeginning, you don't necessarily have
to promote this stuff right away.
So if you have somebody that's avolunteer that's really excited, they
could be, you know, reaching out.
Getting the products, helpingyou test it, and then, you know,
from there your team could decidewhat else you put out publicly.
(22:52):
And it could be even, not evenlike one volunteer, it could
be a group of volunteers.
So you have like a, a, a biggerreach and more ideas and more
brains thinking into it and morecreativity at the end of the day.
Um, and you could also, like for thevolunteers, you could definitely, so
of course working for the cause isrewarding, but you could also offer
(23:13):
like an extra reward of maybe an extrarecognition, um, or maybe, uh, uh,
they get to test the product if theyget, uh, if they close the deal with
the company or join the affiliateprogram, they get to keep the product.
And it's a really nice value,a really nice touch to also
motivate the volunteers.
That's really smart.
(23:33):
I love that.
Um, okay, well, ia, this is allgreat stuff and I think really good
information as we kind of start todip our toes into affiliate marketing.
We'll, of course have all of theresources mentioned in the show
notes@thefirstclick.net slash 3 0 8.
Thank you so much for being heretoday, and like I said, show notes
are@thefirstclick.net slash 3 0 8.
(23:54):
We'll have all of the links there for you.
Um, but thank you.
This has been great.
Okay, so now that you've heardwhat AYA has to say, what do you
think about affiliate marketing?
Is it something you might think about?
Bring to your teams, discuss, brainstorm.
I hope that you do, and if youwant to check up the show notes and
additional resources, you can dothat@thefirstclick.net slash 3 0 8.
(24:15):
Um, everything will be there for you.
For now.
Make sure you subscribe whereveryou listen so you don't miss
out on a single episode.
Leave us a review if you have an extramoment or two, uh, so that more people
can find this, help, this podcast, andhelp them with their nonprofit growth.
And while you're there, leave usa comment on our YouTube channel
at Digital Marketing Therapy.
Let us know what your biggesttakeaway is, or if you have any
(24:37):
questions, drop them there too.
We'd be happy to connect.
For now, thank you so much forlistening, and we'll see you next week.
Bye.
Hey friends, today we'retalking affiliate marketing.
And what that means is when you promotea product or service of somebody
else's, and in exchange you get acommission if people purchase from you
or from your link or from them, right?
When you drive traffic to somebody else,they make a purchase and now you get a
(00:21):
commission for sharing that resource.
And I know this, it isn't something that'ssuper common in the nonprofit space.
But if you think about some ofthe products and services that are
collect, connected, collaborative,or that engage with your audience.
So for example, if you are a petrescue and you have a partnership with,
(00:41):
um, a dog collar company who bringsthings into your physical location.
Um, and you know, you get a portionof what they sell, things like that.
Or if you are providing resourcesfor kids and you have an Amazon link
that if people are buying additionalresources that you don't have,
you get a commission from them.
That's affiliate marketing and that'swhat we're talking to about today with ia.
(01:05):
And I'm super excited for this topicbecause I think it's something that
a lot of people aren't talking about,but once you kind of listen to this
episode, you're really gonna get somecreative ideas for how this might
work out in your unique situation.
Turning partnerships into profitIA helps brands scale their revenue
visibility through strategic, uh,affiliate and influencer partnerships.
(01:25):
As the CEO of Vivian agency, she leadsa team of top specialists dedicated
to building communities for brandsby connecting ambassadors and their
audiences to the products they love.
And I think that's the theme that I loveabout this episode, is it's not just about
selling and like pushing product, it'sreally about continuing to provide the
value that you know your audience needs.
(01:46):
Uh, and that your community needsso that you can support them while
still bringing in an additionalrev revenue stream for yourself.
We all know we need multiplestreams of revenue to kind of
keep the lights on and keep thingssustainable for our organizations.
So I hope that you check itout, give it a listen, even if
you're a little weary about it.
Just see what you think.
(02:06):
Before we get into it, this episodeis brought to you by Oh my high.
Oh, my high is a supereasy website builder.
If you're looking for something to lookclean, elegant, simple, drive your mission
across to your donors and visitors, thenoh my high is definitely a great place to
start and starting at only $20 a month.
It's a great opportunityfor you to have support.
(02:29):
Have the donation features thatyou need embedded into your
website have, um, something thatlooks clean and professional.
Um, but by support I mean theyhave weekly live q and as where you
can literally show up and ask yourquestions and get support right away
with where you're stuck on your build.
So if you're looking for a website that'slow tech, but high reward and has a
(02:52):
great, uh, connection to your donors,definitely check out, oh, my high, in
fact, the news or the nonprofit templatethat they have, um, we helped them with
and helped them design and lay it out.
So I hope you'll check it out and youcan learn more from their co-founder
Becky launder@thefirstclick.net.
Oh my hi.
And that's hi.
Like, hello.
(03:13):
So I hope you check it out.
Let's get into the episode.
You're listening to the DigitalMarketing Therapy Podcast.
I'm your host, Sammy Del Mulhern.
Each month we dive deep into a digitalmarketing or fundraising strategy that
you can implement in your organization.
Each week you'll hear from guestexperts, nonprofits, and myself on
best practices, tips and resourcesto help you raise more money online
(03:38):
and reach your organizational goals.
Hey friends, please join me inwelcoming Aya to the podcast.
Thanks for being here today.
Thank you for having me.
Um, I'm excited to talkabout affiliate marketing.
I was just telling you, we've nevertalked about this on the podcast before,
even though it's something that I love.
Uh, why is, well, maybe just start offwith like, what is affiliate marketing and
(03:59):
why is it something that, uh, you thinkis such a powerful tool for nonprofits?
Um, so in very simple terms, affiliatemarketing is when someone who has
an audience or a community, uh,promotes products and they earn
commissions on sales of these products.
Uh, there are a few differentcompensation models, but the most
popular models are commissioned orpercentage, or a fixed amount per se.
(04:24):
Uh, so that's the affiliatemarketing in very simple terms.
Um, I think it's such a powerful toolfor, uh, nonprofits because it does
help them earn money that they can pourinto, uh, resources, into development,
into more marketing for themselves,into finding more donors to their cause.
(04:47):
I think it's such a powerful toolfor monetization that it's not
fully utilized until this day.
Yeah.
Maybe even think outside the box inyour partnerships with other businesses.
Like maybe they can't donate, theydon't have the ability to donate
straight dollars, but you can kind of,if the product makes sense and is in
(05:09):
alignment with your vision mission,it's like a way for them to contribute.
So this could also look like, um,correct me if I'm wrong, but like
let's say you work with a mortgagelender and they give you a certain
percentage of their commission.
Um, if you promote them as like apartner or something like that could
be another version of affiliatemarketing, even if it's not a product.
Yeah.
Um, so affiliate marketing isapplicable on products, physical
(05:32):
ones, uh, digital products, services.
Um, so it, the concept itself can beapplied to so many different things.
Um.
One thing that also affiliate marketingis not really popular in is B2B,
but the concept is still the same.
Mm-hmm.
It's just finding the right peopleto promote the relevant products
to them and to their audience.
(05:53):
Um, so I think the concept isvery applicable and especially for
nonprofits because typically, um.
Nonprofits have a specific cause,and this is a way that, um, affiliate
marketing can work both ways.
So it's either that maybe somebody'snot even able to be a donor to the
cause, and so we're partnered withthem, so they're indirectly donating
(06:17):
because of the commissions that we'reearning from promoting their product.
But also it could be a way to gettingdonors by forming partnerships on
an affiliate basis first with somecompanies that are relevant to the cause.
And then when they see that thenonprofit is already supporting them,
then they are more inclined to, fortheir, uh, donations and everything
(06:39):
towards them because they're partners.
They're not just, um, randompeople asking for money.
Yeah, no, that's so good.
Okay, so how do we start to find partners?
Like where do we kind of, whereshould we be looking and how do we
maybe even start that conversation?
'cause it's kind of a little bitdifferent than what we're used to
and going in to make an ask for asponsorship or a straight donation.
(07:04):
So the best way to approach this isfirst, you need to segment your audience
and your donors, your email subscribers,your community, your forum, whatever.
Way that you are using to communicatewith people and you need to analyze
this community and audience.
To see what their interests are, whattheir, um, if possible also to get,
(07:25):
like what their demographic looks like.
But I think the easiest way to kind ofdive into this is to go for the companies
and the products or the services thatresonate with the cause of the non-profit.
So let's say.
Uh, the cause of the nonprofitis, uh, something that
supports health and wellness.
Then, um, there is a ton of wellnessproducts out there from really great
(07:50):
companies that would make greatrecommendations on affiliate basis.
Uh, from a, I'd say more technical typeof where to find these companies because,
uh, you could Google companies all daylong, but the easiest way as a publisher
in that sense for the nonprofit to.
Find a lot of affiliate programs in aspecific niche is to actually start a
(08:14):
publisher account on affiliate networks.
So there are so many affiliatenetworks, and each affiliate
network is, uh, more recognizedin either a certain geographical
area or for, um, let's say a niche.
Um, so you have share, sale impact, uh,CJ and so many other affiliate networks.
(08:35):
And as a start, if the nonprofitwould just start a publisher account
and then start looking for programs,uh, that are relevant to their niche.
And on that affiliate network,uh, from that one account, you
can access a lot of programs.
There is no cap on how manyprograms someone can join.
Um, it's for free to join.
(08:55):
So, uh, they don't have to payanything upfront as a publisher.
Um, there they can find the affiliatelinks, their affiliate discount codes,
any assets, uh, communication withthe brands, uh, on there as well.
And so many things that they can, uh,start with in order to just like put
(09:17):
them on the first step of the ladder.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, well, 'cause we are affiliates fora lot of programs and I think for us where
we started was with what we already use.
So I love that you brought up theexample of if you're, you know,
serving people with, in a healthand wellness space, like, well, what
are the products that you're alreadyrecommending to your, uh, audience?
(09:40):
Because I think the other brilliantpiece to this, um, that we don't
think about is if you are supportinga nonprofit or you're a donor.
And you believe in the cause,you're probably likely also
gonna wanna use those products.
And if I can buy those products, knowingthat some of that money is coming back
to my favorite nonprofit, 'cause I'mbuying them anyway, like why would I not
(10:00):
want to make sure that I am doing that?
So I think a lot of times we think aboutit and as nonprofits on the reverse of
like, well maybe that's not ethical forus to get money from a company if we're.
Pushing product 'cause we're a nonprofit,but instead thinking about it as an
opportunity for your donors and youraudience to support you even more on
products you're already recommending.
(10:23):
Um, and using, 'cause the otherexample that comes to mind is if
you're a dog rescue, having, youknow, products in, in your store Yeah.
That people can purchase,knowing that they're also giving
back to your organization.
Yeah, I agree.
And also the concept of.
Pushing product, I'd say isnot the word I'd like to use.
Yeah, it's not pushing, it's, yeah,it's inviting because you're not
(10:46):
forcing anyone to do anything.
And the best way to do that is by justtelling them why you think this product
was actually worthy of your time to spend,to join their affiliate program, to create
content, to share this content with youraudience and community and to put like
a discount code and, and recommend it.
So.
They also need to see, um, why youactually took the time to do that.
(11:10):
Mm-hmm.
And they need to see why this productoffers value and this is not pushing it
on them, but rather than, um, just someoneor a theme just recommending something
that made an impact on their lives.
I really believe in thestorytelling approach.
Um, and whenever, uh, we work with abrand, I always recommend that they send
(11:33):
out a product or a free trial for theirservices to affiliates and influencers so
that they can actually have a real lifeexperience and then they can share that
authentic experience and the impact ofthat product or service that it had on.
Maybe one aspect of their life.
Um, and then it makes sense.
It makes sense for the audience.
(11:53):
They don't feel like it's being pushed.
It's just someone telling thestory and then telling you what
made an impact on, on that story.
I think that's really important, and Ilove that you tied that together because
there, you, you used the word authentic.
That was in my head.
I mean, it's not just about going out,finding a bunch of companies and being
(12:13):
like, okay, we're gonna make all thismoney off of this affiliate income.
I think it's that genuineness of,I. This is tied to our mission.
This is directly related to what we do.
And, and I also like that you said, youknow, really explaining like, we took
time to find these partners becausewe knew that they were genuine and,
and um, something that we could trust.
So you can trust us 'cause youdon't wanna burn those bridges.
(12:38):
Yeah.
Okay.
So you talked a little bit aboutcommunication and how we kind
of share these opportunities,uh, with our audience.
Um, but could you maybe just give ussome additional strategies like how, you
know, how do we make sure that peopleknow that we're partnering with these
organizations so they buy from us?
So the first thing, actually, Imight backtrack it a little bit.
(13:00):
So the first thing yeah.
Is to focus, really, really focus ondoing the research on your audience,
uh, interests and demographics andalso your cause and what relates
to it and who supports this.
So let's say, uh, your cause, let'ssay something environmental, then you.
Have to make sure that the brands thatyou are promoting, even if they're not
(13:21):
directly relating to your cause, areat least eco-friendly or support, uh,
something that's relevant to your cause.
Because relevance is everything.
If the brand is not relevant, uh, theproduct is not relevant and you just lose
and burn bridges with your community and,um, you're not only mm-hmm like losing an
audience or an email subscriber, you'realso losing the donor to your cause.
(13:43):
Um, so that's very importantto maintain the relevance.
And the second thing isto maintain the quality.
So, um, I would highly recommend isto have someone on your team, uh, to
be able to test these products anddo really proper research on them.
If it's something that can be tested,uh, that you could try for a few
(14:05):
days and the brand offers that, thenthat's a great opportunity for you to
really have that authentic experienceand really tell an authentic story.
And at the end of the day, if itturns out that the product is not that
good or it didn't really deliver whatit promises, then you can just, um.
It discluded from youraffiliate offerings?
(14:26):
Mm-hmm.
Or from your store without iteven making it to the audience.
So you didn't burn any bridges.
You did like a quality control first.
Uh, so that second thing is thequality of the products that
you're promoting and the relevance.
And the third thing, um.
Would be is to, uh, of course,like join the affiliate network
and have everything set up there.
(14:47):
And the fourth step would be tostart creating your content strategy.
So you need to identify the communicationchannels that you have right now with
your community and your audience.
And then the second thing is, which ofthose communication channels perform best?
So let's say you have a really highopen rate and really high click
through, uh, rate for your emails.
(15:09):
Then email is the way to go.
And then, um, second thing ifmaybe you have like a forum or,
uh, like a group chat even, um,you need to address and see how.
And how much is it active andhow would you approach that?
Also, don't dive in.
Say, hi, we're promoting this brand today,or we're affiliated with this brand today.
(15:34):
Actually do some preparation.
Uh, so let's say you just receiveda product from the brand and you're
gonna try it and test it out, andthen do an introductory post or an
introductory email first saying,hi, we have just partnered with x.
And we are trying out their productsand testing them to see if, uh, they
(15:55):
really deliver what they promise.
And just give a very brief introduction.
This sparks curiosityfirst in your community.
And then if it turns out thatyou had a great experience,
then you can remind them.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I toldyou I was trying out this product, so it
turns out it did this, this, and that.
We delivered what it promised.
(16:16):
Uh, I highly recommend it.
If you're interested in this.
Uh, also here is an extradiscount code for you.
Uh, or you can buy stuff through thislink and add your affiliate link.
Et cetera.
So just doing a very brief introductionand then if the product didn't really
make the cut during your testing period,then you could just, uh, never show it to
(16:37):
anyone and just never bring it up again.
Nobody would remember, probably.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, and I think the importantthing is you have to share it on
various channels and share it.
Often.
It's not like the first time youshare it, then everybody's gonna
remember, oh, next time I go to reorderthis thing, I need to come back.
So.
Um, like I think it's important tokind of create that cadence for how it
(16:59):
fits into your overall communicationstrategy with regards to the other things
that you're doing so that people, I.
Don't forget about it.
Exactly.
You need to constantly remind them,but also you can't be too pushy,
so you need to have a content plan.
And in that content plan, so let's sayyou're doing social media content for
the nonprofit accounts, and you havelike, um, on Mondays we post this and
(17:22):
on Tuesdays we post this, then have acouple days a week where you're posting.
Something that's very brief and notpushy about the affiliate products.
Just a brief reminder and have themon schedules and then rotate them and
shift them and see how each performs.
See if you get more clicks, uh,from your stories or if you get,
uh, more clicks on the emails then.
(17:44):
Um, you should direct your effortstowards the strategy that has caught the
most engagement, and then also alwaysbe in communication with the brand.
Ask for more if you need to.
If you need more assets, ask for them.
If you, uh, feel like your audiencewill really appreciate a discount and
the brand isn't offering, try to askthe brand for a discount or for a maybe
(18:06):
exclusive bundle just for your community.
Um, even you can even put like productbundles together and you can do like, hey,
this is like, if it's a wellness thing,let's say and say, Hey, this is like my
morning routine and there's like five orsix products from different companies,
but this is like this nonprofits liketrusted bundle and it goes from there.
(18:31):
So, uh, when we get started, uh, becauseI think the power in a strong affiliate.
Platform for you, for you as anindividual company is in working with
variety of brands because you knowthat's how you're gonna really start
to see that income grow most likely.
But we wanna start, whatwould you recommend?
Like really just starting with one,get used to it, figure it out, and
(18:53):
then kind of layer on from there.
Like we don't want to all of a suddenbring in 10 brands all at once.
Don't bring in 10 brands, butalso do not start with only one.
Um, start with maybe two to three brands.
First, just to see alsowhat types of products your
audience is most engaged for.
So make sure that they are in differentcategories, maybe under the same big
(19:17):
category, but addressing different things.
Uh, let's say its wellness, then youhave a supplement, a gadget, and um,
uh, let's say something that's, uh.
What, I don't know, likeanother different category.
Yeah, like I lost words.
So, um, just try out different categories.
See if your audience was moreinterested in the gadget.
(19:38):
Then you know, your next coupleof affiliate programs that you're
joining are probably gadget focused.
And if there's supplements, thenthey're probably supplement focused.
Uh, so don't only start with one, justbecause it's too little for you to test.
And, um, mm-hmm.
There are also so many factorswhy it couldn't convert.
Uh, there are some factors thatcould be relevant to the brand.
(19:58):
It could be, uh, how your audiencetook that specific type of
product or that specific brand.
Um, so maybe a batch of two to threeaffiliate programs for the first month
and then start growing from there.
Adding a couple, um, each month and just.
So to make sure that you're also havingthe time to create proper content, you're
(20:20):
doing everything you can to properly,properly present it to your audience.
Yeah, no, that's really good advice.
And, um, beta testing.
'cause I think we kind of think weknow exactly what everybody's gonna
want, but the, the market will tellus what works and what doesn't.
Um, and that's gonna save youtime in the long run also,
(20:41):
like on your research, right?
Because you'll now, you kind of knowwhere to, where to put your efforts.
And so speaking of that, if we're kindof trying to put this in, if we're
listening to this, we're like, okay,this seems like a cool strategy for our
organization might be really beneficial.
How much time and effort do you think,you know, we would need, I know you
don't have a crystal ball and it'sdifferent for everybody, but roughly
(21:01):
like how many hours in a week or likehow much time do you think we would want
to dedicate if we're, if we're thinkingof adding this in, um, to our strategy
to kind of get it up and running?
So in, in the very beginning whenit's just you testing out a couple
of companies or a couple of products,I'd say maybe it would take.
(21:22):
20 hours per week ofreally dedicated work.
So you are really vetting thecompanies you are, uh, spending
time familiarizing yourself withthe affiliate network that you join.
Uh, you're familiarizing yourselfwith the terms and conditions,
creating content, uh, testingout different content approaches.
I think 20 hours per week soundsreasonable, uh, for like the first.
(21:44):
Mm-hmm.
But it definitely wouldturn in the future if this.
Like beta testing was a success and youstart adding more and more affiliate
programs, then it definitely couldbe something that's a full-time,
uh, position, even in, um, thenonprofit like 40, 50 hours a week.
Yeah.
But I think the thing that's reallyinteresting about it is like you
(22:06):
can really clearly tie it to.
Revenue in different ways, just likeyou would with your fundraiser, right?
Like you, they have an expectationof bringing in so much money, and
the same could be true for this role.
Uh, which I think is, is great.
And I also think like this affiliatemanager person at the beginning, I mean,
this to me seems like there's a greatopportunity for a volunteer to step in
(22:29):
because so much of it is research andso much so if you've got that person
who's like good at technology thatyou trust that knows your mission.
'cause like, like you said at thebeginning, you don't necessarily have
to promote this stuff right away.
So if you have somebody that's avolunteer that's really excited, they
could be, you know, reaching out.
Getting the products, helpingyou test it, and then, you know,
from there your team could decidewhat else you put out publicly.
(22:52):
And it could be even, not evenlike one volunteer, it could
be a group of volunteers.
So you have like a, a, a biggerreach and more ideas and more
brains thinking into it and morecreativity at the end of the day.
Um, and you could also, like for thevolunteers, you could definitely, so
of course working for the cause isrewarding, but you could also offer
(23:13):
like an extra reward of maybe an extrarecognition, um, or maybe, uh, uh,
they get to test the product if theyget, uh, if they close the deal with
the company or join the affiliateprogram, they get to keep the product.
And it's a really nice value,a really nice touch to also
motivate the volunteers.
That's really smart.
(23:33):
I love that.
Um, okay, well, ia, this is allgreat stuff and I think really good
information as we kind of start todip our toes into affiliate marketing.
We'll, of course have all of theresources mentioned in the show
notes@thefirstclick.net slash 3 0 8.
Thank you so much for being heretoday, and like I said, show notes
are@thefirstclick.net slash 3 0 8.
(23:54):
We'll have all of the links there for you.
Um, but thank you.
This has been great.
Okay, so now that you've heardwhat AYA has to say, what do you
think about affiliate marketing?
Is it something you might think about?
Bring to your teams, discuss, brainstorm.
I hope that you do, and if youwant to check up the show notes and
additional resources, you can dothat@thefirstclick.net slash 3 0 8.
(24:15):
Um, everything will be there for you.
For now.
Make sure you subscribe whereveryou listen so you don't miss
out on a single episode.
Leave us a review if you have an extramoment or two, uh, so that more people
can find this, help, this podcast, andhelp them with their nonprofit growth.
And while you're there, leave usa comment on our YouTube channel
at Digital Marketing Therapy.
Let us know what your biggesttakeaway is, or if you have any
(24:37):
questions, drop them there too.
We'd be happy to connect.
For now, thank you so much forlistening, and we'll see you next week.
Bye.
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