$2k/month by developing an unsexy niche 🙌

As I've ranted in previous IH posts, driving organic traffic via search can be a fickle game. It's brilliantly cheap (read: free), and feels like an unexpected shot of heroin when it comes flowing in. But buckle up for the choppy seas ahead. Undoubtedly your traffic will spike and drop just as quickly, forcing you to face the reality that whatever fledgling momentum you've managed to build could come to grinding halt without notice.

So how do you steady traffic, and more importantly, grow affiliate revenue despite being at the cold, algorithmic whim of Google? Here are a couple key learnings I've picked up growing finvsfin's affiliate revenue from $0 to a (fingers-crossed) consistent $2k+/month:

1. Own your niche and build a content moat

Once you notice an article starting to generate organic traffic, it's time to double down. If this is a niche you think can be profitable, start to write more about that particular topic. This signals to Google that you're passionate, and more importantly, authoritative, on the topic. My only word of caution: be careful not to publish anything that's too similar to what you've already written. It's easy to confuse Google's algos if you have two articles targeting the same keywords, or God forbid, incur a manual penalty for posting duplicate content. But so long as you're taking a new angle and trying to capture new search queries within the same niche, Google will grow more and more comfortable with ranking your pages for searches around your niche.

2. Update your content regularly

Google likes fresh (i.e. relevant in real-time) content, so it rewards publishers who consistently update their articles. The edits don't have to be big, but make sure you're adding a new paragraph, updating numbers in a chart, dates in headlines/titles, or otherwise letting Googlebot know your sh*t ain't stale.

3. Develop your relationships with advertisers

Once you've stabilized organic traffic within your niche by bolstering your content and committing to updating it regularly, it's time to monetize. If your strategy is to become an affiliate, then the obvious first step is to apply to your advertisers' programs and accept whatever terms they initially offer new publishers. When it comes to maximizing your affiliate commissions, you really only have two levers to pull:

• increase conversions
• or increase commissions

While I've had many small and medium-sized wins from optimizing conversions (i.e. adding popups, deeplinks, and otherwise making it easy for visitors to convert), by far the biggest wins from a revenue-growth perspective have come by developing closer relationships with affiliate program managers themselves. Rather than increasing traffic or conversions, the lowest hanging fruit is often to increase the amount you make per conversion. We've consistently been able to negotiate 2-3x CPAs with all of our top advertiser partners simply by reaching out and asking. If you already have traffic, and that traffic is translating into consistent conversions for a brand, don't be scared to renegotiate your terms (and increase revenue overnight). Seriously, don't be afraid to ask for higher CPAs! Most brands have a lot more leeway on payouts than you think, especially if you've already proven you can drive valuable traffic.

Have any questions about affiliate marketing? Want to talk shop on finding a niche, growing organic traffic, increasing conversion rate, or developing better relationships with advertisers that translate into higher CPAs?

Drop me a line! 💚