(DON’T hold this against me… 🤪😆 I am [allegedly] too busy and too important to notice things like MONEY… Or too financially scatterbrained…)
A few months ago, I noticed I was getting monthly deposits from a payee I didn’t recognize…
Don’t you wish you had that problem?… 😆😀
Well, with Skimlinks, you just might!
Even though I forgot ever adding Skimlinks code to Traffic Generation Café, it never forgot to quietly work in the background and send me an affiliate commission paycheck each and every month – without me lifting a finger.
What, on earth, is Skimlinks?
FULL DISCLOSURE
I DON’T write about making money online. EVER. For various reason.
Yet, I wrote this post. And stand behind it.
What Is Skimlinks?
Skimlinks is a content monetization network that allows you, the content creator, to passively and effortlessly monetize your content.
How does Skimlinks work?
You do what you do best – create content.
Once your content is published, Skimlinks does what Skimlinks does best: turns any product, brand mention, or merchant link into its equivalent affiliate link.
Here’s a quick What Is Skimlinks? overview:
With Skimlinks, you get instant access to over 24,000 merchant affiliate programs without the hassle of network sign-ups, approvals, or creating affiliate links.
Let me show you how Skimlinks works step by step.
How does Skimlinks work: STEP 1
Add normal product links to your content.
How Skimlinks works: STEP 2
Your links look normal – your readers see exactly where they are going and trust the link.
How does Skimlinks work: STEP 3
Skimlinks automatically turns your links into their equivalent affiliate links on clicked, via a brief redirect to the Skimlinks servers.
How does Skimlinks work: STEP 4
Every time your readers click through a product link that Skimlinks is able to affiliate and make a purchase, you’ll earn a commission on the sale.
How does Skimlinks work: EXAMPLE
Let’s say, I want to mention my favorite Nespresso coffee maker in a post.
I don’t have to log into my Amazon affiliate dashboard and convert that link into an affiliate link – Skimlinks will do all the work for me.
I simply copy and paste the Amazon product link (https://www.amazon.com/Nespresso-Espresso-Machine-Breville-Aeroccino/dp/B01MZCQBY4/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1521489754&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=nespresso+machine&psc=1).
As far as you, the Reader, is concerned, you see an (ugly 🤪) Amazon product link.
However, if you click the link, Skimlinks will automatically code it with my Amazon referral code and, should you end up buying the product, I get the commission.
Pretty sleek!
Skimlinks is free and easy to use. Join and start earning today!
SIGN UPHow Much Can You Earn with Skimlinks?
Hmmm….
- How much comtent (COMmercial conTENT – content with links to products / retailers) do you write?
- How compelling is your comtent? Is it click-worthy?
- How much traffic do you get? How click-happy are your readers?
Take Traffic Generation Café, for instance. Not much comptent here, but even with a few sporadic mentions of merchants and products, I still get some passive income, as you saw from the screenshot above.
If you, however, run a website that lends itself nicely to publishing comptent (COMmercial conTENT)… well, the sky’s the limit!
…Or 75% of the sky, to be more accurate. 🤣🙃😉 Skimlinks keeps the other 25%.
Entirely fair, if you ask me – ESPECIALLY, if you are earning a big fat ZERO without Skimlinks, right?
Let’s take a closer look at your potential earnings with Skimlinks. Or without Skimlinks, I should say.
How much could you earn WITHOUT Skimlinks?
Many publishers ask, “Why use Skimlinks, if I could create affiliate links on my own?”
With Skimlinks, you earn up to 110% of what you would’ve earned if you managed your affiliate links yourself.
And yes, Skimlinks does take 25% of that.
However, with Skimlinks, you have access to Preferred Merchants – merchants who have agreed to pay Skimlinks their cut above and beyond your commissions.
Stick with promoting Preferred Merchants and you’ll maximize your earnings potential.
Plus, you get your foot in the door with many Merchants that wouldn’t give you the time of day without Skimlinks, like Nordstrom, Macy’s, Canon, HP, Sketchers, Target… you name it.
PLUS, the affiliate behemoths like Commission Junction (CJ), ShareASale.com, LinkShare.com are also a part of Skimlinks network.
But wait… you can use Skimlinks on social media!
That’s right – Skimlinks lets you monetize your content on other platforms.
No matter where you post, whether on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, you can use Skimlinks browser extension link shortener to connect your audiences across channels and earn from your product and brand recommendations.
Just one of Skimlinks WOW factors… 😉👍
Skimlinks saves time. Time = money.
Let’s face it, you won’t tediously code each and every link you could on your own… not to mention the links you couldn’t since you don’t have access to their affiliate programs!
And even if you do make a bit less with Skimlinks, the amount of time it saves you, plus the automatic addition of affiliate links when you forget, pays for the difference above and beyond.
😉👇👇
Skimlinks is free and easy to use. Join and start earning today!
SIGN UPIMPORTANT: Affiliate marketing and disclosures
FTC regulations state,
When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product which might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement, such connection must be fully disclosed.
Monetizing through affiliate links? Disclose. Disclose. DISCLOSE.
Here is an informative guide from the FTC regarding endorsements.
Since disclosure laws may vary from state to state, country to country, comply with the local disclosure laws from your state/country of residence.
How to Add Skimlinks to Your Site
Once you are an approved Skimlinks publisher, integrating Skimlinks with your site is a breeze.
Your options are:
1. For any website: JavaScript
Grab JavaScript code (will be given to you by Skimlinks) and paste it into the footer of your site.
That’s what I use at Traffic Generation Café.
2. For forum owners
If you use vBulletin for your forum, they have a dedicated vBulletin plugin.
3. For self-hosted WordPress blogs
There’s a plugin for that!
4. For any other platforms
Skimlinks offers a range of simple implementation guides for everything else in-between, like TypePad, Blogger, Tumblr, and so forth.
5. For social media
You’ll find out how to use Skimlinks with your social media accounts in your Skimlinks dashboard under “Tools“.
Skimlinks and SEO
Would the oh-so-evil Google punish your website for using affiliate links?
Short ‘n simple: no.
Google is NOT against you making money, trust me.
It just wants to make sure that you:
- create websites with original content that adds value for users;
- choose a product category appropriate for your intended audience;
- use your website to build community among your users;
- keep your content updated and relevant.
The more targeted the affiliate program is to your site’s content, the more value it will add and the more likely you will be to rank better in Google search results and make money from the program.
For example, a well-maintained site about hiking in the Alps could consider an affiliate partnership with a supplier who sells hiking books rather than office supplies.
Skimlinks no-no: DON’T try to sell a burger to a vegetarian
How do you make money with Skimlinks without turning off your readers? 🧐🤔
With over 24,000 active merchants, it should be a breeze to find the right products for your audience.
However, after observing so many blogs trying to sell a burger to a vegetarian, “common sense” might not be all that common after all.
Here are some (not-so-creative?) ideas to get you going.
1. Go the ‘DUH’ way
If you are in a cooking niche, look up products under “Food, drink, and dining“.
If you run a mommie blog, you might want to go for “Babies, children, and parenting“.
If your blog is about fashion, go crazy and pick the “Fashion and accessories” category. 🤪❤
Find that common sense and hold on to it, in other words.
2. Catch’em by surprise
Look for products that your readers might enjoy even though they aren’t exactly in your niche.
Have fun with it and go for curiosity factor.
For instance, this blog has a “Café” in the title for a reason… ☕☕☕
So why not allow my readers to kick back and sip that perfect cup of coffee to keep themselves awake while sifting through hundreds of ways to generate traffic to their sites?
Here’s another thought: most of us have a coffee addict in the family or among friends.
How’s this for “Catch’em by surprise”?
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Time Release Caffeine Capsules
Sometimes it is fun to drink caffeinated beverages or eat caffeinated candies to stay awake. They are tasty and fun.
But what happens, say, if you have to suddenly fly into space to deal with an alien invasion?
You won’t have time to eat or drink on the flight because you’ll be busy with strategies and counter-xenophobe planning.
Be lucky, then, that you have some Time Release Caffeine Capsules on hand. Just pop one in the morning, and you’re alert for the next 8 hours.
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Highly Caffeinated Brownies and Cookies
And we don’t call them Highly Caffeinated Brownies and Cookies for nothin’!
Each one is loaded with 200mg of caffeine!
The hardest part of these is not eating too many, because they really are that good.
And because they are so tasty, you’ll eat them fast – and that will get the caffeine in your blood with a powerful rush.
Trust us. Get some Highly Caffeinated Brownies and Cookies for a heaping helping of wake up for dessert.
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Shower Shock Caffeinated Body Wash
Some folks like imbibing their caffeine in coffees and sodas and energy drinks.
Others like eating it in candies and mints and “magic” brownies.
But if you ask us, the most enjoyable way to get caffeine into your system is to rub glowing gel all over your body and let it seep into your pores.
And if you just happen to get cleaner in the process, even better!
And tingling (unless you are being electrocuted by mutant eels) is always fun.
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Has nothing to do with traffic generation, yet goes with Traffic Generation Café perfectly well, don’t you think?
Skimlinks Marketing Takeaway
No more signing up for a bunch of different affiliate programs.
No more multi-site tracking.
No more wondering if you made any sales you haven’t been paid for.
Skimlinks is free and easy to use. Join and start earning today!
SIGN UPHave fun monetizing your content!
From Ana with
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