This is a pet peeve of mine. Being a visible player in the WordPress space, I am inundated with requests to take a look at new and existing plugins. I also keep my eye on what’s happening out there.  Often this all happens on social media. But regardless of the quality of the product, there is one thing that bugs me.

Who are you? ‘Who, who, who, are you’?
						
															
									
								
														
								
									
										
											
												Don’t Hide Behind Your Product
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Don’t Hide Behind Your Product

Monetizing Your WordPress Site or Blog Without the Hype or BS

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Blogging trends come and go. I like to say, it all depends, when it comes to trends.

						
															
									
								
														
								
									
										
											
												WordPress Sidebars Revisited for Monetization
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WordPress Sidebars Revisited for Monetization

In the past, I was on a podcast where we were talking advertising our WordPress services. It was an invigorating discussion between Roy Sivan, Bridget Willard, Shayda Torabi and me.
On that podcast, I ended one of my thoughts with the comment that traditional advertising is dying. My friend Bridget politely disagreed and she brought some good points to light. I didn’t have a chance to revisit it, but realized that I also needed to clarify what I really meant. You know, you have limited time with several guests and you don’t want to take a subject too deep and suck up all the time.

						
															
									
								
														
								
									
										
											
												Is Traditional Advertising Dying? And What is Meant by Traditional Anyway?
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Is Traditional Advertising Dying? And What is Meant by Traditional Anyway?

I am a huge fan of affiliate partnerships. But I enter into these types of agreements carefully, and always with my readers’ and clients’ best interest at heart. I use affiliate links in my blog posts and other content, whenever I see a product or service that is reliable, value-driven and a good fit.
But there are those times when, even though I am an affiliate, I don’t share the link.

						
															
									
								
														
								
									
										
											
												Remember, It’s Not Always Convenient to Share that Affiliate Link
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Remember, It’s Not Always Convenient to Share that Affiliate Link

I am a huge fan of affiliate partnerships. But I enter into these types of agreements carefully, and always with my readers’ and clients’ best interest at heart. I use affiliate links in my blog posts and other content, whenever I see a product or service that is reliable, value-driven and a good fit.
But there are those times when, even though I am an affiliate, I don’t share the link.

An Example From the Past
For many years, I taught in live workshop settings. Often someone would ask me a question that led to me to recommend a premium theme, plugin or service. It wasn’t always helpful to them if I asked,  “Can you wait? I’ll send you a link for that when I get back to the office.” Or, “Can you go to my page…?”
Sure, this works when someone asks me a question via email, but not so much at a live workshop.
I’ve used affiliate links for my free sponsored workshops, where attendees get complimentary access to a follow-up online course. And for some of my custom workshops for businesses and nonprofits, I would send a post-workshop email with resources and links as well. 
But, in both cases, sometimes attendees would get excited about a particular product I had mentioned and make a note of it. If they are anxious to snag it, they will google it when they return to their office—before they even dive into my follow-up course or list of affiliate-linked resources. 
And they would purchase it on the spot.
It Still Happens
The days of my workshops are gone, but it still happens. And at a time when affiliate income is playing an increasingly important role in our budget.

 I am at a meetup or conference, talking about something and I will recommend a particular product or service that I trust—and just happen to be an affiliate of.  I never know if they go off and buy it or remember it down the road, when they visit my site.  
It’s an in-the-moment thing.  
In videos and podcasts, I may mention a service and give a specific URL. But they don’t always take action then, and might do it later on when they remember, Oh yeah, Bob mentioned that service before. Maybe I should check them out. 
Even with my special page I created, it won’t always happen. They won’t always go to my site and search for the link.
The bottom line: it just doesn’t always work. But there is a caveat.

So for those of you who are diving into affiliate marketing, don’t push it. By that I mean if you can be just helpful in the moment, well, don’t worry about not having that link to share. It will come back around to you.
And for those partners out there who are paying any attention to their affiliate stats, remember, there are some of us who don’t always worry about getting that credit. We would really like it, but it’s just not always convenient for that other person.
Don’t worry. If you build up trust with your readers, colleagues and clients, it will eventually pay off. I still get people sending me DM on Twitter, messaging me on Facebook or even emailing me and asking if I have a link they could use for XYZ plugin or service.
Those are the moments that make it all worthwhile.

Remember, It’s Not Always Convenient to Share that Affiliate Link - BobWP Monetizer Podcast

In June of last year, I started this second podcast. This next Monday, I start our third one.

						
															
									
								
														
								
									
										
											
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Don’t Hide Behind Your Product

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