If you’ve been blogging for a while, you may be thinking about how to monetize your efforts. And, as you may already be aware, affiliate marketing is a legitimate method of accomplishing this.
However, if you begin integrating affiliate marketing into your blog, it may quickly devolve into a complicated muddle. You have links to manage, and when affiliate programs update their referral URLs, you have a backlog of posts to correct.
Additionally, each application has a slew of banners and pictures. As you can see, things can easily become jumbled.
However, do not be put off by this. The truth is that affiliate marketing can be readily organized, and today I’ll show you how to transform the chaos into a simplified process.
The following are the top affiliate marketing plugins for WordPress for managing links, showing your adverts, and maximizing the return on your marketing efforts.
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ThirstyAffiliates
ThirstyAffiliates is a WordPress plugin that simplifies the process of managing your affiliate links. You can abbreviate your affiliate URLs to eliminate the obtrusive digits and symbols associated with referral links. This plugin enables you to shorten links to items such as:
- /recommends
- /go
- /refer
Additionally, you can configure links to open in new tabs when clicked and use a drop-down menu to integrate affiliate links into a post or page. Simply ensure that you’ve already added your referral links to ThirstyAffiliates.
This plugin makes proper use of 301 redirects and allows you to establish global no-follow options for all URLs.
However, the major selling feature, in my opinion, is the ability to modify your affiliate links without having to manually edit each post. All you have to do is modify the link in the Thirsty Affiliate settings.
All of the features listed above are completely free. However, if you want to get the most out of this plugin, it’s worth investigating the Pro AddOn and what it can do for you.
WordPress.org offers a free edition with add-ons beginning at $49.
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Pro URL Shortener
Similar to Thirsty Affiliates, URL Shortener Pro enables easy link shortening for your affiliate links. You can generate relatively short links that are easier for site visitors to remember and that fit seamlessly into tweets and other social media posts.
Your links can be organized by category, which keeps all of your affiliate links in one place and makes it simple to discover the one you’re looking for.
URL Shortener Pro is equipped with redirect headers and the ability to open links in a new tab or window. Additionally, editors will like the option of mass link replacement, since it eliminates the need to alter links in posts one at a time.
These capabilities and more are included in the plugin’s free version, which is ideal if you’re on a budget. However, the pro edition unlocks additional functions.
Prices begin at $29.
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Thrive Lead
While Thrive Leads may not seem like an obvious choice for marketing your affiliate links, it is a plugin with a slew of capabilities that you would be wise to utilize.
While organizing and managing your links is necessary, Thrive Leads can assist you in getting your visitors to actually click on them. By utilizing this plugin to grow your email list, you’ll have the ideal platform for engaging your readers, which is as simple as sending an email.
With Thrive Leads, you can effortlessly create stunning opt-in forms in a variety of formats and configure them to activate based on your chosen settings.
Where it truly shines as an affiliate marketing tool is through a feature called Smart Links. This feature keeps track of whether or not a visitor has subscribed to your list. If they have not done so, your opt-in is displayed. If they have, you get to choose an alternative offer to present to them.
By displaying an offer rather than an opt-in, you may guide visitors who are already familiar with your site to an offer they are very likely to click. This gives a call to action for the visitor and an opportunity for you to win.
Alternatively, you can utilize Thrive Leads to enhance your reviews with customized exit-intent popovers – a terrific method to increase clicks on your affiliate links.
Thrive Leads is included in the $19/month Thrive Suite (billed annually). Additionally, you receive access to Thrive Theme Builder, Thrive Optimize, and a variety of other tools.
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Thrive Ultimatum
Thrive Ultimatum is another amazing plugin from the Thrive team that is indispensable for affiliate marketing. This plugin makes use of scarcity marketing to compel visitors to act.
This means that affiliate marketers can create a three-day campaign around a certain offering that ends on a specific date. The timer will run for 72 hours and will be visible to all visitors to your site.
If you’re looking for something more intricate and want to provide each visitor with their own countdown timer, consider the Evergreen Campaign. When you use this campaign, the timer does not have an expiration date. This means that each visitor’s timer is unique.
Thus, if Bob pays a visit on a particular day, he will receive a timer beginning at 8 a.m. If Bob’s friend Dave pays a visit the next day, his timer will also begin at 8 a.mWhen you combine this with the lockdown feature, Bob and Dave can clear their cookies and switch devices, but their clocks will continue to count down.
What makes things even more fascinating is when you begin incorporating countdowns into other areas of your website. Thrive Ultimatum enables the addition of timers to blog articles, sidebars, and notification bars, among other places.
Therefore, if Dave spotted your timer on the landing page, he may continue browsing your site to a blog post or information page, where he would notice the timer counting down in the sidebar. This is ideal for ensuring that offers are difficult to overlook.
Thrive Ultimatum is included in the Thrive Suite, which is available for $90 every quarter. Additionally, you gain access to Thrive Leads, Thrive Ovation, and a variety of other tools.
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WP Notification Bars
WP Notification Bars enable you to display a message bar discreetly throughout your website. This could mean displaying a notification related to an affiliate offer you’re actively marketing.
Additionally, the plugin may be used to develop your email list by requesting opt-ins from visitors or to generate social proof via social follows.
Customizing the plugin is simple, thanks to the ability to adjust the plugin’s colors and bar positions. Additionally, as a simple targeting option, you can show your bar to only Facebook or Google visitors.
What makes things more fascinating is the inclusion of premium features in the pro version of WP Notification Bars.
Pricing begins at $29, however, there is a limited-featured free version available on WordPress.org.
Conclusion
This post covers a number of plugins that can be used in conjunction with one another to provide a powerful set of complementing capabilities.
While some features overlap, choosing one or two that work well together is an excellent choice for a powerful affiliate marketing engine.
But ultimately it’s up to you and what you need for your website and budget.
ThirstyAffiliates would be an excellent plugin for organizing your affiliate links. The pro version is particularly advantageous because it includes detailed reporting and a variety of other useful features.
