Have you benefited from one of my courses, or do you know writers who could use some great resources?

A. It feels good to help friends and community members by sharing a valuable product that you know can help them. When you become an affiliate for Shortcuts for Writers, you’ll be able to share quality resources with an audience that needs it. You’ll get to make a difference in people’s lives by telling them about courses and offerings that will help them to learn and grow as a writer. 

As the icing on the cake, you’ll get paid for your referrals. I’m an affiliate for several products that I believe in, and it always feel great when I get an email notification that money has been deposited in my PayPal account. I’m excited to send those ‘You’ve got money’ emails to you.

It’s fun to earn passive income. You can trust that I will always deliver high quality products and stand behind everything I sell. I’m happy to support your affiliate goals in any way that I can.  

A. You’ll be able to share unique links to course landing pages, free webinars and classes, blog posts, and other resources. When a lead visits an affiliate link, no matter where that link redirects them to, a cookie is dropped on their device which associates it with that affiliate.

No matter what product the lead buys, as long as the product is included in the affiliate program, the affiliate will earn a commission. Unless otherwise specified, you’ll receive a 40 percent commission.

Your affiliate links use a last cookie system. This means that if the same user follows two different affiliate links and makes a purchase only after accessing the Shortcuts website through the second/last affiliate’s link, this second affiliate will be credited for any conversions.

The cookies expire after six months. So if you refer someone who makes a purchase within those six months, you’ll earn a commission.

A. You will receive payout for your commissions via PayPal each month, no sooner than 30 days after the commission is processed. This gives students a grace period to request a refund if desired. Payment is in US dollars. It is easy to convert payments in US dollars to any other currency in your PayPal account

A. There are lots of ways you can promote my products, so long as you are following the terms of our affiliate agreement. Write blog posts, record videos, create Pinterest pins, share on social media, put a link in your podcast show notes or record an ad, have links on your Resources page, blog sidebar, or in the footer of blog posts . . . feel free to get creative. You can even promote my freebies with a unique link—once they sign up, I’ll do the rest, and you’ll earn money when a customer buys something.

Other ideas: 

* Have your group go through the 5-day line editing class and host a line editing challenge.

* Offer a bonus as incentive for your followers to use your link. Thrivecart allows you to upload a bonus that will be automatically delivered once someone purchases a course through your link. The most effective bonuses would appeal to the same demographic (authors) by complementing the course or filling in a gap.

For example, depending on your area of expertise, you could offer a cheat sheet, article, e-book, mini-course, or video with free tips on cover design, book marketing, Instagram tips for authors, blogging, working with critique partners, working with book clubs, pitching reviewers, etc., or some combination. Or you could offer discounts and special offers related to your own products or services such as a generous coupon code, free 15-minute Zoom coaching call, etc.

You could make it a limited time bonus and have the offer expire on a certain date, or have it be a permanent “evergreen” offer. You could also make it limited in quantity by offering a VIP bonus package to the first 5-10 people to sign up for a paid course.

* Put an evergreen email in your automated sequence. If you have an email list with automated sequences, such as through ConvertKit, devote an evergreen email or two to talk about our courses. You could even devote an email to free resources, such as the 5-day  Line Editing Made Simple class. Those that sign up through your link will be on my list and in my sales funnel, so I can do the rest.

* Send out occasional email broadcasts. If you like to send newsy emails with lots of information, include a paragraph on Shortcuts for Writers courses and resources now and then. 

* Participate in our live promotions. A handful of times per year, we will have a live campaign to promote such as a new course launch, free challenge, or special limited time bonus on an existing course. We’ll provide you with the details and swipe copy so you can easily share with your affiliate link.

A. The FTC requires that any affiliate disclose that they may receive a commission when their audience purchases a certain product. 

Emails: Here are examples of disclaimers that you could use in your emails.

* If you happen to purchase anything I recommend in this or any of my communications, it’s likely I’ll receive some kind of affiliate compensation. Still, I only recommend things that I truly believe in and businesses that I find helpful and trustworthy. If you ever have an issue with anything I recommend, please let me know. My goal is to help you succeed. 

* P.S. Affiliate links were included in this email. 

* Just a heads up, I’m an affiliate for Shortcuts for Writers, so I earn a commission if you purchase this course through one of the links here. Please note that I only recommend things that I truly believe in and businesses that I find helpful and trustworthy.

Blog: Place your disclosure at the top of the blog post. Examples:

* Please note: This post contains affiliate links.

* I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. This is to help support my blog and does not have any impact on my recommendations.

Website: If you’re using affiliate banners throughout your website, be sure there is a clear and conspicuous affiliate disclosure on your site. Example: I get commissions for purchases made through links on this website. This is to help support my site and does not have any impact on my recommendations.

Video and Audio: In video, the affiliate disclosure must be at the beginning and on the screen long enough to be read and understood. Example: As an affiliate, I receive compensation if you purchase through my link. For audio disclosures, you must speak at a cadence that is easy for consumers to follow and in words consumers will understand.

Social Media: Use a hashtag such as #ad, #sponsored, #afflink #commissionearned or #affiliate when you share your affiliate link on social media. You can either use your actual affiliate link, or link to a blog post you wrote that elaborates on the program and includes your affiliate link and disclosure. If you are hosting a pop-up Facebook party, you can also disclose it in the pinned post.