Welcome to Optimize Your Account, where we’re breaking down what you need to know about social media platforms and MagicLinks to increase your online visibility, maintain authentic communication with brands and your subscribers, and maximize your MagicLinks experience and commissions. Got a topic you want us to cover? Email us!
Influencers like Lilly Singh, Rosanna Pansino, Markiplier, Smosh, and PewDiePie make millions of dollars a year. MILLIONS. Lots of that is due to things like book deals, TV shows, brand collabs, and ad revenue. But even without those perks, lots of influencers make a full-time career out of YouTube and other social platforms. How do they do it? A huge part of that is affiliate links.
You’re already savvy to the whole affiliate linking thing, which is why you’re a part of the MagicLinks community. Success isn’t just creating a bunch of random links, posting them, and hoping you’ll make millions, though – there’s a lot more to it.
TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE
If you’re a college student vlogging about college life & style, it’s a safe bet to assume most of your subscribers are in your age group. If you’re a middle-aged woman who posts about anti-aging skin care and makeup tips for mature skin, your subscribers are probably primarily women in the same age bracket. It’s common sense.
So, then, you have to think about your AUDIENCE when you’re recommending and linking to products. Can a 19 year-old college student afford the $4,800 Stalvey handbag Gigi Hadid was photographed in or $36 Yves Saint Laurent lip stain? Proooobably not. But they’re gonna love it if you can find some cheap dupes for those products, and be way more likely to buy that $23 Forever21 handbag or $8 CoverGirl lip stain!
DISCLOSE PROS AND CONS OF PRODUCTS
The most amazing mascara in existence might still be difficult to remove at the end of the day. The cutest top might have the tendency to slip off your shoulders unless you pin it to your bra strap. The toughest phone case can be too bulky to slip into a back pocket.
It’s easy to just talk about the positives of a product, but the most popular and trusted influencers are the ones who give it to you straight. Regardless of what products your audience will want to buy, they’re looking to you for an honest review. Nothing is perfect, so be sure to tell your subscribers about any possible negatives! They’ll trust you more in the long run — and buy more things you recommend because of it.
SHOW YOUR FLAWS
FaceTune, Photoshop, iMovie and the like make it way too easy to present a perfectly airbrushed version of yourself. We’re so used to airbrushing and editing that it’s often hard to realize it’s being done.
That’s why an influencer who doesn’t blur every pore or post less-than-flattering snaps of themselves often becomes more popular than the 100% perfect-all-the-time influencer. Viewers want to see you, to feel like they know you and could just sit down for a Netflix binge with you. If your photos and videos are honest and real, they’ll trust your recommendations, click, and buy.
ANSWER VIEWER QUESTIONS
Keeping up with your comments section can take a lot of time, but it’s worth it. If a viewer asks a question that you didn’t address in the review of a product, answer it! Take suggestions on what products they want you to review. Give advice on how to best use a product. They’ll love getting a personal response from their fave YouTuber!
After all, as Linda Boff, executive director of global brand marketing for GE, once said,
- “Content that tries to sell, doesn’t. Content that tries to help, does.”
REMIND VIEWERS YOU’VE LINKED UP
In your video intro and closing, be sure to mention that your description box is full of links to everything you talk about in that video. And… Um… Don’t forget that FTC disclosure.
