Duke of Digital

024 - An Introduction to Affiliate Marketing with Amber Reed

• Brian Meert

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Speaker 1:

All right. Do you want to make some extra money while you sleep? Raise those pinkies because in today's episode we're going to do an introduction to affiliate marketing

Speaker 2:

presented by advertisement. The juke of digital will guide you through the rapidly changing landscape of digital marketing, social media, and how to grow your business online. To submit a question for the show, text(323) 821-2044 or visit Duke of digital.com if you need an expert to fix your ads, the friendly team at advertisement is ready to help visit advertisement. That's M I N t.com or call(844) 236-4686

Speaker 1:

grow your business. Here's your host, Brian[inaudible]. All right, now I'm super excited today because we have in the studio, Amber Reed, who used to be Amber Slaven back when I first met you. Um, thank you so much for being here. Your favorite last name? Yeah, I did think it was a cool last name. I was like, it's like a rock star name and I was like, man, that's way cooler than my last name.

Speaker 3:

I don't know. I beg to differ.

Speaker 1:

I dunno. I thought it was all right. So I am excited. Um, and let me give a little background on you for, for our listeners today. Uh, you're from North Carolina. That's correct. Yes. Okay. You are a pageant queen, turn college cheerleader, turned actor, turned fitness instructor turned entrepreneur. Is that right? All of the above. Check, check, check, check. Yes. Yes. 30 years of my life. That's crazy. That's great. Okay, so now there is a, an internet rumor. I'm hoping you can address that you won best interview at an international pageant. Is that true?

Speaker 3:

It is true. Which is weird. And my mom kind of makes fun of me for it my whole ever since it happened because I am like the world's biggest introvert. Um, and so the fact that I basically went in and said every single word that I ever knew. What was the question? Um, there were a few questions, but I do remember one of them, which was if you could have lunch with any celebrity, you know, in the world, who would it be and why? And at the time, you know, I was like a teenager, a young teenager, um, and I don't remember everything that I said, but I remember saying, Shirley temple, and she was deceased, but I said, you know, could they be dead or alive? And they were like, Oh, you know, they were kind of thrown off by that. And, um, they were like either, and I said, Shirley temple. And I think because that's just not what norm, I mean, no one would say, sure. Temple. I don't know why

Speaker 1:

that came to my mind. Um, but I always just adored her, acting as a child and everything. She always made me laugh and she just stuck in my brain at that moment. And that's why I said, Oh, my mom loved the Shirley temple and we'd put her on all the time. I met her one time when she was older. Um, I met her. Uh, my mom was, she came into Sacramento and my mom was like, let's go. And I remember, you know, waiting in a long line of like hundreds of people and my mom was so excited to be able to meet her. Um, and it was weird cause I had only seen her on TV as the little girl and then she was, you know, a full grown, you know, not, not really know because she was just, I mean she was like an adult, like someone that you would see walking around a mall. And I was like, there's Shirley temple I know is, you know, this little five-year-old or eight year old with little pigtails dancing that I know a couple of her songs. All right, moving on. Um, okay. So now you have, you've left your corporate job to work from home full time now and you've, you mentor and help people who want to live life on their own terms. Um, one of the things that I love who could digress for a little bit is I have a wee bit of a man crush on your hubby, um, whose, whose name is Jensen, who's a musician and artist and in his spare time just makes these mega YouTube hits that are these video viral videos on YouTube? It, I dunno. I just think they're really funny and they have to take a long time to create because they're so good with so many different cuts. Yeah. You're like, Hey, I haven't seen him for six months. Last one took about two years to me. No way. Really. So when you see it and it goes through like all the costumes and everything that goes into that short little like three minute video, but it's so good. His videos have like millions and millions, like hundreds of millions of views. Um, I get everyone, he's like, Oh, Hey, we just did it again. 100 million views, you know, that's how he looks. And we see, I'm Ben. I actually see, I'm downstairs sometimes. Who is the other guy in the video? He's in the coffee shop downstairs. A lot of times I'll see him there and I'm like, Hey, I know Jensen. And so, yeah, it's weird. Small world in Hollywood for sure. Um, but let's go back. Okay. So anyway, I've got, you can tell him, uh, Brian says his greetings. Uh, love it. Um, but yeah, so you've, you've mentored, you've helped people live life on their own terms. Um, and I wanted you to be on this show for, for two reasons. The first was if I look back in my life when I hit the absolute rock bottom lowest point of my life, I don't know if you remember where I, I was going to a gym and you happen to be there and we were waiting for class to start. I was like a high intensity gym and I was going through like my business was about to close down or had closed down. Um, I was going to a divorce. Um, it was just fighting all day long. I had taken a job and like a bunch of guys in the job were like wanting to fight me outside in the parking lot. It was just so weird, like, yeah, like they were just kind of some toxic guys and I just had nothing left. And I remember like it was a rock bottom place and before class started you were like, Hey, let's warm up and just run around the block really quick. And I was like, yeah, let's do it. And I think, I don't remember exactly what you said, but I think you were like, Hey, how was your day to day? And I just stopped and started crying in public. I broke down and that was my like where I was like this, I am at my all time lowest I can go. And I remember you were like, Hey, what's up? Like you want to talk about it? And I was so embarrassed. I was like, Hey, I think I'm going to roll. I'm just going to go home. And what's crazy is end up moment. You know, I was just, it was a struggle. I don't like to talk about when times weren't good or things like that. And I remember being like, man, you know, from there things of, you know, ultimately kind of come back up. You were there at that point when it was horrible for me. Um, and I just was like, it wasn't, can I make it through the day? It was like, can I make it through the next five minutes and just keep going? And it was funny cause you're like, Hey, how was your day? And I was like, Whoa. And that was it. I just, I broke down right there on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. We were running around the block and was like, man, this is it. So you were there at a point when when things were rough and a lot of times in life people don't have options, right? It's, you know, life is rough and it's just, it feels like there is nowhere to go. So that was the beginning of the story and a couple of months ago I saw post that you did on Facebook where you were like, guys, Holy cow, does anyone know about affiliate marketing? This is incredible. And it was, you would just kind of come to discover it, right? And you were like, do you know that you can work with the biggest companies in the world and be able to make tons of money with them and you can send you work from home and do whatever. And it was for me, you know, I've worked with affiliate marketing for years. Thanks for telling me. Yeah, I know all this dialogue. You can do affiliate marketing, but like it's something that, you know, I just know we were comparing it with kind of like Disneyland, right? Like someone that has never, there's people that go to Disney all the time and they're like the lines, they get grumpy about it. But someone that walks in to Disneyland for the first time is like, this place is incredible. Look at this ride and look at that ride and they have everything and it's, it's a magical place. And so what I wanted you to come on this show was to be able to talk about what journey has, has led you to affiliate marketing and kind of to have that discussion about how it works from someone that's just starting out or just going there for the first time and kind of run through some different pointers for other people that might be looking, how can I be able to, to make money from it. Does that sound good? Yeah. Okay. So can you give us a little bit of background into what led you to where you then discovered affiliate marketing?

Speaker 3:

Yes. Um, so I, like you said, I just got out of corporate America, um, not too long ago, about six months ago. And, uh, best decision I've ever made. Um, but while I have also been working full time over the past three and a half, almost four years now, I have been building my own online business. Um, it's been in network marketing and um, you know, I, I guess you know, about seven, eight months ago as I'm trying to expand my online business and branch out and network with other people and build relationships. Cause that's really what I feel in network marketing is all about, is just building relationships. And, um, I was on Facebook and part of my process of building relationships and stepping outside of my own little tiny bubble of friends and family is, you know, how Facebook, I'm always recommending friends to you that you might be interested in connecting with. So I'm always going through those and um, seeing their profile and what they're all about and seeing if it's someone that I might be interested in building a relationship with and whatever level that may be. And I happened to click on someone who was in affiliate marketing and I was like, what is this? I don't know anything about this. Is this network marketing? Is this something different? Um, and so then I started just going down my, um, obsessive Google search of affiliate marketing and figuring out what this whole brand new world was.

Speaker 1:

Well, these are, what I want to know is from your standpoint, how would you describe what is affiliate marketing?

Speaker 3:

So for me it is, well, it's a couple of things. I guess in a business sense, um, for me it is a way to bring in another stream of income with, by partnering, partnering with any kind of company out there. I mean there's so many companies that offer affiliate programs now. And I guess as you know, it's been around for years and years, but for me, I feel like it's a brand new thing to the marketplace. Um, but yeah, there are so many companies out there that offer it and it's basically like getting paid for referring someone to something that you like. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

So, I mean, if I could add a little bit to that, um, affiliate marketing is a fantastic form of marketing for businesses because they only pay out. They'll do a payment if you can bring someone to buy something from them. Um, but they only have to pay when a purchase is made, right. So if you go and tell a million people, Hey, you need to go buy this product and zero people order, they don't have to pay anything. So they're like, this is great. You've got a million people that know about us. Now if you send a million people and 50% of them buy, you know, then all of a sudden you're like woo. And they are willing to give money because they get the money first. So someone is completing an order and once that happens, they will give you a percentage of it. Right, right. Okay. That's good.

Speaker 3:

Percentages are like all over the[inaudible].

Speaker 1:

Yes, they are. Depending upon the business how competitive they want to be. It can depend upon the industry. Um, it can pretend, uh, uh, depend upon the platform as well. Okay, great. Good. I love this. I love that. Um, okay, so then you start to look about this. How do you get started? Like what are the steps of where you were, like, this is where I want to sign up first. Or like did you start to go with companies or did you start to look for platforms?

Speaker 3:

Um, both, um, I guess platforms kind of, because for me, again, I was trying to just broaden my, my platform and my brand and I'm really trying to make a brand out of what I've been building over the past four years, not just by doing network marketing, but by being able to offer several different products and services to people. And also I'm getting into like, I, I've been mentoring people for so long for free, so now I'm going to make a business out of it. So, you know, the world of online coaching is becoming a huge thing as well. So, um, that's going to be a part of my brand as well.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I think what's, what's fascinating is because when I, I mean I guess when I first got into this was was a while ago, you know, a lot of these opportunities didn't exist where, you know, you could be an online coach or you could be, I mean affiliate marketing has been around for a while, but the tools now versus 20 years ago are so much more powerful. And this is what I don't think a lot of people understand that, you know, apps like honey where you know, you put it, it's a little Chrome extension and you push a button while you shop and it automatically puts a coupon code that's an affiliate. Meaning they're dropping, they get a percentage of that sale because they're giving you the code. Or like one of my favorite coupon sites is retail. Me not, I go there all the time. Like I'm like, Oh, let me go find the coupon. Let me go get it. That's an affiliate. So the way that they make money is by, you know, getting people to share the coupons, helping people rank which ones are best. And when you click that link to be able to see the coupon, what happens is they load something in the back that then gives them credit for the sale if you go and purchase right there. Right. So, I mean, it's fascinating at how it exists everywhere and most people don't realize it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. And so, um, I mean even Amazon has an affiliate program, which was the very first one I ever heard about. Um, I just didn't understand that it was like a whole world that, um, you know, was a really big business, uh, billions and billions of dollars in this industry. Um, so yeah, to answer your original question, I uh, wanted to partner first with platforms or companies that were going to be business tools that I was going to be using. Things like click funnels and get response, automated emails, things like that. Um, that I could then refer to other people because my network is going to be other likeminded people that are looking to build online businesses and work from home and all those kinds of[inaudible].

Speaker 1:

I think what's so fascinating about affiliate marketing is everyone has something that they're interested in or passionate about and they're most likely companies that deal with that, that have affiliate programs. So it's almost like selling without selling because it's things that you already believe in, but most people don't know. They have options to make money from that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. I was online the other day and there you'll start to see all these ads come up on your fucking Instagram for the kids. Um, because I was looking, you know, obviously for toys for the holidays, uh, for my toddler and an ad kept coming up. Uh, it's called love lover every but it's like a subscription service of learning toys that they send to you. And I went to their site and was checking out their subscriptions and their toys and everything. And sure enough, they have an affiliate program. So, I mean, they're literally every kind of company out there that offers. And I know that you offer one too.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I think from, from a business standpoint, you know, if someone is willing to bring you a customer, businesses are like, we're willing to get, we have expenses for that. You know, Coca-Cola pays money for, you know, billboards and ads to plan on TV. They have budgets for that. Um, but ultimately if they're like, we can pay if someone walks in and buys, you know, Coke, um, I don't know if Coke does have an affiliate program or not, you know, they're kind of big, so they do a lot of branding. But, um, it, it's, it's something that businesses are like, this is worth us. We, we have the margin there. We want to allocate it for it. I mean, in fact you mentioned Amazon, um, which has a fantastic program. Um, I mean, do you know the specifics of the program or how it works? Like how long does it last?

Speaker 3:

It lasts. Well, I know that you have to be generating traffic to your store and your offerings and producing a certain amount of purchases.

Speaker 1:

Okay? Yup. Yup. So Amazon has an associates program is what they call it. Um, once you sign up, they give you, you can go to any product at Amazon, there's like a little toolbar. It'll give you your own custom link for it. And what's amazing is you can share that link anywhere you can share on, can you share on Twitter, you can share it, you know, in a family newsletter. And you know, it'd be like, Hey, we just did this. And what happens is people can see it and be able to go, Oh, I want to get that too. And if they click on that link, you've got 24 hours, a 24 hour period that if anyone buys that item, you get'em anywhere. It can range from, you know, 1% to 10% I think is kind of the range of this sale. Um, and then you, uh, yeah, you get, you get paid out and if they order other things as well, you get a percentage off of the entire order. Um, which is awesome. Oh yeah. So if you, um, if you have someone order, like say a camera, but they end up buying a lens for it and a flash for it or you know, different accessories, um, all at once, you can be able to, um, you make some money off of that. So a lot of times YouTube videos where someone will review products and they're like, here's how it works. This is, they'll spend time to do a quality video and they'll be like, Hey, here's where you can find it on Amazon. That is an affiliate link that us person can click and be like, Ooh, yeah, let's make some cash. So, um, any other thoughts kind of on, on, you know, the Amazon platform or things that you've done? Was there anything that stood out where you're like, this was amazing? That I didn't know about?

Speaker 3:

Um, I mean, it's all amazing to me because I had no idea that it existed. And, um, from the background that I've been coming from for the past almost four years in network marketing, it's completely different. You know, there's people that like me have no idea what affiliate marketing is and some that still don't even know what network marketing is. But to me it was really eye opening and exciting because with network marketing, it's really about a longterm, um, business model and, um, building it longterm. It's not like you're gonna make quick money now. Um, and it's really about building a team and again, it's a people's business, so it's investing in people and here is none of that. With affiliate marketing. It is you take out like the relationship building part, you take out the long term building part of your business. And I mean, sure you can start to uh, gain more money over time, but, uh, you can really make, you know, fast money.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's incredibly true. Okay, so this breakdown, therefore kind of parts that go into affiliate marketing and let's kind of run through these together. So the first one is the actual business, right? So the company that is offering this Amazon has products. Um, you know, for people that don't know, if you sell something on Amazon that's like$10, Amazon will take a three to$4 fee of that for the business that's trying to sell it on Amazon. So what they have is that money that they can use and give a portion of it back to affiliates. So it's something that's built into their business model. Um, I think what's interesting is with businesses, most businesses have an affiliate program. So if there's a company that you love or you're like, I use this all day every way anyway. And I tell all my friends to use it as well. The first advice I would give was Google that company name affiliate program. Right, right. And see if they have it there or see if it's available for sale on Amazon, which is probably one of the biggest programs because I think people know about Amazon. I think people trust Amazon literally only shop on Amazon. Yeah. I mean I didn't need to, I've seen my bill come from Amazon. Like they're like, here's all your orders in the last year. And I'm like, I've got a problem. It is really true. Like, did I actually walk into a store? Um, but so I think, you know, there's advantages of working with Amazon in that the credit cards are already in there. No one needs to reenter it in their addresses saved. They are on their phone, they can walk around and they click click and it's at my house in a day. So extremely convenient. And what happens is you can ride off of that, meaning you just have to find the person, which we'll get to kind of next. But any other thoughts kind of on the business, um, that are doing it or that they're setting it up on you're setting up affiliate programs? I just think it's really smart for them to do because like you mentioned earlier, it's basically free advertising or free marketing because it's now becoming a referral based platform where, you know, that's, that's really powerful if you think about, we're always referring our friends and family to things that we love and every single day. Yeah. Um, so the fact that now businesses can take advantage of that and then, you know, give credit where credit's due to the person. Um, I think it's great and it's really powerful. I know that, um, a lot of times when it comes to the company, they will offer different competitors will offer different commissions even though they may offer a similar service. So I know when Netflix first launched, when it was a DVD service, they went huge on affiliate marketing and they said, we will pay you, I think it was like three months, so to subscribe. It was, I don't know, like 10 bucks a month. And they're like, we'll pay you$30 for every person that you get to sign up. So people are like, this is awesome. And Netflix was gaming on the fact that a subscriber, which day, four months, five months, six months, they'd be like, this is a great service and we want to use it and continue on. But they would pay a large amount out and that's partially how they were able to grow so quickly. And then I think blockbuster came out with their own, um, subscription one, but I think Amazon or Netflix had a much higher commission rate. So I think, you know, as you're looking for products, there's one element of finding the one that pays the most. And then there's also an element of finding the one that maybe you believe in the most. And I would actually say that that's probably a good tip is promote the companies that you already know and love and use because it feels genuine. No cap either. I mean,

Speaker 3:

you can partner with a hundred companies if you want. There's no cats. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Um, our, the next one up would be kind of the network. So the second element of affiliate marketing would be, you know, the network, which, you know, Amazon has one. Uh, there's also, you know, CJ, uh, which used to be commission junction. There's a rec rec to kin. I can never pronounce her eye, which used to be LinkShare, which are big kind of networks where a lot of smaller companies can come and they upload their programs. Have you tinkered with any of those yet? Oh, I don't know. Oh, I see. Okay. Yeah. Well, I'll show you that later, but there are, there's other our networks that you can be able to sign up with and individual companies will be there, um, if it's not necessarily sold on Amazon. So Amazon share a sale for sure as hell would be another platform. Yup. Yup. That's exactly. Yeah. So there's a bunch and it depends on, you know, each one of those networks has pricing that they charge companies. So some have, you know, lower costs to sign up, but they take a bigger percentage. Other ones have, you know, it's, it's several thousand dollars to get set up on the platforms, but then potential lower commission. So it kinda depends on the size of the business for where they go and which one works best and then how many affiliates they have. Um, but yeah, so that's, was there anything that you found when you were looking about the networks that were like, why'd you go to shares? Hell first, um, versus other ones?

Speaker 3:

I, well Google, which led me to YouTube channels, so watching people's videos that are big into affiliate marketing, um, and them talking about a ClickBank and shares sell. And so then, um, I checked those out. I haven't, um, gotten into them yet. Um, because I've still just been focusing on building what I already started building. Um, I just launched my website yesterday, um, and was able to connect the affiliate programs that I have so far. Um, I'm with like five right now. Um, and like I said before, they're all tools that I'm using within my business to make it run smoother. So, um, yeah, I haven't started investigating those platforms yet. I will.

Speaker 1:

That's great. Yeah. You know, I think, you know, another example would be, you know, for the Duke of digital, we have a website. Uh, it's just Duke of digital.com and on the side of it,

Speaker 3:

by the way, I have to cut you off.

Speaker 4:

Yes. Your profile avatar is so fitting. It's funny when I told some of the people in the office on my head,

Speaker 1:

this is what I think I want to do. They were like,

Speaker 4:

and then, yeah, when we had, we had a photographer

Speaker 1:

come in, so we've done it twice. There's two different images that are out there. Um, both of them very similar, but

Speaker 4:

I love it. I see it. It makes me smile. And I was like, that's funny. So it captures your personality so well.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, there was someone I met and they're like, we want you to come on our podcast. And I was like, Oh yeah, sure, of course. Let's do it. And they're like, and you have to wear your Duke. I was like, ah, I guess I could do it. I've got an a closet somewhere, but I'm on the website for the podcast I put in there. Here's how we built our studio and everything I bought in this studio we bought from Amazon. So everything that, the microphones, the cameras, the walls, everything, and I put them all in there and I haven't signed up and created affiliate links, but I'm going to go back and do that to be like, Hey, these are how we built our show. And if someone comes through and is interested, you'd be like, Oh, I want to know about that. You know, that's another way that I can promote and be like, Hey, here's what I'm doing in my life. And if someone's interested in like, well I want the same microphones he has. And the truth is the ones I picked, I went and was, I was like, what is Joe Rogan use? What are these? My other podcasts that I listened to, I would go and look at him like what are they using? And I would look at their links and the truth is I might've bought stuff off of someone else's affiliate meetings cause I was just clicking around as quick as I could to figure out information. So it's just one of those things that, you know, once you kind of have moments in or if you have the ability to reach other people, um, either through social media or websites or SEO or any sort of way that you can get in front of people, um, in a way that others can't, you can be able to utilize, you know, affiliate marketing and be able to make some money. Yup. Yeah. All right, cool. Um, okay, so the third one is the actual affiliate, right? So the third element, and that's, that would be you or me, we're, we're now promoting things. What have you learned from that? Like you obviously have a huge network, you've got a lot of people that, that are looking to you, listening to what you're saying. Um, does that help? What are some of the ways that you're able to get ultimately these links in front of people and what would be your, your thoughts on that?

Speaker 3:

Um, so there are a few ways to go about it. Um, you don't necessarily have to have already an established following. I don't feel like I have an established following, but I guess, you know, since I've been building my network and relationship, I mean you're basically building your relationships your entire life. Yeah. So, um, as long as you're still nurturing those, um, you have a following, but, um, you can easily promote on Facebook just like you normally would. Anything else, you know, your favorite movie that you're talking about or um, your favorite restaurant, food, whatever it may be. Um, it's the same type of thing. Um, now you're just able to profit from it. Um, but you, I also have discovered, which I never knew about before, which I know you do because you're an advertising is paid traffic versus, yeah. And that is another affiliate program. Um, and there are tons out there, but traffic meaning like you can generate traffic and leads to whatever site you're trying to promote. Um, and therefore it doesn't, it's not coming from your personal network. It's coming from people around the entire globe that are interested in whatever it is you are promoting. Um, so that was really cool.

Speaker 1:

Oh, so back in the early days when Facebook first launched their ad platform, I mean w w what you're talking about, what we referred to as arbitrage. So what we do is um, you know, we try to buy a click on Facebook or Google for you know, 5 cents and knowing the numbers of how many people are going to come through. We can make 6 cents or 10 cents in profit to affiliates and what happens is if we can find that number where we're making more than we're spending, we can hit the gas and add a bunch of zeros and you're able to make a lot of money. Now in the early days of Facebook, I started Facebook advertising like the day after they launched ads manager and it was, there was no one in there, no one was talking about it, no one even really cared. I was having a field day because I was like, these clicks are so cheap in comparison with anything else. And I had quite a quite a bit of fun as I was like woo. Like Hey these. Like it almost felt like something wasn't right because clicks, you know, anywhere else where you know, 25 cents, 50 cents, and I was giving him for, you know, two to 3 cents, like just pennies, pennies. Now what happens is become much more popular, much more expensive. It's very difficult to do arbitrage now, but a lot of times what you can do is be able to find a persona, meaning someone that likes the beauty industry or the fashion industry and present them with multiple offers. Finding a way to collect their data and present them with something that's valuable to them. Newsletters, trainings, things like that. Um, you know, even YouTube tutorials where they're like, Hey, I want to watch, I liked, I like who you are. I want to see where they are. And then be able to continually show them other products, right? At which point they generally are like, Oh, I liked that one. I want to buy. And it doesn't, it doesn't come across in a like a salesy way. Usually it comes across as very natural. Like, Hey, I'm giving you a peek into my life where I'm using this type of eyeliner and I want to show you how it works. And people are like, well, I don't want that. Like

Speaker 3:

you chose Ireland, you wear it every day.

Speaker 1:

I've never actually worn eyeliner. Maybe, maybe one day. Yeah. So I mean, I think that there are, one is no marketer. The other thing I would say on this one is, this is a common mistake I see a lot of people make, is there is what's known as a a customer life cycle or a funnel. Right? And did, do you know about this at all? A little bit. So what happens is, you know, when, when you find a new product, do you know anything, say Tesla, right? You're like, I don't know what that is. What is electric car is all you. You're, you're not ready to buy when that day, but you're kind of discovering, exploring. You know, as you start to know more about it, then you're like, Ooh, I know which type of Tesla I want. I know you know the battery distance I want. I know the colors, like you get, as you know more and more about a company, you get closer and closer to where it's ready to go. And then if a day comes, you know, if Tesla runs a sale or it's black Friday and they're like, Hey, all Teslas are 20% off, you're like, that's it. I'm buying cause you know what you want so you're closer to the bottom. Um, so what I've seen is a lot of uh, Oh, a common mistake. I seen affiliates air, they try to talk to people that may be at the top of the funnel. So I'm going to introduce you to Kylie cosmetics and, and like, Oh, I didn't know anything about it. And what happens is it may be later on that they end up making a purchase. So this person actually does a lot of work, but they may not see a lot of sales. The coupon code companies like honey or retail, me not the coupon code. A person is usually in the cart ready to checkout. And so what they're doing is they're like, Hey, last thing I want to do is, Oh, there's a promo code that you can enter. Someone stops, goes and looks for a coupon code and then comes back and say, Hey, look, I just saved 10 bucks. Um, what happens is they get credit for the sale. So the coupons are very much focused at the end, right at the bottom, but right before someone enters their credit card and goes, so, you know, there is some elements that, you know, you could do wonderful videos, but if people are going through your videos looking at it and be like, Oh wait, hold on, let me check up promo code. Sometimes you can lose sales to those other type of apps or other people that are trying to get them away. And usually only one affiliate will get credit for the sale. Whoever is the last one, they got the person there. Did you know that?

Speaker 3:

Um, I, I know that that is probably what happens in the big, uh, businesses. Um, but I, in the smaller ones, um, I know that there are restrictions on that. And so that they have a tie to whichever, um, I guess link or code you sent you to that website first that's now embedded or your computer or whatever.

Speaker 1:

That's wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. So that would make sense if they have that. Now I, I, you know, it's been a while since I've been in there, but um, that's fantastic that they're actually giving credit. Uh, which goes back to what's called attribution, which is who brought the person to the website or who's responsible for the sale. Um, it was great. The last thing that, this is the fourth element would be the customer, right? And the person that you're trying to reach or be able to get to purchase. Um, and you're a part of that process and becoming an affiliate. Um, you know, what are your thoughts? Cause this is something I think you do really well, which is your ability to connect with people and your ability to talk with people. And I've seen a of your videos online and I'm like, Oh, this is so good. Like you, you take the time and you're like, Hey, I'm going to talk you through my day and here's, here's why I made these decisions and your different stuff that you do, it just comes across as very personable. It comes across as trustworthy. Um, it comes across as helpful. Like, and all these things are generally the opposite of what most people think online sales is, which is, Hey, buy this, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, coupon, buy.

Speaker 3:

The problem with I think, um, you know, coming from network marketing that is the bad rep that network marketers get is because they are not taught how to go about business in the business world. Like in what you and I would consider like real big business in the corporate America. No one is teaching people in network marketing how to really build, uh, a real quote unquote business. Um, legit. Instead, you know, Joe Schmo or whoever is just saying, yeah, just go out and talk to people and share the products that you love and dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, and you know, let's have a flash sale and say that it's only for 24 hours and buy it now and you won't get the sale tomorrow when everyone knows if you're talking about network marketing specifically, you're going to offer that sale tomorrow. If someone comes to you, you know, if it's not coming from the company secrets, I know you're my, I'm a mind reader. I've been in this industry long enough. You know, people are like, join my team today. Like I only have five spots for people to join my team. No, you're wanting to build a massive business. You're going to let the sixth, seventh, eighth, and hundredth person join your team if they want to join your team. So that kind of stuff is what gives network marketing a really bad rep. But it's not because of the individual. And it's not because of necessarily the company, it's just because no one is really teaching big business how to run a business in this sense. Um, and so that's what I have been trying to develop and with my company and my team and everything is really going about it in a big business sense and not just talking about, yeah, you know, I'm running a 24 hour sale, buy my product. It's the best product in the entire world. You'll never find anything like it again. Um, because everyone thinks that their product is the best no matter what industry, company, whatever you're in, you're going to think that your advertisement is the best Facebook advertisement there is in the world because it's yours. Um, so yeah, it, uh, um, just gives it a bad, a bad rep. and um, that's unfortunate. But

Speaker 1:

things w, you know, back to the customer is, you know, the element of trust. And I think, you know me, I look back at when I was a kid, you know, if I wanted to, I wanted a toy store or something like that, I would have to talk with a person that was there. And he was like, let me explain to you the difference between, you know, a versus B and you know, this game is better than that game. Or here's why. Right. You know, you had to trust a person that was in the store. You know, now to some extent everyone is watching your videos or they're seeing people talk about things. And I think it's now a matter of do I, is that person, do I, do I trust them? Are they knowledgeable and are they ultimately helping me be able to make a decision? Like people make decisions all the time very quickly. And I think that that's one of the elements. You know, a lot of times, you know, I think the best affiliate marketers a lot of times can be able to help people change their mind in a short period of time. Meaning, you know, here's product a, but let me explain to you why it's better than product B because it's got this and this and this. And I think, you know, a lot of times, you know, we used to work for, um, a very, very large, uh, computer tech company. Um, and this was the people that would buy their products are usually very, very analytical computer like mathematicians, scientists, things like that. And it would be, you know, we would look at the data and they would go through like a hundred specs and there would be one that was a little bit better than the other one. And they're like, well, that's why I made the decision because it had a four more gigabytes here than the other one and the price was the same. Or you know, like things like that. It was, they're incredibly detailed. But I think when people can explain that simply and be able to have those conversations or discuss products, I think it's just a huge opportunity because there isn't necessarily always a best spokesperson. Meaning, you know, someone could be talking about a product, but you may have a different take on it or your video may be shorter, there may be 20 minutes long. You may be like, Hey, I'm going to give you the real quick bullet points in two minutes. Everything you need to know and someone that is in a rush maybe be like, Oh, that's great. Yeah, that's what I needed to know. Click and buy and their office, they just, they need help making those decisions, right. While they're online, not in a place where there might be a known expert right there ready to help. Right. So, I dunno.

Speaker 3:

And all of the, I mean, I agree. Um, and it's people like, like you mentioned, people like authenticity. And I've feel like, you know, this day and age with social media and filters and you know, celebrities and all the hoopla, um, which we know about very well here in Hollywood, right in the thick of it. Um, is it, it's hard to find those real genuine, authentic people, um, that are speaking like the hundred percent truth, um, that are giving you facts. Um, or at least of what they believe in. Um, and that's, I'm glad that you mentioned that, you know, even back however long it was ago, like 10 years ago, no, not that, but, um, six, seven years ago, um, when we were outside and, um, you and I talking and that I like, I really tried to be that genuine, authentic person. I'm, you know, I'm a good old Southern girl at heart, so, um, I never wanna lose sight of that and, and whatever I'm doing. And I think that that's really important in relationship building and the industry that I'm in as well. And, um, being in LA ever since I moved out here, not to give LA a bad rep, but I've always found it really difficult to find those really genuine people, um, that bring a really authentic relationship. Um, that's real and not surface level.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I think, I think it's so true. And you know, a lot of what, you know, what happens with social media is there's the ability to mask mean I would have never posted, Hey guys, I'm crying in public today on social media ever. It could have. Yeah, you're right. 100%. I just think it's, it's hard to do sometimes to really admit the flaws in, I mean, you were there standing by my side is we're running around the block and as I've just add my a breakdown and, and you, what happens is in that moment you were like, Ryan, how are you? Okay. Like it went back to just a core of human, new humanity to be like, are you okay? Like, do you need, you need to like, forget this class. You need to talk like, what's going on? Like obviously something's wrong. Um, and that's just, it's, it, I mean, it's, it meant so much to me at that point in time. And I think that that ability to connect with others, um, is so critical. I, especially in the affiliate marketing world, to be able to have those people that, that trust that look up to you, that admire, that respect. You know, those things that aren't easy to create, but people will make decisions based off of those. And so many people are like, Oh, I know how digital stuff works. Sales hell, 50% off buy, buy, buy you only 10 left. And you know, I said, you know, they did some extent, those do work sometimes, but you know, it's, it's, it's little stop gap kind of solutions as opposed to sustainable. Yeah, let's, let's put something together where we are, I look at it as creating a customer for life, right? How do you make that friendship? How do you, you know, be able to connect with someone in a way that they'd be like, I will back this person or this company up for the rest of my life, or I believe in what they're doing, I believe in their mission. Um, and I just, I think that's so critical. Yeah, I agree. All right. Um, well one last thing real quick is we're, we're kind of closing down. Um, I want to make sure we touch on is, uh, a couple, a couple of points that I would say, you know, I see affiliates make or maybe mistakes. Um, one I would say, you know, I'm not promoting something you're passionate about and there's a lot of times people will will go into topics or things and I think you can generally tell if someone's like, look, here's those a product review versus someone that knows and loves like a certain type of product where they're like, Oh my gosh, let me explain to you why this lipstick is so much better than every other one. Look at this. Let me show you. Like when someone is passionate about it, I generally think people end up buying it when they're like, wow, I saw what you did and they'll really get into the product. I think that's awesome. Um, the only thing I would say is, you know, sometimes promoting things that have really low margins can be tough because it takes the same amount of work to promote a$10 lipstick as it does to promote, you know, a$2,000 handbag. And you get a percentage of that sale. So a lot of times, you know, if you're going to put together a video, there can be a benefit on, um, you're going with products that have potentially higher margins or high volume.

Speaker 3:

Yes. Yup. So I, so far have rounded out my affiliates that I'm with right now as, um, all different levels of commissions and ticket items. So I had to have one that's a really high ticket commission item. Um, and then all the other ones are, you know, lower. So then you have a balance of everything.

Speaker 1:

I love it. That's fantastic. Um, the last one I would say is, you know, this is important for affiliates just to be able to know if you are starting out that you need to disclose that you are an affiliate. Um, so this is a rule that the FTC came out with. Uh, so affiliates or influencers, anyone that's doing an endorsement or a sponsorship, um, you just need to have it somewhere on the page usually and be like, Hey, these are links that are affiliates or affiliate links. And there's, you can Google, um, uh, affiliate disclosures or you know, statements that you can copy and paste those and put them on your site. But that's something that you always need to make sure you put on there so you don't get into trouble or go get a call from someone somewhere that it's like, Hey, ah, you're in trouble now. And I think there's fines if you don't do it. So you want to make sure you always

Speaker 3:

really big, obviously on the celebrity level because celebrities were going out and promoting all kinds of things and you know, if something bad were to happen or negative review, then that the customer is then gonna attack the celebrity for it. So, um, yeah.

Speaker 1:

That's good. Okay. Did they have that? Awesome. Well, thank you so much. Uh, as we kind of come to a close, do you, um, have any parting words for, you know, someone that might be in, uh, wanting to find ways to make extra money or even in a low point in life where the, like I'm looking for an alternative that might be able to help me get out of this. Like, I mean did for me back then, but when it comes to affiliate marketing, any advice that you would give to others?

Speaker 3:

Do your research. Okay. Uh, everything's at your fingertips. It's true. And because everything's at your fingertips, it's really smart to get into affiliate marketing, um, because you're generating an extra stream of income that you didn't have before. So, um, yeah, just do your research and like you said, it should be something that you're passionate about so that you can speak authentically to it and not just go out and talk rubbish.

Speaker 1:

No, I love it. I love it. And real quick, before we finish up, how do people find and connect with you? I want to make sure that the day, um, can find you, they can check out your business. Uh, what are the best options for them to be able to, to connect with you?

Speaker 3:

I'm everywhere. Um, I'm on Facebook. Instagram. I have a website, um, also, which is probably the easiest thing that'll connect you to all the things. Um, which is Amber Reed. Dot. Biz B I. Z. Nice. All right, perfect.

Speaker 1:

And then Amber Reed on Instagram, Facebook,

Speaker 3:

um, Instagram and Facebook is actually amber.fit life. Okay. As you know me, I'm really into fitness. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

I was going to challenge you to do pushups or sit ups and I'm like, no, I just gonna lose. So

Speaker 3:

no, probably not my competitor. We always would keep each other at the tip top. Run faster, lift more, do more wall balls.

Speaker 1:

Oh, well thank you so much for being on the show. Thank you guys for tuning in and we'll catch you on the next episode.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for listening to the Duke of digital podcast with Brian Mitt, one to network with other business owners. Join our exclusive group at facebook.com/groups/duke of digital fancy the Duke. Leave a five star review on your favorite podcast app. And you could be mentioned on the show. The Duke of digital was produced by advertisement and recorded in Hollywood, California. All rights reserved.