by courtney herring
December 5, 2023
Black Enterprise sat down with Rosetta Thurman, creator of Happy Black Woman, to discuss how to leverage affiliate marketing.
First edition issued June 25, 2015
black companies We spoke to Rosetta Thurman, the author of . happy black woman, We discuss how she uses affiliate marketing and its important role in her own wealth creation and business model. Frankly, this is an area that many black-owned businesses are underutilizing.
For those unfamiliar, affiliate marketing is earning a commission through promoting another brand or company's products, tools, or services, or selling products or services to a mutual customer or audience. to share the profits.
The adage “your network is your net worth” is truer than ever for many business owners operating in a digital environment. But are we making the most of it?
As entrepreneurs building their businesses, it has become increasingly important to generate multiple streams of revenue. The great thing about the digital age is that business owners can grow their networks, spread the word about their products and services, and help their fellow entrepreneurs do the same through affiliate marketing. It has incredible power to generate revenue.
Even new entrepreneurs benefit from this marketing strategy in two important ways. The first, and very obvious, is to generate passive income by partnering with companies that share your values. The second benefit is that you can grow and cultivate your own community by recommending useful tools, services, and products. result? Entrepreneurs add incredible value to their communities while simultaneously establishing the trust and authority necessary to attract the right kind of clients and customers.
As Thurman explains, there are many ways to build profitable and mutually beneficial affiliate relationships. She exclaimed with joy that we asked her to talk about affiliate marketing with her. Because, as she says, “No one is asking me about this.”
The happiness of being able to take it to the bank
In just over two years, Rosetta Thurman has built a multiracial, multicultural community of approximately 250,000 women around the world. Happy Black Woman helps women create their ideal lives. ” Thurman emphasizes, “A happy black woman is Rosetta.'' And thanks to the business and life tools she shares online through her platform, she has created a thriving business supported by a community of happy women around the world. She has started multiple six-figure businesses and lives out of a single suitcase that holds all her belongings.
In 2010, she began exploring what made her happy, calling it a “cycle of liberation” and saying, “Doing something makes you feel like you can do anything.” . Living in the Washington D.C. area and working as an office worker at the time, she quit her job, cut her hair, started going natural, aka the “Big Chop,” hosted happy hours, and started her own journey. I started writing a blog about it. What she found was a community of women who also felt unfulfilled, but who also had a deep desire for happiness, success, and freedom. Those three words of hers became a recurring theme, guiding all of Thurman's decisions for her community.
Learn more about affiliate marketing
In 2007, Rosetta became familiar with affiliate marketing programs with the help of a fellow blogger during her time working at a nonprofit organization.
The concept intrigued her. she says: “I always talk to people about resources, and it turns out that a lot of the businesses that I promote have affiliate programs.” She says the decision to join was easy. I reminisce. She said, “It was easy for me to try it myself and see how it works.”
Thurman's first major affiliate relationship was when she partnered, as her main goal was to help others in the community. blue host While telling others how to successfully start their own blog. She earned her $900 in one month just by providing personal recommendations on hosting providers. She says she was “very surprised” that so much income could be generated “just by sharing resources” without financial incentives.
But Thurman would stress that while the financial benefits of participating in affiliate marketing may be great, it's not a simple get-rich-quick scheme. To succeed with affiliate marketing, she advises participants to think like marketers.
she says: “The real benefit of participating in affiliate marketing is that you learn how to think like a marketer when it comes to promoting other people's products and services instead of just saying, 'Hey, guys.'” This product is great is. Please go buy it. click here. '”
You need to ask a very important question: “What are the benefits of this product?” Why would anyone want to use it? How have you used it to great success? ”
The result is increased revenue and increased awareness of how to market your products and services to others.
By participating in affiliate marketing, Rosetta understood how to combine content creation and sales.
Monetization: an elusive concept
Thurman said the connection between creating and selling content is “the same connection you need in the business of publishing free content, but ultimately you want people to buy something. [Affiliate marketing] It will teach you how to do it in a powerful way. ”
But entrepreneurs don't have to limit themselves to corporate partnerships. Affiliate marketing offers another way to expand your reach and promote your products and services without spending a fortune on paid marketing. Building relationships with other individuals in business is a powerful way to partner and provide value through audience sharing.
With the ever-expanding digital age comes a relatively new form of affiliate marketing: telesummits. It allows business owners to virtually partner and provide valuable content to their audiences through live or recorded phone presentations and interviews on topics of interest. To make the relationship successful for everyone involved, Thurman explains, Telesummit recording. This structure allows you to leverage each participant's audience and expose them to a new and broader potential customer base.
Thurman participates in various telesummits each year. This is because “I get to share with my community amazing information that improves their lives that they want and need, and it connects directly to my mission of supporting women and empowering their creative work.” ” Their ideal life. ”
She also says that for new speakers looking for a “dip-in” opportunity, the telesummit is a great opportunity to gain experience.
Determining proper suitability
Rosetta participates in affiliate marketing on both sides of the transaction. This is great news for you, the reader. Because she shared with us great insights on what to consider before partnering with someone, and what she would never do.
When using the program or product you're trying to sell, it pays to position yourself as a great potential partner. Vendors, especially those offering programs, look to previous clients and customers as ideal brand ambassadors. And of course, “It goes both ways in terms of finding a great partner…you know that. [a provider would] They can be a great partner because you have already experienced the content and training they provide. ”
We also want to make sure we're providing something that the community will benefit from. It's not just about receiving dollars. You may get 75% of every sale, but if your product isn't right for your audience, they're likely not to buy and may even lose trust in you. Either way, it's a failure for you.
Another consideration that potential partners take into account when determining suitability is reach. This is especially true for the telesummits mentioned above, where participants are expected to promote the program to their respective platforms and audiences.
Thurman declares: When we say reach, reach is actually a combination of your email list, website traffic, and social media following. If you don't have a big reach, Thurman suggests using his Facebook ads, citing him as one of the ways he's grown Happy He's Black Women over the past two years. Facebook ads make it even easier to extend your reach to the average person. [Facebook is] Huge. “
get paid
Once a potential partner has decided to become an actual partner, we asked Mr. Thurman what suggestions people can take to protect themselves and ensure they are paid to complete the deal as agreed. I asked for it. She suggests starting with a relationship with an affiliate of her company before building a relationship closer to a joint venture, combining her own brand with another company's brand.
She says if you don't receive payment from a partner company, it's likely a mistake on the part of the post office, and “I'm almost certain of it because I've experienced it before.” Please note that many corporate affiliates will take payments directly to your PayPal account or other electronic means.
To protect your own interests, Thurman says, when it comes to products, services, or programs you're considering partnering with, “make sure the people you're working with have a proven track record with their products, services, or programs. “You should definitely check it out,” he suggests.
Checklist for successful affiliate marketing
Thurman highlights three points to ensure the right fit and quick payouts for the affiliate relationship you start.
Make sure your product is relevant to your audience. This is something she emphasized throughout our interview. She cited it as the main reason for failure when adding affiliate marketing to her revenue generation efforts. Success in affiliate marketing doesn't just mean generating revenue.
Make sure your partner has a good reputation in the industry. “Google is your friend…I'm Google.” You have a responsibility to do your due diligence. People can promise you anything, but you want to know what others are saying about them. Others are new and overestimate what they can offer. For this reason, Thurman never works with complete newcomers. She further explained why, saying, “Because I know there are growing pains that we all have to go through, and I don't want that to be the first time we go through it.” It's a precaution she should take, despite criticism from those around her that she's missing out on the “next big thing.”
Don't just chase money. “Put your community first. If you're a fashion blogger and you suddenly write about gluten-free bagels in order to get an affiliate commission from a bagel company, that won't make sense to your readers and won't work. From there. There will be no benefit and the community will be disrupted.”
Do you think number 1 and number 3 are the same? they are. That's how passionate Thurman is about adding value to his customers and viewers. That is why her brand is so popular and profitable. She cares more about her community members than money, and in doing so, she has built an empire that allows her and many members of her community to live lives of happiness, success, and freedom.
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