I was fortunate to take a bit of time off this month. It’s really important to recharge your batteries whenever you can.
I don’t know about you, but I think working alone from home can take it out of you! We build up on our task list as new things come in, and it is easy to get overwhelmed and overtired.
But one of the things that comes up when I tell some VAs I am taking time off, is that they fear the loss of income.
If we are the only ones who do the work, then when we don’t do the work, we do not get paid.
So what can you do to get out of that mindset?
First, you can put a backup VA in place to help you when you are away.
Second you can bring on subcontractors who can handle things regularly so you don’t get burned out.
Third is my favourite suggestion though, and it’s less common than it should be. You canbuild in residual income to your business, instead of only relying on work for time revenue.
What am I talking about?
I’m talking about affiliate commissions.
By promoting other people’s products and services, you can make more money each month.
For instance, I have been using Bluehost as my webhost for many years. When I first signed up, I also joined their affiliate program. It’s very lucrative – they pay out $65 per referral. So every time someone clicks on your affiliate link and then signs up, you earn $65.
How cool is that? (And yes, those two clickable links have my affiliate link attached to them).
That’s the way affiliate programs work. When you refer someone, they get connected to you, and then whatever sales they generate are attributed to you, and you earn commission.
So for instance, I did some promotion for two people recently: Gretchen Breuner for her speaker program, and VA Classroom for their VA University launch.
I earned commissions from both of them through sales that some of you made, because you heard about their sale from me. (I earned several hundred dollars just last week alone, so this can be lucrative if you have a lot of contacts).
Now … I’m not suggesting that you go out and start promoting all kinds of stuff in every conversation you have!
Networking is still sacred!
But here are a few things I do suggest:
1. Set up a ‘resources’ page on your website that people can click to various things that you recommend for them. Attach your affiliate link to each of those items and if the person from your website makes a purchase, you earn commission.
2. Do some product reviews on your blog. For each product, use your affiliate link to connect the name of the product and when people click to learn more, you will be connected to them as their referral partner, earning commission if they buy.
3. Send out some recommendations in your newsletter – making sure to use your affiliate links. If you have a mailing list, be aware of overselling (selling too often) but don’t avoid opportunities to promote other people’s products and services if they are a good fit for your own audience.
4. Sign up for my affiliate program!
Your VA Mentor Affiliate Signup
5. Be transparent if you are providing someone’s affiliate link. Be careful because some networking forums don’t allow that kind of thing – it’s always better to promote to your own audience, but if you don’t have a big audience, you can always start elsewhere, just be honest. When I started with Bluehost, I would tell my clients who didn’t have a webhost yet to sign up for Bluehost using my link. And they did!
6. If you have an existing audience, invite someone to do an interview with you so that you can more easily recommend their product or service. It’s a great network builder too!
By sharing things that are interesting and relevant to your audience, you can generate regular commissions that can help you save for things like vacations and expenses – and they can cushion your revenues when you want to take some time off.
And it’s always a win-win for the person you are promoting for – because you can help them generate more sales!
More sales for them = more money for you. This month, or every month!
I’d be happy to have you as part of my partner community. If you are interested, you can sign up here!