Welcome to the third installment in this series. The topic today is coupons! Who doesn't love a good discount, right? Placing coupon links and coupon codes in your posts you is a great way to monetize your articles while offering your visitors discounts on all sorts of products or services. The first thing you'll need to do is connect with relevant merchants. I do this by logging into my ShareAsale account. Here, there are thousands of merchants you can connect with.
Once you've developed a solid reputation, you'll notice merchants inviting you to join their program. Of course, it's always up to you if you wish to connect. If you haven't signed up at ShareASale yet, give it a try by clicking the link or banner image below.
The site is very easy to navigate. No special instructions are needed. Most merchants require that you apply first. When doing so, be polite and give a detailed explanation as to why you'd like to connect and give them stats on how well your blog is doing. It usually takes a few days for a reply but often, a reply might come in just a few hours.
Once you've connected with a merchant, you can start placing links and banners in your posts. In the second installment I show how to decipher and extract a link from HTML code and apply to a banner image. Here, we'll just create a text link. Just pass your cursor over the 'LINK' button on ShareASale's toolbar at the top of the page and a drop down menu will appear. Choose 'Get Banner / Link'. On the next page, you'll see the list of merchants you're connected with. Click 'Get Links' to go to the merchant's page. Here, you should find all sorts of text links along with HTML code.
Simply extract the link from the HTML code by highlighting and copying as you see below, between the quotation marks. Here's an HTML coupon link from Fire Maple Gear for free shipping
Now, I'll create the working link by simply placing the term 'Free shipping on orders over $99 in Canada, Europe and Australia' anywhere in my post. Then, I'll highlight it, click the 'link' 
icon in PublishOx's toolbar and paste the link I copied earlier into the placeholder and click 'OK'.
I can turn the entire term into a link such as: 'Free shipping on orders over $99 in Canada, Europe and Australia' or just highlight a few words and turn those into a working link such as this: 'Free shipping on orders over $99 in Canada, Europe and Australia'
These are now live 'coupon' links from Fire Maple Gear where... "Outdoor cooking should be just as straightforward and satisfying as inside cooking. Fire Maple camping cookware is thoughtfully crafted to ensure you can always enjoy your meals, no matter where your adventure takes you. Fire Maple's namesake, David Lv, spent his twenties seeking out stunning vistas. After experimenting with several camping stoves, he decided to dedicate himself to camping gear which can make adventure easy and more exciting."
OR Use code [FM5] to get 5% OFF for your first order
I took a screenshot of this banner from ShareASale and in this case, didn't place the original 'html' link. I turned this image into in the 'Free Shipping' coupon link by highlighting the picture and placing the same coupon text link in it. One thing to remember is that when I uploaded my image, I gave it the 'alt text' name Free shipping on orders over $99 in Canada, Europe and Australia so that if or when a visitor passes their cursor over the image, this alt message will appear. How cool is that? You can also give it a title when you create your link. Give it a try.
Below is another great example of a valuable coupon link. I love drinking , I really do. So it was only natural that I'd connect with a genuine coffee company. Have you ever tried barrel aged coffee! Now you can with a nice selection of coffees aged in whiskey, wine, bourbon and rum barrels. There's even more to choose from at Copper's Cask Coffee Co. What's not to like about a good cup of coffee, eh?
Here is an exclusive invitation to order gourmet online from Cooper's Cask Coffee Co., the only coffee company I'm affiliated with. First time buyers get 10% off. Try their whiskey, wine, bourbon and rum barrel aged coffee beans
You can do all sorts of things with your links. Occasionally, merchants will send messages announcing new coupons. It's a good idea to regularly update your links as they will expire over time. Often though, coupons can be good for a couple of years. Other times, they're meant for special occasion like Valentine's Day.
I recommend placing relevant ads / links in your posts. An ad that's totally unrelated to what the topic is might not go over well. On the other hand, it stands a much better chance of getting a click-thru if the ad / link is relevant.
Look back up and see the words 'Fire Maple Gear'. These were all turned into working coupon links using the same respective coupon text links. Notice too, the word ShareAsale is also turned into a link. They too are also a merchant affiliate. All members who successfully sign up can immediately start placing valuable ShareASale links in their posts. Visit their site to see how much you can earn from a successful click-thru.
You can sneak in coupons anywhere in your posts. They can be in the form of a text link, image link or both or they can even be 'hidden' as treasure waiting to be found. Your visitors will become familiar with and appreciate the valuable freebies you include in your posts. I hope this article gives you some ideas for your own posts going forward. Please share your comments below and let me know how things are progressing for you.
Pass your cursor over the banner below to reveal a secret coupon code!
(Also see my sponsor links below as further examples of coupon text links.)
May the force be with you!
Peace and love to everyone.
Follow The Series! 'Earning A Living As A Blogger'
Chapter 2: Inserting HTML affiliate links.
Chapter 1: Making a living as a blogger.
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