Earn Referral Credit Without a Blog
You see the many great deals shared here. And, if you’ve looked around on the Strategies to Earn resource list, you know that blogging, and referrals, can be a way to earn a few bucks or credits for sites or products you love.
But, not every one is a blogger. And, I would NOT suggest you starting a blog JUST to get the referral credits. There are many reasons to Begin to Blog, and money isn’t one of them. It's a nice benefit for some, but not the primary purpose to blog.
Honestly, you don’t need a blog to get referral benefits anyway. In today’s digital age, Facebook has more connections available to share, and get others to share your great find. As a matter of fact, Facebook is becoming one of our best resources to share updates for the site.
Here are just a few ways to earn referral credits WITHOUT a blog:
Track Your Sites
First, create a spreadsheet of all of the programs you are a member of and want to share with others. I would just include the company name, description (retail deals, daily deal sites, book deals, etc) and the referral link. Also any Bit.ly links you will create as well (more on those in a second).
Create a album of your favorite sites that have referral benefits. Upload an image, or logo, to represent that company. Give a brief description of what it is and a direct link so your friends can shop through your link (as shown above).
If you are active on twitter, you can tweet a link to a referral site. I don't know that this method would be especially effective, honestly. Part of the reason I ever sign up under someone's referral is because we have a discussion.
While you can have a discussion on twitter and drop your link within their which would work. Just tweeting out random links to referral sites seems a little spammy to me.
Message Boards
Back in the day, you know waaaayyy back in 2007 (before I started blogging and all), I was actively involved with message boards. You can set up a custom signature within your account. So, whenever you post or reply to something, your signature, and your referral link will be listed for others to potentially click on.
Make Business Cards
Since you can get business cards free at many places, this is a good one. But, first I suggest you create a Free account at Bit.ly. You can take a very large link like this:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=mGI1tkE7vkM%2FNZsAfD%2BwlA%3D%3D
And turn it into this:
http://bit.ly/hD3GN2 –OR– http://bit.ly/ADEbates
In the two formats above, the first is what you are randomly given when you create a bit.ly link. The second is a customized bit.ly link. This link is more attractive and may help you remember what the link was for. Regardless of which you use, a shorter link is just easier to include on a small business card.
You could even have separate business cards created for categories: shopping and cash back sites; collective buy or flash deals sites; or your favorite survey sites. You could go on and on!
And so…
In sharing all of this, it’s important that you know that there are some programs exclusive to website owners and can only be marketed on that site. So, those wouldn’t work for Facebook and other social media sites. However, these suggestions are a way for you to try to share with your friends the fabulous places that offer referral benefits.
Just don’t go nuts with referral links. I’d keep it at your true faves. The thing I have learned with blogging is that less is more. The same definitely holds true for social referrals as well. Remember, just use it yourself if you are going to promote it. And, since your are promoting it, you deserve to earn the benefits of sharing! Of course tell them about the site that shared these tips with you too :)
Have you used any of these methods to earn referrals?
Are there other ways you have found effective in sharing referral links with friends?
Disclaimer: I used Ebates as an example and that is an affiliate link. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.
