The FreshBooks Affiliate Promotion Guide
Introduction
We can’t wait to see you diversify your income in 2020 as an affiliate of FreshBooks, the ridiculously easy-to-use cloud accounting software for small businesses.
To help you spread the word about FreshBooks to your audience of savvy business owners, we put together this handy promotion guide for you. In it, you’ll get the tips, resources and ideas needed to create high converting content and campaigns that’ll grow your affiliate commissions. But first…
What is FreshBooks?
FreshBooks is accounting software that makes running your small business easy, fast and secure. Over 30 million people have used FreshBooks to save time billing and get paid faster.
FreshBooks is not only ridiculously easy to use, but it’s also packed full of powerful features:
- Create and send professional looking invoices in less than 30 seconds.
- Set up online payments with just a couple of clicks and get paid up to 4 days faster.
- See when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to the guessing games.
FreshBooks will be a game-changer for your small business audience. And for you too. Because you’ll earn generous commissions, collect action bonuses and even unlock neat perks…
How To Unlock Affiliate Perks
The FreshBooks team strives to make the experience for affiliates one in a million. That’s why we offer fun and unique creative assets, 1:1 email support and bonus commissions every month in our affiliate newsletter. But that’s not all.
We also offer exclusive affiliate perks for motivated affiliates:
- Drive 25 valid U.S./Canadian trials within 3 months and get a $50 Amazon gift card
- Drive 50 valid U.S./Canadian trials within 3 months to unlock a co-branded landing page with your unique slug (i.e. FreshBooks.com/YourSiteName) and logo.
- Drive 150 valid U.S./Canadian trials within 3 months to unlock a VIP commission structure.
- Drive 300 valid U.S./Canadian trials within 3 months to unlock a testimonial with photo featured on the FreshBooks website.
To help you generate trials as a FreshBooks affiliate, we have tons of awesome landing pages you can use in your promotions.
Who FreshBooks is For
FreshBooks Feature Pages
More Great Pages
So many possibilities, amiright? With that out of the way, let’s dive into some fun ways you can promote the all-new FreshBooks to your audience…
13 Ways to Promote FreshBooks
If you already use FreshBooks, we bet you could create content about our software based on your experience alone. However, we welcome you to take it up a notch using the tips, resources and ideas below.
If you are not an existing FreshBooks user, you are encouraged to take our free 30-day trial for a spin so you can get a good feel for the software before or while crafting your content.
Writing Tips
When you sit down at your keyboard, remember:
- Your audience: Make them the hero and write to them in a way that feels 1:1 (like writing to a friend, not 1:many)
- Your language: Keep it specific and understandable. Cut the fluff. Use data instead of adjectives.
- Our product: Be loud and proud when writing about FreshBooks. Also don’t forget to capitalize the “B” in FreshBooks.
- What’s next? Make sure your promos end with a compelling call-to-action (CTA) so folks have a reason to click on your affiliate link. Examples: Find Out More, Try it Free, Get Offer.
Important disclaimer before we begin: it’s imperative that all your affiliate promotions of FreshBooks (and any company for that matter) contain proper disclosures using FTC guidelines found here and here. Several blogs have broken down these guidelines with examples and additional tips including FreshBooks own Justine Grey (Affiliate Disclosure Dos and Don’ts You Need To Know Now) and Amy Lynn Andrews (Are You Disclosing Properly?).
A whopping 92% of consumers now read online reviews. Why not help these consumers make an important buying decision by creating a high-quality review of FreshBooks for your blog?
Tips:
- While many affiliates focus on written content in their reviews to gain search engine traffic, you’re encouraged to add video and other visuals like banners and screenshots to spice it up.
- If you plan on doing reviews often, stay consistent with a unique rating system or set of categories to build trust with your readers.
- The format of your review post can be anything you like, so go against the norm by trying a list style post, like “11 Reasons I Love Using FreshBooks To Run My Small Business”
Related Posts:
- How To Write An Affiliate Product Review
- 5 Point Checklist For Writing The Perfect Affiliate Product Review
- How To Write Product Reviews That SELL
Affiliate Examples:
Email converts better than the majority of affiliate tactics you could try. If you have an email list (even a small but mighty one), use it to spread the word about FreshBooks!
Tips:
- There are several approaches you can take when it comes to promoting affiliate products in newsletters. Whether you want to dedicate a series of emails to our software, include it once in an upcoming newsletter or feature a mention to it in your welcome email (which yield the highest open rate, hint hint), the choice is yours.
- If you haven’t started your email list, consider linking to FreshBooks in your email signature. You could link to a page on our website or even better, link to an in-depth review on your site.
Related Posts:
- How to Build an Affiliate Autoresponder Sequence without “Burning” a List
- Tradecraft Issue #4 by ConvertKit: Email Marketing Basics
- How to Choose the Right Email Marketing Software for Your Business
- 7 Types of Emails You Can Send to Your List
- How to Use ‘From’ Names to Increase Your Open Rate
Affiliate Examples:
When diligent shoppers are in the market for a product, you can bet your bottom dollar they’re reading multiple reviews of different models before a decision gets made.
Capitalize on that by comparing FreshBooks to one of our competitors (such as Quickbooks, Xero or Wave) so you can show your audience why FreshBooks is the right choice for their business.
Tips:
- Add a comparison chart to your article so people can quickly see why FreshBooks is the best choice for their small business.
- You can take a broader approach by comparing our software against competitors, or angle the article to focus on one specific thing – like a feature or pricing.
Resource: FreshBooks has an awesome comparison page you can link to if you plan on doing a FreshBooks vs. QuickBooks post. You can see a preview of it here but remember to use your affiliate link from ShareASale (click here to get them all).
Related Posts:
- How To Write Product Comparison Posts That People Love To Read
- A Step by Step Guide to Writing a Product Comparison
- How to Write Highly Converting Affiliate Product Reviews
Affiliate Examples:
A screencast is a digital recording of your computer screen, meaning if you don’t love writing this is the perfect affiliate promo idea for you. There are so many great ways you can demonstrate how FreshBooks works using screencasts, from short videos dedicated to specific features (like projects or invoices) to in-depth classes showcasing ALL THE THINGS about our software.
Tips:
- You don’t have to buy fancy software to do your screen recordings. Check out this post for a list of free software options.
- Be sure to inject some personality into your videos to differentiate yourself from official company videos.
- You aren’t limited to showing off features of FreshBooks. Instead show people how to do something nifty with our software (like invoice a client, upload an expense or track time against a project).
Related Posts:
- How to Record Affiliate Videos
- 7 Tips To Screencast Like a Pro (Infographic)
- How to Create Screencasts that People Will Actually Watch
- Recording a Screencast: Dos and Don’ts
Affiliate Examples:
If you offer any info products, such as an eCourse, eBook or downloadable guide, incorporate the FreshBooks free trial offer into it to boost your affiliate commissions.
Tips:
- FreshBooks pairs nicely with topics like freelancing, running a business, dealing with clients, managing projects, increasing productivity and much more.
- Make signing up to a FreshBooks free trial a recommended action step for new students/readers.
- Heck, you could develop a valuable resource dedicated to FreshBooks, such as a “FreshBooks Quickstart” guide or “7 Days To Better Business Books with FreshBooks” eCourse.
Related Posts:
- How To Create An Online Course That Sells
- 11 Digital Product Ideas Inspired By Female Entrepreneurs
- The Truth About Content Upgrades
- The Ultimate Guide to Creating an eBook in 24 Hours
Affiliate Examples:
This is similar to the screencast idea but instead, you would write out a step-by-step FreshBooks tutorial and include screenshots. Having the steps written out will help you garner search engine traffic and will be appreciated by anyone in your audience who prefers reading to watching.
Tips:
- Try to include a screenshot with every new step to help readers through the process.
- Here are a few FreshBooks centric tutorial ideas: how to send an invoice in FreshBooks, 3 ways to handle expenses with FreshBooks, The step-by-step guide to managing projects using FreshBooks.
- Want to do video tutorials too? Give readers both options by embedding related screencasts in your written tutorials.
Related Posts:
- My Complete Strategy For Writing Highly Profitable Affiliate Posts
- 5 Superb Affiliate Marketing Examples You Can Implement Today
- 1 blog post you need to increase your affiliate conversions
- Wikihow: How To Write a Tutorial
Affiliate Examples:
You’re considered an expert in your industry, and you’ve used many tools and resources to help you get there. So if you feel compelled (or your audience is begging for it), go ahead and round up your favourite tools, sites or products into a theme that FreshBooks would fit in with.
Tips:
- Here are a few theme ideas: The XX Essential Tools I Use to Run My Business, X Software for Frazzled Business Owners, The X Must-Use Products for Busy Freelancers.
- Use visuals to nicely showcase your choices by incorporating logos, screenshots and/or banners into your post.
- Even though you’re showcasing multiple products, use a keyword tool to narrow down the main search phrase you’ll target in the article.
Related Posts:
- How To Make An Affiliate Round Up Or Gift Guide
- Affiliate Marketer’s Guide: How to Write an Awesome Product Roundup
- How To Write A Great Roundup Post
Affiliate Examples:
- Are Invoicing and Time Tracking a Hassle? Check Out These Top 10 Apps
- 101 Essential Online Business Tools I’ve Used to Start a Profitable Website
- The Complete Guide To Photography Equipment For Bloggers
- The Best Resources To Grow Your Blog + Business
The golden rule of affiliate marketing is to promote only products you have personal experience with. With that in mind, share a story about how FreshBooks has helped you. Maybe it’s saved you time or helped you get paid faster. Maybe it’s completely revolutionized your business! Use that experience to entice others to give FreshBooks a shot, through your affiliate link of course.
Tips:
- To avoid losing trust with your audience, be careful not to embellish your experience. When it comes to using a personal story with affiliate promotions, you want to make sure it’s as genuine and honest as possible.
- If you don’t have personal experience using FreshBooks, highlight someone else’s story instead. FreshBooks has loads of case studies you can excerpt and link to. Just remember to use a case study affiliate link (get them all here) or create a custom link (how-to here) so you get affiliate credit).
- Challenge idea: Take the FreshBooks free trial for a spin and document your 30-day experience for your readers.
Related Posts:
- Ode: How to tell a great story by Seth Godin
- 3 Simple Storytelling Methods That Can Do Your Selling For You
- How Affiliate Marketers Can Use the Storytelling Secrets of Pixar to Make Money
Affiliate Examples:
- Why I Switched from AWeber to Infusionsoft to Convertkit
- 7 Things I Did To Double My Blog Traffic And Hit 100k Monthly Pageviews
- My Experience With Marie Forleo’s B-School: The Scariest and Best Decision I Ever Made
Although banners aren’t as lucrative as other affiliate promo tactics, they are the fastest way to get started as an affiliate. Plus, studies show that people need exposure to a brand multiple times before they consider buying – banners help you increase that exposure.
Tips:
- Play around with where you show your FreshBooks banner (sidebar, within blog posts, top of the site, all of the above!) and how often (every page load, every 5-page loads) to find the highest converting banner mix for your audience.
- You aren’t limited to using FreshBooks banners in traditional banner spots. Feel free to use them within blog posts, on pages and across different platforms as well.
- If you’re using WordPress, try a plugin like Advanced Ads or May We Suggest to better manage your affiliate banners.
Related Posts:
- 4 Ways To Make Banner Ads Work For You In Affiliate Marketing
- How to Create a Clickable Affiliate Ad as a Backup for an AdSense Unit
- What Is Best For Affiliate Marketing: Banners Or Text Links
Affiliate Examples:
One of the most popular ways to earn with affiliate links is to share your ‘little black book’ of fab tools and products. This is very similar to a round-up article except it would live on a web page that’s linked in your site’s navigation to draw regular visitors.
Tips:
- You can make it a simple list or go all out by adding logos, graphics and full-blown product descriptions. Either way, include FreshBooks 🙂
- Consider putting some of those tools behind an email subscription box to gain subscribers in exchange for sharing your secrets.
- Place FreshBooks high up or on top of the list to increase your affiliate commissions with us.
Related Posts:
- How To Create A Killer Resources Page (That’s Crazy Profitable)
- 1 Thing You Need To Do Now To Earn Passive Income For Your Business
- The Anatomy Of An Insanely Useful Resource Page
Affiliate Examples:
This is a great affiliate idea for infopreneurs who want to bring in consistent income in between their own product launches, or who want to make some income while developing their first product. What you will do is develop a presentation to help your audience learn something new or accomplish something and then work FreshBooks into the teaching.
Tips:
- A few webinar ideas: “3 Ways to Get Paid Faster as a Freelancer”, “5 Affordable Tools That Saved My Business” and “6 Killer Tips To Managing Your Books”
- Instead of making your presentation about a related topic, you could make it completely FreshBooks-centric by presenting a “How To Get Started With FreshBooks” or “Is FreshBooks right for you?” type webinar.
- Have an email list of 2,000 subscribers or more? Why not team up with FreshBooks on a webinar and we will do most of the work for you! Email us via affiliates@freshbooks.com to discuss.
Related Posts:
- How To Automate Webinars For Products You Don’t Own
- 3 Ways To Pick A Webinar Topic
- How To Make Money With Webinars
- The Webinar Crash Course For Creative Entrepreneurs
Affiliate Examples:
- Free Webinar: Basic Tools in Adobe Illustrator
- Melyssa Griffin + ConvertKit
- Maya Elious + Teachable
If you host a podcast, go ahead and make mention of FreshBooks to boost your affiliate commissions. You can take the laid-back approach and talk about our software conversationally or opt for a polished ad complete with CTA.
Tips:
- Don’t position your advertisement as an official sponsorship by FreshBooks. Your listeners should know you are an affiliate of FreshBooks when they hear the endorsement.
- Remember to use your FreshBooks affiliate link and banner in the show notes. You’ll also greatly increase your commissions by including a small “this episode is powered by FreshBooks” blurb (containing your FreshBooks affiliate link and proper affiliate disclosure) in any email promotions you do for individual episodes.
- At the end of your shoutout, remind listeners of FreshBooks 30-day free trial offer to entice them to immediately visit your affiliate link to claim it.
Resources: The FreshBooks affiliate team offers podcast talking points and tips for affiliates right here!
Related Posts:
- How to Cloak Affiliate Links (& Why You Should)
- 10 Ethical Tips to Monetize Your Podcast with Affiliate Marketing
- How To Monetize Your Podcast With Affiliate Marketing [Video]
Affiliate Examples:
When promoting FreshBooks, you aren’t limited to only your website or blog. Several social media sites allow affiliate links – including Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter – so go ahead and promote FreshBooks on them.
Tips:
- Use the Pinterest keyword tool to optimize your pins for search engines.
- Increase the popularity of your social media promos by using hashtags and visuals like FreshBooks banners, social media graphics and screenshots.
- You don’t have to always link directly to FreshBooks in your social media promos. Mix it up by linking to your own FreshBooks centric content on your blog, like your reviews, tutorials and resource page.
Related Posts:
- 5 Ways to Use Affiliate Links on Social Media
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Affiliate Examples:
Thanks for being a FreshBooks affiliate and trusting us to deliver meaningful value to your users. FreshBooks is engineered to deliver cutting edge features at breakneck speeds.
With lucrative commissions, dedicated affiliate support and higher than ever conversion rates, there’s never been a better time to promote FreshBooks. Join us and let’s make history together.
Your Dedicated Support
is Here to Help
Have any questions? Feel free to give Nigel, Online Affiliates Manager, a shout at: 1-866-303-6061 Ext. 259 or affiliates@freshbooks.com
