Barry Choi is a Toronto-based personal finance and travel expert who makes frequent media appearances. His website, Moneywehave.com, is one of Canada’s most trusted sources when it comes to anything related to travel or money. You can find him on Twitter: @barrychoi 

When I started my blog, Money We Have, I had no interest in affiliate marketing or even running ads. As a personal finance website, it felt morally wrong to promote specific products when trying to inform my readers about making smarter money decisions.

Over time, my attitude towards monetizing my site changed. I had multiple readers e-mail me asking me if I had an affiliate link they could use. I still resisted at the start, but it was clear that my readers found my information useful, and they wanted to help me out.

I also started to increase the content on my website, and that took a lot of time. To keep this up, I needed to make some income to justify the effort I was putting into it. Fortunately, I came across Fintel Connect and found a few natural ways to implement affiliate marketing.

I only use affiliate partners that make sense for my audience

There are various affiliate marketing companies out there with hundreds, if not thousands of merchants that you can earn a commission with. While some websites will throw in every affiliate link possible, that just wasn’t for me.

Looking for value for my readers is what matters to me most. I only use the affiliate marketing model when I believe the product or service makes sense. It’s easy to stick to these morals if you just write what you’re passionate about. For example, I genuinely enjoy telling people about the best travel credit cards in Canada. Nothing gets me more excited about travel (pre-COVID), and I see credit cards as one easy way to help people travel for less.

I also recently wrote a PolicyMe review because I believe in the product. When my wife and I had our daughter, we got life insurance right away. It’s something I know every parent needs to have.

This shouldn’t surprise you, but there are many websites out there that are just looking to make money and recommend anything. By only recommending useful products, my audience knows that I’m looking out for their best interest. In return, they’re willing to use my affiliate links.

I look for natural ways to implement affiliate links

Although my main focus is personal finance, my guides on how much does it cost to go to Europe, Japan, Disney World, Bali and Italy are some of my top-viewed pages. Adding travel-related affiliate links can be difficult since you need to find the right ones, but I implement financial products naturally.

For example, using credit cards with lounge access or travel insurance is an easy way to save money on travel and many people don’t even realize it. By providing that information, my readers are more informed and it gives me an opportunity to earn a commission.

Sometimes, there’s low hanging fruit that just makes sense for my website and audience. Writing round-ups such as the best high interest savings accounts or the best cash back credit cards are a natural fit for my website. My audience is continuously looking to compare products, I’m just making their lives easier by doing it for them.

I take advantage of opportunities that present themselves

Whenever a new financial product is launched, there tends to be a lot of interest. Assuming this product is actually good, the general public is quite often willing to sign up right away. Now, if there’s an affiliate program available for these products, there’s potential to earn a good amount of money.

When the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card launched, it was one of the best travel credit cards on the market. It came with a generous sign up bonus, six free annual lounge passes, no foreign exchange fees and more. Although it took about a week from launch for the affiliate offer to be available, I managed to earn over five figures in commissions over the next six months.

Based on the success with Scotiabank, when there was an affiliate program available for EQ Bank, I pushed out content that promoted the bank. Since EQ Bank had one of the highest interest rates, it was an easy sell for my readers. Most of them had not heard about the bank, but I provided them with all the details to help them make an informed decision. I was able to make over four figures in commissions from EQ Bank in the first year.

Final thoughts

Although competition for affiliates can be tough, I’m more concerned about providing value and information for my audience. I’ve built trust with them and anyone who reads my site can tell that I’m passionate about personal finance. Whenever I earn a commission, I don’t think about the dollars, I think I’ve helped someone make an important decision.

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