For almost 10 years TBS Co-Founders Cathy (Poor Little It Girl) and Jessica (My Style Vita) have been running their personal blogs, so it’s safe to say that they know a thing or two about monetizing their brands. And one of the easiest ways to do that is with ShopStyle Collective. But do you know the best practices for using this platform and affiliate links? Cathy and Jessica are here to share how we use ShopStyle Collective to generate income.
Did you miss the “How To Monetize Your Content” Webinar? No problem! You can watch it on the ShopStyle Collective YouTube channel here.
How We Use ShopStyle Collective To Generate Income On Our Blogs
Before we begin with widgets and Looks, it’s important to first install the LinkIt Tool. This tool allows you to create links directly from the product page of any supported retail site. Including on your desktop and on your phone while on the go. You can organize and save these products to lists that you create. This will make creating Product Widgets and Looks easier and more efficient.
Product Widgets
Product widgets can be created on the ShopStyle Collective dashboard. These visual shopping widgets where you can hand-select products to be featured. We use these in a few ways on our blogs to increase clicks to retailers to generate income.
Blog Posts + Pages
At the bottom of our blog posts, we like to share a “Shop The Post” product widget showcasing exact or similar items for readers to shop for outfits we are wearing. You can also include a roundup of products that tie in with your blog post topic. For example: if your blog post is about a specific sundress we are wearing and love, we also can create a product widget to similar dress styles the reader may also want to shop.
On your website, you have the ability to create pages that focus on a specific topic or category. It can be helpful to include a shop page for your readers to shop a collection of items, like your favorite graphic t-shirts or sundresses for spring. Cathy has a page dedicated to different fashion categories of products under $100 that she shares with her readers and updates seasonally.
Home Page + Sidebars
Another great opportunity to use product widgets is on your homepage to highlight a season category or a sale. You can include a product widget in your sidebar. Cathy has a homepage shopping widget of under $100 finds for readers to easily click and shop.
Text Links
Text links are hyperlinked words in your blog posts readers can shop. We always recommend making your hyperlinked text an eye-catching, bold or underlined, color so they stand out and readers know where to click. Jessica uses her brand color, orange, as bolded font to show to readers that specific words are linkable.
You can use Text Links in your blog posts, social media and even include them in your YouTube video descriptions so readers can easily shop. We also include these in newsletters when highlighting a new favorite product or a sale that’s happening.
Looks + Collections
Looks are shoppable images that are typically used in conjunction with Instagram. They can be part of a Collection and you can assign that Collection to a page on your blog. Each Look has a unique url so if a reader is looking to shop a past outfit, you can send them directly to that specific post.
For Collections, you can see a great example, on Cathy’s “Shop My Instagram” page she gives Instagram followers the ability to shop the featured looks. We also love creating a more specific Collection of Looks that caters to your audience. A few examples of how to do this could be if you’re a new mom like Cathy of Poor Little It Girl. She created a “baby shop” with shoppable Looks that are assigned to a baby-focused collection Collection. You can also add in some product widgets here to make shopping your favorite products even easier.
Another example is Jessica of My Style Vita created a “Shop My Home” page where there’s a dedicated home decor Collection. This is a great way to cater to your audience who may ask you a lot of questions about something specific. Create a dedicated page to help answer these popular questions!
Lastly, you can use Looks with video! This is great for influencers who utilize YouTube and TikTok.
How We Use ShopStyle Collective On Our Social Platforms
As we mentioned earlier, Looks in a Collection is a great way to monetize your Instagram platform. Plus, don’t forget about those swipe ups. You can include a link to a specific Look, affiliate link or your dedicated shop page! We recommend linking to a page or post on your site to increase your pageviews.
Twitter & Facebook
We love to share some of our latest shopping finds, sales and deals to our Twitter and Facebook platforms. Just pull your link and share your latest fashion find!
Pin some of your favorite eye-catching images from your favorite stores with your unique affiliate link. You can do this directly from the retailer’s site using the ShopStyle LinkIt tool. You can also pin your Looks to a personal style board. We also recommend using Tailwind to schedule out these pins so you’re maximizing your reach!
Don’t Forget The SSC Dashboard
Within the SSC Dashboard, you can easily see top links, retailers and even location of where clicks are happening. This live overview allows you to come up with a strategy of what to post more or less of. Maybe beauty products don’t get clicked as much as fashion. Or maybe home decor converts really well, so you might want to include more of this type of content in your strategy.
Lastly, we love to check the ShopStyle Collective Blogger Dashboard for any retailer updates on sales, affiliate incentives, and bonuses. The SSC team provides frequent updates to keep their influencers in the know on everything regarding their platform.
Keep up with The Blog Societies on social media:
Follow Cathy @poorlittleitgirl
Follow Jessica @mystylevita
Follow @theblogsocieties
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