Episode 22: Growing a Lucrative Affiliate Marketing Business via Facebook Groups

08/11/20 • 36 min

Growing a group on Facebook can be a powerful tool in scaling a business, and, in the case of our guest this week, it can be the foundation of the business itself. Erica Marie created and runs Erica's Steals & Finds VIP Group. We met via another successful entrepreneur and social media guru, Jasmine Star, who runs the company and group Social Curator.

Erica is a mom of four boys and when her youngest headed off to school, she realized she needed to do something for herself. Like many stay-at-home moms, she had dedicated her life to her kiddos and found she had lost herself along the way. Seeing 'influencers' posting pictures of perfect outfits, perfect homes, perfect lives started to make her feel badly, she wanted to create a safe space for women to be themselves. She loved her friends, she loved shopping, so her deals Facebook group was born.

In two years she has grown her group to over 45,000 women and has expanded her team to 5 virtual assistants. Take a look at our discussion highlights:

The Business of Affiliate Programs

Becoming an Amazon affiliate, navigating the rules
Expanded to Jane, Shopstyle, and rewardStyle

Attracting Members

Growing a deals group from 40 members to over 45K
The power of authentic posts and genuine community
Giveaways with specific incentives

COVID and Facebook Rules

Navigating Facebook rules for deal groups (and most groups that take traffic off the platform)
Posting 50-90 times a day with a shifting algorithm
The drastic drop in Amazon commission during COVID-19
Change of focus from cute clothes to personal care essentials and supplies

The Reality of Being an Entrepreneur

Continuing on no matter what, this is business #6
First two years reinvesting in the business
Working 16 hour days with a household of essential workers

Business Game Changers

Getting super clear on niche ideal customer
Tracking engagement on public page to grow private group
Encouraging group members to post their buys and experiences
Hiring help, Chalene Johnson's program 'How to Hire'
Empowering 5 overseas virtual assistants

Growing an Email List

Suggested platform, Flodesk
Hosts strategic giveaways
Reminds audience that Facebook could shut them down, email is forever

Moving Forward - Goals and Visions

Empower her team to grow and take on more
Continue to increase the pay rate for her virtual assistants so they can buy homes, etc
Expand upon ways her group can impact the world

Muscle Creative Wrap-Up

If you could listen to only one music artist for the rest of your life who would it be? The Offspring

Where can people find you online?

In two years she has grown her group to over 45,000 women and has expanded her team to 5 virtual assistants. Take a look at our discussion highlights:

The Business of Affiliate Programs

Becoming an Amazon affiliate, navigating the rules
Expanded to Jane, Shopstyle, and rewardStyle

Attracting Members

Growing a deals group from 40 members to over 45K
The power of authentic posts and genuine community
Giveaways with specific incentives

COVID and Facebook Rules

Navigating Facebook rules for deal groups (and most groups that take traffic off the platform)
Posting 50-90 times a day with a shifting algorithm
The drastic drop in Amazon commission during COVID-19
Change of focus from cute clothes to personal care essentials and supplies

The Reality of Being an Entrepreneur

Continuing on no matter what, this is business #6
First two years reinvesting in the business
Working 16 hour days with a household of essential workers

Business Game Changers

Getting super clear on niche ideal customer
Tracking engagement on public page to grow private group
Encouraging group members to post their buys and experiences
Hiring help, Chalene Johnson's program 'How to Hire'
Empowering 5 overseas virtual assistants

Growing an Email List

Suggested platform, Flodesk
Hosts strategic giveaways
Reminds audience that Facebook could shut them down, email is forever

Moving Forward - Goals and Visions

Empower her team to grow and take on more
Continue to increase the pay rate for her virtual assistants so they can buy homes, etc
Expand upon ways her group can impact the world

Muscle Creative Wrap-Up

If you could listen to only one music artist for the rest of your life who would it be? The Offspring

Where can people find you online?

Previous Episode

Episode 21: Becoming a Full-Time Blogger; Starting and Monetizing a Blog

If you've ever thought about starting a blog, or have a blog but are stumped as to how to keep it growing...this episode is for you. This week we chat with Alex Cook, creator of the It's Not Complicated recipe blog. After leaving her career in in real estate and aviation, Alex started a blog combining her two passions - cooking and writing. She assumed it would be a hobby on the side, but within four months of starting her blog it was growing so quickly that it needed her full-time attention. Two years in, Alex continues to run her blog business full-time, having grown her page views beyond what is required to partner with an ad network.

Cadence and Content

Avoiding the temptation to expand your niche
Stuck with a cadence of 3 posts a week on set days
The power of consistency and quality over quantity
Start with what you can, improve over time

Monetizing a Blog

Leveraging viral posts
Hitting required page views to partner with ad networks
Strategically planning content around prime keywords
Measuring competitive rank of keywords
Focusing on what audience is searching for

Key Steps When Starting Out

Getting a good host
Researching the right website platform
Recipe cards and other perks to rank in Google

Growing Your Audience

Grew her Facebook business page to over 26k
Engage with fellow bloggers
Ways to build relationships with readers
Strategies to inspire audience to share
Tactics to grow organic traffic from Google

Moving Forward - Goals and Vision

About to hire a Social Media Manager
Double blog page views by the end of 2020
Diversify income streams including new e-book and product line
Expand to a commercial kitchen, increase video content

Muscle Creative Wrap-Up

If you could listen to only one music artist for the rest of your life who would it be? Queen

Where can people find you online?

Next Episode

Episode 23: Making the Move to Professional Public Speaking

When chatting with our guest this week, you would haze zero idea that she has overcome such adversity in her life. Or maybe you would, maybe her sunny yet determined outlook on life is one that would only come after such obstacles. We are overjoyed to welcome Mindy Henderson of Mindy Henderson Speaks to the show - professional speaker, coach, and writer focused on overcoming adversity.

At 15 months old, she was diagnosed with a neuromuscular condition called spinal muscular atrophy. Her parents were told she would lose all of her abilities to stand or walk, she would lose all of her cognitive functions, and probably wouldn't live to be 3 years old. Between parents that would not take her diagnosis lying down, and a self-described personality of a natural born project manager with a sprinkling of bossiness, Mindy has defied all odds and our world is better for it.

Discussion highlights:

Hope, Gratitude, Independence

Implementing a plan in the face of devastation
Impact of being the Texas State Poster Child for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
The start of catching the public speaking bug

From Tech Career to Speaker Entrepreneur