A few years ago, most affiliates preferred to stay in the shadows — sharing ad campaign approaches and their work results were not profitable. But times are changing: more and more often, internet traffic specialists are starting to go public, build a personal brand and actively develop their media presence. Some launch blogs and Telegram channels, some speak at niche conferences, and some create their own training projects.

A reasonable question arises. Does an affiliate really need this? What advantages does a personal brand provide and is it true that it can give you so many great results?

We decided to look into this issue together with experts Rodion, the creator of the Irish CPA channel and Darkhan!

The advantages of a personal brand: why does an affiliate need media presence

Let’s start with the pros and talk about the obvious (and not so obvious) perks that developing a personal brand will give you:

1. Strengthening your reputation and growing your expertise

In affiliate marketing, as in any other business, trust is extremely important. A strong personal brand helps you secure your status as an expert. People begin to perceive you as a reliable professional who can be approached for advice or partnership.

This is especially valuable if you are building a team, developing an agency, or planning to launch a training course. You will have an audience that is initially loyal to you.

2. Expanding your circle of acquaintances

As media coverage grows, the number of useful contacts grows exponentially. These include direct advertisers, affiliate networks, and even potential investors.

Entering the media field makes you a more visible player, which means more opportunities to negotiate on favorable terms, receive exclusive offers, or launch joint projects.

3. New sources of income

A personal brand gives you the opportunity to monetize your knowledge and experience: sell learning courses, consult other people, launch paid case studies, attract advertisers to your own media. For many affiliates, this becomes a full-fledged business, which over time can even surpass the income from driving traffic.

4. Increasing resilience to market risks

The affiliate market is fickle. Some schemes stop working, advertising accounts are banned, offers that have been going strong for months become obsolete. A personal brand helps you stay afloat even in difficult times. Your own audience and reputation as an expert become a kind of safety cushion: you can always reorient yourself and find new ways to earn money.

The content you create works for you in the long run. Every useful video, article or post on social networks continues to attract attention to you, even if you don’t publish that actively.

Sounds great! Will there be downsides?

Yes! And you should know about them too.

Downsides and risks: important things to remember

1. Excessive attention

Publicity requires attention to detail. Any mistake or unsuccessful case can cause a wave of criticism and harm your image.

When you become a public figure, you attract increased interest from competitors, ill-wishers and, let’s be honest, regulatory authorities. The louder your name, the higher the likelihood that you will be watched more closely.

2. Risk of “focus blurring”

Developing a personal brand takes time and energy. Content planning, filming, preparing for performances – all this can easily distract from the main activity.

It is important to clearly understand: media coverage should work for business, and not vice versa.

3. High competition for audience attention

The influencer action in affiliate marketing is growing, which means that attracting and retaining attention is becoming more difficult. Content must be made not only useful, but also original in order to stand out among many other experts.

If these disadvantages don’t seem that big for you, then we can safely move on to where to start developing a personal brand.

Where to start: create your step-by-step plan

Step 1. Define your positioning

Think about what your strong points are. Why do you want media coverage? To build a reputation, attract partners, launch a learning course or for personal satisfaction? The answer will help you choose the right direction.

It is important to decide how you want to present yourself: an expert practitioner, an inspiring leader or a “shadow director” who sometimes reveals their cards. Clear positioning will help create a recognizable image and simplify work on content.

Step 2. Choose your main platforms

You don’t have to launch a YouTube channel right away. You can start with short posts on Telegram or your case studies in closed chats.

Don’t spread yourself too thin on all social networks at once, choose what you really like.

Step 3. Create content systematically

Consistency is the key to success. Make a content plan for a month in advance: headings, formats, schedule. It is not necessary to post daily content, but consistency will give your brand stability and recognition.

Don’t be afraid to delegate. It is worth thinking about delegating tasks at the start: a designer for creatives, an editor for videos, an assistant for content management. This will help maintain consistency and quality without burning out.

Step 4. Start small

You shouldn’t wait for ideal conditions. Even a couple of useful posts or a speech at a niche webinar is already a great contribution to your personal brand.

Study how your colleagues build their personal brands. Analyze what works and what doesn’t, and adapt it to your needs.

Expert view

Rodion, author of the Irish CPA channel

For me, a personal brand is, first and foremost, an investment in building a team. Knowing people is good, but I know a lot of guys who don’t run channels, and all the top guys know them anyway.

Before I started running the channel, I sat down and wrote out a strategy for several years ahead. Of everything I planned, less than 10% was implemented.

When you clearly know how you will use the channel and what exactly to write, it makes sense. If the goal is simply to make money from gambling ads, then this is a road to nowhere.

At the same time, quality content takes a lot of time. If you are a traffic expert and not a liar, then this time is monetized dozens of times more effectively when you’re driving your traffic.

Darkhan, NDA corp.

I have experience in both places, in fact. From 2018 to 2021, I actively promoted the brand of our team, conferences, meetups, speeches, cases. This brought its profit. Thus, several times I received interesting offers and geo for bays. But such publicity also adds ill-wishers. There were attempts at framing, theft, espionage, etc.

And after 2021, I decided to curtail public activities and essentially nothing has changed. Interesting offers have been coming and are coming to this day. They’re just coming from affiliate networks and advertisers who directly see out statistics.

Whether to grow your personal brand or not is a personal matter for each of you. However, this is not what you should spend your energy on first and foremost. If you like publicity and have good and stable results, then go for it. Perhaps you will get what you want and you will like it. And if soft skills are not your strong point and you do not want to develop them, then you should not torture yourself.

In any case, first of all, drive your profit and get a good night’s sleep. Good luck to everyone!

To sum it up,

A personal brand in affiliate marketing is an interesting tool. For some, it opens doors to new opportunities, for others, it becomes a burden and a source of unnecessary stress. It is important to understand: media is not a must have, but an option. If you feel that you are ready for publicity, you know why you need it and are ready to invest – try it. If you are comfortable staying in the shadows and focusing on trffic – this is also a way, and it is no worse. The main thing is to understand your goals and not forget why you came to affiliate marketing in the first place.

Drive traffic wisely, build a system that works personally for you and let the profit be with you.