Social media has changed the online world — the way we interact, the way we discover content, and even the way we shop. As a result, publishers and content creators are finding a wealth of earning opportunities across a wide variety of channels, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and more.
While affiliate marketing on social media can be highly profitable, getting started can be overwhelming — and every channel is unique. That’s why we created this “Social Media Affiliate Marketing 101” blog series, to help demystify the strategies and tactics you’ll need to start earning on various social media platforms.
In this article, we’ll dig into one of the lesser-known channels for affiliate marketing: Discord. Our resident expert is Brian Lovett, a long-time tech professional and passionate affiliate marketer with loads of cross-channel experience.
Here are seven of his top tips for anyone considering Discord as a potential monetization channel.
- Get familiar with how Discord works.
Discord is unique among social platforms, in that it’s primarily a messaging app. Essentially, it’s the modern-day equivalent of the online forums and message boards that were popular in the 90s. Anyone can join Discord and start their own “server,” which is essentially a space dedicated to hosting conversations about a specific topic. So Discord is a quick and easy way to build a customized community of like-minded people — where you can then share affiliate links to generate revenue. (Sneaker and fashion source PredixLabs is a great example of a company that runs its business primarily through Discord.) - Consider your use case for Discord
The key to almost any online business is to connect with the right audience, and Discord provides a unique opportunity to expand your reach. It can be an ideal channel for any publisher with a focus on hobbies, products, or niche interests that are natural community builders. For example, if you’re creating content about things like cars, bicycles, computers, fashion, skincare, technology, or limited-edition collectibles, Discord may be the perfect fit for building an engaged audience. It’s important to remember, Discord is largely a text-based forum — which can be limiting, but may also appeal to a different audience segment than visual channels like Instagram and TikTok. - Understand Discord integrations
One of the primary ways people monetize their Discord presence is by using integrations or “Discord bots.” These external pieces of code are designed to perform specific actions inside your Discord server. For example, we all remember that during the pandemic it was often difficult to get household items like toilet paper and cleaning supplies. To help solve that problem, many Discord channels were set up to provide real-time updates on the availability of specific products. They used third-party integrations to pull that real-time inventory information — and then monetized those affiliate links to capitalize on purchase intent. - Connect your social channels
Because every social platform is unique, smart publishers coordinate their affiliate strategies to take advantage of each channel’s strengths. For example, Brian Lovett has created a close connection between his YouTube channels and his Discord community. “If I’m talking about artificial intelligence on YouTube, I’ll often drive people to my Discord channel to continue the conversation. It’s a great way to get more personal interaction and go deeper on a specific topic,” he says. “And conversely, if I launch a new video on YouTube, I can promote it by at-mentioning everyone in my Discord community. So it gives me a really unique way to reach a large captive audience.” - Keep it real
Like any social channel, success on Discord is all about audience engagement, so it’s important to keep your content authentic and deliver what your community expects. Conversations should always be related to your core topic area, and any affiliate links you share should be a secondary focus. “People on Discord have no problem calling you out if they think you’re spamming them,” Brian says. “And they’re always free to leave, so you won’t be able to build an audience if you’re not bringing them value.” - Leverage technology to automate affiliate links
If your Discord server is focused on recent releases and in-stock notifications, technology can be critical for delivering real-time updates to your audience. In addition to the Discord bots we mentioned earlier, the Sovrn Commerce platform includes API functionality that lets you easily retrieve accurate, detailed information about almost any retail product and use it to automatically populate your affiliate links. By automating the link building process, you can spend less time searching for inventory information and more time building a sustainable community. - Learn from experience
As your affiliate strategy evolves, it’s important to understand what your audience wants and how they respond to your content. Having accurate, timely data about what’s working (and what’s not) is critical to shaping your future content decisions. Sovrn Commerce puts deep performance insights at your fingertips with our real-time analytics dashboard. “With the real-time analytics in the Commerce platform, I can see what resonates with my community and what they’re buying,” Brian says. “And the granular reporting makes it easy to give them more of the content they want.”
Ready to get started?
Sovrn Commerce is the fastest, most flexible way to build an affiliate marketing program, optimize your affiliate strategy, and earn affiliate revenue — no matter what channel you’re focused on. If you’re not using Sovrn Commerce yet, sign up now! It only takes a few minutes, and once you’re approved you can start earning right away.
If you’re already partnering with Sovrn, feel free to reach out with questions. Our support team is standing by to help you reach your audience –and your affiliate revenue goals.
Interested in affiliate marketing on other social channels?
Check out these posts for more tips and tricks: