Affiliate Marketing For Beginners: What It Is + How to Succeed

Affiliate marketing is where you promote another company's product or service in return for a commission on the sales you generate. We’rehiringmarketers! [email protected]:Korean.Ialsosummarisebooksonmypersonalblog.ArticlestatsMonthlytraffic35,990Linkingwebsites879Tweets114DatafromContentExplorerShowshowmanydifferentwebsitesarelinkingtothispieceofcontent.Asageneralrule,themorewebsiteslinktoyou,thehigheryourankinGoogle.ShowsestimatedmonthlysearchtraffictothisarticleaccordingtoAhrefsdata.Theactualsearchtraffic(asreportedinGoogleAnalytics)isusually3-5timesbigger.ThenumberoftimesthisarticlewassharedonTwitter.SharethisarticleSubscribeforweeklyupdatesEmailSubscriptionSubscribeLeavethisfieldemptyifyou'rehuman:ContentsImagineallyouneededtomakemoneyonlinewasawebsite.Youdon’thavetocreateyourownproductsorofferaservice.Soundsgood?Welcometoaffiliatemarketing.AccordingtoStatista,businessspendingonaffiliatemarketingwillhit$8.2billionintheU.Sby 2022.Starttoday,andyou’llbeinaprimepositiontotakeadvantageof that.Inthisguide,you’lllearn:WhataffiliatemarketingisWhyaffiliatemarketingHowaffiliatemarketingworksHowmuchmoneyyoucanpotentiallymakeHowtogetstartedwithaffiliatemarketinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W‑nbsnXtSZIWhatisaffiliatemarketing?Affiliatemarketingiswhereyoupromoteanothercompany’sproductorserviceinreturnforacommissiononthesalesyougenerate.Commissionsaretypicallyapercentageofthesaleprice,butcanoccasionallybeafixedamount.Whydoaffiliatemarketing?Herearetworeasonswhyyoushouldconsiderdoingaffiliatemarketing: 1.Low-costandlow-riskStartingabusinessmeansincurringupfrontcostsforproducts,employees,equipment,rent,andsoon.Thismakesitriskyandexpensive.Withaffiliatemarketing,allyouneedisawebsite.Evenifitdoesn’tworkout,allyou’vewastedistimeandalittlebitof money.2.Easyto scaleAtypicalsalespersononlysellsproductsfromonecompany.Asanaffiliatemarketer,youcanpromoteproductsfrommanydifferentcompaniesandearncommissionsfromallof them. Howdoesaffiliatemarketingwork?Themerchantgiveseachaffiliateauniquelinksotheycantrackwhowasresponsibleforasale.Thelinkwillusuallylooksomethinglike this:Whensomeoneclicksthatlink,asmallfilecalledacookiegetsstoredontheirdevice.Anaffiliatecookiedoestwothings:Ithelpsthemerchantattributethesalebacktotherightperson;It(usually)holdsanexpirationdate,soyougetpaidevenifthebuyerdelaystheirpurchase.Here’sanexampleofhowthis works.Imaginethatareadervisitsyourpostaboutthebestwinterjackets.Theyclickononeofyouraffiliatelinks,leadingthemtoaproductonAmazon.Buttheyrealizedtheyhavetopickuptheirdaughterfromschool.Sotheyleavetheirhouse,pickuptheirdaughter,havedinner,andthenfinallygobacktoAmazonwheretheyfindtheproductagain.Sincethey’realreadyshoppingonAmazon,theydecidetopurchasesomeskigear too.Here’sthegoodnews.Earlier,theyclickedonyouraffiliatelinkandacookiewasstoredontheirdevice.BecauseAmazonhasa24-hourcookieduration,yougetcompensatedforboththewinterjacketandskigear—eventhoughyoudidn’tpromotethelatter.HowmuchmoneycanImakeasanaffiliatemarketer?Thesimpleansweristhatthereisnolimit.Itdependsonyournicheandtheamountofworkyouput in.Themostsuccessfulaffiliatemarketersmakesixorsevenfiguresa month.Forexample,PatFlynnfromSmartPassiveIncomemadeover$100,000inaffiliatecommissionsinDecember2017.RyanRobinson,anotheraffiliatemarketer,reportedover$19,000inaffiliaterevenueinOctober2019.Another successfulaffiliatewebsite—TheWirecutter—madeanestimated$10millioninrevenue,andwaseventuallysoldtotheNewYorkTimesfor$30million.Keepinmindthoughthatthesepeoplehavedoneanexcellentjobbuildingtheirbrand.It’stakenthemyearsofhardworktoreachthis level.Ifyou’rejuststartingout,yourchecksmightlookmorelikethisfora while:Youneedtomanageyourexpectations.Youwon’tearnthebigbucksrightoffthebat,butdon’tletthisdiscourageyou.Thesuccessofotherstellsyouthatwithhardwork,time,andtherightknowledge,youtoocanpotentiallyreachthoselevels.HowtogetstartedwithaffiliatemarketingFollowthesesevensimplesteps.DecideonaplatformChooseyour nicheFindaffiliateprogramsto joinCreategreatcontentDrivetraffictoyouraffiliatesiteGetclicksonyouraffiliatelinksConvertclicksto salesStep#1:DecideonaplatformTheoretically,youcandoaffiliatemarketingonanyplatform.EvenInstagramworks.However,it’smucheasiertobuildanaudienceandincreaseyouraffiliatesalesviaoneoftwochannels:ablogorYouTubechannel.Startingablogtodayisrelativelyeasyandcheap.Thereareplentyoftutorialsonline thatteachyouhowtogetstarted.Thebestpart?It’lllikelyonlycostyouafewdollarsper month.Onceyoursiteisup,optimizeitforsearchengines sothatyouhaveabetterchanceofranking.Fromthere,you’refreetoaddaffiliatelinksinyourcontent.(Thereisanarttodoingthis,whichwe’llcoverlaterinthis guide.)TheotherplatformisYouTube.CreatinganduploadingcontenttoYouTubeisfree,whichmakesitidealformanypeople.OptimizeyourvideosforSEO,andincludeaffiliatelinksinyourdescription.OneofmyfavoriteexamplesisonBookTube,wherevariousYouTubersreviewbooks:Notethatyou’llneedtodisclosethefactthatyou’reincludingaffiliatelinks.TheFederalTradeCommissions(FTC)requiresyou tobetransparentwhenreceivingincomefromanendorsement.Ifyou’reusingablog,createastandalonepage,orincludeitinthefooterofyourwebsitelike this:Ifyou’redoingitonYouTube,includeitinyourdescription:Now,you’lllikelygetmoreclicksfromablogthanaYouTubevideo.Forthatreason,mostoftheexamplesgoingforwardwillbefora blog.Step#2:Chooseyour nicheLet’sbehonest:ifyou’restartingablogtoday,you’refacingatonofcompetition.Statistaestimates thatthenumberofbloggersintheU.Swillreach31.7millionby 2020.Tostandthebestchanceofsuccess,niche down.Chooseatopicthatfocusesonaspecificcategory.Forexample,thetopicof“food”isanenormouscategory.Ratherthantacklingthat,trysomethingmorespecific,likegrillingfood.Keepingyourtopicstightcanhelpyoubuildamorefocusedaudienceandpotentiallyhelpyourankhigherinsearchengines.That’swhatIdidwhenIbuiltmyfirstsite.Insteadoftalkingabout“dance”or“hiphop,”Idecidedtolimitmyselftojustbreakdancing.DespitenotknowinganythingaboutSEO backthen,Imanagedtorankforafewkeytermsandgenerate~3,000organicvisitsper month.Lateron,asyoucoverthebulkofthiscategoryandbuildtraffictothesepages,youcanexpandintoother areas.Sidenote.Wantsomeideastogetstartedquickly?Here’sacoollisttocheckout.Now,ifyou’regoingtobethemaincontentcreator,choosesomethingyou’reinterestedin.Manyaffiliatesitesdieduetoalackofconsistency.Soattheveryleast,ifyou’repassionateaboutatopic,you’llfinditmucheasiertopressonwhenthegoinggets tough.Don’tworryifyou’renotanexpertinthefield.AsGaryVaynerchukputsit,“document,don’tcreate.”Documentingwhatyou’velearnedcanmakegreatcontentandattractpeoplewhoareinterestedinfollowingyourprogress.Ifyou’reoutsourcingthecontent,thenit’sbettertoworkwithseasonedexpertsintheniche.Expertscanhelpyoucreatehigh-quality,trustworthywork,whichcanleadtomoretraffic,engagedvisitors,andmoreaffiliatesales.Step#3:Findaffiliateprogramsto joinTherearethreetypesofaffiliateprogramstochoosefrom.A.High-paying,low-volumeaffiliateprogramsTheseareaffiliateprogramsfornicheproductswithhighpayouts.Forexample,ConvertKit’saffiliateprogrampaysalmost$700permonthifyousendjust80customerstheirway.However,astheysellCRMsoftwareforsmallbusinessowners,there’salimitedpoolofbuyers.Therealsotendstobemorecompetitionforprogramswithhighcommissions.Sinceyou’reprobablyjuststarting,it’llbequitechallengingtomakeameaningfulamountofmoneycompetingagainstskilledmarketerswithdeeppockets.B.Low-paying,high-volumeaffiliateprogramsTheseareaffiliateprogramsforproductswithlowpayoutsbutmassappeal.Forexample,takePS4games.LotsofpeopleplayPS4,buttheaveragecostofagameisonlyaround$50,andaffiliatecommissionsareusuallyinthesingledigits.Thismeansyou’llearn$2–3persaleifyou’relucky.Theredeemingqualityofthesetypesofprogramsisthattheyusuallyoffertonsofproductstosell.TakeAmazon’saffiliateprogram,forexample.Youcanearnupto10%commissionsonalmostanythingAmazonsells.Theothergoodthingisthatyouoftengetcommissionsontheentirevalueofthepurchaseratherthanjusttheproductyourecommended.Tomakethesetypesofaffiliateprogramspay,you’llneedlotsoftraffic.C.High-paying,high-volumeaffiliateprogramsTheseareaffiliateprogramsforproductswithmassappeal,whichalsopayhighcommissions.Oneexample iscreditcards.Everyoneneedsacreditcard,andmostpeoplestaywiththecompanyforyears (sometimesevendecades!)Thedownsideofthesetypesofproductsisthattheyattractaffiliatemarketerswithlotsofexpertiseanddeeppockets.Somealsousespammytacticsthatyoujustcan’tcompetewith.Andsincethisisatutorialforbeginners,Iwon’tgoanydeeperinto this.Justbeawarethattheseprogramsexist.Howtodecidewhichaffiliateprogramsto joinThisdependsonyournicheandlevelofexpertise.Ifyou’retargetingconsumers,you’lllikelygowiththesecondmodeloflowcommissionsandhighersalesvolume.Ifyou’regoingafterabusinessaudience,you’lllikelygoforthefirstmodel:high-payingandlowvolume.Themostpopularprogramshereareforsoftwareandwebhosting-relatedproducts.ThebestwaytofindtheseaffiliateprogramsiswithaGooglesearch.Alternatively,enteracompetingaffiliatesiteintoAhrefs’SiteExplorer andgototheLinkeddomains report.Forexample,IknowthatPatFlynnpromotesanumberofsoftwareproductsonhiswebsite,SmartPassiveIncome.EyeballingtheLinkeddomainsreportshowsthatPatlinkstoAweberprettyoften.Clickingthe“Linksfromtarget”caretrevealsthatPatisanaffiliate.ItonlytakesaquickGooglesearchtofindanapplicationformforthisprogram.However,ifthereisaproductyou’dreallyliketopromotewithoutapublicaffiliateprogram,reachouttothecompanyandaskiftheywouldbewillingtobuildanaffiliaterelationshipwith you.Step#4:CreategreatcontentIfyouwantyouraffiliatesitetosucceed,youneedtocreatehigh-qualitycontentwhereyouraffiliatelinksfitnaturally.Here’sanexample.TimFerrissinterviewed100+famouspeople andaskedthemthisquestion:Whatpurchaseof$100orlesshasmostpositivelyimpactedyourlifeinthelastsixmonths(orinrecentmemory)?Hepublishedtheanswersinablogpostandincludedaffiliatelinkstotheproductsmentioned:Judgingbythecomments,hisfansloved it.Thisiswhatyouhavetoemulatewhencreatingcontentforyouraffiliatesite.Don’tjustblindlycurateproductsfromAmazon’sbestsellers.Gotheextramiletomakesureyourcontentsolvesthevisitor’sproblem.How?Ifyou’redoingreviews, actuallypurchasetheproductandtestit.ThisiswhattheWirecutterdid,whichexplainstheirsuccess.Ifyoudon’thavemoneytobuyeverysingleproduct,youcanalwaysstartwithwhatyouhaveathome.Forexample,ifyouhadatechblog,youcouldcreatereviewsonthegadgetsyou own.Step#5:DrivetraffictoyouraffiliatesiteYou’vecreatedgreatcontent.Thenextstepistogetmorepeopletoreadit,sotheywillclickonyouraffiliatelinks.Herearethreetrafficstrategiestoconsider:A.PaidtrafficThisiswhereyoupayfortraffictoyoursite.YoucandothisusingPPC ads.Theadvantageofpaidtrafficisthatthemomentyoustartpaying,yougettraffic.However,therearesomedownsides.First,runningadswilldigintoyourprofits.It’squitenormalforadvertiserstolosemoneybeforetheymakeit…iftheyever do.Youneedtoberealisticabouthowlongittakestooptimizeapaidtrafficcampaign.Secondly,onceyoustoppayingforads,yourtrafficwill stop.Generallyspeaking,adsareagreattrafficstrategyifyou’repartofahigh-payingaffiliateprogramandcanmakethenumberswork.Butifyou’recompletelynewtopaidmarketingandhavenomarketingbudget(orareworkingwithlowercommissionprogramslikeAmazonAssociates),thenitmightnotbesuchagreat idea.B.Searchengineoptimization(SEO)SEO isthepracticeofoptimizingpagestorankhighinsearchengineslikeGoogle.Foraslongasyoucanrankhighinthesearchenginesforyourtargetkeywords,you’llgetconsistentandpassivetraffic.Onthemostbasiclevel,SEOis about:Understandingwhatyourtargetcustomersaresearchingfor;Creatingcontentaroundthosetopics(blogposts,productpages,etc.);Takingcareofthe“technical”stufftopushthesepageshigherinthesearchengines(whichincludeslinkbuilding).Learnthebasicsinthisvideoorreadourbeginner’sguidetoSEO:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvwS7cV9GmQC.Buildanemail listEmaillistsallowyoutocommunicatewithyourreadersanytime.Usethemtotellfansaboutnewcontentandkeepthemcomingbacktoyoursiteformore.Thisleadstomoreaffiliateclicksand sales.Youcanevensendaffiliateemailpromotionstoyourlistdirectly:Tobuildanemaillist,youneedtopersuadethereadersonyoursitetosignup.Thatmeansofferingsomethingvaluable.AtAhrefs,weshowaslide-inboxattheendofeveryarticle:SomewebsiteslikeGearPatrolalsohavea“subscribe”linkontheirnavigationbar:Butthereareplentyofwaystodothis.YoucanalsoofferafreeeBook,anemailcourse,etc.Allyouneedissomecreativity.Step#6:GetclicksonyouraffiliatelinksJustbecauseyouhaveanamazingpieceofcontentdoesn’tmeanpeoplewillclickonyouraffiliatelinks.Thereareafewthingsyouneedtoconsider.A.LinkplacementIfallyouraffiliatelinksareatthebottomofthepagewherepeoplerarelyscroll,clickswillbefewandfarbetween.Ontheotherhand,make everyotherwordalinkinyourintroduction,andyourcontentwilllookspammy.Youneedtobalancelinkplacementwiththeotherfactorsbelow.B.ContextLet’ssayyouwerewritinganarticleonthebestkitchenknivesforunder$50.Yourintroductionprobablyshouldn’tlooklike this:Today,I’m reviewingthe bestchef knives.Thelinkslookoutofcontextandspammy.Thiswouldmakemore sense:Today,I’mreviewingthreedifferentchefknivesyoucanbuyonAmazonforunder$50.Theseare,productname1,productname2,andproductname 3C.CalloutsUsingcalloutslikebuttons,tables,andboxescanhelpattractyourreaders’attentionandmakethepostmoreskimmable.Forexample,theWirecutteruseseye-catchingboxeswithproductlinksanytimetheyshareatop pick.PCMagtakesadifferentapproachandusesacomparisontablewithbuttons:Step#7:Convertclicksto salesInaffiliatemarketing,twoconversionsneedtotakeplaceforyoutomake money.Thefirstconversionistheclicktotheproductpage.You’re100%incontrolofthisaction.Usethetacticsabovetoimproveyourchancesofgettingthat click.Thesecondconversionisthevisitorpurchasingtheproduct. Inthecaseofaffiliatemarketing,themerchantcontrolsthecheckout,andtheirconversionratesareoutofyourcontrol.Thetrickistoplaythegametoyouradvantageandlookformerchantswithprogramsthatconvertwell.Hereareafewwaystofind them:A.PublicincomereportsIfpeoplearemakingdecentmoneyfromanaffiliateprogram,thenit’slikelythattheproductconvertswell.Howdoyouknowifpeoplearemakingmoney?Lookatpublicincomereportswherebloggerspubliclyrevealhowmuchmoneythey’remakingfromtheiraffiliatedeals.YoucanfindthesereportsonGoogle.Forexample,ifyousearchfor“incomereportamazonaffiliate”,you’llseeafewblogpostsshowinghowbloggershavemademoneyfromAmazonAffiliates.Lookslikeonebloggermade$7,300inasinglemonthfromAmazoncommissions.Ifyou’reinthesamespace,youcanalsotakealookatwhereherotheraffiliateincomecomesfrom,andpotentiallypromotethesameproducts.B.AskquestionsIfthereisn’tmuchinformationavailableaboutanaffiliateprogramyouwanttojoin,signupandaskquestions.Forexample,youmightwanttofindoutwhattheiraverageconversionratesare,oraballparkfigureoftheirtopearners’monthlycommissions.Thiscanhelpyoufigureoutiftheaffiliateprogramisworthpromoting.C.UseyourintuitionSometimes,it’sbesttogowithyourgutfeeling.Iftheprogramorproductyou’recheckingoutfeels“off,”orifyouwouldpersonallyneverrecommendtheproducttoafriendorfamilymember,thendon’tpromoteit.FinalthoughtsNoaffiliatemarketingwheelswerereinventedhere.Thesearethefundamentals,andapplyingthemwillgetyouoffontheright foot.Justdon’texpectlife-changingincomeorthefreedomtoquityour9–5overnight.Affiliatemarketingtakes time.Focusfirstonmakingyourfirstaffiliatesale.Asyoursitegrows,setnewgoals,andcontinueexperimenting.Thisishowtobuildupasitethateventuallygeneratesadecentincome.Gotquestions?LetmeknowinthecommentsorpingmeonTwitter.CopylinkArticlebySiQuanOngContributorsMarketing@Ahrefs.Currentlearningproject:Korean.Ialsosummarisebooksonmypersonalblog.ContributorsLikewhatwedo?Comeworkwithus