Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online. If you’re thinking of starting affiliate marketing in 2022, then you need to read this blog post! In it, we will discuss everything you need to know about this business model, including the basics of how it works, what type of products and services you can promote, and the best ways to find affiliates. We’ll also talk about the challenges that you may face as an affiliate marketer and how to overcome them. So if you’re ready to start making some serious money, keep reading!
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.
How does Affiliate Marketing Work?
Affiliate marketing works by rewarding affiliates for each customer they bring to a business. The affiliate is then paid a commission, which is a percentage of the sale price of the product or service they have promoted.
For example, let’s say that you are an affiliate for Company XYZ. You promote their products on your blog and social media channels. A visitor clicks on one of your links and makes a purchase on the Company XYZ website. You will then receive a commission for that sale.
Source: BigCommerce
- You show an ad or link for AXYZ store on your website, blog, or social network.
- Customer clicks the ad and is sent to AXYZ design store through a tracking link.
- Customer makes a purchase on AXYZ design store
- The affiliate network records this purchase and details of the transaction
- The purchase is confirmed by AXYZ as a valid sale
- The transaction is credited to you, and you get paid your commission!
The amount of money that you can make through affiliate marketing depends on a number of factors, including the size of your audience, the products or services you promote, and the commission rates that are offered by the businesses you partner with. You can expect to earn between 5% to 50% commission on each sale.
Now that you know the basics of affiliate marketing, let’s take a look at how you can start affiliate marketing.
6 Step Process To Get Started
Let’s go through a beginner-friendly 6 step process to get started on affiliate marketing.
Step 1. Select A Niche
A niche is a group of people with a common interest or topic. For example, dog owners are a niche. So are people who like to play video games. When choosing a niche, ideally it would be good if you have at least some level of passion for it. This will make it easier to produce content and build an audience.
Some questions to ask yourself when selecting a niche:
- Is there a potential audience for this niche?
- Do I have any experience or knowledge in this area?
- Will the audience be consistent in long run?
- Can I see myself writing about this topic for a long time?
- What level of competition is there in this niche?
Answering these questions will give you some idea of what path you should choose.
Remember this very important point: Passion should not be the only deciding factor when selecting a niche. Many of the big blogs did not start their blogs only based that they were passionate about something, rather they wanted to create income that is long-lasting and in an ideal situation passive.
When creating something new, no matter how passionate you are about it, it will not be a comfortable lot of the time.
Step 2. Find A Market Need
Trying affiliate marketing without having a defined need is like trying to build a house without nails.
You need to have a defined market need in order to be successful.
There are a few key things to look for when finding a market need:
- A problem that needs to be solved
- People who are looking for a solution to that problem
- An audience that is willing to pay for a solution to that problem
One of the good ways to start finding market needs is by using Google Trends. This will allow you to see what people are searching for online and how this changes over time.
Another way to find market needs is by looking at online forums related to your niche.
This will give you an idea of what people are struggling with and what they are looking for help with.
Whatever niche you are considering, start by seeing if there is demand for it.
If there are people searching for a solution to a problem, then you may have found a market need that you can fill with your affiliate marketing business.
Step 3. Affiliate Marketer Competition Analysis
You can use tools like Ubersuggest to see how competitive some keywords are on Google. You can find many tutorials about the Ubersuggest app on YouTube.
Another tool, that is not free but is very affordable is SpyFu. You can get started for 9 USD a month. SpyFu is a keyword research tool that is used by many affiliate marketers to find good keywords. It is good for identifying the most profitable search terms.
Next, take a look at their website and social media presence. See how they’re promoting their affiliate products and what kind of content they’re creating. This will give you an idea of the kinds of strategies that are working for them and what you can do to improve upon them.
Researching and understanding your competition is a key part of any marketing strategy and can help you stay one step ahead of the game. No matter what your niche is, you will have competition. The important thing is to not get discouraged by this. Instead, see it as a motivation to step up your game.
Here are some questions you should ask about your competition:
- What products or services do they offer?
- How do they market their business?
- What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- What makes them unique?
- What do they do better than you?
Answering these questions will give you a good idea of where you stand in the market and what you need to do to be successful.
Step 4. Find Affiliate Marketing Program
You need to find a good affiliate program. There are many different ways to do this, but the easiest way is to simply Google “affiliate programs” + “[your niche]”. For example, if you were in the health and fitness niche, you would search for “affiliate programs health and fitness”. This will give you a list of potential affiliate programs to join.
Once you find some affiliate programs, the next step is to research each one. You want to make sure that the program is reputable and that it offers good commissions. You can do this by reading reviews of the program online or by contacting the program directly and asking questions.
If you take the time to do this research, you’ll be able to find a great affiliate program that suits your needs.
You should ask these questions before proceeding with a particular affiliate program:
- How much commission can you likely make with the program?
- What is the minimum amount you need to earn before you can get paid?
- What is the average commission rate?
- Do they offer any bonuses for good performance?
- What type of support do they offer affiliates?
Answering these questions will give you more understanding of what affiliate networks could be a good one to join. Joining the first affiliate program you come across is not recommended. There are many scams out there, and you don’t want to waste your time or money on something that isn’t going to work.
Researching affiliate programs and studying them is a very important step so don’t play lazily on it.
Also, the very important point is to never affiliate with companies/products you don’t believe in or use yourself. Involved affiliate marketing is by far the most profitable because you can relate to the product, instead of just promoting something that might make you a lot of cash. Remember, you’re recommending these products to your followers/readers so if you wouldn’t buy/use them, don’t expect anyone else to.
Step 5. Pick Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy
Two of the most popular affiliate marketing channels are paid ads and making a website like blogs. These two methods can be used together to create a well-rounded marketing strategy, or they can be used separately.
Affiliate Marketing with Paid Ads
Paid ads are a great way to get your affiliate links in front of potential customers quickly. You can use paid ads on social media platforms, search engines, and even websites that allow banner or sidebar ads. The key with paid ads is to make sure that your ads are targeted to the right audience. You don’t want to waste your money on ads that no one will click on.
Creating a Blog
Making a website is a great way to build an audience of potential customers over time. You can start a blog and write helpful content that includes your affiliate links. will keep coming back.
A lot of people think that they can just set up a bunch of auto-generated blogs and start making money from them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Search engine optimization (SEO) is getting better and better at spotting low-quality content.
So, if you want to be successful with affiliate marketing, you need to create high-quality content that provides value to your readers. If you can do that, you’ll build trust with your audience, and eventually, with hard work you can start to make affiliate money.
Both of these methods have their own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s up to you to decide which one is right for you. If you’re just getting started, you might want to try both methods and see which one works better for you. Whichever method you choose, make sure that you put in the time and effort to make it successful.
Step 6. Create and Publish High-Quality Content
If you’re serious about affiliate marketing, then you need to create and publish high-quality content on a regular basis. This is the only way to attract an audience that’s interested in what you have to say (and ultimately, buy what you’re selling).
There are a few things to keep in mind when creating your content:
– Make sure it’s well-written and free of errors.
– Use engaging visuals (images, infographics, videos, etc.) whenever possible.
– Write on topics that are relevant to your niche/target audience.
– Promote your affiliate link throughout your content (but don’t spam!).
If you can consistently produce quality content that provides value to your readers, then you’re well on your way to becoming a successful affiliate marketer.
Creating quality content is one of the most important steps in affiliate marketing, but it’s also one of the hardest. If you’re not a natural writer or don’t have much experience with creating visuals, then it might seem like an insurmountable task. But don’t worry – there are ways to overcome these challenges.
Here are a few tips on writing better content:
- Use Jasper AI to help with content writing. It is an AI tool that creates content for you fast and easy
- Hire a freelance writer or editor to help with the writing/editing process. This can be especially helpful if you have ideas for articles but aren’t sure how to get them down on paper (or vice versa).
- Use free online tools to create engaging visuals. Canva is a great option for those who are looking for an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface.
- Research popular topics in your niche and write on the ones that are most relevant to your target audience.
How much money can I make as an affiliate marketer?
Affiliate marketing income can vary depending on the products you promote and the amount of traffic you generate. For example, if you promote a product that pays out a $15 commission per sale and you generate 100 sales per month, your affiliate marketing income will be $1500 per month.
There are two main ways to make money with affiliate marketing:
- Generate sales through your own personal efforts
- Recruit other affiliates to promote your products for you
Affiliate marketers can earn up to six figures in affiliate income every month. The WireCutter was another popular affiliate website with an estimated $10 million of revenue from affiliate sales and eventually sold for $30 million. Obviously, the team did very well at constructing their brand, they implemented all the best affiliate marketing strategies and made a long-term plan. The income is heavily dependent on your affiliate marketing efforts, how many hours are you ready to put in.
Extra tips for affiliate marketing success (Building Network)
The affiliate marketing industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. As more and more businesses are looking to tap into the power of affiliate marketing, it’s no wonder that there are a number of affiliate networks out there.
I believe building a good network will get you far to a group of people in your industry that whom you can connect with. Attend webinars, and events or collaborate on a project together. You will learn so much from others who have been in the industry longer than you. Also, don’t forget to give back and help those who are just starting out.
In conclusion, finding affiliate marketing partners is a great way to get a headstart in the business.
Further reading at ElmerPal.com. I made a great article about Dropshipping, its another great side hustle anyone can start. You can learn more about affiliate marketing from this great article by Forbes (8 Strategies To Create A Successful Affiliate Marketing Business)
