Affiliate marketing is the most common way to make money on the internet. This is because you don’t have to own a product and you can earn money by promoting and selling other people’s products. There is no initial investment to become an affiliate marketer. A whopping 84% of bloggers in the US use affiliate marketing to monetize their blogs.
But how to become an affiliate marketer and where to get started?
This is one of the key concerns of the new affiliates. Being new to affiliate marketing, you might find yourself clueless. In reality, becoming an affiliate marketer isn’t a big deal. It is a simple 4-step process.
Here is how to become an affiliate marketer:
1. Choose a Marketing Channel
A marketing channel, in the online world, means the channel that is used to reach your target audience. There are several marketing channels that you can pick from such as blog, social media, email marketing, online advertising, etc.
Yes, the first thing you need to do is select an appropriate marketing channel and this must be based on your interest and preferences.
Do you like Instagram? Do you like video content? Are you actively participating in forums? Do you like writing and want to have your own blog?
The marketing channel is related to your target audience and it will help you pick the right affiliate network and the right products. For example, 81% of people between 15-25 are on YouTube. So, if you select YouTube as your marketing channel to promote affiliate products, you must promote a product that is relevant to YouTube’s demographics.
If you are serious about affiliate marketing, you must create your website. It has multiple benefits:
- You can promote a wide range of affiliate products without any restrictions
- Having your website makes you credible. You’ll appear professional
- You’ll be able to create landing pages and build your email list.
Here is one of the best affiliate marketing strategies that is sustainable:
You must send traffic from different sources to your squeeze page (aka landing page) where you collect the email address, and then start promoting relevant affiliate products via email sequence.
Having your own website is the first step towards creating a squeeze page as you need your domain and hosting for the same. Once you have your website, you’ll promote it on the marketing channel you are using (e.g. YouTube or Instagram) instead of promoting someone else’s products.
Isn’t it better?
Of course, it is.
If you want to become an affiliate marketer who makes a decent passive income, you must create your website to get started.
2. Select an Affiliate Network
Once you have finalized your preferred marketing channels, you are all set to select an appropriate affiliate network.
An affiliate network is where you find affiliate products. It acts as an intermediary between affiliates and merchants. Your application requires approval before you can join an affiliate network. Having your website makes approval easier as it shows the affiliate network that you are a serious contestant.
There are several options to choose from when it comes to affiliate networks. The leading networks include:
- Amazon Associates
- ClickBank
- ShareASale
- Walmart Affiliates
- CJ
- Rakuten Marketing
- Awin
- eBay Partner Network
- Peerfly
- FlexOffers
- MaxBounty
- JVZoo
- AvanGate
- Viglink
- Skimlinks
These networks offer different products in different industries and niches. For example, if you want to promote digital products, you must go with ClickBank or JVZoo. If you are more into ecommerce, go for Amazon Associates, Walmart, or CJ.
You’ll need to register with the affiliate network of your choice. You can join multiple networks hassle-free. However, what’s more important than joining an affiliate network is that its products must match the demographics of your primary marketing channel.
It will get tough to promote a project management software on Instagram and Snapchat as these are mostly used by teenagers, who aren’t interested in a project management software:
So, the affiliate network must have relevant products that will be easier to sell for you.
3. Start Promoting
Once you have signed up with an affiliate network. The next step is finding the best affiliate products and start promoting them.
How to do it?
The basic rule of selling affiliate products is to have an audience, followers. Identify your target audience, understand its biggest problem, and provide your audience with a solution to their problem.
Try to help and solve a problem instead of becoming a salesperson. If you’ll bombard your audience with affiliate links, nobody will even click on any link. You must share quality content and build a relationship of trust with your audience. Once your audience will trust you, it will buy products that you are recommending.
I love this 10x content strategy that works like a charm:
Create content that is 10x better than the best content out there. Add a unique perspective, be helpful, and solve your audience’s problem.
It works on all marketing channels whether it be social media, email marketing, blog, etc. When you are communicating with your audience via the internet, you are using content. The content you write and share makes all the difference.
4. Scale and Grow
Scaling up your affiliate marketing business is crucial for two main reasons:
- The market will saturate when a lot of affiliates will promote the same product. You can’t hide the product from other affiliates for too long.
- Don’t put all your eggs in the same basket. Selling different affiliate products in different niches from different merchants is always a great idea.
The best way to scale your affiliate marketing business and earn more is by investing in marketing. If you are using free marketing methods, switch to paid ones.
If you earn $2 for every $1 spent on marketing, increase your marketing budget.
And don’t forget to build an email list. Connect with your audience and start building a relationship.
Final Words
It isn’t important to know how to become an affiliate marketer. A lot of people know it. You need to take action. You need to get started.
Having knowledge of something is one thing and doing it practically is something else.
Do it.
When you’ll start doing affiliate marketing, you’ll learn a lot of new things, techniques, and tactics that nobody else can tell you. But you have to take the first step.
Now is the right time to take it…
Featured Image: Pexels
