If you're reading this article, then chances are you've heard of the term "affiliate marketing" at least once in your life. You might have even tried it out yourself but found it difficult or too confusing. If so, don't worry – we'll help you get started. In this post, we’ll walk through all the steps necessary to set up an affiliate marketing blog on WordPress (or another platform), which is one of the most popular platforms available today.
You should be aware that setting up a successful affiliate marketing business isn't easy - there's very little information about it online because people generally fail before they succeed. But if you follow our tips below, you'll find success sooner rather than later!
Affiliate marketing refers to any form of advertising where someone receives payment when other businesses purchase their products/services. This could include anything from selling digital downloads like eBooks, music files, software, etc., to offering paid services such as web hosting or SEO.
The good thing is that anyone can become an affiliate marketer. All you need is access to the internet and some basic knowledge of HTML code. So let's say you own a small business or run a side hustle and want to earn extra cash - you can potentially join the affiliate network and promote other people's products without having to spend money upfront. The only downside is that you won't control what percentage of sales goes back into your pocket, but if you offer high-quality products, you shouldn't really care anyway.
Yes, although not necessarily. There are many different ways to use affiliate links within articles and posts, including social media sharing buttons, banners, ads, etc. However, using a separate blog gives you more flexibility and ensures that readers see exactly what kind of content you provide them. Also, it helps build credibility since visitors know they can trust you. Plus, writing regular blog posts regularly means you can write multiple pages per week instead of just one single page, and that means better engagement rates.
So yes, creating a blog is essential.
But if you already have a blog, why would you bother starting yet another one? Well, here's the secret: you can link to your existing blog from your new blog to increase traffic and boost revenue. Let me explain...
There are several different methods you can employ to drive traffic to your affiliate sites. For instance, you can:
Write original content for your niche on your primary blog.
Use social media shares to share your affiliate links.
Create squeeze pages that contain your affiliate links and lead users to signup forms.
Offer promotional offers to subscribers and followers via email newsletters.
And lastly, you can also partner with others who specialize in particular niches to generate leads and traffic for you. Just keep in mind that these partners probably aren't going to pay you directly unless they're getting something worthwhile in return. However, if they agree to work together under certain conditions, it may benefit both parties.
Here are some examples of common strategies used to generate traffic for affiliate websites:
Social Media Sharing: When somebody reads your blog post on Facebook or Twitter, they can click on the URL and take action immediately. That's great when you want to reach lots of potential customers quickly! To maximize those clicks, try to include relevant hashtags related to your topic.
Email Newsletters: Send emails to your list every now and then containing useful resources like guides or videos. You can also send updates regarding special promotions or discounts. Be sure to include your affiliate links prominently throughout each email.
Paid Ads: Use Google AdWords to advertise your affiliate links on search engines. With PPC campaigns, you can bid on specific keywords to target your audience specifically. It's important to note that this strategy doesn't guarantee results right away. Instead, you should expect to gradually gain traction over time until you finally achieve some significant conversions.
Best Blog Site for Affiliate Marketing
Now that you understand the basics behind affiliate marketing, you can decide whether starting a new blog makes sense for you. But first, which blog service is best suited for building an affiliate marketing website? We recommend Wordpress.com since it has everything you need and comes with tons of plugins and themes preinstalled. If you'd prefer a self-hosted solution, check out BlueHost.com (they charge $3.95 monthly) or HostGator.net ($2.75). Both options come with unlimited bandwidth, storage space, and disk space, plus 24 hours customer support.
With either option, you can easily install the theme of your choice and customize it however you wish. If you're looking for additional guidance, we created a video tutorial showing you how to install a custom wordpress theme on bluehost.
It depends entirely on what type of content you publish, along with how often you update your blog posts. On average, bloggers typically make anywhere between $20-$100 per month depending on their efforts. And if you focus on making quality content consistently, you can definitely expect good returns.
However, just remember that earning passive income requires consistent effort. Don't expect instant gratification. Your earnings depend heavily upon your ability to engage your reader base and attract organic traffic, so the higher your conversion rate, the greater your profits.
As mentioned above, it varies greatly based on your experience level, your efforts, and your product choices. Some of the top earners in the industry make hundreds of thousands of dollars annually while others struggle to cover their monthly bills.
To give you a rough idea, the following figures show the average incomes earned by affiliate marketers in 2016:
$8,000+: Top 1% Earners
$5,500–$7,999: Middle Class
$4,000–$5,499: Lower Middle Class
Below $4,000: Working Poor
Keep in mind that the numbers listed above are averages. Even among affiliates earning similar amounts, there's still quite a bit of variation. So if you choose to pursue affiliate marketing full-time, it's imperative that you put in the hard work required to get ahead.
Do you want to become an affiliate marketer someday? Here are some helpful hints to consider:
Find a profitable niche. Your niche must be highly competitive and have plenty of demand. Otherwise, you'll never stand out from the crowd.
Know what works well. Find proven affiliate programs and stick with them. Always test different types of products, especially ones that convert well, and always ensure that you meet your deadlines.
Be patient. Affiliate marketing takes time. While you can certainly begin earning commissions almost instantly, it usually takes months before your affiliate links actually turn into sales.
Remember that you don't have to go it alone. Join communities dedicated to helping newbies succeed. They tend to be filled with friendly people willing to lend advice and assistance.
Lastly, if you enjoy learning new skills and constantly improving yourself, consider studying computer programming or data science. These fields can open doors for you far beyond affiliate marketing.
We hope you enjoyed this article. Good luck with your journey!
I've been asked hundreds of times if there's any way to "make" or even earn some cash using the power of blogging. It is true that many people are making money online through their own personal blogs - but this article will explain why they're not earning as much money as they could be (or should).
It's hard to say whether affiliate blogs are worthwhile when we have so few examples on offer! However, most newbies who sign up with ClickBank or ShareASale don't realize that they need to promote products in order to get paid. In fact, one of the biggest reasons these programs fail is because marketers give up before they've made enough from advertising to cover the cost of hosting the blog. The truth is, there's more than just one way to go about creating your blog. There are several different methods available for affiliates and publishers alike, each with its pros and cons. Here are three ways to use a blog for affiliate marketing...
If you want to make money quickly, then you'll probably find success with Amazon Associates. This method allows you to promote other peoples' products without having to worry too much about getting traffic or sales. You simply click through to the product page and buy the product yourself. Then, you write reviews based on your experiences, which means you can easily recommend things like kitchen gadgets or clothes. If you choose well, you can expect to receive between $1 and $5 per sale, depending on what type of product you're promoting.
The third option is to focus on building your own list instead. People love lists, especially those that provide value. And, if you can build a list of subscribers around something specific, such as health, fitness, home improvement, etc., you stand a very good chance of generating a lot of revenue. Once again though, you must first generate a quality email list. To help you out here, check our list creation tips below.
Yes, absolutely! One of my clients has over 100 active monthly sponsorships with her blog alone. She makes upwards of $10k every month off of them. When you break down the numbers, she earns roughly 50% commission from all of the products she promotes on her blog. That means she gets to keep half of everything she sells, while the person selling the product keeps the rest. So, as long as you pick the right products, affiliate blogging is definitely a viable business model. If you know anything about internet marketing, you already know that there are plenty of opportunities to make big bucks online. Just look at sites like Google AdSense, where you may only see ads on pages related to search terms that send visitors directly back to your site. Or, you might see banner ads on popular websites like Facebook or YouTube. These types of ads work great for webmasters looking to monetize their content.
However, you shouldn't feel obliged to advertise someone else's products in exchange for compensation. If you decide to take part in affiliate marketing, remember that you won't necessarily be able to sell any particular item unless you actually buy it. For instance, let's say you were tasked with promoting a diet pill called Green Tea Extracts 2X. After reading numerous user testimonials, you come across a video review that says people are losing weight after taking it. Now, imagine you had to pay for it. Would you really spend your hard-earned money on something that doesn't seem to be working? Of course not. But, if you wanted to put together a quick blog post about green tea extracts 2x and include a link to the manufacturer's website, you would still have to purchase it.
What does that mean? Well, if you try to drive traffic away from your blog and towards another website, you risk being banned from both places. Not exactly ideal for growing an audience. Instead, think about promoting items that you either bought yourself or found valuable after researching. A simple example would be recommending books that you read recently or articles that you thought helped improve your life. That kind of thing works extremely well and is a surefire way to increase your readership.
Blogs are a fantastic tool for driving traffic and increasing exposure. They allow you to share information with others in a straightforward manner that isn't possible with social media platforms. Plus, since everyone reads blogs nowadays, there's always demand for fresh material. As far as writing goes, blogs also tend to rank higher in search engines, meaning you'll likely reach a wider audience. All of these factors combine to produce better results than trying to market a single product via social networks. Bloggers have proven time and time again that they can deliver incredible amounts of targeted traffic.
And yet, despite all of the benefits, some experts claim that blogs aren't particularly suited to affiliate marketing. Why? Because consumers typically prefer to read short blurbs rather than lengthy posts. Even if you manage to persuade them to visit your blog, they often end up leaving empty handed. That's because blog owners usually struggle to convert traffic into leads. Many bloggers never bother to research the products they're promoting, which leaves readers confused as to why they should care. On top of that, some companies view blogs as spammy, so they ban users altogether.
So, should you avoid affiliate marketing entirely? No. It certainly helps to have a high volume of traffic coming to your site, but blogs are perfectly capable of delivering solid ROIs. What you need to understand is that successful affiliate marketing requires consistent effort. Your efforts must be focused on providing useful content for your target demographic, and you must continue to update your blog regularly. Also, while you're busy doing all of this, you need to ensure that you're constantly engaging with potential customers. If you fail to do this, you run the risk of wasting months of time and energy chasing traffic that ultimately disappears.
As mentioned above, earning passive commissions from affiliate marketing takes patience and persistence. Most bloggers begin slowly, focusing on building a large following before moving onto bigger projects. Some go straight into promoting digital downloads, whereas others opt for ebooks. Still others stick to traditional printables or CD/DVDs. Whatever route you take, don't rush into it. Take baby steps and test various options until you find something that pays the bills. And, once you do, stay committed to it. Remember, you're going to be spending countless hours creating and updating your blog, so you'd better enjoy it.
When you finally hit upon the perfect combination of products to promote, you'll find that it becomes easier to convince advertisers to trust you with their brands. Over time, you'll develop relationships with industry leaders and gain access to exclusive offers and discounts. Eventually, you'll become known as a trusted authority within your niche and attract serious investors. In return, you'll receive generous compensation packages, allowing you to quit your day job and invest your earnings in real estate or stocks. Who knows? Maybe someday you'll be running your own small empire.
You've always wanted to write online. You're inspired by the idea of making some extra cash from home. But where should you begin? How do you build up traffic for your niche so people can find out about what you have to offer them? And once they read something on your page, how do you turn those readers into paying customers?
These are all questions that come up when you want to start an affiliate marketing blog. If you haven't considered writing one before now, but you think it's time to try, then this article is perfect for you! This article explains exactly how to set up and run a profitable affiliate marketing blog in just three steps.
If you already know how to use WordPress or any other content management system (CMS) like Blogger, Tumblr, Medium, etc., then congratulations - you've got plenty of options available to help you create your own successful affiliate marketing blog. However, if not, don't worry - we'll show you how to quickly set up and launch a new affiliate marketer's blog using these platforms.
We also discuss why blogs are a great way to monetize your knowledge as well as give you exposure to potential clients. We go through several different ways that you can earn commission off your efforts, including Amazon Associates, Clickbank, Commission Junction, Shareasale, CPA Networks and more.
And finally, we provide examples of real-life affiliate marketers who started their blogs at zero dollars, and made thousands of dollars from them within months. So let's jump right in!
There are two main types of blogs that you can write for affiliates: informational sites, which simply share information relevant to the subject matter at hand, and promotional websites, which offer products or services in exchange for a certain amount of sales. Both formats can be highly lucrative depending on your audience and what kind of products you promote. For example, if you were selling weight loss supplements, you could publish articles detailing healthy recipes while promoting specific diet plans. Or if you were running a site reviewing books on self improvement, you might write reviews of popular titles, and include links to ebooks and courses that would further enhance reader understanding. The possibilities are endless.
But most importantly, the best place to start building a following is on social media. By sharing posts via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, YouTube, Google+ and others, you can reach hundreds of millions of users every day. Your followers will see what you post regularly, and may even subscribe to receive emails or notifications whenever you put up fresh content. Plus, you can track your stats, measure engagement rates and improve your strategy based on feedback you collect.
The good news is that you don't necessarily need much startup capital to get going either. In fact, there are several low cost methods for creating a blog, such as Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy, Shopify, Weebly, HubSpot and dozens of others. These platforms allow you to customize a unique domain name, design a beautiful layout, choose between multiple templates and add tons of features without spending any money whatsoever. It only takes minutes to sign up and get started.
Then again, if you prefer to stick to a tried and true method, you can easily build a brand new blog from scratch in under 10 minutes using almost any CMS platform. Just head over to WordPress.com or WordPress.org, click "New" and follow the prompts.
Once you have your WordPress blog ready to go, you'll notice that there are quite a few plugins available. Plugins are small programs designed to extend the functionality of WordPress beyond its default capabilities. Some plug-ins are free, while others require payment. Here are a couple of the top ones used by beginner bloggers and how to install them.
1. Yoast SEO -- $49/year
Yoast SEO is actually two separate plug-ins bundled together. One part allows you to edit HTML code directly inside of WordPress, and another analyzes your pages and helps you optimize your content for search engines.
2. All in One Schema Markup -- Free
All in One Schema Markup gives you control over how your data looks and displays on mobile devices, tablets and desktops. It comes packed with lots of advanced settings to fine tune your site's appearance across various screen sizes.
3. Akismet -- $29/month
Akismet protects your blog against spam comments and improves user experience.
4. WPBeginner Premium Plugin Bundle -- $99
This bundle includes four premium plugin bundles, each priced at around $50, and covers everything you need to get started with WordPress.
5. Jetpack -- $19/month
JetPack makes managing your blog easier than ever by adding powerful tools like email autoresponders, analytics tracking, social networking integration, photo galleries, video embedding, automatic backups, scheduling posts and more.
To save yourself some time, consider buying a starter plan instead of trying to piece together a bunch of plugins manually. Many web hosts offer this option. And if you'd rather pay monthly, you can opt for a package deal that offers both hosting and a number of preinstalled plugins. A few popular choices include Bluehost ($3 per month), Siteground ($6.95 per month), Hostgator ($10 per year), FatCow ($9.95 per month).
Yes. As long as you keep putting out quality content consistently, you should eventually attract a large enough audience to generate revenue. Once you have visitors coming back frequently, you can decide whether you want to continue posting or switch gears towards becoming a full-time freelance writer.
Unfortunately, nobody really knows. That said, according to ClickBank, the average earnings for a blogger was $0.80 per 1000 impressions in 2018. So you won't be able to charge anything close to that rate unless you have a huge following. To boost your chances, focus on increasing your bounce rate, i.e. the percentage of visits that return to your site after viewing only 1 page. Bounce rate refers to the percentage of visitors who leave your site immediately after landing on it. Ideally, you want your bounce rate to hover around 20 percent. Higher numbers usually indicate poor conversion rates.
On average, you should expect to earn anywhere from $0.20-$0.40 per visitor, though you can potentially earn significantly higher amounts by targeting extremely targeted keywords that bring in high volume of traffic. Unfortunately, it's difficult to predict exactly how many clicks you'll get until you're actively advertising your blog, so take these figures with a grain of salt!
It's important to note that earning passive income isn't easy. It requires consistent work and research, and you must constantly evolve your strategies to ensure future success. This means learning how to properly utilize the tools provided by the affiliate networks mentioned above. There are countless resources available to teach you valuable skills necessary for succeeding in affiliate marketing. For instance, check out our list of recommended training courses below.
Affiliates are compensated for referring business to companies whose products and services they feature on their website. When someone buys something because of an advertisement on your blog, you earn a commission. Typically, commissions vary widely depending on the product and service being sold. For example, if you link to a book on Kindle, you'll probably earn 25% of the sale price. On the other hand, if you refer leads to a software company, you'll likely earn 50%.
Of course, this depends entirely upon the terms of agreement between you and the vendor. Make sure to carefully review the contract before signing anything. Also, remember that you don't have to purchase the item or service listed on your blog in order to earn money. Instead, you can partner with merchants that supply items related to your expertise, regardless of whether you buy them yourself or not.
For example, if you love technology and have extensive programming experience, you could join a community forum dedicated to programmers and become a moderator. Then, every time someone asks a question relating to computer science topics, you could answer it and send them to the appropriate website. Of course, you wouldn't have to buy anything in order to earn money. But if you did, you could definitely profit from it. After all, you're providing value in exchange for compensation.
Again, this is a topic worthy of additional reading. Start here and scroll down to the bottom of the page to learn more.
Here are five things you absolutely must do to succeed as an affiliate marketer:
1. Find your target audience and understand what they care about.
2. Write engaging content that answers questions and solves problems.
3. Focus on producing high quality content that provides genuine value.
4. Use keyword analysis to determine effective keywords for your niche.
5. Optimize your website for search engine visibility.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.