If you're new to the world of online business, one thing that may be confusing for you is what exactly affiliate marketing is. It sounds complicated, right? Can't afford a website or don't know where to begin? Don't worry! We'll break down everything you need to know about making money from home through affiliate marketing.
First things first -- let me explain why affiliate marketing is so great. You get paid by companies who want their products advertised on other people's websites. This means you are essentially getting something free -- you're advertising someone else's product without having to pay any upfront costs. And because these products aren't yours, they're not subject to failure like a small business would be if you were trying to sell them yourself. In fact, most of this work comes directly from Amazon. The company pays affiliates each time someone clicks on your link to buy the item. They also give you a percentage of sales every time someone buys anything using your links. Pretty cool, huh?
But there's more than just earning commission -- you can actually earn hundreds of thousands annually simply by promoting certain items. All you have to do is create high-quality content around those products, then provide links back to the sites selling them. If enough readers click on your link, you could end up with tens of thousands of dollars' worth of additional revenue over the course of a year. That's pretty good!
So now that we've covered the basics of affiliate marketing, here are some questions you might ask yourself when thinking about whether or not it's right for you.
No. There are several ways to set up shop and promote various products to others. Some methods require very little effort at all since many programs already exist. Others will require some basic HTML knowledge but still allow you to earn massive amounts of cash. For example, you can find affiliate opportunities within niche communities such as Reddit, Facebook Groups, YouTube Channels, and much more.
This isn't going to be the case forever though. As technology continues to advance, the amount of competition increases exponentially. Sooner rather than later, everyone will be doing affiliate marketing. To stay ahead of the game, you must learn as much as you can about the industry. Start with our beginner guide to affiliate marketing, then move onto the next level once you feel comfortable.
Absolutely! Many people spend years working full-time jobs only to realize they haven't been able to build wealth due to poor financial habits. When you combine that with the limited hours available to us during the weekdays, being able to supplement your income becomes invaluable. With affiliate marketing, you won't ever miss out on another paycheck again.
You probably wouldn't believe this, but most internet marketers never see a single dime of profit from their efforts. Why? Because they fail to understand how to properly use search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email list building, etc. Once you master these techniques, however, you can easily turn $10 into $100+ every day.
Not necessarily. While it takes time and patience to build up a stream of traffic, once you get started you'll quickly discover that it doesn't take nearly as much effort as you think. What took days to complete before can take minutes after you get used to the process.
The biggest challenge with affiliate marketing is finding good offers, which is why we recommend signing up for ClickBank instead of starting from scratch. Also keep in mind that while it's possible to make large sums of money, it generally requires lots of persistence and consistency. Unless you enjoy waking up early, spending countless hours writing articles, and constantly refreshing webpages, you'll likely struggle to reach that goal.
It depends entirely upon your own personal circumstances. Some people can generate thousands of dollars per month in a matter of months, whereas others can barely manage a few hundred bucks per month. No two situations are alike. However, if you stick to the same method consistently, you should eventually see results.
As mentioned above, it takes quite a bit of time to perfect the art of SEO. Without proper rankings, you'll never achieve success. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources available online to help teach you the ins and outs of this technique. Just remember to focus primarily on quality content and less on quantity. Quality wins in the long run, especially when you consider that Google rewards higher quality pages with better rankings.
Once you're ready to go, you can choose between becoming an independent contractor or joining a network like Commission Junction. Both options offer similar benefits, although choosing a separate entity allows you greater control over your earnings.
There are numerous different types of businesses that you could join. Here are just a couple examples:
Amazon Associates - Earn commissions whenever someone purchases an item via your links.
ShareASale - A platform that connects merchants with advertisers who want to advertise their products to potential customers.
Shopify - Similar to Etsy, but geared toward eCommerce stores.
CJ Affiliate - Another popular program that helps connect buyers with sellers.
Rakuten Marketing - Offers various advertising services including banner ads, text ads, and video ads.
In addition to these platforms, you can always sign up for affiliate programs offered by big brands like Apple, Samsung, Nike, Microsoft, etc. These companies often partner with third parties like ClickBank, ShareASale, and CJ Affiliate, meaning you can potentially earn a lot of extra income. Remember, you don't have to limit yourself to these traditional avenues either. Plenty of successful entrepreneurs rely heavily on Twitter and Pinterest for generating substantial income.
One final note. Before you dive headfirst into the world of affiliate marketing, consider consulting with a professional. Your future success depends largely on the advice you receive.
Want to read more? Check out our article on How To Make Money From Home Through Affiliate Marketing.
You've probably heard about the "passive" side of making a living online -- you don't have to work for anyone else! You get paid every time someone buys something from you. There are two ways to go about this: selling products or services directly through an ecommerce site, or running affiliate programs on other sites where you promote others' goods or services.
Some websites let you earn commissions by referring customers who buy items they sell. In most cases, these sites require some kind of registration before users will be able to browse their listings. Most also offer free trials so you can try out their platforms without committing any real funds. Some may ask you to sign up for a monthly subscription service if you want access beyond what you pay during your initial trial period.
Here are three different approaches to starting an affiliate program:
1. Create your own product (eCommerce). These typically involve creating and publishing a digital product on one of several popular eCommerce platforms like Clickbank, Shopify and/or Amazon. Then you list those products on your website(s), which gives buyers another place to shop when looking for your niche product. If you're interested in learning more about eCommerce software, check out my article on how to choose the right platform for beginners.
2. Run an existing product (affiliate marketer). This involves promoting other peoples' products as well as yours. For example, you could create a blog post recommending a book, then link back to its author's page and mention that you'll give away copies of it to readers who follow you. Or you might write articles about some aspect of your chosen niche, then direct readers to related books written by authors you recommend.
3. Start an affiliate network. A lot of companies provide hosting and tools specifically designed for affiliates. They allow you to set up multiple campaigns, each focused around a specific product. When a customer clicks through to purchase the item, you receive a commission. Many networks charge fees based upon the number of referrals you send them, though many still waive this fee entirely. The drawback here is that you need to build a following first. Once you've built enough followers, you can launch a campaign and hopefully bring new traffic to your main site.
In this guide we'll look at the third option -- setting up an affiliate program through an existing company. We'll discuss how to find high converting offers, as well as how to select a payment processor to accept payments, track sales, and manage your leads. Finally, we'll explain why affiliate marketing isn't always passive -- but why not take advantage of all the benefits offered by an affiliate program while still having fun doing it?!
The short answer is yes! That's because affiliate marketing allows you to leverage a huge audience into earning a small amount of revenue. It doesn't matter whether you're building a personal blog or writing content to drive traffic to a business -- both types of blogs benefit greatly from being promoted via an affiliate program.
There are hundreds of thousands of successful bloggers using affiliate links to generate a substantial portion of their monthly earnings. And although not everyone gets rich overnight, it's definitely possible to make at least $500 / mo. with just five hours of effort each week.
Doesn't sound too bad, does it? Especially considering the fact that you only need to spend a few minutes each day promoting yourself instead of spending countless hours working a traditional job.
But wait...what happens once you reach that goal? What if you decide to quit blogging altogether and move onto a bigger project? Will you continue to generate income for years to come? Unfortunately, the answer depends largely on the type of traffic you attract and the value of the products you sell.
If you rely heavily on Google Adsense ads for driving visitors to your blog, for example, then you won't see much growth after reaching your passive income target. However, if you use Facebook Ads, Pinterest Pins, or Reddit advertisements to acquire traffic, then you'd likely enjoy continued success long term.
That said, let's dive further into the topic of passive income.
Yes! While it's true that the majority of affiliate marketers fail to achieve financial independence, millions of active internet marketers worldwide attest to the fact that affiliate marketing works. So how exactly is it possible?
It comes down to math. To understand how affiliate marketing works, consider the case of a single blogger earning $100 / mo. through his affiliate account. The blogger earns 1% of every sale he generates, meaning that he makes $10 / mo. in residual income. Now imagine that same blogger spends $1000 / mo. advertising his blog to thousands of potential customers across social media channels such as Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Instagram. He now has a total of $11,000 / mo. in additional revenue sources!
That means he's earned almost twice as much money over the course of 12 months than he did in the previous year. Not bad, eh?
Now compare that scenario to someone whose blog receives zero organic search engine traffic. In order to compete in today's competitive world, a good SEO strategy is vital. After all, if nobody finds your website, then you'll never generate a dime in affiliate revenue.
So what's the catch? Well, since you're competing against a ton of competitors, you're going to have to invest a significant amount of time (at minimum) in optimizing your posts and pages. And that takes time. Time spent developing valuable content and posting regularly on social media channels is better utilized elsewhere.
And that brings us to our next question...
As mentioned above, the vast majority of affiliate marketers fall into one of four categories:
#1 Bloggers making passive income off their own web properties.
#2 Affiliates earning residual income through various ad networks.
#3 Business owners generating revenue through affiliate programs hosted by their businesses.
#4 Entrepreneurs generating revenue through affiliate programs hosted by their own websites.
While the latter three options aren't technically considered passive income, many entrepreneurs believe they should be included under the umbrella of the word. Why? Because they're actively managing their own brands and monetizing them through affiliate relationships.
Regardless of which category you fit into, it's important to note that none of these methods automatically guarantee success. Your efforts alone cannot ensure future profitability. Rather, you must put forth consistent effort to continually improve your results.
One thing is certain though: affiliate marketing is extremely rewarding if done correctly.
According to the stats below, the average American household earns roughly $60K annually. Of those households, less than 10% actually earn six figures or more. Which is why it pays to diversify.
An estimated 30 million Americans hold jobs in fields unrelated to their college degrees. And among those 30 million individuals, close to half of them are involved in freelance activities. The majority of freelancers report earning between $30-$50k / yr., depending upon experience and location.
To learn more, read How Much Money Can Freelance Writers Make?, which provides insight into how many writers earn what, plus tips on how to increase your chances of landing clients.
For more information on affiliate marketing strategies, visit our beginner's guide and advanced guide.
If you've ever wondered whether or not affiliate marketing is for you, then this article will help answer those questions!
In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is a way to make money online without having any upfront costs. It also has the benefit of being very scalable as well. So if you're ready to get started with affiliate marketing but don't have enough cash on hand, fear not -- you'll be able to find ways to earn some extra cash using these methods.
But first, let's take a look at what exactly affiliate marketing is all about. If you want to learn more, check out our beginner's guide to affiliate marketing. And before we dive into the nitty gritty details, let me just say one thing: yes, affiliate marketing IS possible with zero dollars down. In fact, there are many people who have made millions from affiliate marketing alone. That said, earning $1 million via affiliate marketing isn't extremely common, so keep reading to see how you could go about doing it yourself.
No, it's not. There are plenty of other factors involved when making money through affiliate marketing aside from simply promoting products. For example, finding good affiliates, building relationships with them, developing trust, creating compelling content, etc. These things are important because they determine how successful you'll ultimately be. However, don't worry too much about these aspects - most people fail due to lack of time management skills. You need to put in consistent effort over a period of time to reap the rewards.
So while affiliate marketing doesn't guarantee financial freedom, it does give you options to create residual income. This means that once you build up your list/followers, you can continue to receive freebies from your partners on autopilot. The best part is that you won't need to spend anything to promote their offers anymore. All you need to do is send traffic to your website which links back to their offer page(s). Then you collect commissions whenever someone buys something after clicking on your link. Sounds pretty simple right? Well, here's where things get tricky...
You may think that affiliate marketing is only about getting paid by companies after promoting their product. While this is true, affiliate marketing goes far beyond that. Here's everything else you should know about affiliate marketing:
It's a form of advertising used to generate revenue.
It requires research and planning ahead.
There are two types of affiliate programs: direct sales and commission based.
Direct sales gives you access to exclusive deals and discounts.
Commission based requires you to sell products and services related to whatever company pays you.
The best part is that you can easily combine multiple sources of income using different strategies: affiliate marketing, blogging, selling digital goods, etc.
Now that we understand what affiliate marketing involves, it's time to talk about its earnings potential. According to ClickBank, "the average clickbank user earns between $50-$100 each day." To achieve such high numbers, you'd probably need several hundred thousands of subscribers to your email list. Even though reaching this level seems difficult now, it's definitely within reach given the right strategy.
However, according to Shopify, "affiliates earn anywhere between 50% and 75%" of the sale price. As mentioned above, you would need to have hundreds of thousands of followers to reach this amount. Also, Shopify states that it takes around 10 months to break even. After that point, you'll start seeing profits. However, the key takeaway is that the longer you wait, the higher your profit percentage becomes.
As we discussed earlier, achieving success in affiliate marketing depends heavily upon your ability to build a large audience. Therefore, the number of subscribers you have directly impacts how much you can potentially earn. Based on the statistics provided by ClickBank, a typical person who signs up for an account and starts sending emails gets 1,000 subscribers for every 100 bucks he spends. With that in mind, here are some examples of annual incomes from affiliate marketing depending on the following variables:
Number of Subscribers = 1,000
Total Spent Per Month = $500
Annual Income = $5,000+
Number of Subscribers = 2,000
Total Spent Per Month = $1,000
Annual Income = $10,000+
Number of Subscribers = 5,000
Total Spent Per Month = $2,500
Annual Income = $25,000+
Number of Subscribers = 20,000
Total Spent Per Month = $9,000
Annual Income = $90,000+
Of course, there are countless opportunities to expand your business, increase your subscriber count, lower your cost per acquisition, etc., but it all boils down to your goal. Are you looking to supplement your current side hustle or become financially independent? Your answers to these questions will greatly impact how profitable affiliate marketing will be for you.
For instance, if you wanted to become financially independent, you might choose to focus on increasing your subscriber count rather than lowering your CPA. On the flipside, if you were trying to supplement your current income, you might opt for a cheap CPA instead of spending big.
Either way, remember that affiliate marketing is highly scalable. Just like traditional offline businesses, scaling your business is relatively straightforward. Once you develop a strong foundation, adding new streams of income shouldn't pose a problem.
Do you use affiliate marketing? What kind of results did you experience? Hit us up in the comments below.
What Is Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing refers to a business model where an individual or company sells products or services through other people who are known as affiliates.
These individuals usually earn commissions when they sell someone else’s product or service. The commission rates vary depending on what type of sales channel you use. For example, if you have an Amazon associate account, you may receive 5% commission on any sale made by anyone in your network. If you set up a website selling ebooks from another author, you might only get 2%.
In most cases, however, you don't need a big budget to make money online. You just need the right information about how to build a successful affiliate program.
Why Affiliate Marketers Make Money
The main reason why affiliate marketers make money on their sites is because they offer free content and tools. This gives them credibility among visitors and encourages them to become active members of the community.
This also means that it's easier for the user to trust the site owner than a random person, which results in higher conversion rates. In addition, having a good blog helps increase traffic to your site, which increases revenue.
Another way that affiliate marketers make money is through CPA (Cost Per Action). These types of programs reward users based on actions such as signing up for emails, completing surveys, taking certain courses
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.