Affiliate marketing can be confusing at times because there's so much information out there on it. But don't worry! There are only three different kinds of affiliate marketing that you should really pay attention to if you want your business to thrive.
The first step towards making money from online advertising is choosing an affiliate program to join. When picking which company to work with, make sure they offer a variety of products and services to fit any niche that you're interested in. You will also want to choose companies that have been around for many years and have a good reputation among their customers. This way, when things go wrong or you encounter issues with the product/service, you'll already know who to contact for help.
While there are thousands of networks out there, not all of them are legitimate. The ones below are some of the top-tier ones that you definitely shouldn't miss out on. They all have great customer service, high conversion rates, and lots of helpful tools for newbies like yourself.
Clickbank is probably the biggest network overall in terms of revenue generated by its partners. It has over 2 million merchants selling through its site, and over 1 billion dollars in sales per month. If you'd rather focus on promoting physical goods instead of digital content, then this might be perfect for you. In fact, Amazon doesn't even allow sellers to sell directly on Amazon anymore. Clickbank was created back in 1995 as a solution for people looking to promote other peoples' stuff. Nowadays, it offers almost everything imaginable including ebooks, videos, software, subscription sites, and web hosting packages.
Shareasale has another big following due to its popularity among bloggers. This platform makes it easy to create and manage ads across multiple websites using just one account. Plus, since it's based in California, you won't have to deal with crazy tax laws (like me). While most affiliate platforms require you to purchase a merchant account before being able to start earning commissions, ShareaSale lets you do both simultaneously. There's no minimum payout threshold either - you get paid whenever someone clicks on your link and purchases something. That means it's always worth creating ads and linking to relevant products.
CJ Affiliates was founded in 2004 and today boasts over 100 million users worldwide. Like the previous two mentioned above, CJ Affiliates focuses mainly on providing useful resources for internet marketers. Its community of affiliates includes experts, authors, entrepreneurs, coaches, and consultants. Although you may have heard of Pay Per Click campaigns, these aren't nearly as effective as PPC campaigns run via CJ Affiliates. Instead of paying each time someone visits your ad, you'll receive a commission every time someone buys something after clicking on your links.
Each of the aforementioned affiliate programs provides a unique set of features for affiliates to use. For example, ClickBank allows you to earn a percentage for referring others to their website while ShareASale requires you to sign up for monthly subscriptions. And although CJ Affiliates isn't quite as popular as the others, it does come packed with tons of training materials, tutorials, guides, articles, podcasts, and live coaching sessions. So whether you prefer to learn how to build relationships with influencers, how to find the right keywords, or how to optimize your landing pages, it's all covered here.
One key thing to keep in mind though is that none of these affiliate programs are going to teach you how to become successful overnight. Sure, you could spend hours trying to figure out why your traffic is low, but eventually you'll hit a wall and give up. What you need to realize early on is that building a strong brand takes time, effort, and dedication. Don't expect instant results unless you put in those same efforts yourself.
If you're willing to invest the time into learning about SEO and keyword research, social media management, email automation, etc., then you'll see incredible growth very quickly. Even better news is that once you reach the point where you're generating enough profit to quit your day job, you'll never look back again.
Best affiliate marketing programs 2022
Since the industry is constantly changing, we recommend reviewing our list regularly to ensure you're keeping pace with the latest trends. Here are some of the best affiliate marketing programs currently available to marketers:
Shopify is a leading multi-channel ecommerce platform allowing businesses to easily launch and grow their own online stores. Shopify's affiliates generate $20+ million in annual sales, which is huge considering that only 0.1% of all retailers use the platform.
VigLink offers advanced tracking technology that helps you monitor conversions throughout your entire campaign. Once you register, VigLink automatically tracks your visitors, gives you access to data analytics, and generates reports showing exactly where your traffic comes from. You can then leverage this information to refine your future strategies.
Sharing economy marketplace Earnest lets you earn cash rewards for sharing items you love while helping others discover awesome gifts they didn't know existed. Just download the app and share whatever you buy with Earnest's partner brands. After signing up, you can browse products offered by local businesses in your area. Then simply take photos of the item(s) and add tags to describe them. Your followers will see pictures of the stuff you posted, along with the details you added, and decide whether or not to complete the transaction.
Amazon Associates is a third party seller affiliate program that pays you 25 percent of the sale price minus a small fee on qualifying orders. As long as you meet certain requirements, such as having an active AMZN account and shipping address within the US, you can apply to become part of the program. Once approved, you'll be eligible to receive payments sent straight to your bank account.
And here's a quick breakdown of the three main types of affiliates:
Publishers: These individuals provide valuable content to attract readers. Some publishers include blogs, YouTube channels, podcast feeds, etc. Publishers usually charge a flat rate for each piece of content they write, regardless of how many people read it.
Affiliates: Sometimes referred to as "referral" or "traffic", these individuals receive compensation for driving potential buyers toward a specific product or service. Most affiliate programs reward affiliates for converting prospects into buyers, meaning they must click on a given advertisement or opt-in form on a website. This action triggers the affiliate system to send payment to the advertiser's chosen processor.
Marketers: People who specialize in attracting leads and converting them into actual clients. Many marketers hire affiliates to drive traffic to their sites where they place banner ads and text ads. Depending on the size of the audience targeted, marketers can earn anywhere between 5%-15%.
We hope that you now understand which affiliate programs are truly worthwhile and which ones aren't. Of course, there are still plenty of opportunities left open for anyone who wants to try their hand at affiliate marketing. Whether you're starting out on your own or working for a larger organization, becoming an affiliate is a viable career option. All you need is a little bit of knowledge, determination, patience, and persistence. Keep reading below to learn more about how to get started.
You can begin by researching similar topics to yours. Read books written by well-known authorities in your field. Watch educational videos on YouTube. Ask questions of mentors and peers. By doing all of this, you'll develop a deeper understanding of your topic, plus you'll get to practice communicating clearly. A positive attitude goes a long way too. Try to avoid getting frustrated when things don't turn out perfectly. Remember that nothing ever works 100%, especially in life. Focus on the successes you've achieved, not the failures.
Once you feel ready to start promoting your own affiliate deals, follow these steps:
Create a free blog post describing your experience in detail. Make sure you include the name of the product or service you promoted, the URL of the page where you placed the promotion code, and the amount you earned. Include as much helpful advice as possible, such as recommendations for other products or services to consider buying.
Search Google for keywords relating to your niche. Use the Advanced Search feature to narrow down your search results. Entering the exact phrase you used in Step #2 will bring up hundreds of thousands of results. Choose the front page of the SERP (search engine result page), and scroll down until you see the number next to the word "organic".
Copy and paste the promo code onto your webpage. Add a brief description explaining what the code does, and where to enter it. Put the link in the footer section of your blog posts, squeeze pages, emails, and wherever else applicable.
Use an auto responder tool to schedule regular updates containing promotions. Email subscribers will appreciate receiving promotional messages several times per week, so plan accordingly. Also remember to vary the frequency depending on the reader's location.
Don't forget to track the performance of your promotions and adjust your strategy accordingly. Learn from past mistakes and repeat proven tactics that worked.
Affiliate marketing can be an extremely lucrative way to earn money online if your products or services have high demand. There are many different ways to make money through affiliate marketing but there are also some pitfalls to avoid. You want to work with legitimate companies who pay their affiliates on time and offer good commissions.
In this article we'll discuss three methods of making money from affiliate marketing which will help you choose the right ones for yourself. We're not going to cover everything here because it's just too broad, instead we'll focus on specific categories where people tend to get stuck. If you read this and still feel confused then take our free course on how to start earning money through affiliate marketing.
We all hear stories of rich internet marketers raking in thousands per month by promoting something they love like makeup or health supplements. These kinds of markets lend themselves well to affiliate marketing as people already trust these brands and so would be more likely to buy them. However, there are other options out there too!
The first step to choosing an affiliate program is finding out exactly what type of product you should promote. This may seem obvious but sometimes even experienced internet marketers run into problems when trying to figure out what affiliate program would be best suited to their business model. Let me give you two examples.
Let's say you own a gym and decide to partner up with someone else’s personal training service. The trainer has great reviews online and provides excellent customer support. They also provide video tutorials which you could use to train clients at home.
You might think you'd benefit greatly from partnering up with this company. Unfortunately though, they only allow you to advertise the service itself rather than the actual equipment used (i.e. treadmills etc.). For you, this means no extra income potential since you don't sell any equipment and aren't able to build up a client base using your expertise alone.
For another example let's say you're selling nutritional supplements. A lot of people swear by these things and claim incredible results. It seems logical then that you would want to become an affiliate for the brand and share those amazing testimonials with others. Sadly though, the majority of these products do not actually contain anything special. In fact, they often contain harmful ingredients such as caffeine and sugar - both known to cause weight gain.
If you were to go ahead and sign up with a reputable company that sells healthy products you risk losing customers due to negative reviews and false advertising claims. On top of this, you wouldn't be able to generate much traffic towards your site either, meaning less sales opportunities overall. So while this sounds ideal on paper it doesn't always pan out in practice.
This brings us onto our next topic...
Choosing a profitable niche is key to being successful with affiliate marketing. You must pick a market that offers a large opportunity yet isn't saturated with competition. Your audience needs to be interested enough in your offering to purchase it regularly and be willing to spread the word once satisfied.
Here are the three main areas I recommend focusing on:
1) Health & Fitness
Health and fitness is huge today. With obesity becoming an epidemic across the globe millions of people are looking for solutions to lose weight quickly and safely. Not only does this create a thriving marketplace, but it's also relatively easy to target new prospects. As long as you can find a way to educate people on why certain products work better than others you can easily profit off of them. Just look at sites like Fitbit and Nike+. Both of these companies have massive followings and billions of dollars worth of revenue each year, despite having nothing special to offer.
2) Technology
Technology is growing exponentially every day. More devices are coming online everyday and consumers are demanding faster speeds and more features. Affiliates can play a big role in helping businesses grow by getting involved directly with technology-related topics such as computer hardware, software, web hosting, networking, mobile phones, tablets, ecommerce, SEO, social media, cloud computing, wireless communications, satellite communication systems, and more.
These industries are constantly evolving and changing so it's important to stay current with technological changes and trends. Once again, this means you won't have to worry about running short on ideas.
3) Home Improvement
Home improvement projects are among the fastest growing segments of the economy today. Millions of homeowners spend hundreds of hours improving their homes over the years. People are spending more time inside their houses now than ever before and they're willing to invest significant amounts of money into doing so.
It's safe to assume that anyone buying a house is going to put plenty of thought into its physical appearance. Now imagine adding an additional layer of interest based on your knowledge and experience as a professional. That's the kind of leverage you can get behind when working with home improvement products.
Now we come to the part everyone wants to see...
As mentioned earlier, my advice is to stick within the above mentioned niches. Don't try to compete with giants like Amazon or Google. Instead, aim to carve out your own piece of the pie. Make sure you research thoroughly and understand the market before jumping in headfirst.
Another thing to consider is whether you really want to be an affiliate marketer versus owning your own store. Many people prefer the freedom of setting their own schedule and working remotely. Others simply enjoy learning new skills and building relationships with other entrepreneurs. Ultimately, however, the choice comes down to which method works best for you personally.
I hope this information helped clear up confusion around the various forms of affiliate marketing available. If you liked this post please leave comments below sharing your thoughts and questions. Also, check out our list of the best affiliate networks if you haven't done so yet. Thanks for reading!
Affiliate Marketing can be an extremely lucrative way to make money online if done correctly. Unfortunately not everyone knows how or where to start when it comes to making their first few thousand dollars from this method of internet income generation. There are many different ways to do affiliate marketing but there are only 3 main types which will allow you to get started quickly while maximizing your potential earning power (and minimizing risk). These include Pay Per Lead Networks, Affiliate Programs & Direct Sales. You should learn them all so you have options as well as a choice on which program works best for you depending on your skills and experience level.
Pay per lead networks involve selling products like eBooks, software etc through other websites who pay commissions based on sales made by visitors they send your way. The downside here is that these sites tend to pay low amounts compared to direct sales platforms such as Amazon. One advantage though is that you don't need any inventory to sell because you're essentially just'selling' traffic. This means you could potentially work part time and still earn decent money if you have the right product(s) to market. If you want more information on PPLN's check out my article titled "The Best Affiliate Network For Beginners" which explains why I think they are the best option for newbies starting out.
Direct sales platforms like Clickbank offer multiple revenue streams including both paid advertising campaigns and also traditional sales channels like Amazon.com. They usually require some sort of inventory whether physical goods or digital downloads. As with PPLNs you'll typically need to build up some trust with your customers before they buy anything off of you. In addition, once again you don't really need much investment capital since you're basically buying leads instead of inventory to sell. That being said, if you understand how to leverage social media effectively you may find yourself generating enough residual income from PPC ads alone. Check out my article titled "How To Make Money With Facebook Ads" to see exactly how I generate $1k+/mo using this method.
Finally we come to the third type of affiliate marketing platform called affiliate programs and this involves purchasing access to pre-made lists of targeted buyers who already exist within specific niches. These people are known as influencers and they often have large followings across various social media channels. By sharing links back to products you promote they'll help increase awareness of those products and hopefully result in higher conversion rates for you. It's important to note however that unlike PPLN's and direct sales platforms, these 'affiliates' won't actually purchase anything directly from you unless you provide them with something of value in return. So even though you might end up getting hundreds of thousands of eyeballs looking at your link every month it doesn't mean anyone will ever convert into a sale. Also keep in mind that sometimes the same person will appear on several different affiliate programs offering similar services so you'll need to decide which ones seem to fit best with your own niche.
As mentioned above the best affiliate marketers are referred to as super affiliates. Super affiliates generally understand all 3 forms of affiliate marketing very well and use them in combination with each other to maximize profits. Some of the top earners in the industry today include Russell Brunson, Brian Clark, John Reese, Michael Cheney & Jim Boykin. Each of them has built successful businesses around leveraging ALL 3 methods of affiliate marketing to create massive 6 figure incomes year after year. However, as was mentioned earlier, you must master ALL 3 methods before trying to become an elite affiliate. Once you have learned all 3 then you can begin building a business strategy centered around becoming a true super affiliate.
It is possible to go broke fast in affiliate marketing due to poor timing, lack of knowledge and bad luck. But if you stick to proven strategies and apply common sense along with proper guidance from mentors like myself you will eventually reach financial freedom. And remember - the key to long term success in ANY endeavor is consistency! Consistency is defined as doing things repeatedly over a period of time until you achieve mastery. When it comes to affiliate marketing consistency requires constant learning and applying of new techniques as well as finding the best solutions to problems.
So now that you have a basic understanding of the different types of affiliate marketing available to you, let me share with you my personal journey towards financial independence...
I became interested in affiliate marketing in 2010 when I read How to Build A Six Figure Empire Online in less than 60 days. At the time I was struggling financially and couldn't afford to quit my job yet despite having no real desire to continue working fulltime in the corporate world. My goal was simple - to build a passive income stream outside of the rat race and live life on my terms.
At the time I didn't fully grasp the concept of creating a sustainable source of cash flow and I thought I would probably fail miserably. Fortunately I found someone who helped me change my mindset and gave me the tools to finally start living the dream. He taught me everything he knew about online marketing and his system worked so well that I almost immediately hit the 20% payout mark. Then things got better and better until I reached over 40%. Now I'm consistently pulling down 70%-90% commission checks from my network of 10K plus subscribers.
If you're serious about achieving financial freedom in the next 12 months then affiliate marketing is definitely worth exploring further.
In order to truly excel at affiliate marketing you need to develop a thick skin, patience and perseverance. Even though you will undoubtedly run into setbacks and challenges along the way, you simply cannot give up too early. Every problem needs to be solved and every opportunity exploited. After overcoming countless obstacles and failures I am proud to say that I believe I have achieved the status of Elite Affiliate Marketer and now consider myself amongst the best in the world.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.