If you're looking into starting a business online but don't really know where to begin, then perhaps affiliate marketing could help you out. Affiliate marketing can seem intimidating at first glance because there are so many different ways that it works and so many different companies involved in the process. But if you dig deeper, as some of us here did, you'll find that once you understand it, it actually makes sense -- even though it might not sound like it when you hear about it!
In this article we will explain everything from "what" to "why". We'll also give you some tips on how to get started and show you all of the various methods that affiliate programs use to generate revenue for their partners. If you want to learn more about making money online, then keep reading...
The most common way people think about affiliate marketing is by thinking about something akin to advertising. You'd expect to see ads everywhere (on TV, radio, billboards). And while they're certainly prevalent, those aren't the only places you can advertise. In fact, one of the best ways to promote your product or service without spending any money is through affiliate marketing.
Let's say I'm writing an informational eBook on weight loss. Maybe I've spent hours researching the topic and am ready to publish my book and sell copies. The problem is, I don't have enough readers yet who would buy my book. So instead of just selling books directly myself, I decide to partner up with other writers who already specialize in topics related to mine. They write articles promoting my new ebook and I share a percentage of each sale back to them. This gives me free content and increased exposure since now my name appears alongside theirs on the sales page. That means more potential customers who may not have found my site otherwise. It's win-win-win.
There are two main types of affiliate partnerships available today: direct and contextual links. Direct links allow you to place advertisements within your own website. Contextual links allow you to link to someone else's website and offer visitors a chance to purchase whatever item is being promoted there. Both require payment to the third party vendor. Some of these vendors accept payments via Paypal, Google Checkout, Amazon Payments, etc. Others charge flat fees per click or commission based upon the total amount of sales made.
It should go without saying that you shouldn't join every single affiliate program out there under the sun. There are hundreds of thousands of options out there. A lot of them are scams, and others simply won't provide you with the kind of traffic necessary to succeed. Instead, focus on finding the right ones for the type of information you have to offer. For example, if you're offering health and fitness advice, consider joining sites that cater specifically towards this niche. Or, if you're planning on writing eBooks, look for opportunities to team up with bloggers and podcasters. These folks typically have large followings and lots of interested buyers who trust their opinions.
No, you don't need to spend anything upfront to become an affiliate marketer. However, you must remember that you still have expenses such as hosting costs, domain registration costs, web design costs, etc. When you factor in time invested, these extra costs add up pretty quickly over time. Therefore, it's important to choose a profitable affiliate product before you invest too much time or money into building your brand.
You can try to save money on affiliate marketing by using existing websites as leverage. Sites like HubPages, Squidoo, Blogger, WordPress, etc., often have massive amounts of search engine optimization power built right into their architecture. By partnering up with a writer whose expertise matches yours, you can take advantage of these powerful resources for little cost. This doesn't mean you'll never need to invest additional cash in order to build your brand. Just be sure to pick the right opportunity for yourself.
As mentioned above, the very basics of affiliate marketing involve setting up a partnership between a seller and a buyer. As long as both parties agree to terms and conditions, anyone can create an affiliate relationship. Once established, the affiliate receives a certain percentage of the profit generated from the sale of the product. This could range anywhere from 5% to 50%.
When you sign up with an affiliate network, it's possible to connect with thousands of sellers worldwide. This allows you to find great deals and promote the same products and services you love to read about. With this level of access comes responsibility. An affiliate needs to maintain good relations with her clients and ensure that she follows industry standards. She also has to treat everyone fairly and ethically. Otherwise, she risks losing credibility among her peers and ultimately damaging her ability to generate income.
Here are some things you should always check out before signing up with a particular affiliate program:
Is the compensation fair? Do you receive a high payout for bringing in a small number of sales? Is the product worth buying? Are you able to negotiate better rates than the standard rate offered? Does the seller support his/her product?
Are the customer reviews positive? How easy is it to contact the seller? Can you reach him easily via email or phone call? What happens if you run into problems down the road? Will he return your calls promptly?
Does the merchant offer refunds? Will you be allowed to cancel your contract at anytime? What guarantees exist regarding quality control? Is the product going to live up to its promises?
How much experience does the affiliate have? Has s/he been successful in past endeavors? Have they previously worked with companies similar to yours?
Can you test drive the product? Is it safe to assume that the product delivers as promised? Could it possibly cause harm to you or someone close to you?
Will the affiliate program pay monthly or quarterly? Monthly payments are ideal for freelance workers who prefer flexibility and freedom. Quarterly payments are fine for fulltime employees.
Once you've signed up for a few affiliate networks, you'll soon discover that joining multiple offers isn't necessarily the smartest idea. Unless you're earning huge profits, why bother? Sure, it sounds nice to be paid for recommending products that bring in lots of money for their owners. But unless you're actively working hard to find these kinds of opportunities, it probably won't happen. Instead, concentrate on creating relationships with businesses that value your opinion highly. Those brands will eventually send you the products themselves.
To achieve success at affiliate marketing, you need to develop a system. Find the top 10 items on your list and rank them according to importance. Then, dedicate 20% of your efforts toward getting to know the owner(s) personally. After doing proper research, you'll notice patterns in behavior and personality traits that reveal whether or not they're trustworthy. Then, after establishing rapport, ask questions about their vision for growth. Finally, let them know that you're willing to recommend their services and products whenever appropriate.
By taking the time to truly understand the motivations behind a person's actions, you'll dramatically increase your chances of succeeding at affiliate marketing. Your goal is to convince someone to buy a specific product. Not only does this method have greater odds of generating results, but it also requires less effort overall. Plus, when you're building real relationships rather than merely relying on cold numbers, you're likely to attract more attention from the pros.
With a bit of luck and persistence, you can potentially turn a hobby into a lucrative career. But the truth is that the average affiliate earns somewhere around $100 - $1000 per month. Of course, this varies wildly depending on several factors including the size of your audience, your skill set, your reputation, and your personal dedication. Even the slightest improvements in any of these areas will result in exponential gains.
For instance, if you've got 100 subscribers and 1 conversion per day, then you could potentially earn $10 /day. If you convert 2%, however, then you could earn $200 /month. Obviously, the bigger picture matters far more than individual statistics. If you're passionate about your field and dedicated to improving your skills, then you'll be well on your way to becoming a millionaire someday.
If you've ever heard of the term "affiliate marketing", chances are it has something to do with making a sale on someone else's behalf. But that doesn't have to be your only option as there are plenty of other ways to use this type of marketing strategy and still make some cash while doing so.
So let's take a look at what exactly affiliate marketing is all about -- and why you might want to consider trying out this method if you're looking to make extra income online.
The most important thing you need to know before getting into any kind of business opportunity, including affiliate marketing, is that it takes time to build up a successful network. This means building relationships over time with customers who will eventually buy from you when they see value in what you offer them. It also means establishing yourself as an authority within your niche.
This can be difficult without spending lots of money on advertising campaigns, but in many cases, it's worth it because once you establish yourself as an expert in your field, you'll find that people trust you more easily than somebody brand new to the industry. And that makes it easier for you to sell their product or service.
It's not uncommon for affiliates to spend several thousand dollars per month just promoting one single site's products through email newsletters, social media updates, etc., but those costs are typically offset by the sales commissions earned from each customer. For example, if you promote a $100 item and you receive 10% commission (which is common) then you'd end up earning an additional $10 after paying for the ad space and hosting fees. So even though you spent thousands promoting that particular website, it was actually profitable since you made $1 off every dollar spent.
All of these things sound like hard work, especially if you don't already have experience working online. However, affiliate marketing works best if you're willing to put in the effort necessary to grow your list of subscribers, develop relationships with those followers, and ultimately turn them into buyers. The good news is that you don't necessarily need millions of dollars to start this process. All you need is a few hundred bucks to get started.
And if you decide to continue down this path, your earnings potential increases exponentially depending on where you choose to focus your efforts. You may choose to specialize in certain niches such as health & wellness or technology-related topics. Or maybe you prefer selling physical goods instead of digital ones. Whatever you decide upon, remember that you always retain full ownership rights to whatever you create. If you think you could potentially make more money elsewhere, you can simply stop promoting the items sold on your own blog/website and move onto a different project entirely.
Absolutely! In fact, if you follow the right steps outlined above, you should have little trouble finding success using affiliate marketing methods.
As long as you stay focused on creating valuable content which helps others succeed, you should be able to attract readers who are interested in buying whatever it is you're promoting. Once you gain enough momentum, you'll begin attracting visitors who aren't familiar with your site yet, meaning you'll have greater opportunities to convert them into loyal customers.
However, keep in mind that affiliate marketing isn't going to replace your day job anytime soon. While it's certainly possible to make decent profits from blogging alone, it requires a lot of time and energy to produce quality material consistently. Plus you won't be able to quit your regular paycheck until you reach a significant level of revenue.
On top of that, you'll likely encounter competition from sites offering similar programs. To compete effectively, you'll have to invest considerable resources into branding and SEO strategies. These expenses can add up quickly, leaving less money available for ads and other promotional activities.
You can expect to lose between 20%-40% of your initial investment in order to generate sufficient traffic and leads to pay back your original startup cost. That said, if you manage your expectations correctly, you shouldn't feel discouraged if you fail to meet your goals early on. Most people never achieve overnight success, regardless of whether they're involved in affiliate marketing or anything else.
In addition to receiving compensation for referring clients to a merchant's site, most affiliates receive payments based on what percentage of total sales they bring in. So if you refer 100 customers to a given store and they purchase $500 in merchandise, you would earn half of that amount ($250).
There are two types of affiliate networks that you can join to increase your exposure: general and performance-based. General networks allow you to sign up under a free account and list multiple brands and merchants. Performance-based networks require members to provide detailed data regarding their referrals. Affiliates must submit screenshots showing proof of purchases and links in order to qualify for payment bonuses.
Some popular general networks include Commission Junction, LinkShare, ShareASale, and PayDotCom. Performance-based networks include InfoBarrel, TrafficHits, and Webmasters Exchange.
While there are numerous options for becoming financially independent thanks to affiliate marketing, here are three primary routes:
1. Selling digital downloads - Digital download platforms usually charge anywhere from 5%-12% of the final retail price of the item purchased. So if a customer buys a song valued at $5, the platform charges around 75 cents. Of course, you'll often hear this referred to as a royalty rate rather than a fee. Either way, it's essentially a flat fee for providing access to a piece of intellectual property.
2. Selling physical products - Physical products tend to carry higher profit margins compared to digital downloads. Depending on the size of your audience, you can expect to make up to 70% of the sale price on average. Keep in mind however that this figure varies widely across industries and depends heavily on factors such as demand, manufacturing costs, shipping times, and much more.
3. Marketing services - There are tons of companies today that offer various types of paid services designed specifically to help you drive targeted traffic to your site. A quick Google search reveals dozens of well known names such as BackLinko, RankRanger, GetResponse, and LeadPages to name a few. Some of these tools offer free trials too, giving you an excellent chance to test out their capabilities first hand before committing to a monthly subscription plan.
For instance, I recently signed up for the Backlinko system, which offers a variety of services designed to improve your overall rankings on major search engines. Their basic membership includes everything from keyword research to article writing, press release distribution, video editing, and more. They even give you suggestions on how to improve your existing articles based on their proprietary algorithms.
When considering affiliate marketing, it pays to weigh the pros and cons carefully. Before signing up for any program or joining any group, check out their terms and conditions thoroughly. Make sure you understand what you're agreeing to commit to before handing over your credit card number. Don't worry about wasting money on something you don't fully believe in unless you absolutely have to.
Once you learn more about affiliate marketing and its benefits, you'll probably realize that it's an ideal fit for your skillset, lifestyle, and financial situation. Even better, affiliate marketing gives you complete control over your future career, allowing you to pick and choose which projects interest you the most.
If you've never heard about affiliate marketing before then hopefully this article will answer your questions and give you a better understanding of it. It may seem like something that only works online but there are many ways that people can use affiliate marketing as well. It could be used just to help people find information on certain subjects they're interested in. Or it could also be used to sell other companies' products or services. The possibilities are endless!
So let me explain where affiliate marketing comes from. Affiliates (also known as affiliates) are businesses who advertise someone else's product or service and get paid whenever somebody buys through them. For example, if I was selling a new kind of car insurance policy and I set up an advertisement site which featured the policies of various different insurers, when somebody clicks through one of my advertisements, I would get paid a commission based on whether they purchase a policy through my website. This could mean anything from £100 per month all the way up to thousands of pounds every year depending on how much time and effort goes into promoting their product.
There are two main types of affiliate marketing out there – click-through and pay-per-click. Both have benefits and drawbacks so we'll take a look at both below.
Click-Through Advertisements
This type of advertising involves having banner ads displayed across websites such as Google Ads, Facebook, YouTube etc. You usually won't see these banners until after users have visited the relevant page. They might appear next to news articles, videos, social media posts and more. As soon as somebody clicks through the link, you get paid whatever percentage applies to the amount spent. If somebody spends $50 on your ad campaign, you'd receive 50% of that total - meaning you'd get 25 cents. So even though you don't actually get any money yourself, it doesn't really matter because you're getting paid regardless.
The downside here is that the person clicking on the advert has already decided that they want to buy something and therefore aren't likely to spend much time reading your website. Also, not everybody likes seeing those banners cluttering up their screens so some people may simply ignore them altogether. Another thing to consider is that while you may get around 5 leads each day on average, it's unlikely that anybody will end up buying anything. That means you need hundreds of visitors daily in order to generate enough revenue to cover costs.
Pay Per Click Marketing
PPC marketing uses keywords to direct traffic towards specific sites. When somebody searches for a keyword, the search engine displays results of websites that match that particular word. These websites often feature sponsored content and/or advertisements, making sure that advertisers always get seen first. Your job is to write content that matches the keywords being searched for and place the right advertisements on the pages you create.
It's important to note that PPC isn't free either. There are several factors involved including bids, cost per conversion, and competition. However, it is possible to manage campaigns without spending too much money and generating plenty of sales. Many platforms allow you to test various keywords and bid amounts to see which ones perform best. Then once you know which words bring most conversions, you can focus more of your efforts on writing high quality content for those terms.
Another benefit of using PPC over click-throughs is that it is targeted. People searching for a particular term will be shown your adverts instead of generic ones. And if they happen to land on your website afterwards, you stand a chance of converting them into customers. But again, it's very competitive. Most people choose between 100 competitors rather than 1,000. Even if you do come top of the list, you may struggle to convert anyone unless you offer something unique.
As mentioned above, there are several factors involved in deciding the price you should charge. A good rule of thumb is to think about how much you'd expect to pay for a similar item, then multiply that number by 10. To put it simply, you should try to keep prices low so that you can earn maximum profits. If you're offering something that's worth less than ten times its value, chances are nobody will buy it anyway.
Affiliate marketing is definitely alive and kicking today. In fact, it's been growing since the early 2000s. According to Statista’s report, the global affiliate network industry grew by 12% in 2017 alone compared to 2016. With growth rates like this, it seems pretty obvious that affiliate marketing is going strong far beyond its infancy years.
Whether you're thinking about starting an affiliate business or looking for ideas, there are plenty of resources available online. Start learning about affiliate marketing now and grow your knowledge base along the way.
Affiliate marketing has grown tremendously throughout the past few decades. Nowadays, it helps drive billions of dollars in sales annually. Companies are constantly coming up with innovative methods to improve upon existing models. Some things haven't changed much while others have completely evolved. Let's explore some of the latest trends in affiliate marketing.
1. Big Data Analytics & Machine Learning
Machine learning algorithms are able to learn patterns within large datasets. They're able to spot anomalies and predict outcomes with ease. This makes them great tools for creating predictive analytics systems capable of predicting consumer behaviour. By combining machine learning technology with big data analytics, marketers can identify customer preferences faster and provide personalized recommendations accordingly.
2. AI and Chatbots
Nowadays, chatbots are becoming increasingly popular among consumers. They're designed to mimic human conversations and provide useful answers to general inquiries. While some bots are built specifically for eCommerce purposes, others exist purely for entertainment. Either way, there's no denying that they're taking centre stage in our digital lives.
3. Content Creation Tools
Content creation tools enable writers to produce professional copy quickly and easily. These programs automate repetitive tasks such as formatting text, inserting images, adding hyperlinks, and performing basic editing functions. Their popularity continues to rise thanks to increased demand from bloggers.
4. Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is one of the fastest growing areas of affiliate marketing. More brands are turning to social media to boost brand awareness and build relationships with potential clients. One of the biggest advantages of social media advertising is that it provides instant feedback. Users are free to post reviews and opinions of your product straight away. This gives you valuable insight into user satisfaction levels and allows you to adapt accordingly.
5. Mobile Apps
Mobile apps continue to gain traction amongst consumers. Not only do mobile devices account for roughly half of internet usage worldwide, but also app downloads have skyrocketed in recent years. App developers are finding ingenious ways to integrate affiliate marketing opportunities into their software packages. This enables customers to download applications and sign up for promotional offers directly from the application itself.
6. Email Marketing
Email remains one of the most effective forms of communication. Over 70 percent of adults check email multiple times per day, yet only 15 percent open emails regularly. Therefore, email marketing is still immensely powerful despite changing habits. Brands must ensure that their messages contain compelling subject lines, clear call to actions, and interesting visuals.
7. Video Marketing
Video marketing is one of the hottest topics in affiliate marketing today. Millions of consumers watch video clips on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Vimeo every single day. Videos are highly engaging and easy to share. Moreover, viewers tend to appreciate longer form content over simple short bursts of information.
8. Ecommerce Platforms
Ecommerce platforms are essential tools for running successful affiliate marketing ventures. They connect merchants and affiliates together allowing them to exchange goods seamlessly. Once established, they facilitate transactions by collecting payments automatically and tracking performance metrics.
9. Digital Shopping Carts
Digital shopping carts are essentially online versions of physical stores. Similar to traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, they aim to provide shoppers with convenient access to merchandise. Although they're primarily marketed towards small-scale entrepreneurs, larger corporations are beginning to adopt them. However, due to technological limitations, they remain niche options.
10. Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency markets are booming thanks to rising interest in blockchain technology. Blockchain is the underlying infrastructure behind cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether. Its decentralized nature ensures trustless exchanges, reduced transaction fees, secure storage, and fast payment processing. Allowing individuals to transact anonymously via untraceable transfers, cryptocurrencies provide freedom to trade in an environment governed by public consensus.
Which of these trends excites you? Are there any other exciting developments happening in the world of affiliate marketing? Get in touch with us on Twitter @ShareASaleUK to discuss further.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.