Usually, selling a product requires producing and manufacturing goods. Or grappling with stock, inventory, and logistics to get these products to customers. That’s so much hassles for a lot of people.
Thankfully, you don’t have to go through that route if you don’t fancy it. Affiliate marketing is an even better way to sell other people’s products and services without dealing with the stress of inventory. And this is a huge market on its own.
Following Demandsage’s reports that the global market size of the affiliate marketing industry is $27.8 billion, this industry has a lot of potential. Additionally, Demandsage also projects that affiliate marketing worth will likely grow to $48 billion by 2027.
That’s some promising data there. If you’re following the data and are already looking to start an affiliate marketing business, this article is for you. Here, you will learn how to start affiliate marketing business as a beginner and make money while at it.
What Exactly is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s marketing efforts.
In simpler terms, you promote someone else’s product, and when people buy through your unique affiliate link, you earn a commission.
With this business model, you don’t have to physically have the products. You only need to create awareness for the products so people that need them can contact the sellers and buy from them.
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Is affiliate marketing still profitable in 2024?
The answer is a resounding yes! If the numbers don’t lie, then affiliate marketing is a thriving industry, with ample opportunities for those willing to put in the effort and dedication.
In fact, despite the ever-changing nature of online business, affiliate marketing has proven to be resilient and growth-oriented over the years. And this is because online shoppers and e-commerce businesses have continued to increase.
What this means is that there will always be a constant demand for affiliate marketers who can effectively promote products and drive sales.
Considering that many people have made lots of money from affiliate marketing, this could be your clue on just how profitable this business is. For instance, Pat Flynn and John Chow are among the richest affiliates with a whooping monthly profit of $145,000 and $100,000 respectively.
Other big affiliate marketers include Jeremy Shoemaker, Finch Sells, and Missy Ward amongst others. While these affiliates did not become successful overnight, their success is quite encouraging for many business people especially newer affiliate marketers.
How to Start Affiliate Marketing Business as a Beginner and Make Money
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s outline a step-by-step guide to help you start your affiliate marketing journey:
1. Reflect and select your niche
No matter how eager you are to start your affiliate business, don’t venture into it until you conduct thorough self-reflection. It’s at this time that you identify your passions, interests, and areas of expertise.
Don’t be deceived, you will likely struggle if you go on to promote products or services that are not aligned with your values and interests.
So, first of all, consider what topics you can consistently create content about. It could be beauty products, tech gadgets, or financial advice.
Whatever your choice, understand that your chosen niche should be broad enough to provide a variety of affiliate opportunities but specific enough to attract a targeted audience. Your journey will be more sustainable if you choose a niche that aligns with your genuine interests.
2. Research and Choose an Affiliate Program
This next step can break or make your affiliate journey. After you’ve decided on your niche, the natural thing to do next is to research and choose the right affiliate programs.
While researching, look for programs that offer products or services relevant to your niche and provide competitive commissions. You really want to make some profit off of your efforts. That’s the whole point of being in the business, right?
Popular affiliate programs include Amazon Associates, ClickBank, ShareASale, WarriorPlus, JVZoo, Digistore24, and CJ Affiliate, among others. In addition to these giants, there are countless other affiliate networks and platforms that cater to specific niches and industries.
If you don’t want to go the traditional way, choose smaller businesses that pay commissions for sales and drive traffic to their products. Just partner with the brands and promote their products and services to their target audience.
3. Create Your Platform
Your platform is the digital space where you’ll share your content and affiliate links. This could be a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, or social media profile.
When considering a content platform, it’s important to choose one that suits your strengths and preferences. If you enjoy writing, a blog might be your ideal medium as it offers a centralized hub for your content and affiliate links.
It also provides credibility and control over your brand. If you prefer long-form content and want to establish yourself as an authority, a blog is an excellent choice.
If you’re comfortable in front of the camera, consider starting a YouTube channel. Or choose social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok.
Since video content performs well in affiliate marketing, these platforms, especially TikTok can provide you with quick visibility and audience engagement. In all, choose a platform that aligns with your content style and resonates with your target audience.
4. Create engaging content
It’s not enough to create a blog or a YouTube channel. The real work is in creating content on those platforms.
This is where a lot of aspiring affiliate marketers face some challenges, but there’s a smart way to walk around it. The secret to creating engaging content is in choosing a niche that aligns with your interest in the first place.
Whether it’s through blog posts, videos, or social media posts, your content should be informative, authentic, and genuinely helpful. It should be able to resonate with your audience and drive them to take action.
As you share your personal experiences with the products you’re promoting, craft compelling stories that resonate with your audience’s needs too. Don’t just focus on selling; aim to build trust and establish yourself as a reliable source of information in your niche.
5. Engage SEO Strategies
One of the best things about search engine optimization (SEO) is the free visibility it gives. If you want to grow organically rather than through paid ads, SEO should be a top priority.
Therefore, research relevant keywords in your niche and optimize your content accordingly. This will improve your content’s chances of ranking higher on search engine results, driving organic traffic to your platform.
Additionally, consider guest posting on reputable websites within your niche to expand your reach. Backlinks from authoritative sites can also enhance your platform’s credibility and contribute to its overall SEO performance.
6. Build an Email List
Building an email list is yet another powerful strategy for affiliate marketers. Like SEO strategies, email lists are relatively cheaper than running paid aids.
To incorporate it, encourage your audience to subscribe to your newsletter to receive regular updates and exclusive content. This way, you can nurture a direct relationship with your audience, promoting affiliate products through targeted email campaigns.
If you want to get the best results with email lists, consider offering incentives such as free ebooks, guides, or exclusive discounts.
A well-nurtured email list can become a valuable asset for your affiliate marketing business, as it provides a direct channel for communication and promotion. You can’t start and grow a successful affiliate marketing business without a high-converting email list.
7. Monitor and finetune your strategies
There’s a tendency to get laid back when you begin your affiliate marketing business and start making money. Don’t fall for it. Instead, continually optimize your strategies for better results.
Monitor the performance of your content, analyze click-through rates, and identify patterns that lead to successful conversions. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager can help you monitor your affiliate links.
Experiment with different types of content and promotional strategies. A/B testing can be a valuable tool to understand what resonates best with your audience.
With your findings, you can then finetune your strategies to produce more results. For instance, if certain products or content types resonate more with your audience, focus on creating similar content in the future.
8. Know the rules and comply with them
Last but not least, let’s talk about compliance. Affiliate marketing comes with rules and regulations, and violating them can have serious consequences.
If you are in the United States, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires you to give affiliate disclosures while promoting other people’s products. This is essential to prevent scams and to protect buyers from deceptive marketing practices.
Depending on your country, you may have different rules around disclosure. So, make sure you find out about those rules so you can be transparent with your audience about your affiliate relationships.
Staying compliant not only protects you from legal trouble but also builds trust with your audience. Honesty and transparency go a long way in establishing a credible and successful affiliate marketing business.
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Final Thoughts
Starting a new business is a journey that requires careful consideration and adequate planning. If you take a look at the affiliate marketing business model and decide that it’s the business for you, begin to take the right steps towards beginning it.
Although there’s no guarantee that you’ll start making millions in the first month, you can actually make some encouraging figures if you stick to it long enough.
If you choose the right niche, partner with quality affiliate programs, and create valuable content, you’re well on your way to making money as an affiliate marketer. Cheers to a rewarding and exciting affiliate marketing business.
