How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide

 

If you are unfamiliar with affiliate marketing, then here is the quick definition: You get paid when you promote someone else’s product or service, and a purchase is made through your efforts.

Here’s an example.

You create a blog about Golden Retriever Dogs. You create stellar content that your readers LOVE.

You find a great guide on how to train Golden Retrievers to do tricks. The guide has an affiliate program that pays affiliates 50% of sales.

You place your affiliate link in the sidebar of your blog for the guide. The guide costs $30. Anytime a visitor clicks on the link and makes a purchase, you receive $15.

Who is this ideal for:

This is ideal for anyone that enjoys creating content (written, video, audio, etc.) around specific subjects, but who may not have any interest in creating products or services.  

What skills will you need:

You will need basic marketing skills. The ability to create persuasive content with a call to action within the content to purchase products or services.

You will also need skills within a platform of your choosing where you will be promoting products, such as social media, paid advertising, videos, websites or blogs.

How much time is required to get started:

This is dependent upon how much work you want to put in and the platform that you choose to use. You could literally make sales within the next hour if you want to. 

For instance, if you have a lot of friends who are single, you could sign up at an affiliate network site such as Clickbank.com, and find appropriate products such as dating guides.  

You can then send an email out to them with the link included. If anyone makes a purchase, then you get a commission. It’s as simple as that.

Realistically, you will probably want to use ads, your own blog or even videos to promote products, but the above example is just to illustrate how simple it can be.

Some helpful tips:

1) Be compliant

There are regulating bodies that call for you to say when you are using an affiliate link so that your audience knows.

Do your research on what you need to do to ensure that you are in compliance and don’t get shut down.

2) Save yourself some time and select products that you are already familiar with 

For example, if you are a personal trainer, then you will probably want to select products related to health and fitness.

There are tons of niches out there, just find one that resonates with, and makes sense for, you.

Check out the biggest affiliate networks. There are many out there to choose from, but the ones you should definitely check out are: Clickbank.com, Shareasale.com, and JVZoo.com.

3) Choose a product that you’ll actually make some decent money with 

There’s a saying that goes “It takes the same amount of effort and energy to promote a $1 product, as it does to promote a 100 dollar product.”  

4) Choose a product that pays at least 50% commission 

Would you rather get 50 cents or 50 dollars? We already know the answer to this.

5) Select a company that handles the affiliate program that’s most comfortable for you 

Many make it easy for your to get your affiliate link and commission payouts, so go with those over others that may make it a little more complicated.

6) Start fast  

If you are looking to make some sales quickly, then you may want to check out platforms that will allow you to do so.

Platforms such as Reddit, Digg, Facebook, StumbleUpon, and Twitter let you do so.

How to make money:

As we mentioned at the start, you get paid when someone makes a purchase through your link.

You can create a Facebook Page, Blog or Website dedicated to your niche of choice.  

Help people with content that brings them value and solves their problems.

When you can do that, then all you need to do is place a link in front of them, and they will reward you by making a purchase through your link.

You can do this through banner ads within your site, you can place links in the content you produce or even in emails you send out.  

Just remember to stay in compliance.