Have you ever wondered how much affiliate marketers can actually make?
Affiliate marketers can stand to make some decent earnings with the average earner raking in between $51,217 to $65,800 per annum. That said, top earners can earn up to $83,000, while the minimum earnings range between $37,00 and $42,000.
Keep reading to find out more about what affiliate marketing is and how you can make money while you sleep!
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
If you’ve never heard of affiliate marketing—there’s no need to worry! The concept is relatively basic and I’m going to explain it in simple terms below.
Affiliate marketing can be described as earning a passive income by advertising products and services for online companies. Affiliate marketers succeed by signing up to a company and receiving commission once a customer has executed a desired action through their website or video.
For example, you could offer up a link in your blog that is connected to the affiliate product and redirects the customer to the product page. Their interest in your page directly influences their decision to purchase the product, which is where your commission comes in.
That said, you will need to make sure that you are posting content that is both interesting and valuable to consumers. If you don’t, you won’t drive enough traffic to your site meaning you’re unlikely to drive any sales.
So, how exactly can you post the perfect content to ensure that you make those sales? Keep reading to find out!
How Can Beginners Make Money With Affiliate Marketing (7-Step Guide)
If the thought of making money while you slumber sounds too good to be true—think again!
You can earn your very own passive income with plenty of patience, persistence, and of course, following the steps below. Let’s dive in!
1. Choose a Platform
While affiliate marketing can work for almost any social media platform, your best chances lie with YouTube and blogging.
Blogging in particular is the best way to score with affiliate partners as it’s relatively cheap and easy to set up a WordPress site.
In fact, a WordPress site will only set you back a few dollars per month, and you can find plenty of useful tutorials on how to successfully optimize your articles for Google SEO.
That said, you can still make some good cash with YouTube videos if you get enough subscribers and a large network of viewers.
YouTube is also 100 percent free, which is an added bonus for those on a seriously tight budget!
You just need to make sure that you clearly state that you are posting content with affiliate services linked. In fact, The Federal Trade Commission states that it is mandatory to disclose the possible earnings from an endorsement.
You can simply add this to the footer of your page. If you want to learn more about these disclaimers you can find out more here.
2. Choose Your Content
This next step is one of the most crucial aspects of affiliate marketing!
You essentially need to ask yourself how you can help people rather than what you can sell them. This mindset will help to prepare you to choose a topic that will be valuable to others.
For example, choosing something that you are both good at and knowledgeable about will help you to come across as more authentic in your content, and people will naturally gravitate to your videos and blogs.
Plus, creating content for affiliate marketing requires consistency and lots of effort, which will be easier to execute if you have a genuine interest in what you’re marketing.
For example, if you had a past experience with weight problems yet you managed to overcome them through hard work and determination, what story can you tell to others to help them achieve the same success you did?
Keeping things personal helps to create rapport between potential customers and your brand, and this in turn will generate sales!
The key here is to stick with one niche and expand on it as much as possible, adding your own personal touch for added authenticity.
3. Choose The Right Affiliate Program
Once you have decided on your niche, you’ll need to decide on which affiliate company you want to team up with to start making sales!
While there are plenty of options out there, each one differs in its profitability.
For example, some programs have very high payouts and very high traffic, but these can be complex and the market is saturated with other affiliate marketers who already know the game all too well (you’ll stand very little chance).
Other programs may have lower pay but higher traffic, meaning you’re more likely to get some hits but you won’t earn more than $2-$3.
For beginners looking to target a fan base and make lower commission with more sales, it’s generally a good idea to stick with the low income, high traffic types of affiliate programs.
However, there is a whole lot more to affiliate programs! But, for now, you need to prioritize choosing and distributing content that is both Google-optimized and relevant.
Watch this space for more information on choosing an affiliate program!
4. Create Genuine Value By Going The Extra Mile
If you really want to make some good money and rake in the customers, then you’ll want to set yourself apart from the rest. You cannot expect to post unoriginal content tailored specifically for Amazon’s bestselling products (as an example) and get rich.
Instead, try actually purchasing products yourself before advocating for them! This will help to create rapport between your brand and the customer. You can generate interest by doing reviews on products related to your blog and the products being sold.
Most people are looking for authentic, descriptive reviews on items they plan on buying. So, if you can provide this service to them free of charge, then you can look to make some cash via affiliate sites with some effort and patience!
If you can’t afford to buy a whole bunch of products then you can start with items lying around your house (relevant to your brand, of course).
Potential customers love to see like-minded individuals with the same problems as them, as this makes you more relatable. As a result, they will naturally trust the product you recomemnd more, meaning more sales!
5. Drive That Traffic
This next step is super important (after all, it’s where the money is)!
That said, there are 3 primary ways that you can drive traffic to an affiliate site and these are:
- Search Engine Optimization
- Email List
- Paid Traffic
The first 2 options are by far your best bet (especially as a beginner). The reason I say this is because paid traffic, as the name suggests, involves paying for traffic rather than achieving it organically. This, in turn, will cut your profits considerably.
So, with this in mind, your best bet is with SEO or email lists (even better, a combination of both)!
Email lists simply involve creating a list of potential customers and regularly emailing them updates on products that include specials, discounts, and general content that adds value.
One of the best ways to generate an email list is by enticing your readers to subscribe by placing a prompt button somewhere on your content page. You can encourage them to remain subscribed by frequently providing them with interesting, valuable content that promotes their interests and your brand.
SEO, on the other hand, involves creating content that is both relevant and valuable to what internet users are looking for (WordPress is perfect for this)!
This also involves link building to help make things easier for the customer to reach the affiliate website and, as a result, the sale.
6. Get Those Clicks
One of the most crucial aspects of affiliate marketing is getting users to actually click on your affiliate link!
Now, you cannot simply leave this down to luck. You need to design your page in such a way that you maximize the chances of your reader selecting the link—which I’ll show you how to do now.
Essentially, there are 3 primary ways that you can increase the chances of a reader selecting your link:
- Your copy. You cannot write in a spammy, monotonous tone when introducing your product. This will immediately deter readers, and it will look completely out of context. Your product introduction should flow naturally with your content so that it doesn’t look as if sales are your only objective (even if they are)!
- The positioning of your link. If you place the affiliate link right at the bottom of your page, it’s most likely that people won’t even get to see it. Conversely, if you place links everywhere your page is going to appear incredibly spammy and readers will become frustrated and click away. Instead, place your links smartly by adding images of the product, as well as calls to action where the most pertinent information lies.
- Call To Action. Placing attractive, colorful buttons, boxes, and tables is an excellent way to catch the reader’s attention and score a click on your affiliate link. The key is to use the tools available to your advantage!
7. Convert, Convert, Convert!
Next, you’ll need to turn those clicks into sales! So, how exactly can this be done?
When it comes to affiliate marketing there are 2 major conversions that take place:
- Clicking on the product page
- Customer buying the product
So, you’ll want to make sure that you divert to product pages that have a high conversion rate. That said, how can you tell?
The best way to know which products convert is by simply asking around and researching online reports for public earnings. Some bloggers are generous enough to reveal what they earn online, and this can give you an indicator of how and where they earned the most commission based on what they promote.
It’s also a good idea to simply use your intuition when it comes to looking at products. If an item appears sketchy, use your discretion and don’t use your brand to market it. Common sense is key!
Conclusion
One important thing to remember is that you won’t become rich overnight with affiliate marketing. You need passion, perseverance, and a genuine interest in what you’re promoting.
That said, your product should not only be an interest but a lifestyle too. If something comes naturally to your routine, you’ll find it far easier to remain consistent in your posts and your passion will shine through in your writing and videos.
So, take some time to think about what it is that drives your passion and run with it!
Truly successful affiliate marketers waited years for success, but the results were certainly worth the wait.
