How to start affiliate marketing for beginners?

It would be cool to be able to make money with a website without having to create your products or services to sell them, right? Well, that’s why affiliate marketing is cool.

The affiliate marketing sector has emerged as a trending industry, enabling creators to earn commissions by promoting products or services for others.

E-commerce businesses have seized the opportunities presented by affiliate marketing to sell their products and services with the aid of affiliates. This symbiotic relationship benefits both parties (host and affiliates).

Statistics show that e-commerce generates a significant portion of its sales through affiliate marketing, with 79% of marketers prioritizing customer engagement.

If you are new to this field, here is how you can start affiliate marketing.

Step 1: Choose a platform:

You could indeed do affiliate marketing from almost any platform: websites, forums, social networks, etc. But it is usually much more profitable to build an audience and get more sales if you focus on one of these two platforms: a blog or a YouTube channel.

Once your site is up and running, optimize it for search engines so you’ll have a better chance of ranking better. From here on, you’re free to add affiliate links to your content.

Step 2: Choose your niche:

If you start a blog today, you’re going to find a lot of competition. In Growth Badger estimate that there will be more than 600 million blogs worldwide in 2022. Almost nothing. So, for the best chance of success, narrow down the niche.

Some profitable niches include:

  • Luxury
  • Pets
  • Sports
  • Fashion
  • Education
  • Health and wellness
  • Travel
  • Gaming
  • Career
  • Beauty

These niches are highly profitable, so it’s essential to choose ones you can blog about effectively and maintain great content for.

Choose a topic that focuses on a more specific category. For example, the topic “food” is a huge category. Try something more specific, like grilled food.

Step 3: Find affiliate programs:

There are 3 types of affiliate programs to choose from.

  1. Low Volume, High Commission Affiliate Programs
  2. High Volume, Low Commission Affiliate Programs
  3. High Commission and High Volume Affiliate Programs

These are affiliate programs for products or services that reach a massive audience and also pay very high commissions.

Step 4: Create great content:

If you want your affiliate website to be successful, you need to create high-quality content where your affiliate links fit naturally. Don’t just review Amazon’s best-selling products. You go the extra mile to make sure your content solves the reader’s problem.

If you don’t have money to buy each product, you can always start with what you have at home. For example, if you set up a craft blog, you can review the products and materials you already have.

Step 5: Drive traffic to your affiliate website:

Ok, you have already created some good content. The next step is to get more people to read it so that they click on your affiliate links.

Utilize your website to promote your affiliate links by creating dedicated affiliate landing pages. Always include a disclaimer when placing affiliate links in your blog posts. For example, “We will receive a commission when you click this link,” to help your audience make informed decisions and to build trustworthiness and transparency.

Social Media Networks: Certain social media platforms permit the use of affiliate marketing links, offering an advantage if you cannot use or do not have a website for promoting your affiliate links.

Realistically, you need a significant number of followers on your social network to ensure your links are shared and clicked. You can also collaborate with influencers or bloggers to promote your brand to a wider audience.

Additionally, Facebook pages allow owners to promote their page, website, products, or services through ads.

Step 6: Get clicks on your affiliate links:

Just because you have amazing content doesn’t mean people are going to click on your affiliate links, trust me. There are a few things you need to keep in mind.

  1. Position of links: If all your affiliate links are at the bottom of the page, where people rarely land, clicks will be rather few.
  2. Context: Imagine that you are writing an article about the best kitchen knives under $50.
  3. Attention calls: Using what is known as “callouts” with buttons, tables, and charts can help engage your readers and make your article more scannable and readable.

Step 7: Convert clicks into sales:

In affiliate marketing, it takes 2 conversions to make money. The first conversion is the click to the product page.

The second conversion is when the user buys the product. In the case of affiliate marketing, it is the company that sells it that controls the purchase process, and their conversion rates are out of your control.

Frequently Asked Questions for Affiliate Marketing Beginners:

Which affiliate programs pay the highest commissions?

  • Bluehost
  • Elementor
  • Target
  • Hostigator
  • Hubspot
  • WP Engine
  • BH Cosmetics
  • Kinsta
  • Pabbly
  • Wix

Best Affiliate Marketing Networks:

  • Amazon Associates
  • CJ Affiliate
  • Hostinger
  • FlexOffers
  • PartnerStack
  • ShareASale
  • Rakuten Ads
  • eBay Partner Network

What is the highest-paying affiliate niche?

Affiliate marketing offers numerous opportunities for creators, but not all niches offer the same commission rates. For instance, you can’t compare the health niche’s affiliate commissions to those of the pet care niche. The following niches are among the highest-paying in the industry:

  • Health and Wellness
  • Technology
  • Fashion and Beauty
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Hobby
  • Lifestyle
  • Education
  • Career
  • Gaming

In summary, to succeed in affiliate marketing, it’s crucial to select the best niche and leverage your platform to promote products and services using your unique links to earn commissions.

Diversify your affiliate program networks to avoid depending solely on one for revenue, as networks may close their programs unexpectedly, impacting your earnings. Building a quality audience is key to skyrocketing your affiliate success.