Today, many people are amazed by the fact of affiliate marketing. Everyone knows that it is a way of passive earning. Thousands of content creators, businesspersons, and authors use affiliate marketing. It helps them earn a lot of money every year, an amount that we cannot even imagine. So what is the magic behind it? Well, in simple terms, hard work. Even famous platforms like Forbes and New York Times use affiliate marketing strategies to hit their revenue target efficiently.
According to many business statistical reports, affiliate marketing will touch around https://www.statista.com/statistics/693438/affiliate-marketing-spending/$8 billion solely in the US by the end of 2022. It shows that this year is going to boost affiliate marketing by about 75% of the previous six years. Thus, if you want to take your business to the next level, you should step into the affiliate marketing world.
Is Affiliate Marketing Worthwhile?
Affiliate marketing has no boundaries. Either you earn thousands of dollars or just as low as a thousand dollars per month. Everything here relies upon your earning potential. So how much you earn through affiliate marketing depends upon how willing you are toward it.
For example, many people do not choose a niche in which they are passionate and fail to achieve their business goals. Whereas, if a person picks the desired field, they can create audience-friendly content and generate healthy revenue. However, in any case, you just cannot become a millionaire in one night.
Affiliate Marketing and Its Starting point
It only sounds easy to hear. Hitting a billion-dollar revenue is not a piece of cake. People think that a few clicks on their links can help them become a billionaire. Well, people are good at daydreaming. The truth is most people fail to achieve their goals by the end of their affiliate marketing journey. What did they do wrong? The blogs and countless videos on the internet promise that marketers will earn thousands of dollars. So what made their dreams shatter into pieces? Inappropriate planning and lack of knowledge about affiliate marketing.
Thus, it seems like the starting point means a lot in affiliate marketing. So the first thing you need to do is research, a lot of research. Make a strong entrance. It can save your time and effort throughout the journey. Also, if you have any confusion about affiliate marketing, make your mind clear before starting. You have to choose the products and platforms that fit well in your case. This way, you can comfortably work alongside them.
At this point, your research process is complete now, and you can proceed further to make strategies. There is not a perfect way to do affiliate marketing. Thus, you may need to implement many ways to find out what works for you.
Affiliate Programs
There are many platforms available for affiliate programs. You can join one of them to start making money. The simple way is to create an account on a desirable platform as an affiliate and begin your journey. It is the first step towards the thorough process of affiliate marketing. If you cannot decide which platform you should select, here are some of the best affiliate programs.
Amazon Associates
Everyone knows about Amazon. That makes Amazon one of the most preferred platforms for affiliate marketing. People love to shop from Amazon. That is why it is not that hard to sell products and services there. Plus, this platform offers a vast variety of niches. So there is no chance that your desirable niche will not be there.
Besides, Amazon Associates affiliate marketers get commissions of a maximum of around 10% and a minimum of 1%. It depends upon the product category as well. While the most favorable categories in Amazon are clothes and cosmetics. These two niches can help you earn the maximum 10% cut on every purchase.
eBay Partner Network
eBay Partner Network has over one billion entries, divided into a vast range of product groups. It makes eBay nearly the same as Amazon Associates. Both of the brands are well-known and have high conversion rates. However, eBay offers a lesser commission in comparison to Amazon Associates. eBay Partner Network’s commission starts from 1% and ends at a maximum of 4%.
Thus, if your case does not fit well in Amazon Associates, you can work on this platform with a lesser commission. However, remember that a low commission percentage does not mean you will earn less. If you put in hard work, you will generate more sales and earn maximum commission.
HubSpot
HubSpot offers a large creative inventory to use as affiliate marketing. If you join HubSpot, you will gain access to hundreds of demo videos, banners, logo samples, and many more types of designs that can help you earn a healthy amount of commission. Also, you can keep in touch with HubSpot’s own affiliate team. They guide new joiners to succeed in their goals.
Shopify
Shopify has around 2 million traders worldwide. It proved itself as a useful platform for market leaders and traders. More, this platform offers everything you need to start your online store from scratch. You will get website builders, shopping carts, web hosting and store management tools, and many more. Plus, you can easily analyze payment processing and other statistics through its built-in analytics features.
Moreover, the commissions are very high at Shopify. Thus, if you have a large audience in e-commerce, it is the best platform for you. You can help them set up an online store convenient through Shopify’s affiliate program. Also, an affiliate marketer earns a gigantic 200% commission if a customer purchases a monthly subscription through their reference.
WP Engine
We know that there are uncountable websites present on the web. A report stated that around 38% of the websites have WordPress back-end. That is why, today, WP Engine can help you earn a good amount of money through an affiliate marketing strategy. WP Engine offers excellent web hosting services for WordPress websites.
WP Engine has a brilliant affiliate program that runs with the help of the ShareASale network. You can simply earn $200 per signup by promoting WP Engine plans among your audience. Also, an affiliate marketer gains exclusive affiliate discounts to offer their audience as a sweetening treat. Moreover, you can earn around 30% of the sales generated through StudioPress by promoting its themes.
One more thing, WP Engine’s affiliate program is a two-way program. It means that you will earn a commission by promoting the services or product among customers, whereas you can also refer other affiliates to earn a commission. So if an affiliate joins the network from your reference, you will get a $50 commission.
Hammacher Schlemmer
Hammacher Schlemmer is America’s retailer company with a running experience of more than 150 years. Even till now, it continues to thrive in selling a wide-ranging of items from electronics to outdoor living equipment. Moreover, the firm offers a brilliant affiliate program with high-earning commissions. It is an excellent place for affiliate marketers to start their journey.
An affiliate marketer will get an 8% commission on anything they can sell through their blog, website, or landing page. You might be thinking 8% is too low, right? Well, consider some expensive equipment before thinking that way. For example, there are uncountable high-priced items on Hammacher Schlemmer. Thus, if you manage to sell a $5,000 item, imagine its 8% commission.
Boatbookings
In case your audience is interested in boats, sailing, and yachts, you should join Boatbookings. Their affiliate program focuses on luxury yacht and boat rental services and sailing offers. An affiliate marketer can earn a 20% commission on a reference. Also, if the customer returns again to use their services, the affiliate will get another 10% bonus commission on the second purchase.
Eventually, I recommend going through each of the affiliate programs mentioned above and finding which one suits well on you. Although, all these platforms are excellent. Afterward, now you have to think about ways to promote your product or service among the target audience.
Tips to Start Affiliate Marketing
Luckily, you do not need to do a degree program to start your career as an affiliate marketer. Instead, you need the right plan alongside the right resources. It means that almost anyone who thinks smartly can earn tens of thousands of dollars through this method.
Firstly, choose a service or product you would like to market. It is very easy, and there is nothing puzzling in it. For example, think like you are choosing a topic to write a blog for your website. Now you get it? Or perhaps you are thinking how? If your field is, for example, medical, then you should promote medicines and fitness products. It is that simple. However, make sure your field matches your interest. Else, you will start losing confidence shortly.
Therefore, the success rate in the affiliate marketing field relies upon our ability to engage with and attract the audience. An affiliate marketer needs the right type of traffic to achieve goals. Now you might be thinking about how to do that. Well, you need to create high-quality content that satisfies your specific audience. Below are some of the best tips to earn money through affiliate marketing.
Research A Lot before Selecting a Niche
Rushing toward a niche may cause trouble for later. Remember that these latest trends sink real quickly. For example, do you remember fidget spinners? Where are they now? Why do not people talk about them? Because the trend of fidget spinner was over, right after some time period of its existence. That is why conducting thorough research is vital before selecting a niche.
It is the simplest thing you can do to ensure your affiliate business will reach its full potential and meet your earning outcomes. Throughout the research process, you will learn many things such as the competitive landscape, affiliate programs, and affiliate marketing strategies.
Moreover, you can always try new things in this marketing approach. Some people shift their niches time after time or work on multiple niches at a time to earn more. It is never a bad idea to add or shift to another platform if you think the previous one is not satisfying your needs.
Tools to Find an Excellent Niche
Many starters are unaware of which niche they should choose for their affiliate business journey. If you are one of them, know that there are many tools that can help you in this. So if you are afraid that your desired niche will vanish from existence sometime later, here are some tools for validation.
- Google Trends: This tool offers top topics and searches over history.
- Answer Socrates: it can help you find out what type of questions people frequently type in the search engines.
- Exploding Topics: It works the same as Google Trends, but its results are precise.
Professional affiliate marketers suggest if you do not have enough money for affiliate marketing, you must choose a niche you are passionate about. The reason behind it is it will not exhaust you after some time passes by. This way, you can happily create hundreds of blogs related to the topic.
Therefore, be careful while selecting a niche. These tools can help you find out whether a field is just a passing trend or not. So go for a niche that in all cases, lasts forever. This way, you will never stop earning.
By Setting Up Blogs or Landing Pages
Aside from affiliate links, there is a better way to earn money through affiliate marketing, and that is by setting up blogs, landings pages, websites, etc. Many people think that a direct link approach can help them earn thousands of dollars. Sadly, that is not true. These beginners are making a big mistake. You need a platform to perform affiliate marketing promotions, such as a website and a blog presenting a product or service.
Affiliate links are not simply the best way. Why? Because many affiliate programs do not support promoting their product or services through links. That is why you should start with creating a blog or landing page.
Creating a Blog
Perhaps you are thinking about how to create an affiliate blog. Well, there are many platforms available to do this. You can simply make your own blog without even paying a buck. Also, you may use direct affiliate links if the platform allows you to promote the product. Here are some of the platforms you can use for this purpose.
- Vocal Media
- Blogger.com
- WordPress.com
Create a Landing Page
A landing page can be excellent for this purpose. However, you need to buy a domain for it. Well, not in every case. You can also create a free landing page for affiliate marketing. So if buying a domain name is out of your budget, you can use these resources to fulfill your need.
- Wix.com.
- Hubspot.
- ConvertFlow.
Affiliate Link
The most common way behind the logic of affiliate marketing is affiliate links. Each of these links contains a unique URL allotted particularly to you. You have to share the link with your audience. So whenever a customer opens up the link, the advertisers will know it came from your reference. This way, they can identify the purchase and pay you the commission. You may have seen people sharing links with each other, telling them to use the link and make purchases.
Moreover, you need to understand the two main models of affiliate marketing to earn commission efficiently. Below is a quick overview of both models:
- CPA (Cost per Action): CPA depends upon specific actions. For example, if one of your audience performs a specific action through your reference, you earn a commission. This model depends upon the program. The action includes signing up the form, starting a trial, contacting the advertiser, etc.
- CPC (Cost per Click): CPC offers commission over visitor’s quality, and the visitor does not need to perform any action in this model. The advertiser pays commission by considering whether the visitor is beneficial or not.
Conclusion
The above guide is enough to teach you every essential thing you need to know to thrive in affiliate marketing. No one can start making a 6 to 7 figure income by affiliate marketing without proper guidance. It is understandable that this marketing approach does not need any specific degree program. Still, it comes with many complications. However, simple know-how beforehand can save you from a lot of trouble and disappointment.
Besides, affiliate marketing is a huge industry, and there is enough space for everyone to secure their spot. If you spend adequate time and work hard, I assure you that this industry will shape your future according to your imagination. Remember that shortcuts do not work here. You will progress slowly but surely. I hope the above information helped you understand what affiliate marketing is and how you can start your business in it.
