What is Affiliate Marketing and How Does It Work?

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Wouldn’t it be nice to make money in your sleep? It might sound like an opportunity that only comes about in dreams, but there’s actually a simple way to make money in a low-maintenance fashion: affiliate marketing. 

But what is affiliate marketing? It’s an opportunity for passive income, and as a business owner, it’s something to consider. Let’s take a closer look at what defines online affiliate marketing, how it works, and how to start affiliate marketing as soon as possible.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a strategy that involves earning commissions when you promote a company’s products or services and get a customer to complete a sale. The catch is that you won’t just make money by adding links to your blogs, website, and email lists. You have to link within crafted content that will encourage people to click and make a purchase because, like other commission-based jobs, you only make money when you drive a sale. 

Beyond making an extra income, affiliate marketing can be highly beneficial to your business for other reasons. In most cases, you have a lot of creative control when it comes to utilizing the links in your content. Plus, it’s an opportunity to increase your brand awareness and even grow your audience. 

You can read more about the general overview of affiliate marketing here.  

How Much Can I Make With Affiliate Marketing?

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If you’re trying to decide whether you want to try affiliate marketing, consider the pay opportunity. It’s hard to provide one single figure when it can range so differently from person to person. What I can tell you, is that the sky’s the limit! There’s so much opportunity to make upwards of six figures in affiliate marketing as long as you put in the effort and stay consistent with your content and marketing efforts. 

For example, as a Builderall affiliate, I’ve cleared over $500,000 in commissions

How to Start Affiliate Marketing 

Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or you’re a brand new business owner, finding new opportunities to bring in money can help you grow your business, meet market demands and drive inspiration for future professional expectations. Affiliate marketing is worth getting behind if you’re looking for a simple source of income with a great payout. 

The best part? Getting started with affiliate marketing can be fairly seamless if you’re driven and dedicated to being successful. Here are the steps to consider on your journey to becoming an affiliate marketer:

Affiliate marketing is a versatile market to pursue. There are so many different platforms and methods you can utilize to market your affiliate links and partnerships – the opportunities are fairly endless! Many people flock to social media for affiliate marketing, because it’s a gateway for communicating with potential customers in a more personalized way. You can use a blog, YouTube channel, or direct content on social media platforms to advertise your affiliate links and get people to click and purchase.

Affiliate marketing can also involve the word-of-mouth method. If you host networking events or other workshop-based programs, you can talk about your affiliate program and offer a bonus offer to audience members who follow through with a product or service purchase. 

2. Pick Your Niche

One mistake you need to avoid in affiliate marketing: Choosing a niche that doesn’t flow with your interests. You should never agree to an affiliate program just to make money – you should be passionate about it. When you choose a niche that matches your brand identity, it makes you more authentic and trustworthy to your audience members. Elise Dopson, the founder of Sprocker Lovers, told Spotify that finding a niche should also involve research regarding the potential competition:

“The niche you choose for your affiliate site guides how much time/effort you’ll need to put into building it to a point where you begin to see SEO results. SERPs for software, marketing, and healthcare, for example, are all dominated by huge blogging sites with even bigger marketing budgets. The secret is finding untapped areas where competition isn’t as fierce—and getting in there before other people recognize it.”

3. Choose a Relevant Affiliate Marketing Program 

Once you’ve established your niche, you can get serious about finding an affiliate program that you want to work with. Remember: The products or services that you want to promote should align with your influencer aesthetic. Your audience members should see your advertisements as an organic fit for your brand.

4. Create Your Content and Start Promoting

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Link placement plays a major role in your ability to succeed in affiliate marketing. You should never copy and paste a link without context (with the exception of social media bio’s), you need to create high-quality content that your affiliate links can fit into as naturally as possible. The best type of content around the product or service you’re promoting should come from first-hand experience, so make sure to test out the product before speaking highly of it. 

Once you’ve created your content and pushed it across your social media, blog, and other channels, it’s time to get people to click. SEO can assist greatly here – utilizing keywords and creating content around those hot topics will get more traffic. 

Affiliate marketing can be overwhelming for beginners, I understand! That’s why I’ve created Affiliate Mastery Beginner and Advanced Courses to teach you everything you need to know about affiliate marketing, from choosing your niche, gaining traffic on your site, and making as much money as possible. Don’t start the journey alone – these courses can help you start and maintain a successful journey in online affiliate marketing. Check out our mastery programs today or reach out directly for more information. 

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