How can I start affiliate marketing as a beginner
Free affiliate marketing for beginners
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: Your Startup Guide
New to Affiliate Marketing?
No sweat. Learn everything you need to know about starting your first affiliate marketing business in this guide.
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On this page
- How Affiliate Marketing Works
- How to start affiliate marketing
- What are the benefits of affiliate marketing?
- How much can you earn as a new affiliate marketer?
- Earn passive income through successful affiliate marketing
- Affiliate Marketing FAQ for Beginners
- Start your online business today.
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The affiliate marketing sector is a multibillion-dollar industry with exciting professional opportunities for creators. It is fast becoming a common way for e-commerce brands to market their products and services
Global ecommerce sales are expected to reach $68 trillion in 2027. Data shows that affiliate marketing is an effective driver of ecommerce sales, with 79% of marketers using it to connect with customers.
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The best affiliate marketing programs are often free to join, so it doesn't cost much to get started. Plus, you can go from a side hustle to a profitable business that provides passive income over time.
Feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start? This beginner's guide to affiliate marketing will get you up and running quickly. Learn everything from how to find an affiliate program to how an affiliate link works and start earning as an affiliate partner.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
Affiliate marketing is a sales model where a company pays third parties to sell their products or services. If you've ever listened to a podcast or seen a social media influencer promoting a product, chances are they're an affiliate marketer. In exchange for recommending products or services to their audience as part of an affiliate program, they may receive a commission from any sales resulting from their referrals.
After you choose an affiliate marketing program, you will receive a unique link or code that will allow companies to track each customer you send. When a customer purchases a product through your link, you receive a commission.
A diagram explaining how affiliate programs work
You can find an affiliate program through a company directly or through an affiliate network like ShareASale. However, here's how the standard affiliate program works:
1. You promote Store A on your website, blog or social network.
2. Someone clicks your unique link.
3. They make a purchase at store A.
4. Companies or affiliates record network transactions.
5. Purchase confirmed by Store A.
6. You will receive a commission.
For example, Instagrammer @caullenfit promotes MVMT accessories on her feed with a unique link on her link-in-bio page. MVMT has an affiliate program to attract lifestyle influencers like her.
Check out this post on Instagram
A post shared by Caullen Hudson (@caullenfit).
If you click on his link in the bio, you will see links to all the brands that promote Choline including MVMT When you click one, a cookie will be stored on your device. So even if you exit the browser, when you return that day, the cookie is still tracking your activity.
Caullenfit link in bio showing their affiliate marketing deals and links
Calenfit/Instagram
Then if you decide you want to buy an MVMT watch, when you check out, 8% of that purchase goes into @caullenfit's pocket. Caullen offers a 15% discount to her listeners through the affiliate link on her link-in-bio page.
- How to start affiliate marketing
- Decide on a niche
- Choose your authorized platform
- Find a relevant affiliate marketing program
- Create valuable content
- Create an audience
- Follow FTC regulations
1. Decide on a niche
A niche is a larger market segment defined by its own unique characteristics. It becomes your specialty and what people will know you for. Travel blogging would be an affiliate marketing niche, as would pet care or tiny houses.
The top affiliate marketing niches covered by data analytics platform Coupler are:
1. Technology
2. Build wealth
3. Health and Fitness
4. Fashion and beauty
5. Lifestyle
These are certainly not your only options. There are hundreds of affiliate marketing niches available. So how do you go about finding a profitable niche that interests you? Consider the following:
Do you want to know more about the niche? You will want to become a subject matter expert in your subject over time by constantly learning and staying on top of trends.
Can you solve the problem? Affiliate marketers often have specialized training or experience in a specific niche. It gives them new ways of presenting information and helps people solve problems.
Is it profitable? Do a quick Google search, research contests and read market reports to see how popular your niche is. A busy niche means there are people ready to buy.
The goal is to choose a niche that you enjoy. You won't make six figures overnight. Running an affiliate business takes commitment and time. If you already enjoy doing it, you'll be more likely to keep doing it, regardless of the amount.
2. Choose your affiliate platform
The next step is to consider which platform you will use for your business. Each affiliate marketer has a different platform and approach.
For example, while blogger Ryan Robinson has an Instagram account, his blog is his main source of income. Others focus only on Instagram or TikTok affiliate marketing to earn commissions.
There are two main methods to choose as a beginner:
Niche topic or product review sites
These sites review the company's products for a specific audience and compare the products with each other. They can also publish buyer's guides and product tutorials to help shoppers make buying decisions, like The New York Times' Wirecutter site.
The New York Times Wirecutter rounds up the site and reviews the products
his cutter
Digital content
Content creators include bloggers, social media influencers and YouTubers. They constantly publish content that resonates with their audience and drives clicks.
A good example is how Ryan Robinson's blog focuses on freelancers. He regularly publishes new content related to freelancing to attract audience and promote the brand he is associated with.
Ryan Robinson has an article on the best website builders on his blog
Ryan Robinson.
Authenticity and audience engagement are two important ingredients for affiliate marketing. If you can't connect with your audience, they probably won't buy the products you offer.
Not sure which platform to choose? Start from a platform you are comfortable with. If you love creating social media videos, make Instagram your platform. If you are a good writer, maybe blogging is the best path for you. Building on the platforms you already understand will help you create content that connects with your audience and drives affiliate sales.
3. Find a relevant affiliate marketing program
It's important to make sure you find the right affiliate program for you. Make sure to not only focus on high-paying affiliate programs but to find affiliate offers and products that will appeal to your audience.
Some things to look for when choosing an affiliate program:
Does the affiliate program have a great market reputation? You don't want to work with partners that people don't trust. Fortunately, affiliate networks vet programs and offers that you can work with reliable, profitable merchants.
Does the affiliate program have a good commission rate? You want to earn good money for your time and effort. Many programs pay 10% to 20% commission on a sale. Choose a rate that works for you.
Does it have a high earnings per click (EPC) rate? EPC is an industry-wide metric that shows the average affiliate earnings per 100 clicks across a merchant's affiliate program. Networks like ShareASale show you this information for each merchant
Finding the right programs is important to running a successful affiliate business. For example, True Crime Obsessed is a comedy podcast where best friends and hosts Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavel put a humorous spin on true crime documentaries.
Using this very niche in a popular niche, they have achieved over 200 million downloads and created the Obsessed Network with seven other offshoot programs.
A dedicated affiliate marketing promo code page that promotes podcast episodes and niche related products and services. When a listener clicks on an affiliate link and buys a product, they receive a commission.
True Crime Obsessed Website with Affiliate Marketing Promo Code for Dog Food
True Crime Obsessed
To find good affiliate opportunities, ask your favorite brands if they have ambassador or affiliate programs. This way you can promote products that you already appreciate and enjoy.
You can also find products and brands to work with in the following authorized marketplaces:
CJ
Clickbank
FlexOffers
ShareASale
Awin
Amazon Associates
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4. Create valuable content
Statista reports that in 2024, people worldwide will spend an average of six hours and 40 minutes online per day. People are consuming content, but it's not enough to create content and push an affiliate link to it. If you want to stand out, you need to make yourself valuable to your audience.
Blogs are a good way to do it. Findstack reports that 65% of all affiliate marketers generate traffic through blogging alone. Kelly Marohl, founder of The Greenspring Home, advises that new affiliate marketers should "focus on publishing high-quality content... and building a highly engaged audience. It will pay dividends later!"
According to a report, people around the world spend an average of 151 minutes on social media every day. So, if you are asking if you need to have a website to be an affiliate marketer, the answer is no.
Promoting an affiliate link on social media is an easy and free way to get your content in the hands of people who are interested in it. Even on a platform like Pinterest, you have permission to use pins on different boards.
There are plenty of affiliate marketers who work purely on social media, like @taylerfit who built her TikTok account with fitness content to over 460,000 followers. He makes money promoting brands like 1UpNutrition through affiliate marketing.
On Taylor's link-in-bio page, fans can find affiliate links to products promoted in her content. Every time a fan clicks and purchases one of those affiliate products he earns affiliate income.
TaylorFit link in bio with link to their affiliate marketing partnership
If you have a blog or YouTube channel, do research and understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO). BrightEdge reports that SEO drives 83% of search engine traffic, compared to 17% from paid search. Doing some keyword research and implementing SEO well is crucial to reaching your target audience. Email marketing is another way to keep customers who have already visited your site interested.
Resources:
How to Start a Blog You Can Turn into a Business
Organic marketing ideas for entrepreneurs on a shoestring budget
What should you post on Instagram? Here are 20 ideas to spice up your feed
Driving Growth: The 12 Best Marketing Strategies Any Small Business Can Implement.
5. Build an audience
To build an audience, you must first reach them. Building an email list helps you reach your audience directly. You can send newsletters, new content updates and exciting offers directly to anyone who signs up to be part of your email list.
If you work mostly on social media, follow and tag influencers who are interested in your niche. Doing whatever you can to increase traffic to your website or social media page is the name of the game.
Engaging them is only the first part, now it's important to build trust between you and your audience to keep them coming back.
Don't try to sell something to your audience just to make a quick buck. The more they feel your genuine interest, the more they will trust you.
Resources:
39-Point Store Trust Checklist: How Trusted Is Your Online Store?
9 Ways to Gain Customer Trust When You Have Zero Sales
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6. Follow FTC regulations
The FTC protects consumers from deceptive marketing practices. Unfortunately, there are affiliate marketers out there willing to promote scams and misleading products and services to make a quick buck.
To prevent this, the FTC requires that any affiliate marketer disclose their financial relationship with any brand or product they are promoting. In short, you must tell your audience that you are being compensated for promoting the products you are promoting, and you must tell them when a link is an affiliate link to stay compliant with the FTC.
An article on the It's Always Autumn site points out affiliate marketing links with acquisition copy
The blog It's Always Autumn adds a disclaimer to blog posts to indicate that affiliate links may be present. It's always autumn
If you are not located in the United States, you may be subject to various laws and regulations regarding posted content. Make sure you check with the relevant government agency in your region.
Resources:
FTC's Authorization Guide: What People Are Asking
FTC Disclosures for Affiliates: The Definitive Guide
What are the benefits of affiliate marketing?
Now that you understand how affiliate marketing works, let's look at some of the top benefits.
You do not own the products you are promoting
Most public affiliate programs are large and do not require you to purchase any of the products offered like Amazon Associates. You simply join their affiliate program, grab your link and post it on your page or website.
It's perfect when you're just starting out, because you don't have to invest a bunch of money into physical or digital products right off the bat. You can test for a while and see what kind of products and services are getting the most traction with your audience
It is a source of passive income
Once you've laid the groundwork to keep traffic coming to your site, you're pretty much set. All you have to do is choose the right affiliate partner that will appeal to your audience and post those links. Your unique links and codes will continue to bring you a recurring commission, as long as you keep them visible on your site.
It has high earning potential
Affiliate marketing has six figure earning potential for beginners. You might not make that kind of money right off the bat, but affiliate marketing has real potential to replace your nine-to-five. Pat Flynn, for example, reported to Business Insider that he earns up to $170,000 per month for his affiliate marketing business.
Learn how adventure junkie and biking founder Rohan Kadam turned his blog from a passion project into a successful online business using affiliate sales. "I scaled my [affiliate marketing] business, especially during the challenging COVID pandemic, and made it profitable in a short period of time," he says. So Rohan quit his full-time job at JP Morgan Chase and is now a full-time blogger and affiliate marketer.
How much can you earn as a new affiliate marketer
Commission rates vary depending on the company you work with. The Amazon Associates program offers 1% to 20% commission on sales. Others, like Butcherbox, offer up to a $20 commission per sale; Thrive Market offers $5 to $30 per commission. There are even affiliate programs that offer recurring commissions of up to 30% per sale.
How much you can earn with affiliate marketing is entirely up to you. It will depend on how much traffic you can generate to your site, which affiliate products and services your visitors will respond to, and how well you scale with the affiliate programs you join.
Statista reports that the affiliate marketing industry will reach $8.2 billion in the United States by 2022, up from $5.4 billion in 2017. The market is expected to continue to grow, reaching $14 billion annually in 2024.
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Earn passive income through successful affiliate marketing
There is no doubt that an affiliate income is a smart way to make money online. With little time and effort, you can build an audience and make consistent money with your affiliate site—all without risk.
Affiliate Marketing FAQ for Beginners
How do I start affiliate marketing as a beginner?
Decide on a niche Choose your platform Find relevant affiliate marketing programs on affiliate networks Create valuable content Build an audience Follow FTC regulations
How much do beginner affiliate marketers earn?
Affiliate marketing commission rates start as low as 1% of the gross sales value of a product but new affiliate marketers can earn up to 30% commission per sale. According to Influencer Marketing Hub's annual report, nearly 60% of affiliate marketers earn less than $10,000, while 21% earn between $10,000 and $100,000. For beginners, expect to learn close to the low end to get started as you build your affiliate business.
What are the best affiliate marketing opportunities for beginners?
The best affiliate marketing opportunities for beginners are programs related to that creator or marketing niche. Find programs that offer high commission rates and are related to trending and popular search terms Search for these opportunities in affiliate networks or marketplaces such as:
CJ
Clickbank
FlexOffers
ShareASale
Awin
Is affiliate marketing worth it for beginners
Yes, affiliate marketing work is worth it for beginners because you can start without any money. You can acquire and grow your target audience on free platforms like TikTok and Instagram and promote your affiliate products without any upfront costs.
What are the 3 main types of affiliates
The three main types of affiliates are unattached affiliate marketing, related affiliate marketing and involved affiliate marketing.
