If you’re looking for an easy way to make money from home, I have great news for you. Now, you don’t have to own a business or stock a warehouse to be able to make money online. Thanks to the internet and all its wonders, all you need is a laptop or desktop computer and you can be generating income within minutes. Still not sure? Let me introduce you to one of the simplest ways to make money online that you’ve probably never heard of. It’s called Affiliate Marketing and in this blog post, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about becoming an affiliate marketer and earning a healthy commission for your efforts.
Affiliate Marketing: What is It?
If you’re reading this, I assume that you’ve found your way to this point having some familiarity at least with the term ‘Affiliate Marketing’. If not, then maybe it’s time for you to become more familiar with this unique online marketing strategy. Simply put, affiliate marketing is a way to make money online without having a store of your own or doing any kind of sales yourself. Essentially, as an affiliate marketer, you’ll be earning commissions from products and services that you promote on your website. If someone clicks on a product that you recommend and buys it, you’ll receive a commission. The more you promote, the more you’ll make.
However, in order to become a successful affiliate marketer, you’ll need to do much more than simply put up a blog or website. You’ll need to understand what makes affiliate marketing different from other ways of making money online and how you can utilize this unique skill set to make extra money. In this blog post, we’ll discuss everything from how to choose a niche to how to set up your affiliate accounts and what to look out for. So, make sure you’ve got your laptop or desktop computer with you and that you’ve got a solid WiFi connection so you can get started.]
The History of Affiliate Marketing
As stated above, affiliate marketing is a way to make money online without having to own a business or stock a warehouse. However, that doesn’t mean that this mode of operation has always existed. In fact, the idea of paid-for-review websites and blogs is barely more than a decade old. The idea of generating income from an online store came before that, however. In the early days of the internet, people would go online and surf for products that they liked. If a vendor wanted to reach this audience, they would provide an affiliate program where people could make earnings for each product they promoted.
The first affiliate marketing website that I can think of was the Shopify marketplace. It was founded in 2006 and allows entrepreneurs to launch online stores quickly and easily. Pretty cool, right? Still, this was nothing new. For years, internet gurus had been using affiliate marketing to make money online. The difference was that back then, you needed to have a physical store or business to qualify as an affiliate marketer. That is, you had to be doing some kind of business and generating revenue. Today, with the rise of affiliate marketing platforms like Shopify, you don’t need to own a single product to begin making money online. Your success as an affiliate marketer hinges on your capacity to generate revenue through multiple platforms and multiple sales channels. This is why you’ll rarely see one and the same affiliate marketing website cover all of these platforms.
What Makes Affiliate Marketing Different?
In general, the biggest differentiator between traditional advertising and affiliate marketing is that with the former, you’re paying to have your product (or service) advertised to the general public. With affiliate marketing, you’re paying to have your product (or service) advertised to someone who already has an interest in your product (or service). Essentially, with affiliate marketing, you’re targeting the right audience and motivating them to buy a product that they might not have otherwise bought.
Additionally, in contrast to traditional advertising, with affiliate marketing you’re not paying to have your product (or service) featured. Instead, you’re paying to have your product (or service) featured on a website or blog that already has a large audience. In practice, this means that you can potentially reach a larger audience than you could have ever reached with traditional advertising. The more people that see your product (or service) promoted on a site with millions of visitors, the greater the chance that they’ll become interested in your product (or service). If you do this right, you’ll be able to generate sales without having to spend more money on traditional advertising. (Forbes)
How Can You Use Affiliate Marketing To Generate Revenue?
As an affiliate marketer, the most basic and the most profitable method of generating revenue is simply by encouraging people to make purchases from an affiliate link or banner on your website. When someone clicks on a product that you promoted and makes a purchase, you’ll earn a commission. The more you promote, the greater your chance of generating revenue. So, how exactly do you get people to click on your affiliate links or banners? You can use various platforms like social media, email marketing, or video marketing to draw attention to your link.
For example, if you’re trying to market a web hosting package, you might choose to host a special sale offered by a reputable web host. During this sale, you could invite potential customers to an affiliate portal where they could learn more about the product. Following this, you could send them email updates on new products and special offers from the host. Or, you could put up a video describing the features of your host’s product and why the public might want to purchase it. When done right, affiliate marketing can easily generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue. (Forbes)
Choosing The Right Niche
If you’re looking to make money online without risking too much capital, then choosing a niche is an easy way to go about it. After all, the less you have to learn, the less you’ll likely make mistakes and the less you’ll risk wasting time and money. In terms of choosing a niche, you want to focus on topics that are already popular but still have a lot of room for growth. As a rule of thumb, try to pick a niche that you know nothing about. Sure, you’ve heard of the term ‘green marketing’ and might know a little bit about it. But, have you ever actually performed marketing for a product or service in an environmentally friendly manner? If not, then maybe it’s time to learn.
The Rise of Virtual Assistants
Thanks to the rise of virtual assistants like HubSpot and Hello Fresh, managing a blog or website has become much easier. These assistants make it simple for anyone to create a digital magazine or blog. Instead of needing to hire freelancers to help with content, businesses can outsource most of the work to virtual assistants. So, if you’ve got a decent sized blog or website, then it’s time to consider whether or not you should hire some help. There are plenty of virtual assistants that can take care of all the content creation for you so that you can focus more on growing your audience and engaging with your readers.
Setting Up Your Blog Or Website For Affiliate Marketing Success
Now, you don’t need to have a physical store or business to be able to generate revenue through affiliate marketing. However, you do need to have a blog or website in order to promote products and services. To ensure that you’re making the right choices when choosing affiliate products, it’s imperative to understand what platforms you’ll be using to promote your products. In this way, you can make sure that you’re promoting items that are aligned with what your blog or website is about. For example, if you’re trying to create a blog about fashion, you might want to steer clear of health and fitness products.
Additionally, you’ll need a web host that’s suitable for use with a blog or website. While it’s possible to use free web hosts like GitHub pages or AWS, these are not designed with eCommerce or marketing in mind. As a general rule of thumb, try to avoid using free hosts if your goal is to make money online. Instead, look for a host that’s been established for years and has a good reputation.