In 2016, Forbes published a list of the 100 highest-paid brands in marketing. Burberry came first with a global brand value of £16.7billion, followed by Ralph Lauren, Prada, and Victoria Beckham. It’s no wonder firms spend big on marketing, considering 73% of Gen Z prefer to work for brands they connect with. In the face of a booming economy and record low interest rates, it’s an attractive proposition.
The advantage of the internet is it provides a global audience. If you can master the art of digital marketing, you can reach people no matter where they are.
Create a Blog
Blogs aren’t just for fun these days. They can be extremely useful for affiliate marketing, especially if you’re blogging about something that is tied to affiliate products. If you’re passionate about a particular topic or hobby, blogging is a great opportunity to share your expertise with the world.
Blogs can also be used to build a brand or business. In an increasingly crowded market, it’s important to stand out from the crowd. If you’re able to, why not position yourself as an expert in your industry and create a blog to share your thoughts and insights.
The first step is to identify your target audience and decide what you’ll write about. When choosing affiliate products to promote, consider the type of person you’ll be writing for. If you can relate to or understand their challenges, you’ll be able to relate to and inspire them to action through your blogging.
Start an Online Store
If you’re looking to make money online, consider using your skills to build an e-commerce store. You’ll be able to use your affiliate relationships to promote products that fit within your niche. The key to e-commerce success is having a steady stream of customers who trust you’ll deliver what you claim. Your ability to build and maintain relationships with customers can make or break your business.
If you’re completely new to e-commerce, begin by building a small audience on your blog. Once you’ve established yourself as an expert in your industry, you can consider taking the step of creating an online store.
Create YouTube Videos
The internet is filled with millions of videos, many of which are very successful. If you’re looking to make money online, consider creating videos to promote your affiliate products. Videos can be extremely effective for marketing, considering 42% of people have watched an explainer video to better understand or learn about a product or service.
You can use an array of free online tools to build and grow your audience on YouTube. According to HubSpot Blogs’ research, these tools enable you to create highly engaging video content that drives organic traffic and builds credibility.
Choosing your niche and finding the right products for your audience is a crucial step to ensure you’ll be able to build a profitable YouTube channel. Once you’ve established yourself as a thought leader in your industry, you can take the step of creating YouTube videos to promote your affiliate products.
Create a Podcast
Speaking of established thought leaders, you can also create a podcast to promote your affiliate products and to further establish yourself as an expert in your industry. A podcast is an audio version of a blog post, typically featuring interviews with industry experts. You’ll be able to choose your niche and what you’ll interview the experts about.
The advantages of a podcast for marketing and business development are numerous. According to HubSpot Blogs’ research, 79% of people listen to podcasts to better understand or learn about a product or service. If you can establish yourself as an expert in your industry, you can take the step of creating a marketing podcast.
Start an Influencer Marketing Agency
If you’re able to build a sizable audience on one or more of the platforms listed above, you can take the step of creating an influencer marketing agency. Essentially, an influencer marketing agency is a business that promotes others’ content (mostly other brands’ content) for commercial gain. This could include helping influencers establish their credibility by appearing in videos or podcasts that promote their products, hosting commercial-free interviews, or producing and editing commercial-free videos or podcasts.
The advantages of running your own influencer marketing agency are many. You’ll be in full control of your product mix, the way you present yourself, and the strategies you use to generate commercial success. The disadvantage is obviously having to do all the work yourself. You’ll need to decide how much you want to invest in the business and whether you want to take on clients or work solo.
Take On Freelance Projects
If none of the above seem like a fit, consider taking on freelance projects. Not only will you be able to utilize your existing skills to create content for commercial use, but you’ll also be able to develop new skills that can be monetized. Since 2016 SEO has become a massive industry, with demand soaring due to the changing tides of modern marketing.
If you’re looking to create content for commercial use, you have a number of options. You can write regular blogs for a business, or you can write product reviews for a digital marketing agency. If you have a specific skill that can be used to create engaging content for commercial use, you can consider taking the step of creating your own commercial blog or setting up a blog to promote a product you’re passionate about.
As you can see, there are numerous ways you can make money online. Which one you’ll choose depends on your existing skillset, how much time you have to devote to the business, and how determined you are to succeed.