Anyone who’s been online for more than a few minutes knows how competitive the world of affiliate marketing can be. It seems like there’s a new offer to promote every other minute, leaving you with little time to make money online unless you invest heavily in adverts, pay-per-click or use dubious methods like getting people to click on your offered link just to get the discount offered by the brand.
What if there was a way to effectively promote products without having to spend a penny? What if you could do all of this from the comfort of your home?
Affiliate marketing was traditionally considered a luxury reserved for big businesses and brands. Many people saw it as a way to earn some extra money on the side, especially since most affiliate marketing platforms don’t require you to spend a lot of money to get started.
But with the emergence of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, individuals are able to create cryptocurrencies and run ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) to fund their ventures. And because these ICOs are completely digital, they have virtually no cost to promote.
What this means is that anyone with a creative mind and a few hours a day to spend on marketing a product can now launch a quality online store, attract customers and make money online without having to break the bank.
Choose A Niche
Before you start making money from home, you need to figure out what you’re going to sell. Remember: you’re going to be sourcing products for someone else to sell so you need to make sure you know what you’re getting into.
The first step to building a successful online store is to find a niche. This is a little tricky because there are so many options available. But if you want to become a go-to source for information on your chosen topic, you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
If you have a specific skill – like copywriting, graphic design or web development – you can use it to your advantage. For example, if you have a keen eye for detail and can spot a fake product with ease, you can create a blog around figuring out how to spot a fake product with ease to develop your skills and become an authority in your field. Or if you have a talent for creating unique designs, you can launch a store selling t-shirts with quirky slogans on them.
Whatever your niche, make sure that there’s enough demand for your product in your chosen market. The last thing you want to do is invest all of this time and effort into creating a product and marketing it only to discover that your audience doesn’t exist or isn’t interested in your product.
Set Up Shop
Once you’ve decided on a niche and validated the demand for your product, you can start thinking about how to set up shop. To do this, you need to purchase a domain name for your store and pick a web hosting service to house your website. Most businesses opt for shared hosting because it’s cost-effective and easy to set up. Shared hosting allows for multiple websites to be hosted on one server, with each site having its own area – known as a subdomain – so you can create separate pages for each product you sell.
The next step is to pick a platform. Chances are you’ve heard of Shopify, which is a popular choice among entrepreneurs who want to sell their products online. With Shopify, you don’t need to worry about much else, as they’ve got you covered. All you need to do is install their app, create an account and start building your store.
If you want to build a blog or vlog around your chosen topic, consider using a free blog platform like WordPress or Medium. While they aren’t as robust as Shopify, they’re also a lot less obtrusive and can be used to great effect for personal blogs and small business websites.
Get Inspired
One of the most important things you need to do before you start making money from home is get inspired. This means that you need to look for ways to make your store special, whether it’s offering a unique service, having a clever concept or using high-quality products. Remember: your aim is to make money online so you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd while still being profitable.
There are endless ways you can become inspired. If you want to create a blog around your chosen topic, consider looking into how other people in your niche are promoting their products. Or look at the forums and Facebook groups dedicated to your topic to see what topics people are discussing. Or maybe you can find a mentor who can help you develop a plan to get your store started.
Whatever your source of inspiration, make sure that it doesn’t hurt your wallet too much. The last thing you want to do is invest a lot of time and effort into creating a product only to discover that it doesn’t meet the standards of a viable seller.
Make A Plan
With all of that in mind, you need to sit down and make a plan. How much time do you have to devote to this endeavor? How much money do you have to spend? Are you ready to make the investment? These are important questions that you need to answer before you start moving around. Once you’ve got an idea of how much time and effort you can put in, you can start mapping out the next steps. This may include picking a niche, setting up shop, designing a website and getting the word out about your store. To get these steps right, you need to make sure that you have everything you need in advance so you can follow a plan of action.
If you can’t afford a designer, you can still get some help from a content management company to build a custom website for your store. While it might be tempting to just go with the first site that you find when you search for your chosen keyword, this often isn’t the best idea. Search engines like Google favor well-established websites over new ones, so if you want to maximize your revenue, build a site that’s as close to perfect as possible.
Don’t Forget About Marketing
If you want to be seen as the go-to source for information in your chosen area, you need to establish yourself as an expert in your field. This isn’t a task that can be covered in a single blog post. Marketing involves much more than driving traffic to your site. It includes gaining credibility and making connections with others in your industry. This is where branding and networking come in.
To start establishing yourself as an expert, consider using platforms like LinkedIn to look for connections and see who you know in common. Then, reach out to those people and ask if they’ll help you get the word out about your product. Or if you’ve got a specific contact at a brand or company that you think might be interested in working with you, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask if they’re aware of your product.
Of course, getting the word out about your product doesn’t just mean that you need to push it onto other people. You also need to be doing this yourself by sharing your blog posts and social media content about your topic. For example, if you’re running a blog about product reviews, make sure that you’re reviewing products that are relevant to your niche and have something new to offer. The more you do to establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field, the more you’ll be able to get paid for your efforts. And that’s what’s important – earning money online without having to break the bank.