Looking for a way to make extra cash flow into your life? Want to find a way to make money online without having to spend a dime? You can do both with the help of some affiliate marketing techniques.
If you’ve ever shopped online, you’ll no doubt have noticed the various affiliate marketing programs that e-commerce sites run. For instance, if you’re a fan of Nike and decide to check out their website for sneakers, you’ll notice a familiar logo at the top of the page.
That’s because Nike is a major affiliate partner of Shopify. When you make a purchase using their affiliate program, you’ll get a small commission. In other words, you’ll earn a commission for directing traffic to a retailer from your blog or website. The amount of money you earn depends on how much traffic you bring in.
Now, if you’re a savvy internet entrepreneur who already has a profitable blog, you may be wondering how you can turn this into a money-making machine. You can do this by developing niche websites that focus on teaching people how to make money online for free (or nearly so).
Here’s where those familiar with Shopify’s Affiliate program will note a critical distinction. While affiliate marketing with Shopify is fantastic because it brings in continuous revenue, your ability to monetize your blog or website with affiliate marketing is limited.
The catch is, you have to drive traffic to the retailer’s site using a specific affiliate program. So, while you can earn money online with affiliate marketing, you’ll have to limit your efforts to a few well-known brands that have affiliate programs.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
If you’re curious, you can click here to see the full definition of affiliate marketing from the International Business Times. In short, it’s a type of marketing in which a business pays commission to someone (usually an independent contractor or a blogger) when that person’s audience interacts with a product or service that’s been featured on a website or social media channel.
So, basically, in a nutshell, affiliate marketing is when a company pays you to promote their products or services. You’ll generally need to have a large and engaged audience to make this work. Luckily, you can always promote products and services associated with your niche area of expertise or passion. And if you can make money online from home, why shouldn’t you?
How Do I Get Started With Affiliate Marketing?
If you’re looking to get started with affiliate marketing, here’s a quick tutorial to get you there. First, find a product or service that you believe will be valuable to your audience. For instance, if you have a strong interest in fashion, you might choose to promote a fashion-related product or service.
Next, identify websites or blogs where you can promote these products and services. Make sure you pick brands that you’re confident will stay in business for the long haul. You shouldn’t promote products or services from a brand just because the brand happens to be associated with something you’re passionate about. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
Finally, create a blog post that will become the basis of your work. This post should contain details about the product or service you’re promoting, as well as a call-to-action that will persuade your readers to click a link, make a purchase, or otherwise take a specific action.
For example, this blog post about fashion could become the basis for an e-commerce store that sells women’s clothing. Once you have a successful blog post with a relevant call-to-action, you can begin to promote products and services that are associated with your blog post.
When you promote a product or service on your blog, you will typically need to have a banner or some other form of online advertising to get the word out. You can use a service like Google Adsense to monetize your content. Alternatively, you can use a service like Fiverr to find and connect with a freelance graphic designer to help you create a banner for your website.
Keep in mind that not all affiliate marketing is created equal. You’ll need to learn to promote specific products and services to maximize your efforts and gain the most income. You can also use tools like SEMrush to learn which products and services tend to do the best in terms of sales. Simply enter a product or service name in the search bar, and you’ll see a list of all the websites that are currently promoting the product or service.
You can also use SEMrush to see the top competitors for a product or service you’re interested in promoting. This will help you get a sense of what else is out there and give you some inspiration for your content.
The Growth Of Online Marketplaces For Affiliates
If you’re looking for a way to make money online, you may have noticed that some well-known e-commerce sites don’t just sell products. They also allow their affiliates to earn a commission when they send a click to an online store.
In case you’re interested in pursuing this route and don’t want to go the solo route, you can use a service like affiliate marketing platform ShareASale to connect with thousands of products and services that you can promote.
You’ll need to set your own commission percentage when you begin promoting products and services on your site. You can find a guide to the most popular affiliate marketing platforms here. Simply choose the one that you’re most comfortable with and understands the needs of an internet marketer who just wants to make extra cash flow into their life.
Profit From The Pounds: Ways To Make Money Online Without Having To Maintain A Profitable Business
If none of the above feels right to you and you’d prefer to maintain a profitable business, you can follow the footsteps of these savvy entrepreneurs who already made the switch to full-time online work. You can use affiliate marketing to generate occasional income or you can use a service like Amazon Mechanical Turk to get paid to take surveys or carry out simple tasks for commercial websites.
The key is to find ways to make money online that don’t require you to have a large audience. If you can find a way to make a few hundred extra dollars online, you’ll certainly be able to live the lifestyle you desire. And who knows, maybe one day you can even make a full-time living from it.