You’ve probably heard the expression “if it’s meant to be, it will happen”. Well, with affiliate marketing, the saying can be “if it’s meant to be, you’ll make money online over time”. It may seem impossible, but stick with it and you’ll be able to say “I told you so” to anyone who doubted you.
What is affiliate marketing?
Put simply, affiliate marketing is a type of marketing in which you promote products (mostly digital products like software or e-books) from a third party, and earn a commission when someone clicks a link or buys a product that’s promoted on your blog or website. (Here’s a handy list of the top 5 affiliate marketing platforms)
There are two types of affiliate marketing: retail and performance. Let’s examine each one.
Retail Affiliate Marketing
With retail affiliate marketing, you promote products that you’ve directly bought or sold in the past. For example, the owner of a retail clothing store might promote an iPhone app that allows customers to take a virtual walk through their store. Or, an online marketer might promote a product that enables you to create an online store similar to Shopify – basically an affiliate sale of a complete retail experience. Retail affiliate marketing often requires a lot of research and planning to ensure that your promotions are relevant and attractive to those you’re trying to reach. Since you’re already familiar with the products you promote, it’s easier to build rapport with prospective customers and encourage them to take action.
Performance Affiliate Marketing
With performance affiliate marketing, you promote a product you’ve never directly touched or sold. For example, an online marketer might promote a monthly health newsletter that provides tips on how to eat better and stay fit. Or, a mobile app developer might promote a weight loss program that utilizes their app – the product they’re promoting is something they didn’t create, but they’re making money off it (hence the term performance affiliate marketing). Performance affiliate marketing is a newer concept, but it’s become extremely popular because it provides an opportunity to make money online without having to first get the product or service successfully launched. By simply providing valuable information about the subject matter, you can attract potential customers who are seeking that information. The upside is that you’re not necessarily restricted to promoting a single product throughout your entire career as an affiliate marketer. You can instead, promote a wide range of products and continue to make money online over time. The downside is that you have to continuously upgrade your knowledge on a wide range of subjects in order to generate sustainable affiliate sales.
Which one should you choose?
Based on your experience and training, you’ll likely have a preference as to which type of affiliate marketing you’d like to pursue. If you’re a seasoned professional seeking sustainable passive income, you might opt for performance affiliate marketing. Alternatively, if you’re seeking to build a successful blog that generates sales in the long run, you might opt for retail affiliate marketing.
The important thing to note is that regardless of which type of affiliate marketing you choose, it’s still considered affiliate marketing when you’re making money off a product you promote on a blog or website. For example, if you’re promoting an iPhone app in a blog post and that app generates sales, you’re still considered to be an affiliate marketer of the product.
The Growth Of Affiliate Marketing
For those seeking the growth mindset, affiliate marketing offers a potentially lucrative career path. Let’s examine some astounding statistics to understand the growth of affiliate marketing.
In 2019, there will be a greater demand for digital marketing professionals than ever before. Additionally, jobs in this field are predicted to grow by 27% in the next five years.
According to Adobe Analytics, in 2019 affiliate marketing spending reached an estimated total of $16.7 billion worldwide with a predicted 2021 growth rate of 27%.
What’s fascinating is that while the industry is expanding, the demand for affiliate marketing skills is expected to decrease slightly in 2022. This is likely due to the fact that more established marketers are seeking to capitalize on the success of their peers instead of becoming affiliates themselves.
How To Make Money Online Over Time
With so much information available online, most people now have the opportunity to learn to make money online. While some choose to pursue traditional methods of making money offline, such as getting a job, others opt to find ways to make money online in the present. Since affiliate marketing offers such great potential for those who choose to pursue it, we’ve put together a list of ways in which you can make money online over time. The important thing to remember is that affiliate marketing is a way of life, not a get-rich-quick scheme. With a little bit of hustle, you can certainly make money online quickly, but as with any other type of freelancing, you have to put in the hours and build your reputation to be able to land high-paying gigs. So, if you’re looking to make money online over time, you might want to consider pursuing affiliate marketing as your career path.
The Benefits Of Affiliate Marketing
Many marketers claim that affiliate marketing provides great benefits to businesses and individuals who opt to pursue it. Let’s examine a few of these benefits.
Firstly, it’s fairly easy to get started with. All you need is a reliable DSL connection, a laptop or desktop computer, and a comfortable seat (maybe even a couch). Once you’ve got those essentials, the world of affiliate marketing is literally at your fingertips. You can discover countless ways to make money online with little to no experience through niche websites like HubSpot which provide all the tools you need to succeed. (You can also use their free hosting for your site if you don’t want to build your own.)
Secondly, it’s flexible. You can work remotely or anywhere you like. Plus, since you’re promoting other people’s products, you don’t have to worry about the financials of the businesses you’re working with. (Unless you decide to become a digital marketing agency and start charging clients for your services.)
Thirdly, it’s sustainable. You’re not solely dependent on one product to earn your living. Instead, you can promote a variety of products and continue to earn money online over time. (As long as you continue to learn and provide good quality content, that is.)
Fourthly, it’s fairly anonymous. You don’t need to have a large social media following to be able to get started with affiliate marketing. (Unless you want to do some paid social media marketing or decide to go the extra mile and create a brand for yourself.) You just need to have a basic website or blog where you can post articles that are relevant to the products you promote. (As long as you don’t distribute spammy content, you don’t risk losing customers.)
Lastly, it’s highly scalable. You can start with a small blog or website to see how it goes. (Then, once you’ve mastered the basics, you can graduate to a bigger platform.) If you want to be able to reach a large audience, you can create a social media account for your blog and start attracting potential customers. (Just remember to always promote high-quality content on your social media platforms.) Once you’ve got numerous followers, you can begin to reach out to influencers in your niche to help you scale your blog or website. (Tip: If you want to be able to reach a global audience, incorporate a translation feature on your site so that people from any country can read the content.)
How To Make Money Online Without A Website Or Blog
If you don’t have a website or blog, how can you make money online? There are hundreds of ways to make money online without a website or blog, but most of them require a bit of training and experience to be able to succeed. Let’s examine a few of the more prominent methods.
The first way is to start a side business. This business can either be physical or digital. Let’s examine each one. (Tip: If you want to begin your own business, take the time to learn how to properly file taxes as an individual. This way you can take advantage of all the deductions and write-offs that are available to you as an independent contractor.)