Beginner’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing

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Affiliate Marketing might be a term you’ve heard, but you aren’t sure what it is. Or, if you understand what it is about, you feel that you do not want to pursue it as an income-earning opportunity because you think it is not something that works for your site.

When most bloggers hear the phrase affiliate marketing and think it means being sales-y and pushing your readers to buy your products. That’s not really how it works.

When done effectively, affiliate marketing can bring in thousands of dollars a month to your site – all without you needing to promote or market yourself actively. The beauty of making money with this method is that you can set it and forget it. 

You can make money while you sleep!

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is promoting products or services. When someone buys or signs up, you earn a commission.

That may sound simple, but that is because it is. These are links you see everywhere, and you click to see more and then buy. The site that had the link just made money off of your purchase. How easy is that?

Is affiliate marketing profitable?

The #1 question I see about affiliate marketing is whether it is profitable; one, I have seen people make as little as $50 a month and as much as $50,000 a month — all from using affiliate links on their site!

There is no way to tell anyone how much they will make because it varies from blog to blog. You could have two bloggers with similar content, audience, and following; one may make 10x more than the other.

Income from affiliate marketing does not happen overnight, but it can build up over time.

Is it a pyramid scheme?

Not even close. You do not pay to belong to a group of others who all get others to sign up beneath them. It is a legitimate, honest way to make money on your blog or website.

Does it take a lot of time?

It does not take much additional time to use affiliate marketing. You add links to your articles – and that’s it! It adds just a bit more time when you type your post.

How does affiliate marketing work?

It is pretty simple. You find a partner to promote and add those links to your site. Readers buy, and you earn money.

Before I show you how that looks, you must understand the four parts of affiliate marketing: merchant, affiliate, network, and customer.

Merchant

The merchant is the company (or brand) that wants you to use their links to make them money. They are often companies you have heard of, such as Amazon, Target, or Best Buy.

Affiliate

The affiliate is you!! The person (or company) that will promote the merchant on their site or social media channels.

When a visitor clicks your link and buys, the company makes money, and you earn a commission.

Network

Merchants need to find affiliate partners, and affiliates need to find merchants. When both parties join an affiliate network, they can find one another.

A network will host hundreds (if not thousands) of merchants so affiliates can find the company they want to promote under a single site. An affiliate signs up and gets instant access to merchants they want to promote

Customer

The customer is the driving force in affiliate marketing. After all, without someone buying a product through a link, neither you nor the merchant makes any money.

Therefore, you need to entice the reader to click, which is why you need always to promote only relevant products. Otherwise, there is no interest and no reason to click for that purchase to happen.

How do you make money with affiliate marketing?

The process is simple. You will find your affiliate partner’s program (more on that below) and fill out the application.

Once you do, you will find a unique link in your account for your partner. You will link words or images with that code in a way that makes sense for your article.

Readers will click that link as they read. You will make a commission if they buy the product (or any product from the merchant).

But you have to ensure that the link makes sense. It has to be a product that connects the reader to your article.

Check out this post:  Everything you need to know about using blog images. Throughout the post, you will find text underlined in pink. Some of these are affiliate links.

Readers see them as additional information. They click to learn more about a product that will solve their problem. They sign up or buy, and then I make money.

That is the primary way to incorporate affiliate marketing. Here is a sample section from that article:

In the post, I share that you need to compress images and provide a natural solution for the reader. One of the links you see is ShortPixel. When they click and sign up, I may make a commission.

It looks like any other internal or external link on my site. The difference is that if someone buys, I make a commission.

Does it look obtrusive or as if it is “in your face,” making you feel like I am forcing you to buy? Nope. Not at all. The link appears to be completely natural and organic.

That is all there is to it! Your link to products that fit your post using a trackable link for your site. These companies watch, and as you make sales, you earn a commission.

Why should bloggers use affiliate marketing?

I can’t understand why bloggers would not want to do it. As you can see above, it can be very natural and work well in many blog posts.

You have to write the post once, and the link can continue to earn you money without any effort. It is one of the easiest ways to create a stream of passive income for your website.

It is honestly the simplest way for a new blogger to make money.

Which companies can you promote?

There are thousands of companies that offer affiliate programs. To start, you will want to create accounts from the affiliate partnerships. Once your account is established, you can search for the partners on their site.

While some affiliates will allow anyone to promote them, others require approval. They will be reviewing your site to make sure it is a fit for their brand.

They may also want to ensure you’ve been blogging for a while or that you have the traffic they want. If they feel you are a fit, the brand will approve you as a partner, and you can start promoting them.

Another way to find the affiliate program for the company you want to promote is to conduct an online search for the company name + affiliate. For example, if you wish to promote Target, you could search for Target + affiliate program and learn that they have a program on Impact and can click and apply.

To start, sign up with these companies. Once you create your account, you can begin your search for partners:

• Commission Junction (use for commission-based advertisers)
• Pepperjam Network (use for commission-based advertisers)
• Share a Sale Network (use for commission-based advertisers)
• Impact (use for commission-based advertisers)
• Amazon (learn more about Amazon Affiliate marketing)

Is there anything legal you need to know about affiliate marketing?

One thing that many people do not realize when it comes to affiliate marketing is the required disclosures. You must inform readers that you use affiliate links and will make money if they buy.

There is no way to get around this. I recommend you review this post – The Disclosures You Must Have On Your Blog  – to learn much more about this.

You also need to disclose the link is an affiliate link. You do that by adding the sponsored tag to your links. If you aren’t sure how to update the type of link on your post, read up on How to Add a Rel=”Sponsored” link on your site.

You may also have to pay taxes on the money you make with affiliate marketing.   You will need to check with the tax laws and a professional to learn more about your situation.

How do you get started?

First, you must look at your site to determine the products or services that fit your readers. That is going to help you find the most success.

Then, run a quick Google search to see where the affiliate program is for the partner. You will head to that site, where you will sign up.

After signing up to create an account, find the company, and follow the steps to apply to work with them. Once they approve your site,  you will get the links, add them to your content and be on your way to making mine.

Which affiliate programs are the best?

There is not one that is better than others. It is about finding the right partner to promote to your readers. You would never talk about blog hosting on a site about recipes, right? It makes no sense.

But, if you shared links to the pot, utensils, and cookbook the reader needed, they would buy. It is about finding the right products and companies, above all else.

That being said, Amazon tends to convert the best for most, as people know and trust them (and often shop there frequently).

Is there an affiliate program that is best for a new blogger?

The short answer is – yes. There is one that is best for newer bloggers. That is Amazon.

Amazon has no requirements to sign up as an affiliate. They do have specific requirements you need to follow, or you can be removed from their program (and trust me, Amazon doesn’t care if they have to kick you out).

As easy as it is to sign up with Amazon, you must realize that you have 180 days to make three qualified sales or will be removed from their program. And, those sales can’t come from friends or family (don’t ask me how Amazon knows).

But, even then, it is the #1 program new bloggers should join.

Read more: Understanding the Amazon Affiliate Program

What are smart affiliate marketing strategies?

One mistake bloggers make is dropping a banner ad in their sidebar and thinking it will make money. It won’t. That is one of the least effective methods for getting clicks and conversions.

As mentioned above, the idea is to incorporate links in your articles naturally. Sometimes it is easy to do, such as when doing a review post. But what are some other ways you can add links without appearing sales-y?

The Recommendations Page

As you get more readers to your site, they will begin to trust you. That means they will listen and follow your recommendations. You can share those with them by creating a recommendations page. That page is filled with links to products and services you use and love.

Check out My Recommendations Page. The reader sees this information as helpful, but the links are all to affiliate partners. If they click and buy or sign up – I make money.

The Tutorial

There are times when someone needs to learn how to do something. These are tutorial posts. You can share the service and how to use it or even instructions for creating something. You can add links for the service or the products you need to purchase to build what is being shared.

I do this in my post about How to Add an Opt-In To Your Site. If you scroll down, you will see me walk readers through how to do this with different email providers. The email partner links are affiliates – but the post provides value.

The Interview

Another way to add affiliate links to your site that appear natural is through the interview. Bloggers often do this for courses they want to promote.

They reach out to the owner and interview them. That provides value and answers questions for the reader about the service so they can decide if they want to sign up or not.

The List Post

You’ve seen these posts and didn’t even realize they were all affiliate links. A list post is a list of products that solve a reader’s problem.

Common list posts are gift lists. They are gift ideas for a specific niche or person. For example, you might find a list of White Elephant Gift Ideas.

The reader sees the ideas as they need help knowing what to buy. They see a perfect product and will click and buy it because of your post.

The Alternatives Post

A fun way to help your readers and use links is through the alternatives post. This is where you share a cheaper alternative for a product they love.

Here is an example where the website shares more affordable options to the expensive Magnatiles brand. It helps by providing them with value and options – and they make money!

Recap

Whew! That was a lot to take in as a beginner in affiliate marketing. Let’s recap what we covered.

• Affiliate marketing is a passive way to make money
• Find your partner and get signed up
• Grab your special tracking link
• Add the link to your posts
• Readers will read, click and buy
• You make money!

It can all be overwhelming, and you need more help getting started. I’ve got you covered!!

Sign up now for the Free Affiliate Marketing Bootcamp Course! Over five days, you will learn more about:

• Why affiliate marketing is important
• How to ensure your blog is compliant
• Which companies are a fit for your site
• How to find the affiliates you want to promote
• Inside tricks to get more people clicking on your links.

If you want to take the plunge and immerse yourself in all things affiliates, take one of the best affiliate marketing courses currently available:  Affiliate Marketing Roadmap.

Affiliate marketing is the smart way to make passive income on your site. Don’t put off getting started. Sign up and add those links so you can start making money!

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