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How to Make Money With Affiliate Marketing

What does the phrase "affiliate marketing" actually mean? You may have heard it used frequently in recent years. Can affiliate marketing be used to generate income? How do you begin, then?

In our comprehensive guide to affiliate marketing, we'll take you through each step from selecting your topic to experimenting with sponsored advertisements and more.

8 Steps for Making Money With Affiliate Marketing

1. Find your niche
2. Become an expert in your field
3. Set up a website
4. Create content
5. Sign up for affiliate partnerships
6. Set up analytics
7. Nail your SEO
8. Consider paid marketing

The majority of our income at Website Builder Expert comes from affiliate marketing. Our success took ten years and a tonne of effort to achieve, but it has provided us with a tonne of really useful information into the world of affiliate marketing that we will now use to assist you in beginning your own adventure.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Making a commission on a sale in the modern, digital-only era is essentially what affiliate marketing is. You can create a specific link to utilize when mentioning or recommending a product or service on your website after establishing affiliate relationships with those goods or services. You can earn money if one of your readers clicks through to that site from your site (or even if they just go through to the site - we'll cover the various affiliate models momentarily).

The specific tracking code on the link you use allows any commission to be computed and paid instantly. Additionally, you don't even need to establish a relationship with the seller for many goods and services; you may just open an account and move forward.

As you can see, unless you already have a well-known blog or social media platform, affiliate marketing shouldn't be viewed as a "get rich quick" scheme. But if you're willing to put in the time and effort, keep reading for our guide to succeeding in affiliate marketing and beating out the competition.

Find your niche

Because affiliate marketing is such a cutthroat industry, it's crucial that you identify a very narrow niche right away.

Which specialty you select should take into account the following four factors:

1. Your own experience/interests

You'll be producing a lot of content on this subject, whether it be about vacuum cleaners or running shoes, so it helps if you already know a lot about it or at least have an interest in it.

2. Demand for the products/services you’re writing about

By examining how many people are searching for that product or service online, you may determine whether your niche idea is too narrow.

You may check the popularity of relevant search phrases using a keyword tool, such as Google Keyword Planner. Using the aforementioned example, you might look at terms like "best long-distance running shoes" or "best vacuum for hardwood floors." You can quickly determine where the demand is by using the tool, which will display how many individuals in each country search for these terms each month.

3. Potential payouts for these products/services

Once you've identified a good or service, you must determine whether you can genuinely profit from it and, more importantly, how much.

Later on, we'll go into greater detail about how to join affiliate programs. Check the affiliate programs of the websites that sell your stuff for the time being, though, to see if there is any possibility there. Make sure you know the percentage payout for your product category if your products are sold on Amazon.

4. How much competition there is

Although taking into account the aforementioned three factors is crucial, your idea will ultimately fail if there are already a large number of people who are doing it really effectively. Google a few of the terms you discovered in step two to get started. Could you compete with the already-available content? Does the brand appear reliable and does it seem to be current? Is it popular?

If you truly believe that this market is saturated, go back to step one and start over. Alternately, get more specific! What about concentrating on pet-friendly vacuum cleaners or women's marathon running shoes?

Repeat this process until you find a topic that, in your opinion, excels in all four categories. That is your niche!

Become an expert in your field

Although this stage is frequently entirely skipped over in affiliate marketing guidelines, in our opinion, it's one of the most crucial ones.

You must become an authority on the subject you have chosen. a true authority. Online, learn as much as you can about your items and sector. Expand your network, go to relevant Meetups, and use LinkedIn to interact with suppliers and industry leaders.

And last but not least, wherever possible, test the products you'll be writing about and document your findings. Though this can happen later, in an ideal world you'll want to create a research methodology that will enable you to fairly compare products side by side.

Concerning the goods and services you want to write about, what are people saying? Are they received favorably? Could you conduct a survey to find out? Maybe use a rating summary from Trustpilot, product pages, and other review websites?

Developing expertise is crucial since it will enable you to provide your readers with recommendations that are accurate. But that's not the only benefit; by setting the groundwork, you'll be able to convince your readers that you are an authority in the field, and they'll be more likely to take your advice. Unfortunately, there is a tonne of weakly monetized content on the internet, and people are starting to realize this.

Although this stage is frequently entirely skipped over in affiliate marketing guidelines, in our opinion, it's one of the most crucial ones.

You must become an authority on the subject you have chosen. a true authority. Online, learn as much as you can about your items and sector. Expand your network, go to relevant Meetups, and use LinkedIn to interact with suppliers and industry leaders.

And last but not least, wherever possible, test the products you'll be writing about and document your findings. Though this can happen later, in an ideal world you'll want to create a research process that will enable you to fairly evaluate products side by side.

Concerning the goods and services you want to write about, what are people saying? Are they received favorably? Could you conduct a survey to find out? Maybe use a rating summary from Trustpilot, product pages, and other review websites?

Developing expertise is crucial since it will enable you to provide your readers with recommendations that are accurate. But that's not the only benefit; by setting the groundwork, you'll be able to convince your readers that you are an authority in the field, and they'll be more likely to take your advice. Unfortunately, there is a tonne of weakly monetized content on the internet, and people are starting to realize this.

Consider which one of the following reviews you’d be most likely to trust:

1. ‘I’ve done some online research and collated a top 5 list of what I believe to be the best long-distance running shoes for women
2. ‘Here are the top 5 long-distance running shoes for women. I pulled customer reviews for long-distance running shoes to narrow down my search to the top 10 most popular on the market. I then ran 100km/week in each pair, comparing them to factors including durability, comfort, and power. Read on to see my ranking’

Set up a website 

Once more, some affiliate guidelines may advise you to register for affiliate programs before even building a website. However, we believe that building your website is a more sensible next move, especially if you don't intend to start out with paid advertising (which we'll discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a bit later).

The best selection of affiliate relationships will be available to you once your website and some content are created. The best likelihood of your material moving up the rankings is to publish it without affiliate links; you can then include affiliate links once traffic starts to trickle in.

Given that your website will essentially serve as a blog, we advise using WordPress to put it up, and the best platform for this is WordPress.org. Since we have a whole tutorial on setting up a WordPress website, we won't go into great depth about how to do that here. However, we will say this: don't be intimidated! Although WordPress.org hasn't always been the simplest platform to use, recent changes have made a significant difference. Additionally, WordPress is used by over 30% of websites worldwide, so you'll be in excellent company!

Create content

Now that your website is up and running, you should start creating content. However, this isn't limited to written blog entries, although we do advise you to do so occasionally. To find your ideal blend, explore YouTube and social media platforms as well.

To organize your content schedule, create a content plan with the keywords you wish to target. Depending on the subject matter, you'll discover that your content consists of:

• Tutorials
• Reviews
• Guides
• Comparisons

Or more likely, a mixture of several!

Keep in mind that the enemy is thin content when creating blog entries. Ask yourself, "Will this truly answer the user query?" at the end of each post. Would someone leave your post with all the information they required to get started if you were creating a tutorial on how to perform gait analysis at home, for instance? Establish high standards for your material right away.

Sign up for affiliate partnerships

We now advise enrolling in those affiliate partnerships you first identified in step one. Payment terms, sums paid, and steps necessary to obtain payment are only a few of the many differences there exist when it comes to payouts.

Here’s a breakdown of the three most common types of affiliate programs:

Types of affiliate programs

1. Pay-per-sale (PPS)

This is the form of affiliate scheme that is used the most frequently and enables you to earn money each time a customer uses your link to view a product on your website before making a purchase. Of the three, this type offers the greatest reward (relative to the cost of the good or service).

Additionally, a customer is not required to buy right immediately. The user's cookies are used to keep track of when they click over to a partner site. Some websites will continue to pay you even if the buyer buys something else 30 days or even more down the road. In fact, 30 days is very typical, but remember to take this into account when committing to affiliate arrangements. For instance, eBay only provides a 24-hour window, which could significantly reduce your earning potential.

2. Pay-per-lead (PPL)

In a pay-per-lead strategy, often known as lead generation, you are compensated for bringing your partner an interested customer rather than getting paid when they make a purchase.

This strategy is effective for services or more complicated products that may require a consultation prior to purchase. Every consumer who registers for the partner's newsletter or fills out a form on their website could earn money.

Pay-per-lead advertising is less frequent, but the rewards can be excellent. Because they want to be confident that the traffic they'll be getting is "high quality," or that their partners aren't bringing them, clients, under false pretenses, many of these collaborations may require setting up on a one-to-one basis (which is why we advise prioritizing content creation first).

3. Pay-per-click (PPC)

In pay-per-click campaigns, you are compensated each time a person clicks one of your links to visit the client's website. Due to the noncommittal nature of a click and the slim likelihood that the customer will actually make a purchase, the payments for this are substantially lower.

Payment schedules

You must determine when you will be paid in addition to knowing what you must accomplish in order to receive money and how much you will be paid. One of three things could lead to this:

Paid on a set date. Whether it’s weekly or monthly, you arrange a set date and receive the full balance at this time.

Required to hit a minimum payment value. Payments will be deferred to the next time period if this amount is not hit – one to watch out for!

Tiered payouts. The more sales/leads/clicks you generate, the more you earn for each. Negotiating a tiered payout can see your profits really snowball.

How to sign up for affiliate partnerships

Again, there are a few approaches you can use when establishing affiliate agreements.

Sign up for an affiliate marketplace

This enables you to handle everything from one location and gives you access to a large number of partners. Your gains can be reduced by a little amount by the market.

Several well-known affiliate marketplaces are:

• ClickBank
• Impact
• Flex Offers
• ShareASale

2. Sign up directly with partners

By signing up directly, you’ll keep all your profit – although you may end up with a few different dashboards to manage.

Affiliate schemes of popular sites:

• Amazon 
• eBay
• Target

Owners of Shopify stores can also visit our tutorial on setting up an affiliate network for their stores. For everyone else, keep in mind that if a company has an affiliate program set up, a link to the information is usually located in the website's footer. Keep an eye out for a link labeled "Partner Program" or something similar!

Set up analytics

Having effective analytics solutions in place is crucial for tracking the effectiveness of your affiliate website. You can change your focus and your content strategy over the following months by keeping track of what's effective. 

Most importantly, you'll be able to determine your conversion rate for various sites and partners by paying close attention to traffic and comparing it with the conversions in your affiliate dashboards. Conversions in this context relate to any action you must complete in order to generate revenue.

Conversion Rate (%) = Number of Conversions ÷ Number of Visitors

If you’re using a PPS or PPL model, it’s also worth keeping an eye on your earnings per click. You can calculate this using the following formula:

Earnings Per Click ($) = Total Amount Earned ÷ Number of Clicks

Since each "click" will have a cost and you need to make sure things stay profitable, this is something you should pay close attention to if you start running paid advertisements.

When combined with your partner or marketplace dashboards, Google Analytics (GA) is a comprehensive, free tool that you can utilize to calculate everything above. To make the most of it, you'll need to invest some time learning the ins and outs, but fortunately, it also has a free academy to get you up to speed.

Setting up a Google Analytics account and connecting it to your website is the first step. Here is a guide for connecting to GA.