Are you looking for a side hustle to earn some extra buck? Well, what if you don’t have to hustle and still make money? You’re in luck because affiliate marketing is the name of the game. It would help if you had an up-and-running website, a personal blog, or a social media channel or page to start.
Affiliate marketing has become quite mainstream in recent years. It is used by 81% of marketers and 84% of publishers, according to a Forrester report. So if you create online content and don’t utilize this lucrative source of income, you’re missing out big time. It’s an easy, beneficial, and sustainable way to earn money online.
You promote the product or service on your platform. Your audience gets trustworthy recommendations from your sponsored post. A specific part of any conversion or sale occurs when a visitor clicks on that promotional link and is compensated to you, the promoter. So, it’s a win-win for everybody.
However smooth as this may sound, you need a good strategy to succeed in your affiliate journey. Some particular rules and techniques ought to be followed by an affiliate marketer. Moreover, you must understand the fundamentals of digital marketing like conversion rate, paid promotions, lead generation, etc.
Now, It’s very likely that you’ve heard about being an affiliate a couple of times before and want to learn about it. Or perhaps you’re already doing it. Whatever the case, the following tips and tricks for affiliate marketing will help you, especially if you’re a beginner or even someone who’d like to take it to the next level.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
Affiliate marketing for beginners includes multiple stages in the cycle that you need to work through, which are:
- Find a genuine business or product to promote. You must choose a good or service of a brand that should be pertinent to your content and helpful to your audience.
- The next step is to join the company’s partner program and form a partnership with them. You will then be qualified as their “affiliate or associate or partner after you clear their eligibility criteria to be a partner.”
- You will receive a particular affiliate ID after you sign up for their partner program, also known as an “affiliate program”. Remember, all affiliate links to your website or blog must contain this affiliate ID.
- You can then advertise the product on your platform. You can put personal reviews and recommendations. Plus, you can also create and run graphic advertisements, including email newsletters and other strategies. Your specific ID will be used to track every piece of traffic you direct to the merchant website. A software termed the “affiliate network” is responsible for monitoring traffic and sales on your platform.
- Finally, you will receive a commission when a purchase happens. However, you will get the payment once your earnings reach a certain margin, depending on the merchant’s policies which may be weekly, monthly, or bimonthly.
Remember that the link to track activity is the most crucial aspect of any affiliate program. Therefore, to ensure that you receive the payment seamlessly after the transaction, you must ensure your link is traceable and identifiable. Additionally, as a rule of thumb, you must keep track of all your links or UTMs (a piece of code connected to a link) to assess performance and manage revenue.
How to Choose the Right Affiliate Network?
When starting out, collaborating with an affiliate network is the ideal route. Although numerous programs are available, you must research and thoroughly review the terms and conditions. Amazon associates, Clickbank, Shopify, ConvertKitt, Fiverr, and Wix, are some of the best programs that can increase your revenue.
Moreover, there are some crucial questions you must ask before starting, which are along the lines of the following:
- What types of businesses and industries do they work with?
- What tools do they use, and do they offer analytical or creative resources?
- What are the steps you must take to be approved?
- What kind of commission do they give out, and how is it set up?
- When and how are commissions paid out?
- How has the experience of previous affiliates been with them?
- How much control will you get over the promotions of their brand on your content?
- What does their paid promotions policy look like? (If you’re an influencer or an online celebrity)
How to Use Affiliate Marketing with No Website?
While having a website is much recommended for making the best use of affiliate marketing, things have certainly changed in the new era of the internet. Most people today would rather watch a video than read an entire article.
Getting recommendations from social media in short-form content like reels/shorts is common now. So, assuming that you have a social media account (unless and until you live under a rock), you can utilize your social media channels and start your affiliate journey.
All you need is an affiliate link and approval on any of the affiliate programs out there. And that’s pretty much it. You can use affiliate links to promote certain products when posting on social media. You may also make product review videos (preferably Youtube, Instagram, or TikTok) and put the affiliate links in the description so that viewers can check them out and buy them.
Don’t Miss This Out: Valuable Tips
Knowing the fundamentals of affiliate marketing is essential, but learning some tips and schemes for a better conversion rate is vital. Some of these include:
- Personal recommendations are valued. Only recommend products that you personally know about and have used before.
- Try not to stick with not just one product or one merchant. Instead, promote several products for an increase in conversion rate.
- Put out valuable and genuine content only. If you’re a content creator or influencer, you’d know that originality is key to success.
- Collaborate and network with other affiliates to get help from each other.
Watch Out for these Top 3 Affiliate Marketing Trends
To succeed in your journey as an affiliate marketer, you must keep up with the current affiliate marketing trends. The following are the leading ones:
1. Live Shopping
Live shopping allows buyers to make in-the-moment purchases. The catch is that promotions are only active as long as the live stream is. Currently, it’s one of the most widespread affiliate marketing trends in China.
2. Transparency in Reporting
With the advent of tools like Google Analytics and other social networking services, reporting has become more transparent. It lets you know if promoting a brand or product generates more clicks, leads, or sales on your platform.
3. Micro or Nano Influencers
Specificity is key to bringing more trustworthiness. The more the sponsored post is attached to a relevant influencer or promoter, the more will be the number of clicks. Some micro and nano influencers with a few thousand subscribers or followers fit into this category.
Conclusion
There is no denying that earning money online through affiliate programs is a wise decision. You have the freedom to choose the right merchants and partners. You can promote your favourite products or services on your platform without worrying too much about money or skills. That being said, if you put in the required effort, follow proper steps, and keep adapting to future trends, your marketing endeavours as an affiliate will be hassle-free through and through.