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Affiliate marketing is about making money. A lot of money. Without doing too much. At least that's what a quick Google search would have you believe, but as usual, the truth is a little more complex than that. Yes, you can make money with affiliate marketing. And, yes, you can even make money while you sleep. But there are rules to follow. In this article, we'll teach you how to generate passive income with successful affiliate marketing for beginners.
WHAT IS AFFILIATE MARKETING?
Affiliate marketing is when an online merchant/web entrepreneur/e-commerce site/etc. pays you a commission for traffic or sales generated through your referrals.
HOW DOES AFFILIATE MARKETING WORK?
Affiliate marketing is a simple 3-step process:
- You recommend a product or service to your subscribers;
- Your subscribers buy the product or service using your affiliate link;
- You are paid a commission for the sales made using your affiliate link.
GOOD AFFILIATE MARKETING METHODS FOR BEGINNERS
Now you know the basic definition of affiliate marketing and how the process
works, so let's talk about how to get started.
Many potential affiliate marketers do not take the time to plan their
strategy. They sign up for every affiliate marketing program they can find
and end up being overwhelmed.
Don't be like them.
Take your time and follow these 6 steps if you want to set yourself up for
success.
1. FIND YOUR NICHE
Choosing a well-targeted niche will give your business direction and help
you with content. It will also make it easier to create targeted marketing
campaigns. To choose your niche, simply ask a few questions:
- What are my passions? Generally, the things we're passionate about are things we already know, which makes it easier to create content;
- Is this topic broad enough? Is the topic broad enough to create up to 100 blog posts? If not, you may have trouble with search engine optimization, getting traffic and building your authority ;
- Is the niche saturated? Is there room for another affiliate in this niche?
- Is the topic financially viable? If you are interested in two topics and one is monetizable and the other is not, choose the first.
2. CREATE A BLOG
Once you've found a profitable niche that you're passionate about, you're
ready to start a blog. By the way, there are several pages you should
consider including on your site (and some that are an absolute MUST for
affiliate marketers):
- About Page: Make it fun and let people get to know you a little. I explain here how to write a successful about page;
- Contact: this should include all the contact information you want to share with your readers, advertisers or affiliate marketing partners for beginners ;
- Privacy Policy: inform users if you collect information about them and how that information is used;
- Terms of Use: This is a legal page limiting your liability for misuse of the information or services provided on your site. It also details users' responsibilities regarding copyrights and trademarks.
3. WRITE QUALITY CONTENT
Now that your blog is ready to go, you need to create content.
Some affiliate networks and affiliate programs require that you already have
content, site traffic, and a certain number of monthly views before
accepting you as an affiliate, so be sure to read their eligibility
requirements before applying.
This doesn't mean you have to create 100 blog posts before you even think
about becoming an affiliate marketer, but you should already have at least 5
high value posts.
4. COLLECT EMAILS
Yes, email is still the #1 communication channel. And even more so for
affiliate marketing for beginners.
What does that mean for you? It means that investing a little money and time
in growing your mailing list is good for your affiliate business.
And to get subscribers, you need to build an online audience.
5. CHOOSE THE AFFILIATE PRODUCTS TO PROMOTE
If you have done your niche research beforehand, choosing affiliate products
to promote should be easy! Choose products that fit your theme to stay
consistent.
Where do you get ideas for products to promote?
- Promote products you already use
What do you already use and like? There is probably an affiliate program for
this.
Make a list of all the products and services you use and click on Google to
find their affiliate programs. Then contact the brands directly.
No matter what products you like to use, chances are an affiliate program
exists.
- Promote products that meet a need
Listen to the people interested in your niche. What problems are they
facing? Are there gaps in the solutions already available? Find products
that can help them and try them. If the products are good, become an
affiliate and recommend them. Your audience wants solutions. And if they
find them, they'll be willing to pay good money.
- Promote the products your audience wants to know about
Ask your audience what products they are interested in and test them. If you
like it, recommend it. If not, tell them. At best, you'll get sales. At
worst, you'll gain the trust of your readership.
- Promote the products of others in your niche
Spy on other affiliate marketers in your niche. What are they talking about
and promoting? What ads are they using? Check out their Instagram, Twitter,
Pinterest and Facebook to take a look at their posts and see how they're
doing.
6. JOIN AN AFFILIATE MARKETING NETWORK
Affiliate marketing networks are essentially online marketplaces where
retailers list their products and affiliates can find products to sell. The
marketing network acts as a middleman.
Here are some of the most popular affiliate networks, but there are many
more than that:
ShareASale.
CJ Affiliate.
ClickBank.
Amazon Associates.
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