So you have probably heard about or seen a video somewhere about affiliate marketing and how it's all the rage in terms of making money online. 

I personally am a big fan of affiliate marketing as it's been one of the core ways I have made money online, especially as a beginner. 

Affiliate Marketing in a Nutshell

What exactly is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is the single fastest growth industry on the Internet. It’s also one of the fastest and most creative ways to make money and start a business on the Internet.

Put simply, affiliate marketing is selling products on a commission basis. As an affiliate marketer, you own a business that advertises and sells products for other companies.

What Do You Need To Get Started With Affiliate Marketing?

The things that a successful affiliate marketer must have are:

  1. A website: This is the jumping off point of all your marketing efforts. So the first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good, credible and professional looking website. You must build a user-friendly website, which will attract your prospective customers and motivate them to click on the links to the products and services you are promoting to make a purchase. While there are free options, they usually don't look as professional or trustworthy as having your own .com. To build a website you must first have a hosting service to put your website on. If you are a brand new affiliate marketer looking for an affordable hosting company, I recommend Siteground for hosting as they are one of the best values for those starting out in affiliate marketing. You can sign up for Siteground here. (affiliate link)

  1.  A Product to Sell: You must find products to sell, be able to determine if there is a demand for those products and if people will actually buy them. You may have your own original product or products that are created by others. Whichever way you go, you must believe in the products. Some popular marketplaces to find affiliate products are Clickbank, JVZoo, and Warrior Plus. But there are many companies that have affiliate programs you can sign up for. Notice how I recommended Siteground hosting above? It's a service I believe in and they have an affiliate program, so I recommended it and any sales that come from my recommendations will result in a commission.

  1. A Traffic Source: You will need to be able to attract people to your website in order for them to see your affiliate offers and be able to buy. You can do this by attracting people organically through content or by paying for advertisements. Usually you can attract people over time through search engines like Google and Bing showing your articles for popular search terms related to your niche. Content marketing can also be done on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube. Paying for ads is a fast and reliable way to get people to see your content and affiliate offers, but it should be used sparingly by beginner marketers as the costs can add up fast. 

  1. Solid math skills: You don’t have to be a math genius, but numbers are important to track in any business. Affiliate marketing is no different. You will need to be able to track your sales and determine how profitable certain promotions are. You also need to be able to figure out if a traffic source is working (and do more of it) or if it isn’t working (and do less of it). 

  1. Support: Many businesses are doomed before they even begin because friends and family may discourage what you are doing because they don’t understand it. You need the full and unwavering support of your family so that you can devote the time and energy necessary to launch your affiliate marketing business. If you are a busy person, just do what you can in your business even if only for 30 minutes to 1 hour a day to start. 

Overall, affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to get started making money online as you can start for a very low cost of time and money. And even better you do not even need your own product to sell as you can sell other people's products. 

Note: We use affiliate links. If you purchase something using one of these links, we may receive compensation or commission. 

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