When you’re a complete beginner to affiliate marketing, it can seem overwhelming. What method do you use? How do you start? In this post, I’m going to answer the question of, “How do I start affiliate marketing for beginners?” using my experience. I’ll discuss whether you should take an online affiliate marketing course or try to learn on your own.
I’ll cover my two favorite ways to earn income online with affiliate marketing. These methods have worked for years and can provide steady affiliate commissions.
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How Do I Start Affiliate Marketing for Beginners with No Money
It is possible to start affiliate marketing as a beginner with no money. However, it’s likely not sustainable if you want to build a long-term business.
One of the easiest and free ways to do affiliate marketing for beginners is to choose an affiliate product, sign up for the affiliate program, copy your affiliate link, and paste it into your social media profile.
Next, you begin posting content on your social media account (Instagram, for example) and add a call-to-action for each post to check out the link in your profile. It is possible to make sales but it likely will not be steady sales.
Another free method is to start a blog using free blogging platforms. You can create content in the form of blog posts and recommend products using your affiliate links. The downside of free blogs is that they often limit storage space and place ads on your content.
If you want to build a sustainable online business, at some point you will need to invest in software and tools to grow your business.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is one of the most beginner-friendly online businesses anyone can start. Here are some reasons why it is one of the best business models for beginners:
- You don’t need your own product
- There is no need to buy inventory or store it
- Never anything to ship
- Zero customer service
- Work from anywhere
- Low start-up costs
- Unlimited earning potential
A short definition of affiliate marketing is:
Affiliate marketing is the promotion of another company’s products in exchange for a commission when a sale is made.
Beginner-Friendly Affiliate Programs
| Category | Affiliate Program | Description | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-commerce | Amazon Associates | Earn a commission for sales on Amazon products. | Varies |
| Shopify Affiliate Program | Earn a commission for referring users to Shopify. | Up to $2,000 per sale | |
| Web Hosting | Bluehost Affiliate Program | Promote Bluehost hosting services and earn a commission. | $65 to $130 per sale |
| SiteGround Affiliate Program | Earn commissions for promoting SiteGround hosting. | Up to $125 per sale | |
| Online Courses | Udemy Affiliate Program | Promote Udemy courses and earn a commission. | Up to 50% |
| Coursera Affiliate Program | Earn commissions for promoting Coursera courses. | 20-45% | |
| Travel | Booking.com Affiliate Program | Earn a commission for hotel bookings through Booking.com. | Up to 40% |
| TripAdvisor Affiliate Program | Earn commissions for travel-related referrals. | Varies | |
| Finance | Credit Karma Affiliate Program | Earn commissions for promoting credit-related services. | Varies |
| Coinbase Affiliate Program | Promote Coinbase for cryptocurrency referrals. | Varies | |
| Health & Fitness | Aaptiv Affiliate Program | Earn commissions for promoting Aaptiv’s fitness app. | $15-30 per sale |
| Myprotein Affiliate Program | Promote fitness supplements and earn a commission. | Up to 8% | |
| Fashion | ShareASale (Various Fashion Brands) | Access multiple fashion brands in one network. | Varies |
| ShopStyle Collective | Monetize your fashion content through various brands. | Varies | |
| Tech & Gadgets | GearBest Affiliate Program | Earn commissions for promoting tech and gadgets. | Up to 50% |
| Best Buy Affiliate Program | Promote electronics and earn a commission. | 1% to 7% |
Disclosing Your Affiliate Links
It’s always a good idea to disclose your affiliate links whenever you use them. This can be done by placing a short sentence above your content disclosing that your content contains affiliate links.
Or, if you’re posting affiliate links on social media, you can hashtag the word affiliate link or simply say that it is an affiliate link. There is a misconception that disclosing affiliate links will deter people from clicking on them.
I always disclose and have not had any issues. I believe most of your visitors will appreciate that you have disclosed your affiliate links.
Choosing the Right Niche
You’ll likely increase your success rate with affiliate marketing if you choose a niche that you have a genuine interest in. This is especially true if you are going to be the only one creating content.
It’s easy to get bored with content creation if you do not like the niche that you’re in and that will ultimately lead to quitting on your project.
The top money-making niches can usually be found in evergreen niches such as:
- MMO (make money online)
- Personal Finance
- Relationships
- Health & Wellness
How to Start Affiliate Marketing Without a Website
If you do not want to build a website to promote affiliate products, the next best option is to use social media. Social media growth isn’t any easier. It requires constant content creation and the traffic is cold.
People scrolling social media aren’t doing so with the intent to buy anything. It is a matter of capturing their attention in a matter of seconds. You can build a following and direct people back to your profile with your affiliate link.
Another option is not necessarily having a website but you will need a landing page and email marketing software. Email marketing is a great way to connect with your target audience.
However, you’ll need to invest in having a landing page to collect visitor contact details and email marketing software to build your email list.
How to Start Affiliate Marketing with No Audience
It is possible to start affiliate marketing with no audience. The best way to start is to document your journey. Let’s say you are promoting an online course that helped you to make a steady income online.
You may wonder how anyone is going to listen to you when you haven’t made any money yet or very little money. The way to accomplish a following is to document every step of your journey.
Others will be able to relate or they will be interested enough to follow along. I recommend directing users to a sales funnel to collect their contact details and build your email list.
Building an email list is a way to capture your audience and enables you to continue marketing to them continuously.
Can I Do Affiliate Marketing Without Followers?
Also, a large following on social media does not guarantee that you will earn a large income. It’s possible to have success with affiliate marketing without followers. How I approach affiliate marketing is by using both a blog and a sales funnel.
The Purpose of a Blog in Affiliate Marketing
I create blogs for the sole purpose of generating organic traffic and directing visitors to my sales funnel. Over the years, I’ve been able to generate leads and make affiliate commissions thanks to blog traffic.
To get the best results, it helps to learn some basic SEO (search engine optimization.) You can learn SEO for free online or pay for courses from a website such as IMG (Internet Marketing Gold.)
I create content (blog posts) related to the niche I am targeting. Besides linking to the affiliate products that I recommend, I also link out to my sales funnel to help build my list.
Blogging can generate organic traffic for years. It is worth taking the time to create a blog in addition to any other traffic strategies that you do.
The Purpose of a Sales Funnel in Affiliate Marketing
A sales funnel is an excellent way to grow your affiliate marketing income. It wasn’t until I created a sales funnel that I was finally able to make high-ticket commissions. I wouldn’t recommend attempting high-ticket affiliate marketing without the use of a sales funnel.
The basic sales funnel consists of two pages:
- A squeeze page (opt-in)
- Thank you page (bridge page)
Here is a graphic representation of how a basic sales funnel works:
You direct traffic to your squeeze page. On your squeeze page, you’ll offer a free gift. This is what’s referred to as a lead magnet. Your lead magnet could be in the form of an eBook, a video, an email course, or even an audio file.
Visitors will need to fill out their contact details to receive the lead magnet. Collecting only an email address is fine. However, collecting a first name is good for personalizing the messages that you send to your list.
After someone fills in their contact information such as a first name and email address, they are directed to a thank you page (bridge page.) On the bridge page is where you introduce visitors to the product that you are promoting.
The bridge page should have a call-to-action such as a button or text link that is your affiliate link. Some of your visitors will buy immediately while others won’t. All subscribers will be added to your email list.
Your email list is the key to long-term growth. You can market to your list continuously. It’s the equivalent of having your own customer base that you can reach out to at any time.
How to Do Affiliate Marketing Without Social Media
Since I focus my traffic generation on blogging, I don’t rely 100% on social media to make money with affiliate marketing. Some affiliate marketers thrive on social media and make consistent sales.
The good news is that you don’t have to rely solely on social media to do affiliate marketing. As mentioned above, blogging is a great alternative. I receive leads on an almost daily basis thanks to blog traffic.
No matter what unpaid traffic method you use, it is going to require consistent content creation. I highly recommend creating a blog if you have no interest in pursuing social media.
Again, learn some basic SEO skills so that you give your web pages the best chance of ranking higher in the search results.
Conclusion
Starting affiliate marketing for beginners is possible with little to no budget to start with. However, it helps to think long-term and that will require the use of paid software and tools to help grow your business.
My recommendation is to choose a high-ticket affiliate offer, create a sales funnel to promote it, and a blog to send traffic to your sales funnel. It is a great way to automate 90% of your business.