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In this digital age, anyone with a website or social media account can become an affiliate marketer. So what exactly is affiliate marketing? And is affiliate marketing profitable for bloggers, internet marketers and entrepreneurs?
Despite its widespread presence, many people don’t know much about affiliate marketing. In this article, I will explain in simple terms the ins and outs of affiliate marketing and whether it is worth your time for an online business.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance marketing in which you earn a commission by promoting someone else’s products.
As an affiliate, you get a unique tracking link that you share on your social media channels, blog posts, and website. If a customer uses your link to buy a product, you will earn a commission.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn a passive income because you don’t have to keep track of sales or inventory. You also don’t have to manage a team of people or create the products you are promoting.
So, it is a great way for bloggers to earn extra income, but it is also a common source of revenue for small businesses, like internet service providers, software companies, and more.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?
Affiliate marketing is a great way of making money online for both new and experienced marketers. It is a way to generate revenue by promoting products and services you love.
As an affiliate, you earn a commission each time someone purchases a product or service through your link. To get started, you will need to fill out an application with a company that offers affiliate programs.
They will review your application, and if approved, they will assign you a unique affiliate ID and tracking link. Your tracking link is what the company will use to track sales.
Once you are ready to promote your products, you will share your tracking link across social media, your blog, email marketing campaigns, and more.
If a customer clicks your link and completes a purchase, you will earn a commission.
Is Affiliate Marketing Profitable For Small Businesses?
Affiliate marketing is a great source of passive income for bloggers and internet marketers. You can earn a steady stream of revenue from promoting the products and services you love.
As an affiliate marketer, your success relies on your ability to make sales. For example, if you earn $100 for every 10 sales, you are earning a $10 commission on each sale. You can boost your earnings by promoting products that have a higher commission rate.
Affiliate marketing also allows you to expand your reach to a global audience. You can become an affiliate for big brands and companies that have products in almost every industry.
How To Become An Affiliate Marketer
To become an affiliate marketer, you’ll first need to find companies that have affiliate programs. A good place to start is Shareasale and Impact.
On this marketplace, you will find some of the biggest companies in the world. Some of these companies include Canva, Hubspot, and Namecheap.
Once you have found some companies that you did like to promote, apply to become an affiliate. Companies will review your application and decide whether to accept you. If you are successful, you will receive your unique affiliate ID.
Next, create a website, blog, or Youtube channel that details the products and/or services you are promoting as an affiliate. You can use your website, blog or YouTube channel as your central place to promote your affiliate links.
The Pros Of Affiliate Marketing
1. You Don’t Need To Create The Products You Are Promoting
If you are a digital creator or an entrepreneur with a creative bent, you have probably struggled with the idea of creating your own product. And you may have even questioned whether you should become a product-driven business.
By becoming an affiliate marketer, you don’t have to worry about creating a product. Instead, you can focus on promoting products from other companies.
2. You Don’t Need A Large Audience
If you want to start your own product, you will need to get a core group of people that believes in your idea and is willing to buy your product.
If you are an affiliate marketer, you don’t have to start with a large group of people. Instead, you can start by promoting products to the people who are already interested in the products you are promoting.
3. Your Business Is Scalable
Product-driven businesses require a lot of upfront work. You have to design the product, find suppliers, and create a marketing strategy.
If you become an affiliate marketer, you can start promoting products while you are working on your own product. This is a great way to test the demand for your own product idea.
The Cons of Affiliate Marketing
1. You Don’t Own The Products You Are Promoting
When you become an affiliate marketer, you are not the owner of the products you are promoting. This means you don’t get any equity in the company.
You are also at risk of being kicked out of the affiliate program if the company finds out that you promoting their products against their terms and conditions.
2. You Don’t Have Control Over The Price
As an affiliate, you don’t have any control over the price of the product. If a company decides to increase the price of the product you are promoting, you will have to find a new product.
3. It Is Easy To Get Discouraged
Affiliate marketing is a numbers game. You don’t have any control over the number of sales you make. While it is a great way to make money online, it can be frustrating if you don’t see results right away.
The Bottom Line
Many people are familiar with affiliate marketing by now. It is a great way to earn extra money as a blogger, internet marketer or entrepreneur. It also allows you to promote products and services that you love.
As an affiliate marketer, you don’t have to worry about creating a product. You can also focus on promoting products that are in your industry of interest.
That being said, it is important to remember that affiliate marketing is a numbers game. You are not going to see immediate results.
Instead, it is important to focus on creating high-quality content and links for your audience.
Back to the title of the blog post; is affiliate marketing profitable? Yes. Affiliate marketing is profitable but it is not a get-rich-quick way of making money online.
To succeed in affiliate marketing, you must know the basic which includes how to ethically market and promote the products you want to earn commission from.
I wish I can write more blog posts on affiliate marketing but then I am preoccupied with other tasks. The only way I can assist anyone that wants to venture into affiliate marketing is to recommend these two affiliate courses: Ultimate Affiliate Marketing Program and Affiliate Marketing Accelerator Program.
If you have any questions, you can drop them in the comment section. I respond to every comment. Do others a favour by sharing this post.
