2020 has been a strange year, not least due to the coronavirus pandemic. It arrived out of the blue, and at first, it seemed that it would quickly pass, but here we are nearly a year later, living in a completely different world. No longer can we socialize like we once did, and our working lives have been turned upside down as many of us have been furloughed from our jobs, or worse, we have been made redundant. Schools have closed, and children are being educated at home, and we have resorted to an online world where our shopping is delivered to us.
All of this has meant that we are spending more time at home, and we need to find alternative sources of income. The online world is perfect for this as you can generate business without leaving your home, and one of the most popular ways of doing so is via affiliate marketing. Many people will have heard of the term but will only have a vague idea of what it entails, so in this article, we will take a look at how to get into affiliate marketing. Read on to find out more.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is where you promote other companies’ products, and then when someone buys the product through your website, you get paid a commission for it. It’s as simple as that! The beauty of this type of marketing is that you are not limited to one product, you can promote as many different items as you like on your blog or website, so you have multiple revenue channels. Obviously, it will take time to build up the reputation and traffic to your blog, but once you get there, your earning potential is limitless.
What will your niche be?
Once you have decided where you are going to market, you will need to determine what you’re going to market. Professionals from Marketing Leap advise that there is no point spreading yourself too thinly as you will need to appear as an authority on your subject, so choose one topic, for example, baby clothing or mountain biking, and then concentrate on it. By doing this, you can achieve a more focused audience, and you will rise more quickly to the top of google’s search rankings. It is also important to choose a niche that you are personally interested in, as you will then find your blog writing or video creating that bit easier.
How do I start?
The first decision you will need to make is deciding what platform you want to market through. In reality, virtually any platform is possible, from Facebook to Instagram. However, most affiliate marketers will either use their blog or will use their personal Youtube channel. If you go down the blog route, you will need to use SEO techniques to drive traffic to your site, and if you use Youtube, the content you make is free to upload, but you will need to remember to optimize your videos as you would for written content.
Find affiliate programs
Now that you have decided upon your niche, you will need to find affiliate programs that you can join to start making money. Some offer very high commissions, say up to 30%, but you will find that these programs target a highly specific niche, so it can be challenging to make any money at all. The other option is to go for the reverse, i.e., look for a low percentage commission, but with a product that has massive appeal to the masses, such as the latest pair of trainers. You will find it much easier to start off this way, and then as you gain experience, you can switch to marketing higher commission products.
Create content
Once you have found your affiliate marketing programs, the time has come to really start working, as you will now need to create your content that will drive people to your site and generate your sales. Your content has to be natural but engaging, optimized for SEO, and your affiliate links must be given with a sense of authority. You need to be solving a problem for the reader or the viewer so that they are compelled to buy.
As we have learned, to get into affiliate marketing, you first need to decide what platform you will use for marketing from, and you then need to choose your niche, which must be something that you have an interest in. Find affiliate programs that offer commissions at an acceptable level and then get started in earnest by writing your blog posts or filming your videos. Good luck, and hopeful those dollars will soon roll in!