Join Digital Marketing Foundation MasterClass worth Rs 1999 FREE

10 Quick Tips About Affiliate Marketing for Beginners

Affiliate marketing for beginners

What if you could make money anytime, even while you sleep?

Well, this is not just a thought anymore.

You can do this through affiliate marketing.

In this blog, we will talk about-

  • What is affiliate marketing for beginners?
  • Advantages and disadvantages of affiliate marketing
  • Tips to become a successful digital marketer.
  • Best Affiliate marketing tools you can use in your affiliate marketing journey.

Plus, we have bonus content for you at the end, which will help you to take your first step toward affiliate marketing as a beginner.

So, let’s get started.

What is Affiliate Marketing for Beginners?

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing system where you promote another company’s product or service.

It involves referring to a product or service by sharing it on a blog, social media platforms, or website by sharing your affiliate link.

When someone purchases through your affiliate link, you earn a commission.

These affiliate commissions are usually a decided percentage of the sale price or a fixed amount.

Do it right, and this performance-based marketing opportunity can be a source of additional income or help you diversify the revenue streams of an existing business.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

Affiliate marketing works by allocating product marketing responsibilities and creation across different parties.

It leverages the abilities of individuals for marketing while providing contributors with a share of the profit.

To make this work, three different parties/people must be involved:

People involved in Affiliate Marketing

1. Affiliate Marketer

An affiliate marketer or a publisher is an individual who will publish the advertisement on his web page blog and advertise the product for the business.

His remuneration for advertising the product solely depends on how he can push his webpage or blog further. How famous he is, what topics he blogs about, and how well-known his blog is will determine how many people will visit his site.

He gets a commission for marketing the product if the person visiting his site either clicks or buys the product depending on the agreement between him and the business.

An affiliate marketer can learn affiliate marketing through various paid courses, youtube, books, etc.

Also Read – Affiliate Marketing Business Ideas: A Guide For Merchants and Publishers

2. The Merchant

Merchants are those people who market their products through Affiliate marketers. They prefer to sell their product through the affiliate market.

This type of selling is most lucrative for businesses because they only have to pay a commission if and only if there is a conversion.

The business must pay a commission if the following conversion takes place.

    • Pay Per Click (PPC)– In Pay per Click programs, you get paid for all valid clicks you generate regardless of leads/sales.
    • Pay Per Lead (PPL) – In Pay Per Lead programs, the advertiser pays you a commission (a fixed amount) for a qualified action which can be a short survey, free trial, installation, sign-up, online form submission, etc. A perfect example of a Pay per Lead program would be dating websites that usually pay for a free trial.
    • Pay Per Sale (PPS)– In Pay per Sale programs, the advertiser pays you a percentage of all qualified sales. The most popular Pay per Sale affiliate program is Amazon Associates, where you can earn up to 15% depending upon the category of products.
CONVERSION TYPE MEANING EXAMPLE
Pay Per Click (PPC) You get paid for all valid clicks you generate regardless of leads/sales. Google AdSense
Pay Per Lead (PPL) You get paid for a qualified action such as a short survey, free trial, installation, sign-up, online form submission, etc. Dating websites usually pay for a free trial
Pay Per Sale (PPS) You get paid a percentage of all qualified sales. Amazon affiliates

3. Customer

How affiliate marketing works

When performing any of the above-mentioned steps, this is a set of people who would enable the business to pay the affiliate marketer.

These customers can directly go to the business websites and buy whatever they want. But sometimes, the said customers who frequently visit a particular blog and that particular blog are affiliate marketers for a business that at that particular time is giving some form of discount.

This discount or free trial will attract the customer to click/buy through the link provided on the affiliate marketer’s web page.  The customer who might not be aware that there is a discount on a particular product is enticed to buy and complete the process.

4. Affiliate Network.

An Affiliate network (commission junction) acts as an intermediary between the affiliates and the affiliate marketer.  It allows website publishers to access affiliate programs suitable for their websites and generate revenue for themselves. This will help in promoting the business of the merchant.

Why do brands like affiliate marketers?

Brand prefers affiliate marketing because:

  • Based on the performance and push of the affiliate marketer that gets converted into sales, the brand has to pay affiliate marketers. This process is performance-driven. If there are no sales, there is no commission. Therefore the cost of sales is significantly reduced.
  • It has a much better ROI than Cost per Click (CPC) OR Cost per Impression.
  • Brands get much higher coverage due to the efforts placed by affiliate marketers in promoting its site.
  • More people get connected to the brand through affiliate marketing, thereby creating more partners in the ecosystem. With more partners coming on board, the brands get more recognition through affiliate marketers.
  • It also helps create awareness of the products through the effort of the marketers to get a wider reach.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing for Affiliate Marketers

Just like a coin, affiliate marketing has its advantages and disadvantages for affiliates-

Advantages of Affiliate Marketing

  • It is an easy way to create additional sources of income for website publishers and owners.
  • It does not require much investment on the affiliate’s part.
  • The affiliate does not have to worry about customer support, bookkeeping, and e-commerce. All the affiliate marketer needs to do is promote and resell the product.
  • As an affiliate marketer, you enjoy the luxury of being your boss and working on your own time.
  • An affiliate can still have his present work or business and use the affiliate marketing income to supplement his financial position.
  • As an affiliate, you can work almost anywhere. It would be best to have an internet connection and a device like a laptop or mobile phone.

Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing

  • The affiliates may engage in false and misleading advertising to get sales commissions.
  • Dishonest merchants may arbitrarily close programs without informing the affiliates and paying commissions.
  • Merchants sometimes promise high commissions to attract new affiliates, then drop commission rates after a week or two.
  • Link hijackers can hijack affiliate links. They then get paid for the commissions instead.
  • There is also the issue of false advertising and unlawful use of trade names, logos, or brands.
  • No matter the disadvantages, affiliate marketing remains one of the best ways to make money online.
Accelerate Your Career or Business Growth!
Learn & Leverage Digital Marketing
Join Free Live Orientation Session

10 Quick Tips About Affiliate Marketing for Beginners.

Now that you know the benefits and drawbacks of affiliate marketing, let’s discuss some quick tips and strategies for affiliate marketing for beginners.

Here are 10 Quick tips about affiliate marketing for beginners-

1. Sell what you are knowledgeable about.

If a person is an expert in mobile phones then it is advisable he should sell mobile phones.

People will identify your expertise in that niche and will enable you to promote brands in the same niche.

2. Start your website.

You can purchase a domain and web space from godaddy.com and use word press to create your website in relation to your niche.

3. Research and Join Affiliate programs.

Amazon, eBay, and Flipkart are amongst the few best Affiliate marketing Programs in your niche.

Study them very well before signing up.

You might be scammed if a company asks you to provide a credit card.

These companies give commission on sales so they might ask you for your bank details or PayPal account number.

Some of the best Affiliate programs and websites are free of charge.

4. Marketing products on your website.

You will need to add links to the affiliate within your content the website for people seeing your website can click on it.

For example, if you are writing about the latest Samsung Phones, companies would give links to these products, which you can include in your content.

5. People are attracted to visual aids.

Most website has a visual sidebar.

So companies provide images and clipping for you to add to your website.

6. Keep on updating your content.

Your content will interest people in coming back and visiting your website.

As the traffic on your website increases, viewers will have the opportunity to look at different products you are affiliated with, thereby enabling them to buy

through your site.

7. Do not create poor-quality content

Write quality content and add value to your audience through each article.

Plus, don’t try to sell hard.

Instead, concentrate on relationship-building rather than the direct sales approach.

Once your audience trusts you, they’re more prone to buy what you recommend.

8. Use analytical tools like Google on your website.

Analytical tools like Google Analytics will give you an idea of the demography of people visiting your site.

This will enable you to choose the right products to be affiliated with to increase yours. Sale.

For example, if people visiting your site are young, from 18 to 30, and you are affiliated with products like home decor or redecorating the kitchen. It will not work.

Change your affiliate to cater to the audience of your site.

9. Promote your website constantly through different social media methods.

It’s a simple calculation.

If more people visit your site one day, they will start buying from it, giving you a commission on sales.

10. You can create different sites with content for different audiences.

You can earn more commission by creating different sites with content catering to different audiences and signing up for different affiliate programs.

In a nutshell,l WEBSITE+AFFILIATE PROGRAM+GREAT AND NEW CONTENT+NEW AUDIENCE=SALES = COMMISSION FOR YOU.

Affiliate Marketing Examples

So, we’ve walked through the tips on how to become a successful affiliate marketer.

Now let’s step through some real-world affiliate marketing examples, talking about different product options you can promote-

PRODUCT OPTIONS EXAMPLES
Digital Downloads Ebooks, software, mobile applications, etc
Online, hosted, and professional services Content marketing services, Media or creative businesses, research sites, membership sites, etc
Online Courses Udemy, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, etc.
Ecommerce stores Amazon associates, Flipkart Affiliates, etc.
12 Best Affiliate Marketing Tools to Become a Successful Affiliate Marketer

When it comes to affiliate marketing, digital tools are your friends.

These affiliate marketing tools help you get more traffic and do your job faster and easier, significantly as your business scales up.

Here is the list of 12 affiliate marketing tools to become a successful affiliate marketer-

AFFILIATE MARKETING TOOLS BENEFIT
Ahrefs Help you research keywords, audit your website, research competitors, find content ideas, etc.
Rank Math Ensures that your pages have optimal on-page SEO.
Google Search Console Find and fix technical errors on your website, submit sitemaps, see structured data issues, etc.
Google Analytics Provides crucial data to analyze for your affiliate website.
Thirsty Affiliates Please keep track of your affiliate links, see statistics to know the most clicked links, and prevent others from easily swapping the links with their affiliate IDs, etc.
Link Whisper Allows you to add, remove, and edit your internal links with the click of a button.
Hunter Create email templates, automate follow-ups, and see the statistics of your campaigns.
Google Workspace Help writers do edits, keep everything organized, and create and manage professional email addresses for websites.
Wordable Imports your Google Docs straight into WordPress.
ConvertKit customizable sign-up forms and landing pages, help grow subscribers, email marketing, etc.
Canva Creating custom images, posters, banners, infographics, etc.
Wordfence Provides security features like two-factor authentication, malware scans, firewall, and website monitoring

Testimonies

Earned $27.50 from One Product Sold via Jumia Affiliate Program

‘’The Jumia affiliate program allows you to earn money from the comfort of your home.

I earned N4125 ($27.50) from one product sold on Jumia. You can get a steady residual income from the Jumia Affiliate program.’’

-Jide Ogunsanya

Make money just by inserting Jumia’s banner

Jumia Nigeria has attained the height as the leading African online retailing company.

To achieve its desire to become the best in Nigeria, it launched a program for its fans and followers.

With its in-depth penetration of the market in Nigeria, the opportunity has risen for Nigerians to make money online as an affiliate of Jumia.

The earning ability is enormous, and anyone is welcome to join and earn good money from it.

-Peter Kanayo

Want to Know the Path to Become a Digital Marketing Expert?
Join Free Digital Marketing Webinar and accelerate your career or business growth!
Date: March 30 (Sat) | 11 AM - 12 PM (IST)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Bonus Content-

20 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners in 2023

Now, as you are all ready to start your affiliate marketing journey, here is a list of the best affiliate marketing programs in India in 2023-

Wrapping up

Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn passive income online through monetizing your content and building an online income.

And it’s so easy to get started. Identify what your audience needs to reach their goals and start there.

Choose a great digital product from an online business you believe in and Share it.

Provide lots of valuable content that helps and educates your readers.

Be upfront, honest and transparent. Nurture the trust that readers place in you.

And finally, be patient. All your efforts will pay you back.

And if you want to become a successful affiliate marketer, check out our Digital marketing course.

FAQs

1. How do I start affiliate marketing?

To start with affiliate marketing-

  • Decide on your platform- blog, social media, etc.
  • Choose products you want to promote that interest your audience.
  • Read the terms and conditions before you apply for the affiliate program.
  • Add links to blog posts, newsletters, long-form, YouTube, and social media.
  • Finally, don’t forget to mention the link you are sharing is for an affiliate product and that you’re receiving a commission.

2.  What are the most accessible beginner-friendly affiliate marketing programs?

Here are some of the beginner-friendly best affiliate marketing programs-

  • Amazon Associates
  • Flipkart Affiliate
  • Reseller Club
  • Optimise

3. Can you start affiliate marketing with zero money?

Yes, you can start affiliate marketing for free.

One of the advantages of affiliate marketing is that you don’t need a lot of investment.

4. What are the 3 secrets to becoming a high-earning affiliate marketer?

Here are 3 secrets for becoming a high-earning affiliate marketer-

  • Focus on quality of content.
  • Find affiliate programs with lifetime conversion.
  • Focus on mobile conversions.

5. How much money can you make as an affiliate marketer?

Incomes for affiliate marketers are not consistent and vary a lot.

While some make a few hundred dollars, some make six figures through affiliate marketing.

6. What should you avoid in affiliate marketing?

Here are 6 mistakes every affiliate marketer should avoid-

  • Acting sales.
  • Publishing low-quality content.
  • Neglecting readability of content.
  • Not having a deep understanding of what you’re selling.
  • Ignoring the SEO basics.
  • Not utilizing evergreen content.
Avatar of jiger kothamdi
Jiger Kothamdi
my name is jiger kothamdi. iam a second generation Indian Nigerian staying in Nigeria. my origin is Ahmedabad Gujarat. iam married with 2 kids one girl and a boy. i run the family business of pharmaceuticals manufacturing. i have always been interested in integrating current technology in business. my team and i have successfully implemented in house ERP solution for my factory. i love to read books, go for wildlife safari and swim. yes i love dogs.

11 thoughts on “10 Quick Tips About Affiliate Marketing for Beginners”

  1. Thank you for sharing these tips. It can help me get through my affiliate marketing business. Been running the sites for months but really nothing I get. Hope what I’ve understood by your post could help me.

  2. Avatar of chris capozzi
    Chris Capozzi

    I was really looking for something that would make my affiliate niche blog make sales. I hope to see some good results after applying what you said. Many thanks buddy!

  3. Great post! Thank you for sharing your ideas about affiliate marketing. It helped me a lot in improving my site to make it effective. Thanks again.

  4. Wow just came across this article today, thanks for the great information Jiger. Looking forward to implementing some of the tips mentioned above and see what kind of results I’ll get. Thanks!

  5. Working with affiliate marketing is a great business idea, as it is a market that is growing a lot, especially in the moment we live. There are countless ways to grow in this market, just try and enjoy the days. 😉

Leave a Reply to Neil Harland Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

In-Demand Courses

4-7 months Instructor Led Live Online Training
Starts March 30, 31, 1, 2, 2024
  • Covers all Digital Marketing Techniques

4 months Online
New Batch Dates are not Open
  • Digital Media Mastery (with Paid Media Expertise)
Digital Marketing Webinars
Mar 30
Upcoming
Raj Sharma, Digital Vidya Team 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (IST)
Apr 28
Completed
Marketing Leaders from Paytm Insider, Cognizant and Digital Vidya 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM (IST)
Mar 24
Completed
Marketing Leaders from Merkle Sokrati, 3M, Uber India and VIP Industries Limited 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM (IST)

Discuss With A Career Advisor

Not Sure, What to learn and how it will help you?

Call Us Live Chat Free MasterClass
Scroll to Top