“Affiliate marketing has made businesses millions and ordinary people millionaires.”

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Bo Bennet

The contemporary world is advancing at a rampant pace and the new ways of the world offer more opportunities than ever before to individuals and businesses. The greater the number of new trends the greater the number of opportunities in terms of unconventional careers. Besides, as the world is swiftly moving towards massive digitalization, the scope of opportunities is further rising. 

Today, you can sit in the comfort of your house and earn handsome money to achieve your ambitions. Who would have thought a few decades ago if work-from-home opportunities and online side hustles like affiliate marketing would boom one day? But look around, today a massive proportion of the global population is working online. To be more specific, a major segment of the work from home generation is earning big bucks from affiliate marketing. 

The concept of affiliate marketing is not new but recently people have started showing a keen interest in the concept. Moreover, multiple statistics forecast that affiliate marketing is going to only get bigger in the future. To validate let us look at some crucial statistics on affiliate marketing. 

• As per stats by Hallur, 16% of total e-commerce sales in Canada and the US are generated through affiliate marketing.
• According to Nikolovska, as of 2021,  81% of brands are using affiliate programs.
• As per Google Trends, the interest of people in becoming affiliates has enhanced by 300% and reached its peak popularity in July of 2020.
• As stated by Benguesmia, an average affiliate marketer can earn up to $1,000 from a single sale. 

To continue, these stats make it substantially evident that both businesses and individuals are reaping the great benefits of affiliate marketing. Are you going to simply let go of the opportunities? 

However, there are still many people who have the potential and want to become affiliate marketers but because of a lack of knowledge of the concept, they are setting themselves back. 

That being the case, this blog will effectively highlight all the information that is required for kickstarting a strong career in affiliate marketing. 

But first things first, we need to understand what exactly is the concept of affiliate marketing. So, let’s get started with the definition of affiliate marketing just to be on the same page. 

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is the business model used by companies to sell their products through third parties which in the terms of marketing are called the affiliates. This is a commission-based marketing model in which an affiliate earns when each consumer purchases through the link or code promoted by the affiliates on various social media platforms or websites.  

To simplify, if you are an affiliate of a certain company, every time you help the company in selling its products and services, you will get a commission. Sounds great, right? The main objective of this model is to enhance the sales of a business. Moreover, it benefits both the company and the affiliates by providing commission to the affiliates and by enhancing the overall growth of the company. 

Probing ahead, there are multiple types of affiliate marketing programs available and the next section will shed light on all the types of affiliate marketing.

Types of affiliate marketing 

• Unattached Affiliate Marketing

As the name suggests, in this type of affiliate marketing the affiliate does not have any direct connection with the company, product, or service they are endorsing. This lack of connection makes this type of marketing a little less reliable and authenticated. Hence, it only finds little acceptance globally. 

• Related Affiliate Marketing

In related affiliate marketing arrangements, the affiliates already have a well-established authority online and have the credibility for promoting the products similar to their respective niche. To elaborate, if you want to become a successful related affiliate marketer, you need to first have some kind of online presence and visibility in the form of blogs, podcasts, videos, and so on. 

Moreover, the relationship of the product with the affiliate niche makes this type more authentic and reliable because it becomes easier for customers to trust people with a relevant online presence.  However, the only problem with related affiliate marketing is that the affiliate may or may not use the product themselves before providing the product review or while promoting the product. This might lead to misinformation.  

• Involved Affiliate Marketing

Involved affiliate marketing is the most reliable and effective type because in this the affiliate actually uses the products and takes full claim of the information endorsed through promotional campaigns. This personal connection of the affiliate with the product makes it easier for the customers to trust them and encourages them to make further purchases.

Moving ahead, now the question arises, how exactly does the concept of affiliate marketing, To answer the same, 

How does affiliate marketing actually work?

Let us comprehend this section with an example, 

Let us assume that you are in collaboration with a company that has hired you as their affiliate marketer. Subsequently, you will be asked to choose a product from their product catalog. After choosing a product, the next step for you will be to promote the product through your social media platforms or website. Every time a consumer will purchase through your generated link or website, you will earn a certain amount of commission subject to your contract with the company. 

You can directly subscribe to a company’s affiliate program which is usually mentioned on their websites. Alternatively, you can join the affiliate network and work in collaboration with different affiliate marketers to get a head start in your career. 

Simple right? Now let us move ahead and stepwise understand what exactly you can do to participate in an affiliate program.

1. Find the best-suited affiliate marketing program 

Today, the e-commerce industry is massively dependent on affiliate marketing programs and almost all e-commerce websites are offering some great affiliate marketing programs. Among these e-commerce websites including  Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, and Godaddy, Amazon tops the list with almost half the affiliate market share which is 44%. You can conveniently research their affiliate program from their official websites and find the best-suited affiliate marketing program according to your needs and requirements. 

2. Get the affiliated link or code 

The next step would be to sign up for your chosen affiliate program. You can sign up on their pages and fill out the required forms and you can then receive the generated links and codes along with their packages and methods of payment. Many websites pay per lead while others pay per sale. Subject to your ambitions,  you can choose the best-suited methods and get the required code or link.

3. Share the link on your social media platforms

The third step would be to promote the chosen products or services through the generated lead on different social media platforms. You can choose your desired format and way of promoting on your preferred platform such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. Sharing and promoting links on various social media platforms will assist in generating leads in order to make sales.

4. Earn commissions as you make each sale by selling the affiliated product

The final step is to enjoy the fruit of your efforts and earn healthy commissions by selling the product from the affiliate program. 

Moreover, as per studies, your commission can vary from 5 percent to 25 percent of the total profit in the sale depending upon the program you will choose. 

Hence, it is always recommended to choose the best program by carefully reading all their terms and conditions before going to their affiliate program. 

5 Tips for building a successful career in affiliate marketing  

1. Focus on quality content 

The quality of the content should be the utmost priority if you want to build a successful career in affiliate marketing. As you will convince your customers through social media or digital marketing, it is essential for you to keep the quality of the content high. High-quality content will not only assist you in acquiring new customers but will also assist in building your online presence. 

To continue, looking at the present scenario of digital marketing, the most popular form of content that is gaining wide popularity all over the world is video content. People are spending hours sitting in front of their screens and scrolling through different videos. This can be a great opportunity for you as an affiliate marketer to connect with your target audience through versatile video content.  In fact, studies say that videos posted on social media can increase sales by 80% and lead generation by 83%. 

Hence, you as an affiliate marketer can create various videos with quality content in order to attract a wider audience and enhance the possibility of generating leads and making sales. 

2. Keep a track of your performance

In order to get success in any field, it is essential to constantly keep a track of your performance. Mentioning the case of affiliate marketing, there are certain key performance indicators that can help you in tracking your performance. Many of the affiliate programs come with personalized dashboards that can track leads, click-through rates, and customer signups. This data can help you in tracking your progress and can indicate your success in the attainment of your SMART goals and objectives. 

Furthermore, these key performance indicators will assist you in tracking your growth and will highlight the key areas where there can be a scope for improvement. This will assist in enhancing your overall efficiency to achieve your affiliate marketing milestones.

3. Enhance your network 

As an affiliate marketer the larger the network you have the greater will be your reach to new audiences. Hence, it is really crucial for you to continuously socialize in order to expand your network. In order to enhance your network, 

• Can join various social media communities
• Can create your hashtag and can connect to new people through the same. 
• Can run various social media campaigns including giveaways and contests.

To continue, expanding your network will assist you in enhancing your social media presence and connecting with new and diversified audiences. This will assist in creating a win-win situation for both affiliates and the company as it will amplify the overall revenue and profits of the company. 

4. Get your hand on all the platforms

Social media has numerous platforms that can help you in generating leads in order to sell your product. Different social media platforms can include 

1. Instagram
2. LinkedIn
3. Facebook
4. Snapchat
5. TikTok
6. Reddit 

These platforms can help you in building a large base of audience to pitch your product and also enhance the chances of converting your target audience into your potential customer.  In order to get a wider target audience, it is essential for you to get your hands on every social media platform.

Along with all these, it is also essential to learn about SEO because making a website on Google can also assist in attracting new customers. Hence, it is essential to learn about basic tricks and tips of SEO in order to rank higher on the search engine result pages.

5. Keep upskilling yourself 

Upskilling is one of the essentials for succeeding in any career and affiliate marketing is no different. 

Hence, the last but not least actionable strategy to succeed in affiliate marketing is to constantly upskill yourself. Constant upskilling will assist in expanding your knowledge base and skill set to be far more persuasive as an affiliate marketer. This will assist you in acquiring new skills that will help you in increasing your self-improvement in making sales and promoting your link.

To continue, some of the basic skills that are required in affiliate marketing are

1. Soft skills 
2. Problem-solving skills 
3. Creativity skills
4. Digital marketing skills 
5. Data analytics skills  

Moreover, you can take assistance from different courses available online or you can take help from other experienced affiliates. This can assist you in implementing various strategies in order to enhance your number of converted leads. 

What are the Benefits of building a career in affiliate marketing?

1. No major investments

As you will only be a third-party associate in the whole concept of affiliate marketing, hence, no major monetary investments will be done from your end. All you have to do is become an affiliate marketer and earn hefty money from the comfort of your home. 

2. Great source of income

Incomes may not be very big from the very first day. However, once you have acquired the required skills or have established yourself in the affiliate industry, you will be able to earn a good amount of money on a monthly basis. In fact, you end up earning so much out of affiliate marketing that you may need no other career alternatives. 

3. Flexibility in working hours

Flexibility is the greatest work motivation in the contemporary world and affiliate marketing gives you all the flexibility that you need to do things in your own way and do that at a time that suits you. You are going to be your own boss when you embrace a career in affiliate marketing. 

4. Low risk of losses 

You will only be an intermediate between companies and customers hence, your vulnerability to losses will be minimal. Hence, affiliate marketing careers are quite risk-free that way.   

Few key Don’ts of affiliate marketing

1. Do not ever create a clickbait 

Clickbait refers to providing false and appealing information to the target audience in order to get more clicks on your affiliate links and websites. 

This is one of the biggest mistakes for affiliate marketers to make because not only it will make your audience lose interest in your work but will also irritate them. This can badly affect your business and can even negatively impact your business reputation. 

Hence, it is always advisable to never lie to your target audience about the products and features of your recommendations. Being honest about the reviews and recommendations will always assist in earning the trust of your customers and enhancing the probability of lead conversions.

2. Do not promote multiple campaigns on a single page 

Talking about websites and social media platforms, when you try to promote multiple campaigns at once, it usually confuses the target audience and this can enhance the chances of the audience bouncing back. 

Therefore, in order to effectively hook your target audience to your website or content, you should always focus on promoting one thing at a time. This will assist in attracting new target audiences and will assist in enhancing the number of generated leads. 

3. Do not spam your audience 

You might also agree with the fact that nobody likes to get spammed. This brings out another key don’t for affiliate marketing, you should never ever spam your audience. This will make you lose your target audience and they will try to avoid engaging with you. This will impact your future sales and your business reputation as well which can contribute to negatively affecting your overall commissions.

Hence, always focus on only giving relevant information to your audience and at regular intervals so that your audience keeps engaging with you. This will assist in generating leads and increasing overall sales of the company which will eventually benefit you as well. 

4. Do not become too salesy 

We are in a world where people do not like to be told what to buy and what to not. Especially when it comes to sales and marketing, you should never be reflected as a person who is just with his/her target audience to sell their product and to gain profits. 

To continue, if you are being too aggressive while pitching your sale, 

Hence, it is always recommended to sell products with the perception of solving the specific problems or your target audience and to earn the profits. This will assist you in earning the loyalty of your customers and will assist you in enhancing your number of acquired customers. 

To encapsulate, in order to earn a good income without making many investments yourself, then affiliate marketing can be a good choice for you. Many people are pursuing this as a side gig as well as a full-time job as well. Hence, if you have the right skill set that is required to excel in this field, then the sky’s the limit for you!