How to start an affiliate marketing business?
Affiliate marketing gives you the opportunity to earn commissions by selling products or services offered by other companies. This is a great way to increase your income from the comfort of your home. Fortunately, it’s also easy to become a partner with a well-known company.
Sell what you know. First, you should sell a product or service that you are familiar with. Internet marketers refer to this process as “choosing your niche.” You should choose a niche that represents your current interests or career.
For example, if you’re an interior designer, it makes more sense to sell blanket sets than auto parts. You’ll be more successful in your personal marketing efforts if you sell what you know.
Launch a website relevant to your niche.
Before becoming a member, many companies want to know the URL of the website you will be using to sell your products. They do this because they want to make sure the content on the site doesn’t damage the company’s reputation.
Building a website is easy these days thanks to sites like WordPress.com. [1]
Be sure to include non-sale content on your website. You want your website to feel authoritative in your niche. [2]
Research related programs.
Find affiliate programs that offer products or services in your niche.
Amazon sells almost everything, so your niche may include items sold on Amazon. If you want to start affiliate marketing, this is a great place to start.
Commission Junction is another great option as it allows you to work with many companies you already know (like Overstock, Office Depot, Bosco.
Clickbank is another option that many affiliate marketers prefer. This is because business commissions on this site can be very lucrative. [5]
Join the affiliate program.
Participating in an affiliate program is almost always free.
If you are asked for a credit card number just to become a member, you may be scammed. Most reputable affiliates allow people to become affiliates for free.
However, you will be asked to provide bank account or PayPal information. Remember, it’s not the company that can charge you, it’s that they can pay you the commission you get from successful sales.
In some cases, you will be asked for the URL of your website. Just enter the website URL you created above.
Add affiliate links to your content.
A great way to earn commissions without selling anything is to include affiliate links in your content. That way, when they click on the link, people are taken to the company’s website and you get a commission when they buy something. [6]
For example, if you’re writing about purple duvet decorating, set the phrase “purple duvets” as a link to an Amazon site that only shows people purple duvets. Your readers can browse Amazon deals and possibly buy something they like.
The good news is that it’s easy for companies to get a link to their website. How you get these links depends on the company, but it’s usually easy to find links to products or products you’re looking for.
Add visual ads to the sidebar.
Like most websites, your website probably has a sidebar. This is a great place to add visual ads for products relevant to your niche.
Likewise, you’ll find that affiliate program companies can easily get the images and links they need to bring visitors back to their website. It’s almost always as simple as copying and pasting the code into the sidebar.
