How affiliate marketing works: a step-by-step guide for beginners
Looking to generate income online? Do you have a computer/laptop and an internet connection? Then affiliate marketing could be the simplest and fastest way to fulfill your dream.
Here, you will discover the 6 simple steps that will take you from a complete beginner to an affiliate marketer in as little as 48 hours.
WHAT’S AFFILIATES MARKETING?
affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing system in which a product provider pays an “affiliate” a commission when someone buys their product. That “someone” has been referred to the seller by the “affiliate”.
And it all happens online – you have a web presence, usually a website, to which you attract like-minded visitors, where you “warm them up” with the idea that the product you are promoting (as an affiliate) is the perfect product. . response to your problem or pressing need.
That “product” can be physical (books, CDs, DVDs, clothing, jewelry, natural medicines, etc.) or digital (e-books, electronic reports, software, online courses/training, etc.).
When your visitor clicks on your affiliate link (on your site) they are redirected to the seller’s site, where the seller will close the sale; much easier after you’ve heated them up! When your site visitor buys the vendor’s product, you are paid a commission.
For example, if the product costs $100 and you get, say, a 50% commission, you’ll get paid $50! And all for basically introducing someone with a pressing problem or need to someone who can solve that problem.
Affiliate marketing is great for beginners starting out online as it has a very low barrier to entry – it’s a very simple process that doesn’t need any particular technical skills, you don’t need to have your own product, and it doesn’t need to cost the earth. to get started. In fact, you can get started for less than $20!
And, you don’t have to sell, fulfill, maintain stock, or deal with payment systems, and you don’t have to deal with customers; the seller does that.
All YOU need is an internet connection and a computer/laptop and you are good to go.
AFFILIATE NETWORKS
Because affiliate marketing is so profitable for both the affiliate and the provider, many “affiliate networks” have sprung up over the years to help both affiliates and providers manage their affairs in a much better way. more efficient and easier.
Providers can attract affiliates by advertising their products on these networks and affiliates can easily find products to promote. Once an affiliate decides to promote a certain product, the network assigns an affiliate link/ID so that sales of that product can be linked to the affiliate.
The affiliate network is also responsible for managing the flow of money between the provider and the affiliate, whether by electronic transfer or check. It also charges a small fee to both the provider and the member for the service.
There are many affiliate networks to choose from, but a beginner in affiliate marketing can easily start with “ClickBank” and/or “Amazon”.
GETTING STARTED WITH AFFILIATE MARKETING
1. Choose your niche and product
The first step is to decide what niche where you want to trade. A “niche” is a group of people with very similar interests, for example, taste buds, broken relationships, shopping for car insurance, how to make money online, etc. But of course you also have to have proven “buyers” to make money.
So how do you find a profitable niche with lots of profitable products to promote?
A very quick way to do this is to search for affiliate networks for niches that have multiple products that their stats indicate are selling well. If there are many products that are selling well, you now know that the niche is profitable and buyers in that niche like those products.
In other words, there are no doubts; you know for sure that you can make money in that niche and you know for sure which products are successful, unlike if you had to develop your own product!
Once you are satisfied with a product, you sign up as an affiliate and receive a unique link that you place on your website. When a visitor clicks on that link, they go to the vendor’s sales page where, if they buy, they are paid the commission assigned to that product.
2. Get your domain name
Before setting up your website, you need to get a domain name based on your niche. For example, fastgoutcure.com, weightlossforseniors.com. Get the idea? This will become the “address” of your website.
Two of the most popular domain registrars are “GoDaddy” and “NameCheap”.
3.Get hosting
You should then get accommodation for your website This is where all your website files will be stored and protected. When someone enters your domain name into their browser, they will be directed to your website.
There are many web hosting companies out there, but you can’t go wrong as a newbie if you go for “HostGator”.
4. Set up your website
Next, you need to configure your website. This should be very relevant and focused on the chosen niche and product. For example, having a website about “arthritis” and trying to promote a product that cures “gout” will not rank well in search engines or generate sales.
Although gout and arthritis are medically linked, most people don’t know this, so they will search for “arthritis” solutions or “gout” solutions and Google will present webpages in their search results that reflect this. So always stay focused on the laser!
You need a specialized platform or software to build your website. The most popular platform today is “WordPress”, which is free. Most of the good hosting companies like HostGator allow you to select WordPress directly from your hosting control panel with just a couple of clicks.
5. Add great content
There is a saying in marketing that “content is king!” I like to say that “GREAT content is king!” Therefore, your website content needs to be highly relevant to your niche and precisely focused on it, so that your site visitors get great value (and know they are) from it.
For example, if your site is about “gout,” write content about its cause, its symptoms, how it’s diagnosed, how it’s treated, natural remedies, specific diets, lifestyle changes, etc. It gives the best advice, some recipes, the latest studies, news, etc. That is, keep adding “value”.
6. Boost Traffic (Visitors)
Now, you can have the best website in the world, the best products to promote that will definitely, absolutely help your target audience; but, if no one lands on your site, you better not bother!
Therefore, attracting visitors (called “traffic” in Internet marketing) to your website is absolutely critical to its success and to helping all those people who are desperately looking for a solution to their problem.
Basically, there are two ways to get traffic; “pay for it” or “get it for free”.
paid traffic They are things like advertising on other specialized websites, Google, Bing, Facebook, etc. You can also pay people who have large email lists in the same niche as you to send a promotional email from you to their list.
But paying for traffic may not be the best option when starting out because you really need to know what you’re doing because it’s so easy to “burn out” when you don’t know.
free traffic it comes from things like search engine optimization (SEO), which is the art of getting your website on page 1 of Google, Bing, and other search engines.
You can also get tons of free traffic by posting great content (with links to your site) on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. When people click on your link, they end up on your website.
You can produce simple and short YouTube videos that can drive traffic to your site through your site link in the video description.
A very popular way to drive free traffic to your site is to post comments on blogs and forums in the same or a similar niche as yours.
Another very easy way to get free traffic is by posting short articles on article directories like EzineArticles. The article you are reading right now is an example of this technique.
This also has the added benefit that other website owners in your niche can copy and publish your article on their sites, but they must leave your website link intact so you can get free traffic from YOUR site too!
So, here is your affiliate marketing checklist:
1. Choose your niche and product
2. Get your domain name
3.Get hosting
4. Set up your website
5. Add great content
6. Boost Traffic (Visitors)
If you are a beginner in affiliate marketing, do not be intimidated by all this; It really is very easy to get started. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who has an Internet connection and a computer or laptop can be up and running, ready to start receiving commissions, in as little as 48 hours. And all this without any previous experience.