Most bloggers and YouTubers start off by talking about their niche or topic of interest, thinking that they will make their channel/blog a vast community and earn some money. In a bid to do the same, they rely on Google’s AdSense or YouTube, which, in the very beginning, helps them make money to some extent. However, these sources have their very own limitations, which may reduce the scope of any passionate blogger or Youtuber to earn more money online.
Hence, most bloggers and YouTubers choose to become an affiliate by partnering with a renowned brand and market their products online by talking to the relevant audience, which is why, in today’s day and age, affiliate marketing is picking up and how! Interesting right? Which is why it becomes even more critical for such enthusiasts to learn affiliate marketing.
This article seeks to give a step-by-step guide to affiliate marketing for beginners, basics of affiliate marketing, its benefits, some tips for affiliate marketing for beginners, and the best way to start affiliate marketing. It will also cover other aspects such as dos and don’ts, when you become an affiliate marketer and how to become one with ResellerClub.
So, without much delay, let us understand-
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is nothing but a modern interpretation of an old school idea- get a commission on a sale. It is the very basic of affiliate marketing. You are affiliated with a brand to promote their products or services. So, as an affiliate, your job is to introduce the brand’s products and services relevant to your readers by leveraging your expertise. And based on a sale, you get a commission from the brand. It is that easy!
But how does it work?
Your blog or website already talks about something, right? Let’s say hosting or domains or any other product or service. All you need to do is place a unique affiliate code given by the brand/company to you on the article or content that they want to promote after you sign up for their program. When your readers are interested or attracted to the content and click on that link to buy the product, they will be redirected to the brand’s products and services. If they like the offerings and buy something, the brand will know that the sale has happened through your website, and that’s how you end up getting the commission. Brilliant, right?
Great! So what are the things I need to be aware of before I become an affiliate?
So, like we said, as an affiliate, you need to introduce a brand’s offerings that are relevant to your audience. But, before you become an affiliate, here is what you need to know-
You and the brand should ideally get into an informal agreement, an affiliate agreement, where you decide the terms and conditions both parties agree to- commissions, payouts, percentage slabs on performance, legalities, etc. You might read about these terms and formalities at the brand’ s/merchant’s website under their affiliate program.
This was at a basic level of what affiliate marketing is and what you need to know before becoming an affiliate. Apart from making money online, there are many advantages of affiliate marketing per se. Here are some-
Benefits of affiliate marketing
Affiliate, for beginners, grew as a channel, but later with time, it started becoming a part-time career for many people around the world. Apart from the fact that it acts as another source of income, here are a few advantages:
- Affiliate marketing is a low investment deal for affiliates- This holds because all you need is a blogging platform or a youtube channel to talk about, and getting either of the two is free or requires very little investment.
- It’s a major marketing channel that is used by the biggest of the brands.
- Affiliate marketing is a very flexible and independent business- This attracts many professionals and freelancers because they don’t have to set up anything or even be at their desks all the time. Post your content with the code, and the rest is taken care of.
- Marketing kit is right at your disposal- The brand/merchant usually provides you with all the collateral required to promote their offerings.
- The best way to earn passive income- As we mentioned before, this is perhaps one of the easiest ways to make money.
Surely with this, becoming an affiliate sounds great, right? So why don’t we understand how to become an affiliate. Allow us to give you a step by step guide to affiliate marketing for beginners-
How to start affiliate marketing for beginners
1. Choose a platform- In theory, you can choose any platform that you want to when you want to become an affiliate marketer. It could be Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or even your blog. If you already have a good amount of traffic or subscribers on your platform, you can start by putting affiliate links. But ensure that your blog or YouTube channel is also optimized for the search engines because that will inevitably help you get more traction.
2. Decide your niche for content – It is true that the affiliate space is crowded. So, to stand out, choose your niche wisely. Talk about what interests you but also make sure that it grabs the eyeballs of a specific audience. This way, it will be easy for you to rank better in the search engines. Also, you need not be a subject matter expert. You can read about the topic and document what you learned. At times documented content is the best content, so ensure that you have decided on your niche first and then start.
3. Finding the right program- There are different types of affiliate programs. Some have high payouts, but the low volume (of customers), some are low paying but have high volume, and some are high volume high payout programs. Before choosing a program based on the affiliate structure of volume/payout, check what your niche is all about and it’s kind of traction. Based on this, you can choose an affiliate program for yourself.
Also, check the product’s reputation and the brand that’s offering the product by searching about it on Google before selecting an affiliate program. One of the best ways of affiliate marketing for beginners is to join bigger affiliate networks if you want to. This will help other brands notice you and understand what you have to offer. It also serves as a great platform to hunt different clients for affiliates.
Another option you may want to try out is by personally reaching out to companies. By all means, you have many options for getting in touch with a brand that understands your niche.
4. Creating content and driving relevant traffic to your site/channel- As we mentioned earlier, you don’t have to be an expert on the topic. In the best-case scenario, talk about it interestingly. That is more likely to get you the commissions you need.
Create content that excites users. Make your content actionable and ensure that you answer the 5Ws and 1H (what, when, why, where, who, and how) to understand your audiences’ wants and desires. Provide content that educates and entertains your readers and not just talks about the product or the brand per se. There has to be a final takeaway for your audience. This will lay the foundation for your content and then also help you understand where and how you need to plug-in the product or service.
You can use different marketing tactics to get more traffic if you want, such as SEM or SEO or some such. The bottom line is you can do this by yourself without really needing any special knowledge about the topic.
5.Clicks and sales conversion
Once you are done writing or talking about your content, it is of utmost importance that you place the product links correctly. That will eventually drive sales and commissions for you when it comes to affiliate marketing. So here is what you need to do if you are writing a blog, always talk about the product or service in this way-
Today, I will be reviewing hosting products that you can buy from (brand name) at USD 30. They are productname1, productname2, and productname3.
This format is easier, and also, the readers or viewers can understand better, and if they need to click on it, they can.
Most importantly, ensure that you are placing the right promo code and linking it to the right product of the brand you are promoting.
Setting yourself up as an affiliate
Now that you have understood the basics of affiliate marketing with a step by step guide that we shared, here is the best way to start affiliate marketing and set yourself up with basic dos and don’ts-
- Things you will need- As mentioned, you will need your platform to start as an affiliate. It could be a blog, YouTube channel, or even social media handles. Apart from this, you will also need the content/campaign promo material, promo code, and collateral from the brand that needs to be advertised on your channel.
- Do’s and don’ts- Always promote a product you like talking about or have a strong liking or passion for because that seeps into your content, and it becomes easier for you to sell and even promote. Don’t just do it for a commission, which you won’t get if a sale is not made. Also, understand the terms and conditions of your brand partner/merchant’s services and ensure that you understand each other’s expectations.
Also, don’t overdo the banners or collateral material shared with you thinking that you will get more commissions. It is always sales-based, and the better you present your content, the higher the chances of conversion.
We hope this article informed you of everything you needed to know about becoming an affiliate. If you want to kickstart this process, you can also become an affiliate with ResellerClub and promote their hosting products and services on your blog, YouTube channel, or social media.
Some of the benefits of becoming a ResellerClub affiliate are as follows
- Timely payouts- Based on the deal you have with our team, you will be given payouts based on the decided commission.
- Dedicated affiliate manager- This person will be there to co-ordinate and help you with what products need to be promoted, etc. In this way, you will have a single point to contact to take you through everything.
- Amazing tracking system- One of the key areas where most affiliate marketing faces hurdles is tracking and attributing the traffic and sales coming on the merchant’s website. We have those checks in place, thanks to Impact Radius, that helps us track the performance of our affiliates.
- Ready collaterals for promotion- All the marketing material you need will be available to you.
Thank you so much for reading affiliate marketing for beginners – a step by step guide to affiliate marketing. With this, we hope that we have addressed every aspect of affiliate marketing, right from the basics of affiliate marketing to a step by step guide to affiliate marketing as well as how to start affiliate marketing for beginners.
If you have any other doubts with respect to affiliate marketing or even with accordance to how to start affiliate marketing for beginners, please leave your queries below or reach us at affiliates@resellerclub.com. You can also check out our ResellerClub affiliate program.
Also, head to our Marketing Blog Category to learn more and stay updated.
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