Imagine a world where you can earn money even as you sleep, where your hard work today pays off with continuous returns down the line. That’s not just a dream; it’s the reality of affiliate marketing. At its core, affiliate marketing is a simple yet powerful concept: you promote a product or service, and in return, you receive a commission for each sale made through your referral. It’s a win-win scenario for both the marketer and the merchant, leveraging the vast reach of the internet to create opportunities for passive income.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.“
Chinese Proverb
This proverb resonates profoundly with the journey of affiliate marketing. Starting can seem daunting, with questions and uncertainties. However, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For every affiliate marketer enjoying the fruits of their labor today, there was a moment when they decided to take that first step. Let this be your moment, your step toward building a future where you earn not just by the hours you clock in but through the smart work you set in motion today.
Starting isn’t easy either. There isn’t an institution-accredited course to teach you these things precisely, so if you’re looking to learn from an institution, you might be looking at a 2-year business certificate to get a general knowledge.
Alternatively, and most commonly, there are courses made by business professionals and/or veteran affiliate marketers that can fast track your learning, but it’s not something you can get a loan for. You essentially become an entrepreneur or a solopreneur, as some call it. There’s no governing body to the quality of these courses, so researching the creator and real reviews from others in Affiliate Forums on Reddit and other social media platforms is crucial. I’ll circle back to courses in another article; today, I’ll focus on what affiliate marketing really is.
Affiliate marketing has its pros and cons, naturally, and I’ll share my experience as I start to build a business out of it. I found affiliate marketing really attractive because of the flexibility and the freedom to do it from wherever I am, giving me back some time freedom to be more present with my family. I can now attend all of my son’s baseball and soccer games I want, and I even have time to make snacks! If I’m not feeling my coworkers that day (my plants and dog), then I can work from a coffee shop.
The low startup cost was also attractive. All you really need is a website (much easier than you think), social media accounts (Pinterest, particularly), and a penchant for sales and design. I built a self-hosted website for $126 for the year, including a commerce package just in case I want to sell something in the future. I also pay $16.99 a month for Canva for all my designing needs, and I can create beautiful landing pages with it. I didn’t have to replace any computer hardware, so there was no additional cost there. I did buy a few content creation tools; a ring light and a microphone, but that was all under $50 and not necessary at all when you get started. I just wanted it…
I’ll get into more of the cons in another post but basically people tend to get hung up on the technological aspect of it and quit before they see any results at all. Rejection can be hard and it drives others away as it can be a lot in the beginning. Immediate success is RARE so if making good money fast is your M.O., you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Affiliate Networks
Finding affiliate offers to promote is seemingly easy, but in the beginning, it may be a lot of rejection before you build your portfolio. That just means you need to focus on a few offers and get really good at building funnels and understanding analytics. You can then use those examples of your good work to get other offers that you may like better.
Amazon’s affiliate program is the easiest place to start, as you have the ability to create offers or showcase just about any item on the platform. It’s free, and you know for sure that your payouts are accurate.
Other popular places to find affiliate offers include CJ Affiliate, Digistore24, Shareasale, Mavely, Collective Voice, Impact, Clickbank, MaxBounty, and so many others. Depending on where you are in the world greatly depends on what offers you’re able to promote. Always check if the affiliate network is set up for international contracts if you’re not in the same country. As a Canadian, I have fewer opportunities, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Do your research on the reputation of the affiliate network as well, some do not have the greatest track record or have a reputation for being spammy/scammy (ClickBank, I’ll unpack this in another post…).
How You Can Promote
Where are you going to promote your products? Depending on what you’re selling may define where you have the best sales traction. For instance, I’m in high ticket affiliate offerings with one course that I really enjoyed and believe in and video content converts well for me. It got me started as an affiliate, and I want others to know they can too, and give them the tools. My audience for that is largely on Instagram and TikTok as I can talk to people in the moment and create video posts with features and benefits showcasing what it offers. This has converted well for me, so I continue to do that, but I also don’t have all my eggs in one basket.
I also have a website that I promote on and can sell other products through so that if TikTok went away tomorrow, I’d still be in business. Pinterest is another channel directing traffic to my website.
YouTube or a podcast is another avenue to create traffic by talking about the product in video or audio format. Anywhere you can connect to people, is basically where you should sell. Start small with 1-2 platforms and master them before moving on. Biting off more than you can chew will just make you throw up your hands on the whole thing and that’s why A LOT quit.
Creating all of these streams creates the passivity of income. You don’t have to be online to make the sale; that’s why you automate all of your systems so that you can wake up to money made. Automation isn’t something I learned on my own either; again, the course taught me that. If I were to try and figure it out on my own, it would take me months, if not years, to figure it all out. I am 3 months into this journey and I’m already making money, all thanks to the course I took!
Anyway, enough about the course. I’m happy to chat over email/phone/messenger pigeon about it if you’re interested in how it helped me and will for you too.
Automation is what makes the entire ecosystem passive. The first step in the ecosystem is creating the content. I’ll start with blog posts, as that’s where we are and is the most effective way the income generated from the post is passive. Social media content really only gets pushed/promoted organically for 24-48 hours, whereas a blog is evergreen and is always relevant as long as the offer is valid.
Example:
Let’s say I create a blog post about an Adirondack chair I bought for my deck in the summer. In this instance, I’d start by contacting the company that made the chair to see if they have an affiliate program.
If they do, they may have metrics they want to see from you as a creator and guidelines for the content you create. If accepted, commissions are usually a percentage of the sale, but recurring subscription sales or PPC (pay per click) are also popular. There are many ways that affiliate companies or networks pay, so make sure you understand how they all work before accepting an offer or partnership.
The method of promotion such as a blog post can be a review of a product, a “how-to” showcasing materials used in a project, or even just a blog post showcasing the product itself. Inside of the post are your special links the company has given you that will let the company know the “lead” came from your site, and they’ll pay you if a sale is made. To create traffic to my article, I create content on Social Media with a link in bio to the blog itself (or landing page if used), depending on the platform determines the type of content. I prefer Pinterest because, again, I want it to be evergreen, and it’s a great way to really narrow down your target audience, particularly with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Traffic to Your Site/Offer
Some people use paid ads, but that creates a flash-in-the-pan effect for blogs and were using a landing page for a shorter offer making paid ads valuable. For my blog’s affiliate offers, I rely mostly on SEO for organic traffic on google. Ranking can take a while, but as long as my blog isn’t full of AI-written articles, I have a better chance of ranking quicker and higher.
As of March 2024, Google is cracking down on AI spammy websites, and for those relying on AI to write all their articles, this isn’t good news. The old adage “Garbage in, Garbage out” is pretty relevant here.
In conclusion, affiliate marketing offers a compelling path for individuals looking to build a source of passive income. By leveraging the power of the internet, social media, and strategic content creation, you can promote products and earn commissions while enjoying the freedom and flexibility that come with being your own boss. The journey to successful affiliate marketing may not be straightforward, and it certainly requires dedication, learning, and a bit of entrepreneurial spirit. However, the rewards of establishing a passive income stream are well worth the effort.
Remember, the key to success in affiliate marketing lies in choosing the right products, understanding your audience, and creating valuable content that drives sales. So, take that first step today, and embark on a journey that could transform your financial future. Whether you’re looking to supplement your income or build a full-time business, affiliate marketing provides a viable and exciting opportunity to earn while you sleep.
You may also like “How to Choose an Affiliate Marketing Niche“
Sweet Shibumi 
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