INTRODUCTION TO AFFILIATE MARKETING

WHAT IS AFFILIATE MARKETING?

Before introducing you to affiliate marketing, let me tell you what it is.

Affiliate marketing is performance-based marketing in which a business rewards you for each visitor or customer brought by your marketing efforts.

If you’re new to affiliate marketing and want to get started, here is your complete introduction.

Affiliate marketing is similar to making recommendations to friends and family in the traditional way. Doing it online requires that you have a good number of followers.

This can be achieved through things like blogging, or social media handles.

One of the main benefits of affiliate marketing is that it allows you to leverage your network and relationships to promote products and earn commissions.

When you make a recommendation to a friend or family member, you are essentially acting as an affiliate for that product or service.

The difference is that with affiliate marketing, you can reach a larger audience and earn a commission for your efforts.

Before we go any further, let me tell you a little about myself.

My name is Echez, and I am a senior content writer for Success Zenith. I spend my time in SEO research, writing on different niches, affiliate marketing, and helping start-ups break even.

I focus on providing Internet marketing solutions to businesses and startups. And help entrepreneurs scale their digital marketing businesses.

If you think there is something else, I can do to contribute to your business, do let me know.

Let us now talk about affiliate marketing.

Before you can make serious progress in affiliate marketing; you need to understand the key difference between the 2 major types.

Difference Between the Two Types of Affiliate Marketing:

A major difference between affiliate marketing as a business and the traditional old way of telling your friends about the latest Snickers in the market is that you can be in Colorado and make a recommendation to someone on the other side of the planet, let us say India. That is the power of the internet.

Another benefit of affiliate marketing is that it allows you to track your results and see exactly how much you are earning from your efforts.

This helps to optimize your strategy and focus on the most profitable products and services.

Overall, affiliate marketing is a great way to earn money by promoting products and services that you believe in and that align with your interests and values.

So, it is a good way to monetize your network and relationships, while also helping to introduce others to products and services that you think they will enjoy.

eXAMPLE OF AFFILIATE MARKETING IN PRACTICE:

Hope you are getting a hang of it with this introduction to affiliate marketing.

Let’s say you are an enthusiastic runner and recently discovered a new brand of running shoes that you love.

Because you were blown away by their comfort and support you want to share your experience with others, so you decide to become an affiliate for the company.

You sign up for their affiliate program and receive a unique affiliate link. Whenever someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.

It does not matter how you get the links on people’s faces. (Of course, spamming is frowned on)

You can share your affiliate link on your social media accounts, blog, or website. You might write a review of the running shoes and include your affiliate link, or create a video demonstrating the features of the shoes and explaining why you love them.

By sharing your personal experience with the running shoes and promoting them through your affiliate link, you can recommend a product you find interesting to your friends, family, and followers while also earning a commission for your efforts.

An introduction to The basics of affiliate marketing:

So no matter what anyone tells you about affiliate marketing, it boils down to these things

• Develop authority in any field, so that people will trust you when you make recommendations.
• Gather many followers: this could be through your website, blog, newsletter, or social media.
• Create helpful content that will keep your audience engaged.
• Discreetly include your affiliate links in your content. It is a requirement.
• You get paid when your site visitors click and meet certain criteria, like buying a product, subscribing to a newsletter, or signing up to try out a game.

Of course, there are a few more steps in between. But what you have above is the foundation of all affiliate marketing arrangements.

How does affiliate publishing work?

I break these up into step-by-step procedures for clearer understanding.

STEP ONE: Create authority in a niche.

For instance, if you are an expert on arthritis, credit card, and software development and people trust what you say in your field. Then you are good to go as an affiliate publisher.

STEP TWO

You partner with a company to promote its products or services. To do this, the company gives you a unique link.

You earn a commission when someone clicks on your unique affiliate link and makes a purchase.

STEP THREE: Find affiliate programs or networks to join:

There are many ways to find affiliate programs to join.

If I already have a product in mind, here is what I do: I start by searching for “affiliate programs” and the name of the product or service I want to promote.

For example, if I want to promote fitness products, I can search for “fitness affiliate programs.”

Another way to do this is to join affiliate networks like

• Commission Junction.
• ShareASale, and
• ClickBank, which connects affiliates with merchants.
• Jumia
• Konga
• Wakanow
• Quickteller

The above bullet points are all good examples of affiliate marketing. You can do your research by visiting each of their websites to see what relates to your niche.

Products I use: I also promote products that I use and find to be awesome.

For example, our website registrar, our web host, and the different plugins and themes we use are all good products and services that we sometimes make recommendations to our readers.

And when they buy, we get a commission at no extra cost to our readers.

STEP 4

Start promoting: Once you’ve joined an affiliate program, you can start promoting products by creating content.

Such content can come in many formats, like blog posts, videos, or social media posts. Include your affiliate link in any or all of your content. You can also promote products through email marketing or by placing banner ads on your website.

Promotion could also be in the form of paid ads, guest posts, hosting webinars and so many other ways you can get in front of people.

This introduction to affiliate marketing cannot be complete if I don’t tell you what you are up against in. So let’s discuss some of the difficulties encountered by new affiliates.

How Difficult is it to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing?

The difficulty of making money with affiliate marketing can vary depending on several factors, including your

• Experience
• The quality of your content,
• And the competitiveness of the niche you are in.

Making money with affiliate marketing is possible, but it requires hard work, dedication, and patience. It may take some time to see results, but with the right strategies and a focus on creating high-quality content, you can be successful in this industry.

That is another reason to consider joining our affiliate marketing course. For now, we only let you in on request.

a few things I have found to be worth taking note of in this business:

1. Experience: If you are new to affiliate marketing, it may take some time to learn the ropes and become successful. It’s important to educate yourself about the industry and learn as much as you can about effective marketing strategies. That is why we have developed a no-nonsense course on affiliate marketing.
2. Quality of content: For your affiliate marketing efforts to be effective, you need to create high-quality content that is valuable to your audience. There is no shot cut to this, or rather, if any shot cut, experience has shown that it does not last. Quality content can include blog posts, videos, social media posts, and more. The better your content, the more likely people are to click on your affiliate links and make a purchase.
3. Niche competitiveness: The competitiveness of your niche can also impact your success with affiliate marketing. If you are in a highly competitive niche with many other affiliates promoting similar products, it may be more difficult to stand out and generate sales.
4. Your budget: Many gurus do not tell you this. But if you have a wider wallet, if you have some cash to invest in affiliate marketing, your success will be faster. There are tons of tools that cost money to use. Although there are usually free versions those are limited in what they can do.

Some Tools You Will Need for Affiliate Marketing

Here are some of the tools you may need to facilitate your affiliate marketing. (Remember this list is not conclusive)

There are many tools available to you succeed in your marketing efforts. Here are three examples of affiliate marketing tools:

1. Affiliate tracking software: You need a way to track the performance of your campaigns and see how many sales or leads you are generating. It can also help you to see which products are performing well and which are not. Some popular affiliate tracking software options include
   • HasOffers
   • LinkTrust,
   • mpact.com.
   • PartnerStack.
   • ZINFI.
   • Everflow.
   • TUNE.
   • Post Affiliate Pro.
   • Voluum.
   • Partnerize.
2. Affiliate marketing automation software: Doing everything yourself will eventually wear you out. So it would help if you found a way to automate everything that can be automated. I cannot do without them. It can help you to automate your marketing efforts, including email campaigns, social media posts, and more. Some popular options include AWeber, GetResponse, Mailchimp, Send Fox, etc.
3. Affiliate link cloaking software: No one will be inclined to click on your links if they are too long and ugly. So, it would help if you had a link shortener to cloak your affiliate links.

This means that the link is shortened and appears more attractive to potential customers. This can help to improve the click-through rate of the link and increase the chances of making a sale. Some popular options include

• ThirstyAffiliates
• Pretty Link
• bitly

These are just a few examples of the types of tools that are available to you as an affiliate. There are many other options out there as well, so it’s important to do your research and find the tools that best fit your needs and goals. Or enroll in our affiliate marketing course, where you have these tools explained and put into practice.

Tips for Affiliate Marketing and Best Practice

Many things can contribute to a successful and rewarding experience in affiliate marketing. Here are a few tips I wish I knew when I started:

1. Set clear goals: Having specific goals in mind can help you stay focused and motivated.
2. Make a plan: Break your goals down into smaller steps and create a plan to achieve them. This can help you stay organized and on track.
3. Stay positive: It’s natural to face challenges and setbacks, but it’s important to keep a positive attitude and stay focused on your goals.
4. Seek support: Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support when you need it. Whether it’s from friends, family, or a professional, having someone to turn to can make a big difference. When you enroll in our affiliate marketing course, you will automatically be added to our affiliate marketing forum, where we share resources, tips, tools, and motivation to succeed. (But for now, you can join one of the highest forums on affiliate marketing; Affilorama)
5. Take breaks: It’s important to take breaks and give yourself time to relax and recharge. This can help you stay fresh and motivated.
6. Reflect on your progress: Take time to reflect on your progress and celebrate your successes along the way. This can help you stay motivated and see the bigger picture.

My final words to you the aspiring affiliate marketer:

It’s important to remember that affiliate marketing takes time and effort to be successful.

But if you choose products or services that you are passionate about and that align with your audience’s interests, your chances of success will be greatly increased.

Be transparent about your affiliate relationships and always disclose your affiliate links. And, most importantly, be patient.

It can take time to see results from your efforts, but with hard work and dedication, you can be successful in affiliate marketing.

You just completed the basics by reading this introduction to affiliate marketing. What next?

Here are 2 things you can do:

Enroll in our AFFILIATE MARKETING COURSE coming up soon! Do this now before the seats are taken.

Go read more about affiliate marketing:

• 5 touches I give to my affiliate marketing effort to get the best results.
• 7 mistakes that will kill your affiliate marketing career
• Lead generation techniques for a successful affiliate marketing
• affiliate marketing for beginners
• How I finally got it right with affiliate marketing

Feel free to drop us your comments and or questions.