Why being an Affiliate might be your best entrepreneurial decision
Being an Affiliate has been the most lucrative for us, since we started the money making online business journey.
As of writing this, Affiliate marketing is a 9 billion revenue generating industry.
An Affiliate, simply put, is recommending something and getting paid to do it.
If you have a passion for any particular subject, have a computer and Internet connection and can type, then you can be an Affiliate.
You can advertise anything these days and the best part is once you write up your reviews or recommendations that's it, you don't have to update anything else.
How do you become an Affiliate?
First you need a website or blog that has a specific Niche.
Then you need to find some products in your specified Niche to review and recommended.
Our advice, is to only promote and review products you are familiar with and have tried yourself. Your readers are coming to your site for advice and will come back again to read more of your honest opinions if you give REAL advice.
To become an Affiliate of a website or product, check the company's Affiliate scheme (usually located at the bottom of their website). Before you apply, make sure your website is up and running, so they can see what content you write about. This will give you the best chances of being accepted.
Once you have been accepted they will usually supply you with content, links and pictures to add to your website.
These links will be how you get paid. When a customer clicks on your link and goes to a product or website you will be paid if the customer buys something.
What if they click off and buy something later? Most Affiliate schemes pays out if your customer returns and purchases within 30 days, sometimes more, sometime less.
How to apply links to your website
The basic text affiliate link will look like this - www.thecompaniessite.com/yourusername
Once you have the link you are going to copy and paste it on to your blog over a certain clickable word such as - click here, or buy now.
(Check out our blog post with step by step instructions coming soon, or subscribe to our mailing list to get the info sent to you automatically)
Highlight the word / words and right click on your mouse to open create link / hyperlink.
In the space, paste your affiliate link.
Sometimes on your blog or site you will see an image of 2 links, this is also another way to paste your link. You have the option of the link opening in a new tab or redirecting to a page on your website.
This now gives you an Affiliate link which looks professional.
The next link is through pictures. Sometimes you will be supplied the picture in html which is simply copied and pasted into your website and already has your affiliate code embed.
If it is just a picture, then add the picture to your website as normal. Right click the picture and select 'add link'. This is where you add your affiliate link. Your picture is now clickable and will send your customers via your link to the advertised site.
Things to look out for -
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During our years as an Affiliate marketer, we have made A LOT of mistakes. The main one was that we were trying to sell without helping. When you help your customers overcome problems, they usually return for more advice. We have always advised our family and friends on how to make money online, (this is now our niche btw) and we used to love the feeling we would have whenever they took our advise and were successful.
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Helping people is a great thing! Helping people whilst getting paid is perfect!
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Identify a need and turn that into your niche, we all need things; Household products, Entertainment, Advice, Clothing, Electronics, Beauty, Arts and Crafts, Holidays etc the niches are endless.
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Make sure you track your sales! This is a HUGE, common mistake between new affiliate marketers. Why is this so important? You want to know which Affiliate links are converting better than others so you know what campaign / advertiser to concentrate on. Making commission and sales is brilliant. But what makes you a better marketer is knowing how to grow your campaigns.
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Don't lie! Too many Affiliate Marketers see this as a sure fast way to make money advertising 'crap' simply because the advertiser pays out huge!
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Don't rip people off just to make money! It's not cool and it's not how a proper business should be run. Returning customers are better than one offs!
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Stick to what you know. Just because you see something shiny that pays amazingly, does not mean you need to run after it and promote it. It's better to advertise things you believe in, have used and know work.
Pros
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Once set up you don't need to go back to it (accept to update if required)
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Make money on auto pilot
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Simple cash generator whilst helping
Cons
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Can be quite daunting and long winded when setting up
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Hard to find content to write about your niche (See our shop for help with content writing)
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Tracking may not work properly or your affiliate link is not connected properly.
Some great affiliate networks to sign up too -
Not only can you find affiliate programmes to join but they also share wholesale, dropshipper and manufacture information and it's all free!
Is another fantastic tool you should think about joining if you would like to become an affiliate. They have a network of members at the ready to help you on your journey. Membership is free and the website has a lot of information and guidance on how to becoming an affiliate and start your website. They have a premium package, which is worth joining, starting from $48 and Wealthy Affiliate are always offering discounts at sign up. The premium package offers so much in regards to helping you start your online business, it is truly worth it! (Read our review here)
These guys have so many affiliate programmes you'll never run out! They have some top names to keep you interested to such as Quidco, Moon pig and Topcashback to name a few! With a fast payment system, payments are made within 3 working days of validation.
Membership is also free!
This site has been around since 1998 and is now the number one affiliate marketing provider in the world. They also have Paypercall options. Check out our Paypercall page for more info.