We have heard this term “affiliate marketing” umpteen times by now, and we wonder if it really helps. There are endless articles all over the internet explaining the reason why you should start with affiliate marketing, the ways you can benefit from it, or tips and strategies to be successful in the way you market the affiliate products. There are even countless companies offering affiliate marketing programs, while many companies offering software and services that help you keep a track of your sales and traffic. Despite all the information and support readily available on our finger tips, there are many of us who are still hesitant to begin with affiliate marketing. This post is a mini guide for all those who are still wonderinghow to start affiliate marketing?
Let’s first know the basics.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
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It’s as easy as earning commission for recommending products or services via your blog or website. Let’s break it down for your convenience.
- Select a product that you are familiar with.
- Sign up with a merchant offering an affiliate marketing program(s).
- Merchant sends an affiliate link that you need to share on your blog or website. This also helps keep a track of the clicks and the sales.
- The visitors click on the link, buy the product and you get the commission.
The steps are indeed simple, but getting the traffic and making the audience click on the link and buy is not as easy. But then again, it’s not impossible. Let’s get to know more.
The way Affiliate Marketing Works
Tracking the traffic and the sales is extremely important for the merchants and the only way to know is when a buyer clicks on the special affiliate link. However, there are many ways to find who clicked the link. Using cookies to track the sales is one of the most common methods. Each time someone clicks on the link, a cookie (a small file) is saved on the buyer’s computer settings that transmits the sale information to the merchant and that it originates from your blog/website. The merchant website can also track the sales using reputed affiliate tracking software likeLeaddyno that also connects themto their wide range of affiliates who can start promoting for you and help you make more money.
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How to start affiliate marketing for your blog or website?
- Selecting the product, you want to promote
The first step would be to find the product that you are familiar with and that’s most relevant to your website/blog. So, if you are running a fashion website the ads can be anything related to the niche, for instance, apparels, footwear, makeup items, cosmetics, etc. Since these are the products you have knowledge about and you will be writing on these products, make sure that you choose the right product that you wish to promote.
- Set up a website
Once you are done with creating the website and putting up some content on it, try to build an email list as well. We really don’t have to explain you how important it is to have a large email list to increase traffic to your website, right? And how it can help earning you that sweet income? Read this: 9 Highly Effective Lead Magnet Ideas to Grow Your Email List, this article has been published by Tada, a great Shopify app, which will help you understanding the different ways to increase your email list.
- Register for the affiliate program
Now that you have a website, you must sign up for an affiliate program to start earning money. There are numerous websites that offer commission on sale via the special affiliate link and among the popular ones are Amazon, Flipkart, Clickbank, and Shopify. If you are confused about which one to select, you can start with the one that offers highest commissions for the product chosen.
During the registration process you will be asked for your details including the website address, email, etc. The best part is, some websites approve your request based on a plan of your promotion if your website is still without any content.
- Choose the product you want to advertise
Ti’s the time when you would need to select the product that you wish to promote. If you already have the product name in your mind, you can simply enter the name of the product in the search box and hit “Enter”. However, if you are not confident about the product you want to choose, you can seek help from the merchant website and they would guide you with the best-selling products. The recommendations are usually listed under the categories from where you can pick up the product you are familiar with. It is better to select a product that’s already selling good making a great start for the beginners, than selecting a product that you don’t know about.
- Create content related to the product
It would be easier for you to create content when you are familiar with the product. Based on that you can think of what content to write. For example, if you have chosen a beauty product like moisturizer, you can write a list of best moisturizers and so on. There are many different types of articles you can write such as:
- Tutorials or “How to” articles
These are the most common types of articles and most informative adding a lot of value to the readers. When done properly, it helps generate sales swiftly. For instance, “how to get rid of fat in 10 minutes”, and so on.
- Review a product
Reviewing a product that you have tried personally gives a lot of insight to the readers helping them decide whether to purchase it or not.
- Comparison of two or more products
Comparing two or more products of the same type for example, iPhone 8 vs Samsun Galaxy 8 helps buyer make a quick decision.
- List articles
These types of articles are based on a collection of the best products of the same category listed based on their quality. For example, “top ten eye liners”, or “10 best mobile phones of 2017” and more.
- Best deal articles
This type of content offers the best deals, discounts and coupons for a specific category of products that you have chosen.
Once you are done with the content, you will have to place the special affiliate link given to you strategically across the article. When a visitor clicks on the affiliate link it takes them to the merchant website and allows the buyer to complete the sale. You can then check your earnings on the merchant website and keep a track of your commissions earned.
Now that you know how to startaffiliate marketing, all you need is the will to make more money and no one can stop you from being successful.
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