When it comes to making money online, affiliate marketing is an often overlooked way to create revenue. With affiliate marketing, online creators can earn an income regardless of the size of their audience. If you’re looking to diversify your income streams, read on for everything you need to know about how to start affiliate marketing.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is the process by which you earn a commission when you recommend products or services to your audience. When you sign up for an affiliate program you will create specialized links with a cookie that tracks clicks. When a member of your audience clicks on your link, their purchase will be tracked and you will earn income without any additional cost to the purchaser.
How to Start Affiliate Marketing
The first step when learning how to start affiliate marketing is to find affiliate programs to join. Many online influencers start with Amazon Associates. The Amazon program allows you to promote an extensive variety of products, allowing it to fit almost any niche. There are also many marketplace type companies that allow you to apply for a large number of affiliate programs through one central marketplace. Popular affiliate marketplaces are Shareasale, RewardStyle, and Partnerize. In addition, many large companies run their own in house affiliate programs. If there is a particular product you would like to recommend to your audience, research the company that produces it to see if they offer an affiliate program for it.
The most important thing to consider when choosing affiliate programs is to be sure that any product or service you are promoting fits with your niche and your audience. Being unauthentic in your recommendations is a surefire way to prove unsuccessful in affiliate marketing.
How to Promote Your Affiliate Links
Once you have joined one or more affiliate programs you can start earning almost immediately. Use the instructions for the platform to pull appropriate links. Links directly to a product you recommend are always better than a link to a homepage. There are several ways to promote your affiliate links:
- Add the links to the pages on your website. Be sure to add a disclosure to all of your affiliate links to comply with FTC regulations. You will also want to follow any program restrictions on where you can and cannot add links.
- Create a resource page for your blog or site. A comparison post or product review is also a good way to share affiliate links. Remember that the higher quality content your affiliate link is in, the more likely your readers will click and purchase!
- Share affiliate links with your email list. This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to start earning income. Again, make sure the affiliate program you are using allows for sharing of links in this manner. Disclosure is also required even on an email.
Learning how to start affiliate marketing is a wonderful way to increase your online income. Read on for more details about how affiliate links work. Then, start by adding some affiliate links to your online presence and you will be earning money as soon as possible.
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