Affiliate Marketing 101

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6 years ago

There are so many ways to make money online that it can get a little overwhelming. Taking surveys, selling stuff on Ebay, writing ebooks - the list goes on and on. One of these money making techniques is through affiliate marketing. For those of you that are looking for having a long running online business that will take you well into retirement this is probably your best option. But how does affiliate marketing work? Let's go over it below.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

In a nutshell, you make money by promoting someone else's product or service and if you get a sale you earn a commission. That's the simple explanation. Now for the more detailed explanation.

The best way to do this is to have your own website. Pick an interest that you can write articles and reviews about and start writing good quality content so that Google and the other search engines feel that your site is a quality site and will rank it on the first page of the results.

If you promote something like golf clubs. You can talk about different courses, techniques and of course clubs, balls or any other item that people buy to enjoy this sport. You give honest feedback on these products and add a "click here to buy" section. This will have an affiliate link that will take the potential buyer to the real site to make the purchase. If they do so you will get a commission.

So the trick is to keep writing content and keep ranking on the first page so that you get more traffic to your website. More traffic equals more potential sales which equals more commissions.

How Much Money Can You Make?

This is entirely up to you. This depends on how many sites you have, how good the one site you own is, the interest or niche you choose, are you paying for traffic or getting it for free naturally by writing good quality content.

Some people make hundreds of dollars a month and some make thousands a month. Some people quit their jobs to focus on this full time. Again it all depends on how much time you put into it. Not money - TIME.

You can start this online business and keep it going with very little money. Getting a domain name for your site only costs $10 a year. To host your site is anywhere from $10-$50 a month depending on who you go with. That's pretty much it. Usually people don't invest more money into their sites until they start making money. That way it is not out of pocket. You can do things like pay people to write for you, invest in pay per click advertising or paying to have a logo if you want to brand your website.

Is Affiliate Marketing a Scam?

The actual process of affiliate marketing is not a scam but people that try to tell you that you will get rich quick if you read their ebook or take their one time course usually is a scam.

You need to be in this business for the long haul. Just like a traditional business. Would you rather get a quick buck or a gradually increasing monthly income for years to come. The choice is up to you.

What Companies Use Affiliate Marketing?

Pretty much all major ecommerce sites have affiliate programs. Next time you do some online shopping, check the bottom of the page. You will probably see a link that will take you to their affiliate page to sign up.

Sites like Amazon, Walmart, Bestbuy and so on have affiliate programs. Look at these screenshots.

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Do You Need Money to Start?

The difference between having a traditional business and having an online business is that the startup cost is next to nothing. A traditional business requires a business plan in order to get a loan from a bank. You have to pay rent, utilities, employee wages, inventory, etc. On the other hand an online business requires a $10 a year domain name and $10-$50 a month hosting.

How do I Learn Affiliate Marketing ?

The best place to learn about affiliate marketing is through Wealthy Affiliate. If you haven't signed up yet you can try it for free by giving your name and an email address.

I hope you enjoyed this article.

Thanks for reading.

James