So, you explored the Internet and came across the term “Affiliate Marketing.” You loved the idea of promoting other people’s products and earning commission and want to give it a shot!
And why not? If I were you, I’d think the same! Affiliate Marketing is a $12-billion industry expected to grow at 10% per year. Additionally, 1 out of every 6 E-commerce sales is driven by Affiliate Marketers.
So, if you are thinking of making money online through Affiliate Marketing, but don’t know where to start, you have come to the right place!
In this post, I will share 6 simple steps that you can follow to start your Affiliate Marketing journey. You will find something insightful, so fasten your seat belts and read on!
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Before I share the 6 steps, I’d like to tell you what Affiliate Marketing is and explain how it works with the help of a simple example, so we are on the same page about it, okay?
In simple words, “Affiliate Marketing is the process of promoting someone else’s products and if people buy through your affiliate link, you will make a commission.”
Affiliate Marketing Example
Let me explain Affiliate Marketing with the help of a simple example.
Suppose, Sujot has an E-commerce store where he sells laptops. He is looking to scale the sales of his laptops so he creates a portal on his platform where people can sign up as Affiliate Marketers to promote his products.
Sujot promises that for each sale, he will pay the Affiliate Marketer a commission of 10%, okay?
The cost of the laptops that Sujot is selling is, let’s say, ₹50,000.
Now, suppose Kiran is an Affiliate Marketer and signs up to promote Sujot’s laptops. When Kiran signs up, he gets his unique affiliate link. Let’s say, the link is as follows:
https://laptops-by-sujot.com/?aff_id=kiran123
The query string parameter, that is, this part after the question mark, aff_id=kiran123 is Kiran’s unique affiliate link and it will be used to pay commissions and track his performance.
Note: The above affiliate link is only an example link. The actual affiliate link can be different and it can contain other elements.
Now, after getting his unique affiliate link, Kiran promotes Sujot laptops on his blog, on his YouTube channel, and in his e-mails.
Suppose, 3 people buy from Kiran’s affiliate link.
Now, let’s calculate Kiran’s commission.
The cost of the laptop is ₹50,000.
Sujot promised a commission of 10% on each affiliate sale.
So for each sale through Kiran’s affiliate link, Sujot will pay:
10% of ₹50,000
= ₹5,000
So for each sale, Kiran will make a commission of ₹5,000, alright?
Now, as we know, Kiran made 3 sales, therefore, Sujot will pay him 3 x ₹5,000 which is ₹15,000.
So, in a nutshell, the price of the laptops was ₹50,000 and, for each affiliate sale, Sujot will pay a commission of 10%. That is, for each sale by an Affiliate Marketer, Sujot will pay ₹5,000. Kiran, the Affiliate Marketer, ended up making 3 sales. Hence, he will make a total of ₹5,000 x 3 sales which is ₹15,000, alright?
If you’d like to learn the basics of Affiliate Marketing, you can enrol on my free Affiliate Marketing course, created just for you!
How Can You Start Affiliate Marketing Today In 6 Simple Steps?
Now, you know what Affiliate Marketing is and also understood it with a simple example. The only thing left for you is to embark on the Affiliate Marketing journey.
So, now, I will share the 6 simple steps that you can follow if you want to start Affiliate Marketing today!
Step 1: Identify Your Niche
I know you may have heard this many times: “Niche is important! Niche is important!”
But what the heck is a niche?
To help you understand the definition of a niche, I will say, “niche is a segment of a large market. Niche is a small part of the big market.”
I give the cake analogy to my students when I talk about niches. As per my cake analogy, if the cake is the big market, then your niche is a slice of that cake, got it?
NO? Let me give you an example. If fashion is the big market, “men’s watches” is the niche, understood?
I will share another example so you clearly understand what a niche is. If fitness is the big market, “yoga for fat loss” is a niche, okay?
Every successful Affiliate Marketer has clarity about his/her niche. Or, if I may put it the other way, many Affiliate Marketers fail because they do not have clarity about their niche.
If you are a beginner and have no idea about your niche, I will ask you a few simple questions:
- What are you passionate about?
- What is that one thing which you can do for hours upon hours?
- What is that one thing which you will never get tired of doing?
Your answers to the above questions will help you find your niche, alright?
So, that was step 1, Niche Clarity.
Step 2: Product Selection
The second step is to select the product. I know it is easier said than done. The biggest problem that Affiliate Marketers face is that they do not find the right products.
According to my experience, the top marketplaces for finding affiliate products are:
- Amazon Associates
- JVZoo
- CJ (Commission Junction)
- DigiStore24
- PartnerStack
- StellarWP
- Impact
- And, so on.
To help you find affiliate products on DigiStore24, I will open my browser and walk you through the steps. Please note that, although I am illustrating the steps on DigiStore24, they are pretty much the same on every platform, alright?
I hope you watched the video and understood the steps for finding and selecting the right product to promote to your audience. Once you have selected the product, the next step is to create valuable content.
Step 3: Content Creation
Now, you will create content containing a brief description, the features, benefits, and drawbacks of the product.
You can create content in any or many of the following formats:
Format 1: Product Review
The first method is Product Review. Here is the thing! When you review a product, focus on the benefits, not the features, okay?
People want to know how the product can help them. So, instead of sharing all the cool features of the products, share the benefits those features will have to the users.
An ideal approach to reviewing products is to present them as solutions. Before sharing the product review, share how your life was before using the product and how it is, now, thanks to the product, okay? Paint the ‘before-after’ picture in people’s minds and provide value.
Format 2: How-To Guide
The second type of content you can create is a how-to guide. In how-to guides, you could share the steps of how people can achieve their goals in a step-wise manner.
I am going to promote product A, for example, hence, I will share the steps of how people can achieve their goal, okay?
Please bear in mind that the users are normal people and they only want the steps to achieving their goal. So, do not go into technical details, if not needed, and try to share the steps in an easy-to-understand language.
Format 3: Checklist
Now, the third format is Checklists. A checklist is a list of items that must be done to achieve a goal. For example, if you want to bake a cake, you can create a checklist of the ingredients that you must have to successfully bake a cake.
If you create a checklist content, you can share a PDF towards the end of your blog post or video, so your audience can maintain the list of items they have completed, okay?
Note: Your checklist should contain all the items that people must complete to achieve the ultimate goal.
Format 4: Product Demonstration
Now, the fourth type of content you can post is a Product Demonstration. Although Affiliate Marketing is the process of earning commissions by promoting products owned by other people, you can buy them yourself, use them and share with your audience how the products look and how they work.
A product demonstration will also help people to discover the benefits of the product, okay? You can purchase the product, use it and show people how it will provide value and solve problems.
You can also answer the top 3 questions that address people’s doubts and queries.
Format 5: Case Studies
Now, we come to the fifth type of content that you can post, Case Studies. Look, long story short, people want to know if the product you are promoting works, isn’t it? So, share the results of people who used the product and got results, okay?
If you are promoting a weight loss product – that just came off the top of my head. If you are promoting a weight loss product, you can publish a case study of someone who was overweight before using the product and saw the results they desired after using the product, okay?
Case studies help greatly as they shout that people who use the product get results, alright? People want to know if products work, and case studies pretty much clear their doubts, alright?
And, always provide value! Always put people’s aspirations before yours. Your aim must be to help people, solve their problems, and provide them with value.
Step 4: Marketing / Promotion
Until you promote the content you created, people will not know anything about you and the products and services you offer. Promote content that solves people’s problems and provides them with value.
So, before you promote your blog posts or videos on Facebook or WhatsApp, make sure that what you have created helps people and solves a specific problem your audience might be facing, okay? So, create content to help people and solve their problems.
Where Can You Promote Your Products?
You can promote your content on social media, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Platform 1: Facebook
You can promote your videos on Facebook posts, stories, direct messages, and so on. You can also join a group related to your niche and share your videos.
By posting in groups, I do not mean blindly posting the link. Write 3-4 lines telling people what the video is about and how they will get value from it.
Before posting anything anywhere, answer people’s question, “What is in it for me?”
Give people a reason to click on your link and watch your video or read your blog post, okay?
Platform 2: Instagram
The second platform where you can share your content is Instagram. The first approach to sharing content on Instagram is to put the link to your video in your ‘bio’ section.
The second approach is to update an Instagram story with 3-4 lines telling people about the video and then adding the link.
Platform 3: WhatsApp
You can follow the same approach for WhatsApp. Write 3-4 lines telling people what the content is about and how it will help them and then put the link, okay?
This was about marketing on social media.
Platform 4: Email List
You can follow the same approach for emails. You can send emails to people describing your content and telling them what problem your blog or video solves and then add the link, alright?
Platform 5: Ads
The fifth platform to promote content is by running ads on Facebook or Google.
Running ads will cost you money, so if you think your content is powerful to attract sales, go ahead. Affiliate Marketing is a “free of cost” business is a myth and there are occasions where you would need to invest money, alright?
Step 5: Traffic Generation
Now, the fifth step is Traffic Generation. You can generate traffic organically on your YouTube channel or you can run ads on Facebook or Google, okay?
Without traffic generation, you will fail to reach people. No traffic will lead to no sales, so generate quality traffic, alright?
READ: How To Generate Traffic To Your Website Without Banging Your Head?
Step 6: Generate Sales & Analysis
The sixth step to doing Affiliate Marketing or starting Affiliate Marketing today is to generate sales. Your video and blog post and how they help people will help you to generate sales. Your content must be unique and you should solve people’s problems.
Please bear in mind that people are not looking for products, they are looking for solutions. So, if your content can bridge the gap and paint the picture in people’s minds about how the product can improve their lives, they will click your affiliate link and buy, okay?
Conclusion
So, you explored the Internet and came across the term “Affiliate Marketing.” You loved the idea of promoting other people’s products and earning commission and want to give it a shot!
And why not? If I were you, I’d think the same! Affiliate Marketing is a $12-billion industry expected to grow at 10% per year. Additionally, 1 out of every 6 E-commerce sales is driven by Affiliate Marketers.
So, if you are thinking of making money online through Affiliate Marketing, but don’t know where to start, you have come to the right place!
In this post, I will share 6 simple steps that you can follow to start your Affiliate Marketing journey. You will find something insightful, so fasten your seat belts and read on!
- The first step was finalizing your niche.
- The second step was selecting a product.
- The third step was to create content that helps people.
- The fourth step was marketing.
- The fifth step was traffic generation through free and paid methods.
- And, the sixth step is to generate sales.
No matter what your niche is, if you follow these 6 steps, you will do a phenomenal job!
Additionally, as a bonus, I would love to give you my premium Affiliate Marketing course worth ₹4,999 for absolutely FREE!
Click the below button and enrol on the free course, now!
How did you come across Affiliate Marketing? Let me know in the comments box below.
