It seems that everywhere you go people are taking about how easy it is to make money with affiliate marketing.
“Earn $347 per day with this affiliate marketing method” they say.
I’m sure by now you know it’s not quite that easy.
So how can you make a real start with affiliate marketing?
By first understanding what affiliate marketing is, and then taking action on what you learn.
So what is affiliate marketing? Here is my brief definition …
Affiliate marketing is the process of selling other people’s products and earning a commission.
So, when you do “affiliate marketing” you are basically a commissioned salesperson. Not to worry, this is not personal one-on-one selling.
This is selling online, where you don’t really have to talk to anyone, ever.
Now we know what affiliate marketing is.
Next, let’s look at what sorts of things affiliate marketers do.
When doing affiliate marketing you will need to focus on three things.
- Choosing the right product to promote.
- Choosing the right places to advertise.
- Monitoring your statistics to make sure your advertising is effective.
Yes, it really can be that simple. In fact, it should be that simple when you start out.
It is true that affiliate marketing can be simple or complex. No doubts there.
And it is a fact that the higher you want to go with affiliate marketing (for example, earning a six figure living or being a “super affiliate”) the more complex it will become.
But there is no need for that right now.
For now, let’s focus on the basics and help you earn your first, or next, commissions.
Now we have a clear definition of affiliate marketing, and you know what tasks are involved in being an affiliate marketer.
The next common sense question is this – what are the pros and cons of affiliate marketing?
To keep things short, I will list four advantages and disadvantages of affiliate marketing. I know these lists could be long, but I know too you are busy today.
Here are the advantages of affiliate marketing as I see it.
- You don’t have to create a product.
- You don’t have to have a web site of your own to start.
- You don’t have to deliver products.
- You don’t have to do customer support.
Now for the disadvantages.
- You are driving traffic to someone else’s website.
- You may get paid up to 60 days after the sale is made.
- You never know who your customers are or how to contact them.
- You are not building your business, you are building someone else’s business.
As you can see, driving traffic is an important part of affiliate marketing. So let me share a few words about that topic before we conclude our overview.
And then I will share my best “getting started” tip about choosing the right products to promote.
When it comes to advertising there are a couple of different ways you can go.
You can use paid advertising methods like solo ads, banner ads, social media or pay per click.
Or you can do free advertising methods like article marketing, content marketing on a blog, social media, or by doing webcasts or podcasts.
The best affiliate marketing happens when you use a mixture of both free and paid methods.
I have articles you can read right now about both paid advertising and free advertising.
Now for my best insider tip about choosing what to promote.
Here’s my insider tip: Promote the things you use.
That’s a great place to start.
The reason I say “promote the things you use” is simple. If you use a product, and like it, other people will like it too. You will be able to promote it from a place of experience, from a place of personal recommendation.
This will matter more than you know when you advertise. Even if the people who read your ads never know who you are your ads will ring true when you are honestly endorsing something you use and like.
Plus, and this is huge, it will be easy to create ads for the product you are promoting!
Just make a list of what you like about the product and write a short ad about each one of the things you list.
Need help writing ads? I have an article here about how to write ads that will help or I can write the ads for you.
Here’s an example, I use Aweber as my autoresponder. Aweber is one of the first things I ever promoted online. I did that using a solo ad, and still do today.
A lot of people overlook promoting products they use and like.
Affiliate marketing is an easy way to earn money online and it usually is the way people start with trying to make money online.
If you are not doing affiliate marketing, it is well worth your time to learn how.
My best advice is to choose a product you love, choose an advertising method you can afford and understand, and take action today by placing your first ad.
Then monitor your results so you can know what to do next.
That’s my overview of affiliate marketing, I hope you enjoyed it. I hope too you pursue becoming a successful affiliate marketer.
Because earning commissions promoting products you use and love is a beautiful thing indeed!
