A Guide To Becoming an Affiliate Marketer in 2024

The practice of affiliate marketing — often called performance marketing — may seem simple at first glance. Affiliate marketers work with brands in exchange for a cut of the revenue generated by their online promotional efforts. Affiliate networks make it simple for all parties to monetize their online content and generate high-quality leads.

However, many affiliate marketing networks have a convoluted maze of requirements that rookie publishers may find challenging and discouraging to deal with, including:

• Payout arrangements and commission rates: Established affiliate marketers are at the mercy of brands in this regard. In addition, brands often provide well-known affiliates with the best offers and rates.
• Rejections: Lesser-known affiliates are sometimes rejected by well-known affiliate networks and businesses since they are not considered reliable or have no experience in specific niches.

Additional challenges in affiliate marketing for beginners include the time and effort required to monitor constantly shifting discounts, expired links, payment requirements, and other variables.

What Is Affiliate Marketing, And How Does It Work?

Performance advertising, like affiliate marketing, pays affiliates a commission for bringing in new clients.

Affiliate marketers promote goods and services they believe their readers will find useful via various affiliate marketing tools.

Afterward, you’ll make some material promoting those items or services, complete with an affiliate link. You may create content in multiple forms, including blog posts, social media updates, YouTube videos, and email marketing newsletters.

What Are Affiliate Links?

An affiliate link or a referral link is a URL that includes the affiliate’s unique identifier. Advertisers in affiliate programs track visitors with special tracking buttons on their product affiliates‘ websites. All of this is a part of an affiliate marketing initiative. The affiliate is usually required to set up and maintain the affiliate link that leads customers to the advertiser’s site using affiliate marketing tools.

Either way, you are paid a commission whenever one of your referrals visits your affiliate partner’s website and makes a purchase.

With most marketers relying on link clicks as their main metric and using it to measure the success of affiliate programs, tracking affiliate links is essential for all parties involved. Knowing how customers interact with ad campaigns can be invaluable information in improving network sales strategies, particularly.

The five most common positions in affiliate marketing are listed below:

Group	Members	Description
Promoters	Sellers, merchants, advertisers	Individuals or entities who promote products or services as part of their marketing efforts.
People involved in affiliate marketing	Publishers, bloggers, influencers, etc.	Individuals or entities who participate in affiliate marketing by promoting products or services for commissions.
Users	Consumers	Individuals who use or consume the products or services promoted by promoters or publishers.
Networks	Ad networks, affiliate networks, mobile networks	Entities that act as intermediaries between advertisers and publishers, facilitating affiliate marketing activities.
Companies	Advertisers, solopreneurs, product affiliates	Entities that engage in affiliate marketing as promoters, advertisers, or publishers and may also act as affiliates.

Given the prevalence of networks in affiliate marketing, we’ll use Seopressor’s simplified infographic of affiliate marketing as an example. While sales affiliate links may be generated without affiliate networks, the whole process will be more complex and time-consuming.

Source: Seopressor

Software designed for this purpose allows for the direct administration of partners across mobile and desktop platforms, allowing businesses to develop and manage their connections (or a network of partners).

However, for various reasons, many marketers operate via affiliate networks. When this occurs, it’s important to remember that the network will also receive a cut of the earnings, making the final split between three parties — advertiser, affiliates, and network.

Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It?

The short answer is yes. Let’s go deeper and explore why affiliate marketing may be a wonderful source of income, providing opportunities to discover the affiliate network, market, and other experts and increasing your organic traffic.

1. Low risk: You may now go into affiliate marketing with zero out-of-pocket costs. Online marketing is a low-cost option, but it comes with the danger of wasting time and energy.
2. Flexibility: Affiliate promotion is most effective with digital ads and social media profiles. This implies that you may forego the confines of an office to produce high-quality content. You can do your job from the comfort of your home or any connected location worldwide.
3. New possibilities: Affiliate programs benefit both businesses and consumers, which is why so many companies (over 80%) now offer them. They make it possible to increase exposure on blogs, videos on YouTube, sponsored posts, and other social media sites.
4. High earning potential: In the United States alone, affiliate marketing generated nearly $8.2 billion in revenue in 2022. This indicates that businesses are prepared to invest in affiliate programs and provide enticing offers you may want to take advantage of.

How Much Do Affiliate Marketers Earn?

Affiliate marketing offers a passive earning potential that enables performance marketers to earn without any real limit. However, it is important to note that only some affiliate marketers will achieve billionaire status.

What Is the Average Income Earned by Affiliate Marketers?

Affiliates have the potential to earn varying amounts ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per month. Although it is common for affiliates to make money with affiliate marketing and have stable monthly incomes in the six-figure range, such an income level is only assured for affiliate marketers with a strong determination to succeed.

Up to 31% of marketers include affiliate marketing as their main income source. That said, it is important to remember that the amount of revenue generated is contingent upon various factors, such as the degree of engagement on the affiliate marketer’s platforms, the number of subscribers, the payment models employed by the sales affiliates, the specific niche of the affiliate marketer, and the level of exertion applied. Due to the significant discrepancy level, affiliate marketers’ and publishers’ earnings can vary greatly.

Source: Statista

Affiliate Marketing Without a Website: Is It Possible?

Let’s explore how to do affiliate marketing without a website. Suppose you’re interested in online affiliate marketing but still think you need a website to build your business. Good news: it’s not essential to have one.

In affiliated marketing, networks focus on effectively promoting products for a merchant in exchange for a percentage of sales made via their link, even without having many publishers.

If you’re looking for information on how to start affiliate marketing and not have to create a website from scratch, here are some of the approaches you should consider.

Leverage Social Networks

Social media platforms offer numerous marketing opportunities. You can start by utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat to advertise your affiliate links.

Here are two effective approaches for leveraging social media to promote your affiliate marketing business without a blog or website:

Approach #1

One strategy to consider is the development of Facebook pages or groups tailored to specific niches and assisting members. It is permissible to promote your affiliate links within the group on occasion.

But publishing content relevant to one’s niche is advisable to increase Twitter and Instagram followers. Once you have established a following, consider incorporating affiliate links into your profile.

Customizing or creating a personalized strategy for promoting affiliate links on social media is also possible. That’s entirely up to you.

Approach #2

Instead of relying solely on social media stars with a massive subscriber base, consider involving the average customers.

With fewer followers and tight-knit networks, those people may generate powerful word-of-mouth marketing, connecting friends and family through their social networks.

Make the Most of Video-sharing Platforms

Utilizing YouTube as a platform may yield greater benefits for you and your affiliate links than traditional blog posts and articles. Marketing professionals highly value the vast pool of more than 2 billion potential consumers.

• Utilizing YouTube as a platform for affiliate marketing without a website is a viable option.

Regardless of expertise, you can create valuable video content and upload it to YouTube to cultivate a loyal audience. As the number of your followers grows, it is possible to promote your affiliate links in the descriptions of your videos. Vimeo and other video-sharing platforms employ a comparable methodology.

Utilize Online Forums & Question-And-Answer Websites

Online question-and-answer forums like Reddit, Quora, and StackOverflow can increase your affiliate links’ traffic. One of the effective strategies for driving traffic to your affiliate niche is to answer relevant questions on these websites, accompanied by affiliate links.

This way, you provide informative responses on a specialized forum, delivering valuable insights. But remember that only adequate responses that assist fellow forum members are deemed acceptable.

Your reputation will become more established among users as you respond to more specialized inquiries on online forums and question-and-answer websites. Some of your audience may follow your account to receive future updates. Incorporating affiliate links within your responses can increase your exposure to a larger audience and potentially enhance your revenue opportunities.

Consider Digital Publications

The internet is replete with content that needs more practical value. As the number of blogs and websites increases, locating concise and impactful information online is becoming increasingly challenging. In this context, rookie affiliate marketers are progressively seeking concise resources that can aid them in achieving specific objectives rather than general advice.

Depending on your goals, consider offering a free eBook on affiliate marketing, specific affiliate niches, actionable insights on ad creatives, or other resources like cheat sheets, crash courses, infographics, etc.

Another option is to create industry-specific documentation, such as eBooks and cheat sheets, that contain affiliate links. Once you have finalized the cheat sheet or infographic, you can share them on online forums and social media platforms. Alternatively, you can partner with fellow bloggers in your niche to promote your gated assets and divide the affiliate profits.

The importance of utility is paramount for this particular type of material in comparison to others. To ensure the success of your affiliate company, it is imperative that the eBooks, cheat sheets, and other materials you produce provide tangible benefits to the reader and effectively address a specific issue. Failure to do so may result in a lack of sharing and, ultimately, the failure of your enterprise.

Tap Into Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

Businesses drive traffic to their blogs and websites; visitors often click on the affiliate links, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can direct visitors to these links.

Utilizing Google and Facebook advertisements is viable for promoting your affiliate links and generating affiliate revenue, even without a blog or website. However, this approach is subject to limitations, and here are some of them:

• Amazon Affiliate links are Google Shopping links; as such, they can only be managed by the domain name’s owner rather than yourself.
• Certain niches are subject to limitations on Google Ads. Advertisements related to adult content, gambling, and hacking are strictly prohibited.
• Using Google and Facebook advertisements to promote your affiliate links does not contribute to the growth of your audience. The functionality is contingent upon continued expenditure.

PPC advertising has the potential to promote affiliate links, provided that the associated restrictions do not cause any inconvenience.

Publishing platforms such as Medium, Steemit, and LinkedIn may not be the primary choice for affiliate marketing content. However, if utilized effectively, they can help establish a substantial following that can be leveraged on other social media channels. Once you have established a large audience on Medium, LinkedIn, or Steemit, you may promote your affiliate links to generate income.

It is also possible to directly incorporate affiliate links into articles on Medium or LinkedIn. However, all these venues require disclosure of affiliate connections.

Capitalize on Email-Exclusive Affiliate Marketing

Email marketing is a form of digital marketing that involves sending promotional messages or advertisements to a group of people via email. It is a cost-effective way to reach a large audience and can be used to promote products, services, and events or to build brand awareness.

Effective email marketing campaigns require a well-crafted message or a template, a targeted audience, and a clear call to action. It is important to comply with anti-spam laws and to provide an easy way for recipients to unsubscribe from future emails.

Investing in an email database allows you to implement this strategy even if you do not have a blog or website. If you consider purchasing a database, remember that building your list is the surefire way to reach high-intent customers.

If buying a list is the only option, conducting brief surveys via email to gather insights into the recipients’ preferences is recommended. Upon establishing their interests, preferences, and level of engagement, you can segment the list and create several email campaigns tailored to each segment.

These are just a few basic affiliate marketing examples that can be used to become an affiliate marketer without a website. That said, there are also more sophisticated forms of affiliate marketing that may require having a website as a base to build and scale your affiliate business.

How To Start Affiliate Marketing in 6 Simple Steps

Affiliate marketing is a competitive field. Still, a well-thought-out strategy may help a newcomer get off to a flying start. Having a detailed affiliate marketing strategy laid out in front of you — or your team — can help you remain on top of things from the get-go, ensuring that no details are missed, and no chores are put off because they aren’t wanted to be done at the time.

Step 1. Pick a Specific Market to Focus On

If you want to succeed as an affiliate marketer, one of the first things you must do is choose a niche. A niche is a subset of a market for a certain kind of goods. If you know what you’re good at, you may choose partners who complement your strengths and interests. When deciding on a specialization, consider the goods, services, and brands that excite you the most. The next step is to look into popular names in your niche industry and approach them about affiliate marketing.

Various brands and companies offer affiliate marketing programs for those working in digital marketing. The best brands and companies to collaborate with may be found by investigating the possibilities accessible to you.

Step 2. Create a High-Quality Website

You will need a website — and not just a regular one — to successfully promote your affiliate marketing services. It has to be of exceptional quality. There are a variety of content management systems and website creation tools out there, and some of them can even be free or cheap to use. Consider your professional requirements and available resources, and then choose a domain name and website platform.

Ultimately, your website can be an excellent tool for connecting with new customers, promoting your services, and showcasing the brands and companies you’ve worked with.

Step 3. Research And Choose Affiliate Programs

The next step is to learn more about affiliate programs to see if any of them may help you promote the products that fall inside your niche’s purview.

Up to 20% of marketers consider joining an affiliate network based on their chosen niche. Because of their accessibility and usefulness for beginners, affiliate networks are a good place to get started. Users may connect with a wide variety of businesses and resources all in one place by joining a network.

Many businesses and organizations have built their versions of affiliate programs in recent years, so you may also want to explore such affiliate programs. They may need more skill and forethought on your side, but in the end, they usually bring in more money at a lower cost.

Point	Description
Entry Point	The simplest entry point into affiliate marketing is via an affiliate network.
Benefits of Affiliate Networks	Using an affiliate network is the best way to gain a jump start in the competitive field of affiliate marketing. Affiliate networks allow you to focus on providing value to clients while others handle administrative tasks.
Initial Payments	No initial payments are needed. Affiliate networks provide a risk-free and low-risk entry point into affiliate marketing. Only a small cut of your referral earnings or a flat fee per sale (or other desired activity) will go to your network.
Scalability	Limitless scalability. Affiliates may build their sub-networks inside multi-tiered affiliate programs, generating passive revenue via the efforts of their sub-affiliates.

Step 4. Choose the Right Approach for Advertising And Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a growing industry; therefore, knowing the best practices for this field is crucial. When reaching your target audience online, you have two options:

• Developing your online marketplace or blog
• Employing sponsored ads on other websites

Step 5. Create High-Quality Content that Converts

Without high-quality content that converts, everything else is irrelevant. You need a distinguishing proposition to succeed in advertising, whether you do it alone or through an affiliate network. Only 64% of retailers and 69% of B2B businesses have clearly defined value propositions, which means yours must be better. Quality content is essential for effective content marketing.

Affiliate marketing content creation entails more than just inserting links into an existing article. You need to convince your target market to buy your wares by providing them with all the information they need to do so right on your site.

In the last several years, traffic to affiliate-related material increased by 73%, which is only expected to continue growing. Follow these suggestions if you are considering signing up with an affiliate program:

• Reviews of products are a mainstay of affiliate marketing since almost all customers research products online before buying.
• To diversify your income, you should consider publishing product roundups focused on a subject or area.
• The content of certain books cannot be neatly condensed into a blog post or email. Ebooks fill this void. They allow you to delve deeply into a subject. The plus is that you may utilize the ebook to attract new email subscribers and expand your mailing list.
• Affiliate material is also known as commercial material. Whatever you decide to name it, you should always disclose to your readers that you may get compensation if they purchase it after following one of your links.
• Pages of resources are collections of your most frequently used materials. While resource pages that address a specific issue faced by your target audience may need to provide better conversion rates, they will assist in establishing your credibility, centralizing your affiliate connections, and providing solutions to your target audience’s problems.
• Guided, easy-to-follow demonstrations of a product’s features and functionality are the focus of tutorials. Customers are more inclined to acquire a product they believe in and can easily see using it in their situations.
• Product evaluations are quite similar to product reviews. However, they compare and contrast many items side-by-side. When orienting an audience, product comparisons are important.

Step 6. Research the Industry Competition

A competitive analysis is all about finding your primary competitors and learning about their marketing strategy’s strong and weak points.

Source: Social Impact Architects

Examining the methods used by your competitors might help you refine your affiliate marketing and advertising strategies.

Learning your opponents’ strong and weak points allows you to integrate them into your plan and find any gaps in the competition that you may exploit.

Recommended Skills for Affiliate Marketing

Successful affiliate marketers have invested time and effort into learning the trade’s fundamentals. Remember the value of the following abilities in this position:

• Affiliate marketers typically meet with companies and businesses to discuss their marketing goals. Therefore, they must have strong communication skills. Success in this capacity depends on your ability to take notes during these sessions and articulate how you intend to reach marketing targets.

• To be successful as an affiliate marketer, you need a deep grasp of modern marketing strategies. These professions may benefit from increased traffic and revenue if they know how to implement effective marketing methods.

• Affiliate marketers might use their expertise in data analysis to gauge the efficacy of their campaigns via the examination of metrics like visitor numbers and product sales.
• Affiliate marketers may benefit from creative and successful marketing strategies if they have a strategic mindset. Affiliate marketers make their living mostly via commissions on site traffic and sales. Therefore, it’s in everyone’s best interest to increase both metrics as much as possible.

Affiliate marketers need people skills since they often engage with customers, advertising experts, and business leaders to spread the word about their goods. You could do well in this role if you have developed high-level interpersonal skills to interact successfully with these people.

Affiliate Marketing Tracking Software Benefits

You’re almost ready to enter affiliate marketing if you’ve created your proposal and joined an affiliate network. But there’s something more to consider, a suite of affiliate marketing tools that is affiliate software that might be very helpful to you in your work.

Even if your affiliate network could provide traffic, lead, and prospect management software. Having a system in place, such as Phonexa’s affiliate marketing software, increases security and reliability.

Workflow automation is, perhaps, the most important part for affiliate marketers to be successful. Automated affiliate marketing will put data on top of things, replacing the antiquated manual technique that mostly depends on guessing and allowing for quick processing of any number of campaigns and clients.

Affiliate marketing automation tools, journey management, and pinpoint targeting are just some of the numerous capabilities in Phonexa’s automated affiliate marketing platform, Lynx. It can be paired with other solutions under one technology suite, like LMS Sync. This comprehensive lead management system can be a neat bonus if you want to manage multiple networks simultaneously.

Automation will not only help you scale, but it will also save you time, boost client engagement, and open up new upselling doors.

• All-in-one solution: Affiliate tracking and marketing software will centralize all your advertising initiatives under one control panel, letting you manage your affiliates and sub-affiliates with a single mouse click. You can monitor the progress of your campaigns in real-time and make adjustments as needed.

• SEO compatibility: Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most undervalued benefits of software-driven affiliate marketing. Surprisingly, having the best keywords handed to you on a silver platter can improve the efficiency of your search engine optimization. Sales, phone calls, and other desired actions may be traced back to the original keyword using affiliate monitoring software.
• Reliability: Conversion rates and commission payments are the two most contentious issues in affiliate marketing. You can bet on on-time income and a complete client tally from cutting-edge performance marketing monitoring software. Your standing as an individual affiliate or affiliate network participant will improve due to this.

Affiliate connections, social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, paid advertising platforms like Google Ads, and more can all be monitored with Lynx. Using link tracking, you can track your digital marketing efforts in bulk.

Suppose you’re a solo affiliate or entrepreneur looking to start your affiliate marketing journey and master performance marketing. In that case, Phonexa’s all-in-one marketing automation suite is the best option for you.

Schedule a meeting with one of Phonexa’s experts to see how its marketing automation suite can kickstart your career as an affiliate marketer, help you bring in quality leads, and foster business growth.

Frequently Asked Questions