Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest and most common ways of starting an online business. However, with loads of information on the subject, many may get lost in the web of information. So this post, a “how to” on affiliate marketing for beginners might just help you dispel any confusion.
What is Online Affiliate Marketing?
As an online affiliate marketer to a particular business, you don’t have to be the creator/producer of the programs/services/products you promote. Having said that however, some who started as an affiliate marketer, move on to become product creators themselves and garner the support of other affiliates to promote their products.
Finding Your Niche
The very first thing you want to do to become an affiliate marketer is identify your niche – as this will determine the kind of products you sell ultimately.
I have included an infographic (compliments of nichehacks.com) at the end of this post for as a guide on how to go about choosing a niche
Finding the Products
Doing affiliate marketing, you would be promoting products from networks such as Amazon.com, Clickbank.com, Markethealth.com, JVzoo.com and many others. You can virtually find any product or services these days with affiliate programs that you can promote.
Take for example, someone who works out regularly on a treadmill. He would know of what to look out for when buying a treadmill. This means he can turn this interest into his affiliate marketing business – recommending best treadmill for different individual needs and earning commissions in the process when someone else buys the recommended treadmill. For this, Amazon.com would be a good affiliate network to join as there are thousands of physical products for affiliates to promote.
Following is just a guide to help you start choosing the network and products/services you want to promote as an affiliate :
- Amazon – Physical products, books, electronics, beauty products, weight loss. etc
- Markethealth – Health-related products, beauty products, vitamins, etc
- Clickbank – Digital products, ebooks, etc
- JVZoo – Digital products, software, ebooks, e-training, etc
I recommend that you choose products/services/programs you can identify with or related to your interests or experience. The reason is it would be easier to tell others about your interest and experience, not to mention giving them an honest opinion.
How to Learn Affiliate Marketing For Free ?
When looking for resources on affiliate marketing, chances are you would be met with various recommendations on the best way to carry out your affiliate marketing campaigns.
There are marketers who would insist that you can just join an affiliate network, get your affiliate links and start promoting. Now, do you honestly think this would work?
No, and I’d tell you why. Firstly, how and where do you promote? Who do you promote to? Are those people interested in what you are promoting?
Although there are many ways to approach affiliate marketing, you want to start with a systematic means of conducting your business. After all, I am certain that you are looking to do this in the long term.
As an affiliate marketer myself, the best training that I have ever come across is Wealthy Affiliate. I was a member of Chris Farrell Membership Site before I joined Wealthy Affiliate.
You might be asking why I gave Chris Farrell Membership a rating of just 7. One of the reasons is in my entire time as a member of the site, I’ve never gotten direct access to Chris. Another thing is that even as a Starter member in Wealthy Affiliate, you get to use the Keyword Research Tool, priceless if you understand the value of keyword research in online business.
My first few days in Wealthy Affiliate, I not only receive motivational/guidance emails, from Kyle, one of the founders of Wealthy Affiliate. Kyle also PM me and asked how I was doing, whether I needed help in anything. I have to admit sometimes it felt creepy, as if there’s someone watching you. But hey, that also made me believe that the founders of Wealthy Affiliate really have my success at heart. How often do you get that from creators/producers of products/services you bought, right?
Now back to the question of how to learn affiliate marketing for free, firstly you CAN learn it for FREE if you join Wealthy Affiliate. On top of that you get TWO websites, at NO cost.
How to Start Affiliate Marketing Business?
So where do you go from here? If you are still wondering on how to start your affiliate marketing business, I highly recommend that you join Wealthy Affiliate. I understand you might have doubts on whether it is the right learning platform for you but really, you have nothing to lose if you begin with the Starter Membership. Here’s what Wealthy Affiliate offers in its Starter and Premium Memberships:
Starter Membership, $0
Premium Membership, $47 per month / $359 per year
Is The Starter Membership The Same as Trial?
I would say it’s better than trial. Why? You see, in a ‘trial’, you try something for free for a given period of time. But in Wealthy Affiliate’s Starter Membership, you are a member until you cancel it. And on top of this, your two websites (if you decide to create them) are hosted in there as long as you want them to be there.
Is there any catch then? It’s just that if you join as Premium within seven days, you are in for a bonus. You only pay $19 for the first month of your membership and $49 per month thereafter.
I hope I have given enough information here to help you understand that “how to” in affiliate marketing as an online business.
Feel free to visit the following link if you want to know more about the subject :
A “How To” Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
![How To Find And Dominate Profitable Niches in 6 Easy Steps [Infographic] - An Infographic from NicheHacks](https://nichehacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Nichhacksfinished217.png)
Embedded from NicheHacks
Hi Zailinah,
Thank you very much for this well researched article. I had been searching for online opportunities for a few years now and I can vouch for affiliate marketing as the best online business opportunity out there for anyone who plans to own a work-at-home business.
the best part of it is that you are free to promote any product you desire that is related to a niche of your liking and the income potential is unlimited.
Thanks again for this valuable information.
Cheers, Yared
Thanks Yared for your encouraging words. I’ve chosen to write on affiliate marketing because I truly believe that’s the best place newbies should start online. The investment is low, or none at all, and you can start right away. As affiliate marketer, you choose a product/service/program and then work hard on the marketing bit. So at least you remove the information overload and focus more on marketing.
Hi Zailinah,
Really liked your straightforward approach. I read numerous posts regarding WA, and non had the feeling like the one who wrote the review really had experienced what it means to be an online marketer.
Your review definitely shows that you’ve been there, and are doing it.
A pleasure to read from someone with the real experience.
Thanks!
Hi Ido,
Appreciate your thoughts on the subject. Not only is it easier to write on something based on experience. To me, it’s a bonus if the reader could take away something good after reading what I wrote:)
Great & informative article. I especially like reviews where people have “experienced” other products when doing comparisons. The first-hand experience is a selling point for me.
Hi Ashney,
I agree that the best reviews are those from genuine users/buyers of the products/services. I believe that in any review articles, the goal is to help clients with their decision – whether those products/services would benefit them. No two ways about that!
I’ve heard a little about Chris Farrell Membership Program. Haven’t really heard that it’s the best program out there. However Wealthy Affiliate seems to be the better option here for anyone who wants to learn about Affiliate Marketing. I think you gave a good general overview of what Affiliate Marketing is in a nutshell. Personally, I would sign up with Wealthy Affiliate over Chris Farrell Membership easily!
Hi Rigo,
Thank you for your comments. Yes, Chris Farrell offers similar services to Wealthy Affiliate and certainly has its benefits. Being in both however, I find that my progress as an affilite marketer is faster with Wealthy Affiliate simply because of the warm support I get from the community. Sometimes, people don’t realize how such support can be a boost and source of motivation to the marketer.
Hi Zailinah, great informative article. I like the way you add your personal experience on both memberships. It feels more authentic that you are not just selling me but sharing your experience. I learned quite a few tips from your website. Good visuals along the way to keep me interested till the end. Honestly, with my beginner knowledge, I can’t ask for more. You did a fantastic job.
Hi Ismelin,
Thanks for dropping by and truly appreciate your honest take on this issue. I’m glad to know you could take away something of benefit from this content. When we are starting online, we are usually overwhelmed on the direction we should take. But joining the right program and having trustworthy mentors really help. And that’s my whole goal – if I could help point those interested to start an online business to the right direction, I’d gladly do so.