How Easy Is Affiliate Marketing

By | September 30, 2016

One of the oldest and most widely accepted forms of earning online income explains how easy is affiliate marketing in a nutshell. This is one of the most common forms of earning online revenue.

 

 

How easy is affiliate marketing

 

 

 

It is so easy some people don’t even have their own website. They just advertise online and help market different products or information to whoever clicks on their ads.

 

Most online blogs start out as affiliates for other businesses’ products or services. Once they start earning some income it is easy for them to scale their blogs for even more income possibilities.

 

This is also a great way for stay-at-home Moms or Dads to continue to earn an income while staying at home.

 

Don’t forget about the typical college student looking for easier ways of earning extra income while going to school.

 

Part-time online marketers are also looking to cash in on this trillion dollar industry as well.

 

Retired people that are stuck with a low fixed income need the extra revenue that online marketing provides.

 

I would venture a guess to the number of affiliate marketing websites on Google would easily number into the tens of millions, probably even into the hundreds of millions.

 

 

First of all, I want you to know what exactly is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. You find a product you like, promote it to others, and earn a piece of the profit for each sale that you make. Simple and to the point.

 

 

What this means is that all your favorite “big “ stores offer affiliates a link to place on their websites. Stores like Amazon, Target, Nike, Adidas, Sony, Samsung, and almost all other stores. This link has their personal affiliate “code name” embedded within the link. When a webpage visitor clicks on this link it takes them to the buy page of the seller. If the visitor buys, the affiliate gets paid a “commission” or “finders fee”.

 

 

It turns out that affiliate sales are the major contributing source of revenue for online purchases. Why wouldn’t it be? Websites are just portals to products.

 

 

Different types of Affiliate Marketing

work from home button

 

There are several different types of affiliate marketing and the way that they are paid. PPC is the most common.

 

Then there is the PPL, and the PPS, which are also popular and a means to figure the compensation plan.

 

 

Many online sales first start from customer reviews of products. These reviews can be the driving force that can either make sales go viral or stop sales entirely. Reviews are like word of mouth sales, which happens to be the best advertisement a product can receive.

 

 

Many people hear about a product through television, the radio, an advertisement online or offline, from family, friends, or co-workers.

 

They begin to be curious about this product. They are wanting to buy it for the best price. They also want to know where they can get it now.

 

 

This is where customer reviews can be so valuable.

Not only to the person looking for the information but also the website that supplies the review. The majority of all product reviews are affiliate sponsored.

The affiliate will place a link where to buy the product on their website, which links to the seller’s web page. If the customer buys the product, the affiliate receives a commission (finders fee) for producing the customer. This is one form of PPC or PayPerClick.

 

keywords for SEO

 

These commissions like at Amazon.com, range from 4% to 9%, depending on the amount of traffic your website sends. The beauty of this is that this can happen 24/7! That is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week! Why?

 

 

 

Because a website never sleeps! It is open 24 hours a day!

 

 

Two other types of affiliate marketing are the PPS, or PayPerSale and the PPL, or PayPerLead. The PPS is when the merchant pay the affiliate a certain fee whenever the affiliate has referred a visitor to the merchant and the visitor buys something. This can be a commission as a percentage of the total or a fixed fee. Regardless of the basis of the commission, it is generally higher than the PPC program.

 

To give you a better idea of how affiliate marketing works, please click on this link, What is Affiliate Marketing About. Another good article that explains what the difference is on niche markets is, What is A Niche Marketing. Once you have decided to start earning an online income you will want to read this, How To Start A Business Online For Free.

 

 

The PPL or PricePerLead is when the affiliate gets paid once the referred visitor does something on the target site, such as providing their contact information or completing a survey or submitting a form, clicks, or impressions. Usually, the payout percentages are smaller than a PPC.

 

 

Affiliate marketing is very cost effective because:

  • Marketing on the Internet is cheap                                                       making money EZ
  • No employees to hire or pay
  • No inventory to stock
  • No affiliate program fees
  • No customer service support
  • No shipping fees
  • No storage or warehouse
  • Passive income
  • Ideal for work from home

 

 

 

Another reason affiliate marketing is so easy is because anyone with a website has the ability to get on page one of the SERPS (search engine results page summary). This levels the playing field between the deep pocket big corporations and the one-person, work from home, business man or woman.

 


You should know the information that an online searcher types into a browser to find something is called keywords. These keywords are matched against the database that the search engine indexes of all the website pages available. Every web page has a certain keyword or keyword phrase that best describes the subject of the web page.

 

 

To learn more about how affiliate marketers use keywords to rank their websites high in the SERPS you will need to read this What Makes A Good Keyword? How To Use It Wisely.

 

 

For another good look into earning passive income, you should also read my Blog post at Wealthy Affiliate, What is A Passive Income

 

 

When these keywords are entered into the browser, the search engine displays the top ten choices that best represent the keywords entered by the searcher. These keywords are extremely valuable to websites as well as the search engines.

 

 

These keywords can “make” or “break” a website by placing it on page one of Google, or page one-hundred. Since the top three positions on page one of the search engines get 96% of all the search volume, the majority of all sales will be performed by these three websites.

 

 

The keywords that all the websites on page one (usually 10 websites per page) are using may only differ one, maybe two words, if any at all. This is where doing keyword research will pay big dividends. By researching the search volume, the amount of traffic, the competition and the number of websites ranking for that keyword will decide how well a website will rank in the SERPS.

 

 

I would suggest another article to read for a more conclusive understanding of SEO by clicking on Website Search Engine Optimization Tips

 

 

Affiliate Marketing is not a get rich quick scheme. It is not meant to make big money fast. It is an excellent way to earn an income but also very competitive. In order to be successful, you must know what the market needs and how to market. What works and what doesn’t.

 

 

If you are planning on having a website and offer some affiliate products then you will want to join one of the many programs available. I have listed my top ten favorite affiliate programs below. If you are able to write convincing product reviews and live in a state that one of these affiliate programs is accepted then this could be your gateway to securing and earning consistent income.

 

 

10 Best Affiliate Program

These affiliate programs are the top ten programs in affiliate networks that offer the best commission and/or the most vendors to choose from.

 

1. Amazon Associates (https://www.amazon.com/) The biggest retailer in America that offers PPS on every product they carry. This means that an affiliate (amazon associate) that links their website to an amazon product and their link leads to a sale, regardless of what this customer buys, the affiliate will still earn between 4% and 9% commissions on the total sale.

Amazon.com
2. ShareASale – (wwww.shareasale.com/)This affiliate network has been the go-to network for affiliates to find quality products and businesses to partner with for most niche websites from A to Z products in a very wide selection of categories. Most of the promotions are through Direct links and Banner ads.

shareasale website
3. ClickBank (clickBank.com) – Still one of the most popular digital goods affiliate programs. They have been in business for 17 years and one of the largest retailers of digital products, such as software, eBooks, and Information products.

clickbanl logo
4. Rakuten Linkshare (www.linkshare.com/) One of the top 20 networks to join as an affiliate whether you have a niche type website or just a blogger. A Highly trusted Japanese company that their checks can be easily deposited and can be encashed. They also have a very large database of affiliate networks in nearly all categories.

Rakuten Affiliate Marketing
5. Shineads (www.shineads.net) A new program to the affiliate networks where they offer a PayPerVisit network who pay the affiliate or publisher on per visit on their ads. Similar to a PayPerclick but no disabling of earnings for bad clicks. This is a great substitute for Google Adsense.

Shineads website
6. CJ Affiliate (https://www.cj.com/) One of the oldest and most reliable affiliate networks in North America for affiliates (advertisers) as well as publishers. Used mainly as a Pay Per Call program that pays the individual users commissions for creating further leads of products.

CJ Affiliate website
7. Ebay Partner Network (www.eBay.com) the biggest and most popular auction sites now has an affiliate program that pays on traffic generated to eBay. The more traffic an affiliate sends to eBay, the higher the commissions that can be earned.

eBay auction site
8. Offervault (http://http://www.offervault.com/) One of the bigger CPA networks with over 39000 CPA offers which allows affiliates to target certain offers that attract clicks from website visitors. Free to join.

offer vault website
9. JVZoo (http://www.jvzoo.com/) – This is for high-end product launches that are only meant for the advanced marketer because of the very competitive nature that attracts the very best online entrepreneurs. Payouts are usually quite large (in the $1000’s per sale) and if the affiliate has a large email list of followers then this may be just what the doctor ordered.

JV Zoo website
10. RevenueWire (https://www.revenuewire.com/) The new kid on the block in digital products is taking the lead in sales and popularity. It is now in 200+ countries that have payouts in 33 different currencies, spoken in 24 different languages and offers International tax collection and management. Soon to be one of the biggest world brands.

Revenue Wire Website

 

 

 

 

Some tips to keep in mind that will help you earn steady income. I would suggest you first work on your brand and be consistent with what you say and how you present it. Marketing online is all about trust. You must prove yourself legit before you are ever taken seriously.

1. Limit the number of products that you wish to link to with your website. Your website should be a “niche website”, which means if your site is “how to keep your dog healthy and happy,” you don’t want to be writing reviews about safe dog collars and/or leashes.
2. Until you are getting a minimum of 200 unique visitors a month I would not install Google Adsense or an equivalent competitor. The more traffic your site is getting the better the advertising links provided, the more money you will receive.
3. Be consistent in adding content. The search engines love new content, but if they are expecting and you are not fulfilling, your rank will suffer.
4. Another suggestion on reviews between two products. If you are an affiliate for both product A and product B, regardless the choice a customer makes you still get paid.
5. Answer comments to your site immediately if not any sooner. Be respectful and answer in a way that boosts your site since lots of people read your comments and answers.
6. If just starting out in Internet marketing the most important step is to get some training first. If you want to be successful as quickly as possible, signup for free and receive 10 free lessons and two websites! Follow this link >> Join my team!

 

If you are wanting to become an affiliate but you are not quite sure what direction you wish to travel, then you are in need of some helpful training and helpful suggestions. I would suggest you go read this article about getting the right training so you are benefiting yourself with the best mentor at Wealthy Affiliate Review.

 

There are any number of reasons to want to become an affiliate (online) marketer. There are quite a few online marketers making over 7 figures a year in revenue. Now that is some serious cash!

 

The main reason is obviously the extra money that passive income provides. Another reason may be to fire your boss to work at home.

 

With affiliate marketing being the most common platform for a newbie to start an online business, there are just as many unsuccessful online marketers as there are successful ones.

 

The entrepreneurs that are very serious and work very hard are the ones that become successful.

 

It is not like the myth that many so-called experts claim – like

Just work two hours a day and make $500 dollars”, or

I work at home and receive checks in the mail everyday.”

 

Yes, it is possible to only work a couple of hours a day once your business is operating on automation.

This is the main reason why online marketing works so well – the automation!

 

It is a lot of work, in the beginning, to get a business to this level, but once it is there – Ca-Ching!

 

Some people take years to learn the correct way to do online marketing. Others, like me, go learn the knowledge to be successful.

 

If you want to take years off of the learning curve and become successful much sooner – do what I did – go to Wealthy Affiliate University – and start earning today!

 

 

To Your Success

14 thoughts on “How Easy Is Affiliate Marketing

  1. Russell

    Really thorough Ken, I like the content here a great deal and it’s clear you have done some serious research on affiliate marketing as a concept and shared your personal experience.
    I will be sure to check out some of these popular affiliate links which people may not even be aware about – i.e. their favorite brands!
    Having all of this explained means that for potential affiliate marketers, it’s a true one-stop-shop for everything they need to know.
    The digital world is 24/7 so why not run a business that reflects that…from home!

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Thank you, Russell, I hope it wasn’t too much reading. I sure wish there was a list like this one when I got started several years ago with affiliate marketing. There wasn’t a list at the time. Now, just Google it, whatever you want to know.

      Reply
  2. Becka

    Very well done, I see you did your homework. A lot of information and well written. Thanks for the information, because there were a few I didn’t know about.

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Becka, my aim is to help everyone navigate the online world worry-free by providing good, reliable information for you and your online quests.

      Reply
  3. Gary

    The biggest headache I’ve had with affiliate marketing is finding reliable information. There are so many scams online that promise to teach you how to make money with affiliate marketing, but very few that are legitimate. Most of them are just upsells without any useful information.

    Once I found Wealthy Affiliate, which I’m pleased you recommend and learned the skills, affiliate marketing became a lot easier. So I agree with your recommendation that Wealthy Affiliate is the right platform to learn affiliate marketing.

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Thank you Gary for reading my post and I agree that there is a slight learning curve to make money with affiliate marketing. That’s where I came to my conclusion that joining WA will help you earn while you learn. A great combination.

      Reply
  4. Lawrence Gregory

    Hello Ken =)

    It seems to me that you have put in a tremendous amount of energy into this website and it shows just how passionate you are in terms of helping people to start up online.

    I really like the way you have laid out your post.

    Thanks for sharing the top 10 affiliate programs.

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Lawrence the most important thing that I want to do is to help people avoid the problems, the scams, and all the issues I had when I got started. My philosophy is if you help enough people, they, in turn, will help you. I look forward to providing my knowledge to others for them to use.

      Reply
  5. Chris

    Well I have to be honest – It has worked for me quite well. I now run full-time online business thanks to taking affiliate marketing seriously. Its not hard but it does require dedication – if you find you have this opportunity then you will see some sort of success. Anything worthwhile in life is going to be a bit of work right???

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      I agree with you Chris. Of all the various methods of earning online income affiliate marketing is the easiest – once you have some experience. Regardless of the niche you can earn a consistent income. With the right training that wealthy affiliate provides, you can start earning income in less than a month once you have a website.

      Reply
  6. Andrew

    Affiliate marketing is not as easy as it seems. You can make money with it but if you’re looking to make it big, it’s really hard. The process is simple and straightforward. Affiliate marketing has its benefits as you’ve outlined in your article. It’s easy to start but not easy to make a lot of money with it. Just my 2 cents. Cheers!

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Thank you Andrew for your honest opinion of affiliate marketing. As you pointed out anyone can make money at affiliate marketing but they won’t be making a huge amount of income. Maybe finding a better way of marketing may help in closing the gap on a larger income.

      Reply
  7. Albert

    Thank you for this information.

    I have been looking for ways to making money at home and the best opportunity right now is affiliate marketing. I have just signed up for WA and the amount of information and lessons they give you is outstanding. I have never seen a program that gives you that much for this cheap. Your explanation on the benefits of affiliate marketing is very good. I’m convinced this is the fastest way to online income. 

    I hope I will be able to make myself a full income in the near future.

    Keep up the good work

    Reply
    1. Kenneth Merrick Post author

      Thank you Albert for your kind words. It is my pleasure to assist you in learning about how easy earning online income can be if you learn the ‘right way’ of doing things. Best of luck to you!

      Reply

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