How to Make Money As an Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate programs are great. They allow you make money by selling someone else’s product or service without all the hassle that comes with it: handling, shipping, answering customer questions, and so forth. All you have to do is to make people buy the product by means of advertising and promotion. Many people get interested in this type of money-making opportunity that can yield six-digit monthly incomes when done right, but don’t count on making it big as an affiliate marketer right away. Such payouts are a privilege of a few top performers in affiliate marketing industry. But affiliate marketing can be used to generate at least passive income.

Picking the Right Affiliate Program is a Half of the Success

Unlike PPC programs, affiliate marketing pays based on action, such as purchasing a product, subscribing to a newsletter, or registering at a website. Therefore, conversion rates are of high importance. Also, product or service quality is vital, since returns are subtracted from the affiliate’s commission. A simple strategy can be implemented for choosing the right program:
- Always pick reputable providers, that offer high quality products and services;
- Choose the product or service that would blend in with your website or blog theme;
- Do not pick expensive products, since usually they convert poorly and are only good for narrow-targeted or highly-visited sites;
- Promote products that offer high commission;
- Track your conversion rates, since it gives a measurable cost and profit picture.

A Website or a Blog is More Than a Money Maker

While affiliate programs have been originally designed for websites and blogs, the latter are not the only means of getting income from affiliate marketing. It is always a good idea to test an affiliate program on your blog and get the feel of conversion and visitor’s approval of the product. It is even a better idea to offer products from different providers – this way you may compare the performance among them. Should you come across an affiliate program that has a good conversion rate and good user perception, you may take the next step – advertising through PPC campaigns. With proper analytics and good presentation, it could be an effective way to expand your affiliate earnings. For example, if your commission is £15, and the conversion rate is 1:50, this means that one click brings you £0.30, on average. Should you launch an AdWords campaign with an average click cost of £0.20, you can enjoy a profit of £0.10 per click – and that is without having a website! Advertising through newsletters you send to subscribers is another good way of affiliate promotion.

Affiliate Marketing is not a “Get Rich Quick” program

Affiliate marketing is an excellent source of passive income that should gradually increase as time passes. This is especially true for marketing services that are subscription-based, and pay recurring or even lifetime commission. It is important to understand that merchants do not charge you fees to become an affiliate marketer and information about merchants may easily be found on Internet. Therefore, stay away from anybody who offers “insider’s affiliate information” for a fee. Do not fall for claims that so many people made so many millions of pounds just by having that information. Earnings come from relevant, high-converting affiliate programs blended into a high-trafficked web environment. Profits derive from simple proportions of page views, clicks, and conversions: nothing less, nothing more.

Marco Lombardo