How to Become an Affiliate Marketer
This post contains affiliate links.
Are you interested in learning how to become an affiliate marketer? Affiliate marketing can be a great way to earn an income on your own schedule and it can be hugely profitable or a great little side gig. We’ll teach you how to get started as an affiliate marker and create a job that allows you to be in control of your own time.
Affiliate marketing can be an amazing way to earn an income from home. I’ve been working as an affiliate marker for nearly 20 years now and it makes up the bulk of my income. This can be a great side gig or a full-time income, depending on what you put into it.
I love that I’ve been able to work with brands that I already love and discover some new ones along the way. As a working mom of 6 kids, affiliate marketing has allowed me to be in control of my own time and it has been the ideal work-at-home job for me.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing means partnering with brands or affiliate programs and receiving a commission for every sale you drive. Commission rates vary from program to program but affiliate marketing can be very profitable.
I’ve often heard affiliate marketing compared with working an MLM but they are very different business models. Affiliate programs are primarily run online, meaning someone clicks on a link you share, makes a purchase, and then you receive a commission. You do not have any of their personal information and you are not responsible for product fulfillment or contacting them in the future.
You are able to work with many different affiliate programs, although I do recommend focusing on just a few to get started.
How to Become an Affiliate Marketer
Anyone can become an affiliate marketer, but to be successful you really need to start with some sort of platform. Most commonly this is a blog (learn how to make money blogging here) but it can also be an Instagram page, newsletter, Facebook group, or any other social media platform. I’ve also known affiliates who primarily run live events as public speakers and share promo codes for their affiliate programs there.
You can get creative and find a way that works for you.
To get started, you’ll need to apply for affiliate programs or affiliate networks. Many will want you to prove that you have some sort of platform that has the potential to drive sales so I would suggest setting up a blog or social media channel first and begin to create content before you apply.
The most effective way to work as an affiliate marketer is typically to run a niche site. That allows you to focus on a very specific topic and establish yourself as someone who knows what they are talking about so you can build trust with your readership. I’ve had success with both general and niche blogs so you can do either but I find that niche blogs are much quicker to start earning a reliable income right now.
Where to find affiliate programs
Nearly any product you can think of likely has an affiliate program available. Some are run through affiliate networks, sites that manage many different brands, and some are run directly with the company.
Some of the more popular affiliate networks for new affiliate marketers are:
You can also find individual affiliate programs for products, courses, services, and more. I’d suggest looking for products that fit your blog (or social media) niche the best in order to build credibility with your readers.
Looking for some Help Getting Started in Affiliate Marketing?
If you think affiliate marketing may be for you but need a little help getting started, there are some great courses out there.
I’d recommend starting with this Affiliate Marketing Foundations course from LinkedIn Learning.
