Millions, if not billions of dollars are being paid out on a yearly basis to ordinary people like you and me for repping their brand. Imagine being on the receiving end of that income? What would you do? What would you buy? Payoff?
Go ahead, and dream a little…
Well – lucky for you, you can be that person who earns extra (or even passive) income through affiliate marketing. In this article, I go into nitty-gritty detail explaining affiliate marketing for beginners, blogs and influencers.
Affiliate marketing offers the perfect way for the ordinary person to cash in on the billions of sales made online each year.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is when you promote another product or business (as an affiliate) using a special tracked link. Affiliates are compensated for sharing the link when others sign-up, join or purchase a product.
Affiliate marketing offers a phenomenal opportunity for people who do not have a lot of start-up capital or a lot of time to put together a giant campaign.
It has some very good advantages which include no product of your own, no inventory, no shipping or overhead, and no real sales force. For the merchant, it can also be a cheap and effective marketing strategy. Since the advertiser is doing most of the advertising. It’s a win-win situation. For you, you get to represent a reputable brand you love and get paid. The merchant is gaining new clients/customers without the increase in overhead advertising.
Affiliate marketing can be a great way to give your income a boost! There are many bloggers out there who earn $1,000 or more each month in affiliate income alone.
If you already use and love a product, why not help get the word out about it and make some extra money at the same time?
Here are some great ways to use affiliate marketing to monetize your blog:
If you are a blogger, there is a good likelihood that your blog is not self-hosted and that you use a company like Bluehost or Siteground. Most hosting companies have affiliate programs, which is great for bloggers! Simply sign-up for their affiliate program, refer others and earn extra income!
Bluehost starts their affiliates at $75 per referral, WP Engine $100, and Siteground $60. New bloggers are welcomed!
i.gain: There are a ton of affiliate programs to join with i.gain – such as Ipsos, Pinecone, Springboard America, ShopTracker and much more.
Awin connects advertisers with people around the world. Their affiliate program allows you to create relationships with some of the world’s leading brands and, you guessed it, earn money for doing it.
Awin stands out because of its partnerships with Swagbucks, Fiverr. and much more. It’s $5 to sign up, but you get the $5 back in its entirety when you receive your first payment.
OfferJuice: has partnerships with The National Consumer Panel and Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel two awesome survey companies. Join OfferJuice and become an affiliate to work with them.
Share a Sale has been around for over 17 years, making them a reputable choice for affiliate marketing. They work with a large variety of brands, which pay you to promote them. Share-a-Sale has the partnership with thousands of marketers such as Freshbooks, Studiopress, PicMonkey and much more
Flexoffers offers fast payment in return for your referral. They work with a vast array of industries from car insurance companies to cell phone service providers.
CJ Affiliate by Conversant (formerly Commission Junction)
In addition to paying affiliates for sales, CJ also pays per click. When a reader clicks on a specific ad (that is housed o your site), you receive affiliate income.
Ebates pays you for shopping at your favorite stores! You can earn cash back on each purchase and Ebates offers quick payment via PayPal. (You can also opt to receive a check in the mail.)
The bottom line…
Whichever affiliate programs you choose, be sure to only promote products that you have tried and love! Doing otherwise may hurt your creditability among your followers.
Be sure to include a disclosure on your blog which lets your readers know that they may encounter affiliate links while visiting your site.
Once you have everything in place, sit back and watch your affiliate income roll in.
