One of the preferred ways of SEO's to generate money with their niches, networks or projects is undoubtedly affiliate or affiliate marketing.
In fact, it is the gateway for most new SEO's and marketers to the digital world.
Many of those who start find in affiliate marketing a “quick” way out to obtain their first earnings and see that living on the internet is really possible…
That if, despite the fact that affiliate marketing can generate tens of thousands of dollars per month in experienced people (as you read it), it is normal that during your first year you do not obtain great benefits from this digital practice.
Even so, affiliate marketing is undoubtedly a viable, economical and simple way to make money online.
Do you want to know everything about affiliate marketing and thus increase your digital earnings?
Then I recommend that you continue reading the post.
Let's start now! 🤘
What is affiliate or affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing outside of the digital world is nothing new.
In fact, we can say that it derives from a practice that has always existed and that was increased after the middle of the 20th century.
Do you remember that neighbor who came to your house with product catalogs to show it to your grandmother or mother and that after making the reservation on time the promised product arrived.
In Uruguay an example of this were the catalogs of Nuvó, Avon and more recently Herbalife and the like.
A company like Nuvó (advertiser) had neighbors (affiliates) who offered products to the grandmothers (clients-consumers) and thus obtained a commission from the sale of each product.
Well, the concept of affiliate marketing (digital now yes) takes that idea and from the last decade of the last century this practice was created by Jeff Bezos at Amazon.
It would not have a great impact until the beginning of the 2010s, when the practice began to expand to dozens of digital products and services, physical companies such as supermarkets, e-learning and endless etc.
Nowadays, each platform or digital tool has its own affiliate program…since thanks to it they obtain great revenues just like their affiliates.
Not only digital platforms but supermarkets such as El Corte Inglés, Leroy Merlin, among others, are also beginning to walk that path.
However, the big winner is still Amazon and other types of affiliate platforms that exist throughout the world, such as Awin or Rakuten.
What is an affiliate program?
An affiliate program is nothing more than a digital sales system in which an advertiser, that is, a company or business (may be an entrepreneur) offers its own product or service (or that of others, such as a supermarket) to its affiliates. (external sellers) so that they can sell and promote them to other clients.
This is achieved through an affiliate link, which has a cookie that is used to track that link.
In other words, if someone buys with a link that you refer yourself, that link will carry the cookie and the company will know that this sale comes from you.
Doesn't the same thing happen when a mechanic recommends a trusted bodyworker and you say you're going from him?
Obviously we don't know the economic agreement between the two, but it exists… it exists.
I recommend you to know the differences between platforms and affiliate programs .
How does an affiliate program work?
Each affiliate program will have its own regulations and rules. That's for sure.
Some will be more permissive with their affiliates, but others will be above it, preventing them from using prohibited techniques 😅 (scams, deception, violations of their policies) to make a profit by harming their brand.
All affiliate programs in the digital world are governed by links or affiliate links.
All of them carry a cookie (a script) that contains information that allows the advertiser to see the place of origin of the sale, and also gives guarantees to the affiliate that the sale was attributed to him and not drifted.
Cookies have an expiration time, it can be 24 hours as in the case of Amazon, such as cookies that last up to 120 days in certain affiliate programs.
This is how affiliate marketing works.
Even here at Niche SEO I have several affiliate links to products that I really recommend.
It is not wrong to promote products, what is wrong is to deceive.
Benefits of affiliate marketing
Now that you know what affiliate marketing is, it is time for me to tell you about the main advantages and disadvantages of this monetization practice.
I will tell you below the main benefits of promoting a product, service or even online courses through affiliate marketing and then the negative parts.
Advantages and disadvantages for affiliates
✅ Little traffic needed to make profit
✅ It is not up to you to produce, send, market the product
✅ In case of inconveniences with it, you will not take care of the returns
✅ The advertiser is responsible for the entire buying-selling process (you only offer the product and earn commission)
✅ You can earn a lot of recurring money if your articles are well positioned
✅ You can offer affiliation through all your digital channels (networks, YouTube, website, newsletter, etc.)
✅ You can combine affiliate programs and platforms without problems in most cases (read policies)
✅ You can combine it with other types of monetization such as ads (Google Adsense, Ezoic, etc.)
✅ You will get a commission even when the customer buys something else that you did not promote (indirect sales)
✅ You get the commission even if the customer buys even though hours have passed, even months after visiting your site
❌ Commissions generally very low (less than 10%)
❌ They require time to position content
❌ Requires money in case you use the way of ads
❌ It's not always worth the hard work
❌ Lots of competition
❌ Very dense sectors of competitors (fitness, Amazon, digital marketing, etc.)
❌ Collection of profits is usually at 30, 60 or 90 days
❌ Setting up payments is usually tedious, you will even have to do paperwork that you would have preferred to avoid
What does it take to be an affiliate?
To be an affiliate and offer products and services from other affiliate programs or networks you will need to meet the requirements of the advertiser.
Generally and almost mandatory, the only repeated requirement is that you are of legal age (18 years in most countries), that you have legal documents and that you have an account to collect what is generated.
Many times you can even start promoting the products and later set up your bank account or payment method to receive the ticket.
I also have to clarify that you should always read the policies of the affiliate program that the advertiser shows you.
Surely you will find words or methods by which you cannot promote yourself, or different channels or networks that are prohibited.
You should investigate here on your own and try not to break the rules.
Advantages and disadvantages for advertisers
Advertisers also have incredible benefits from their affiliate programs, however they also have certain disadvantages that can even destroy the reputation of the brand.
I show you below the main ones of each:
✅ Generate a lot of profits that you would not reach through your own means (page, networks, physical stores, etc.)
✅ You don't have to spend money (or time and energy) on promoting your products as the affiliate does it
✅ Receive most of the profits
✅ If you sell subscriptions you receive recurring payments
✅ It is as if they had employees without paying them directly
❌ No control over what the affiliate says to promote the product or service
❌ This leads to the brand image falling
❌ He has to take care of everything, including responding to promises or comments from the affiliate about a product (for example, elements that the product has and that in reality it does not)
❌ The profit is less than a direct sale (although it is still very beneficial)
❌ Generally you need to sell in large quantities to have substantive returns
Types of affiliate marketing
The most classic form for SEO's and digital marketers of affiliate marketing is the CPA, which is cost per action, and within it the sales of products or services as it happens with Amazon, Hotmart, Fiverr, etc.
Even many hosts (if not all) also offer an affiliate program and it is another good way to generate income if you are in this sector.
But still there are other types of affiliate marketing that you should know and that will expand your range of earnings.
1. Cost per action – CPA
It is when a user enters your website (or whatever medium) and clicks on a link to a product, service, banner that takes him to another site to perform an action that benefits the advertiser.
It can be selling a product, getting a lead, requesting a quote or whatever.
The affiliate promotes and charges thanks to the action that the user performs in favor of the company that is advertised.
It is the typical case of Amazon Affiliate niches that offer products thanks to their comparisons and reviews.
It can also be like the case of describing a digital product as is the case with Jasper in this post .
2. Cost per click – CPC
In this case, the advertiser usually offers money to place a banner, pop-up or ad, even several of them, on your website so that you can derive qualified traffic to their main landing pages.
It is usually charged for each click that is received on the banner (there are also monthly payments depending on how you arrange it with the advertiser)
The amounts will depend on the importance of your niche, the amount of traffic and of course what is economically convenient for both: advertiser and affiliate.
3. Cost per thousand impressions CPM
Every time an advertiser's ad is displayed on your page a thousand times (Cost per mille or Cost per thousand), the advertiser will pay you a pre-agreed fixed amount.
The good thing about this is that if the banner or ad occupies all the URLs (or many) of your site every time the user navigates from one page to another within your site, it will count towards reaching 1000 impressions.
If you have a site that usually has multiple pageviews, then this can be a great opportunity.
4. Cost per view – CPV
If on your website you usually use explanatory videos of products or software or services, then it may be another opportunity to monetize your site with affiliate marketing.
Cost per view is when an advertiser pays each time their ad is played on videos on your website.
Monstrous pages like Marca or YouTube usually show ads of this type in all their videos, and they will surely get good money for that.
Sure you won't get as much money as them but... still if you can earn enough.
5. Cost per Lead – CPL
The cost per lead can also be located within the Cost per action.
In this case, the advertiser pays for each time a user signs up for their free or paid newsletter, for example.
Ways and places to promote products
As I told you before, the channels, ways or means by which you promote the advertiser's products will depend on you and the study you make of potential customers and the audience.
The main means to promote them are the following:
1. Website
A website or blog is a great place to do it, in fact most SEO's use WordPress to develop our affiliate niches.
It doesn't really matter with which CMS or platform you develop your website, the important thing is that you make good product reviews and that people reach your site to read it.
How to do affiliate marketing
If you have a travel or fitness blog, then why not monetize it by offering good products that you recommend thanks to your experience and knowledge.
2.SEO
SEO is one more way to promote your website and attract qualified traffic.
With that traffic you are going to try to get sales with your affiliate links and thus make a profit promoting products.
SEO makes your articles or posts reach the top of Google's SERPs, and therefore receive traffic that has the clear intention of answering their questions, getting information and even going straight to buying a product.
The road that can bring you the most traffic over a long period of time and the cheapest (eheh… I'm not so sure 😅)
3. Ads
The ads and within them the PPC (pay per click) and the SEM, can be two fast and quite reliable ways to drive traffic to your site (buy traffic or paid traffic).
The SEM will make your article reach the top of the Google results (although they are generally not as clicked on as the organic results) and the PPC through banners or ads within sites or networks will redirect traffic to you.
That if cheap is not!
You have to see if the ROI (return on investment) is really good to get into this company.
4. Social Networks
Social media is another amazing way to make money by promoting products through membership.
And I'm not just talking about Facebook or Instagram, yes, they are usually quite used... but all the others too, Twitter, TikTok, Youtube, Twitch, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.
If you are an influencer you will have it much easier, but if not, what are you waiting for to become one or at least a reference in your sector?
5. Email marketing
Email marketing is another great ally of affiliates, also called publishers.
If you already have a loyal list of subscribers, then you can offer products through juicy and entertaining emails that talk about the benefits of this or that product.
Try to be honest and not atomize with many emails because you can see how your list of subscribers declines.
Sponsored content
Something that is seen very often in digital media.
Very explicit content usually appears about The best X products or something similar.
Even reviews such as How to save time in meetings in your company (and they make an article with clear transactional purposes offering Calendly or a similar program).
You can also use it to your advantage and promote your affiliate website on their media.
Step by step to create a successful affiliate marketing strategy
I am going to teach you now how to do affiliate marketing correctly. It doesn't matter if your level is beginner or not, the idea is the same.
With this affiliate marketing guide you will be able to do it step by step correctly.
In fact, no affiliate marketing course is required to do it correctly, by following these steps you will be able to do it in a good way and one day make a living from affiliate marketing.
1. Choose a niche with potential
It is the most difficult part, both in the world of SEO and in digital marketing itself.
Finding a niche that is profitable and not very competitive, and that in turn can generate good profits and a good ROI is something that many go out of their way to do.
If you have experience or expertise in a particular topic, for example Kick Boxing or Motorcycling, you can go that way and try to position a competent blog and offer products.
If, on the other hand, you do not stand out in any particular area, you should go for SEO analysis and strategy and learn affiliate marketing as you go.
Before choosing your niche, I recommend you read this post in which I talk about the most competitive niches.
2. Select one or more affiliate programs or platforms
Once you have the niche, it is time to find the program, the network or the affiliate programs that will accompany you along the way.
The more affiliate programs you use, the more diversified your earnings will be.
That can be good, but at the same time it is possible that you have to configure the payments according to each affiliate program and that many times it takes time to reach the payment thresholds.
You can also analyze if there are affiliate programs or platforms that offer products related to your sector before launching into the niche (no doubt there are, but you have to see if they suit you).
For example, in niches where I use several affiliate programs, I usually use Lasso , which is for me the best affiliate plugin that exists, and allows you to create product boxes and mask links.
Point 1 and 2 can be interchangeable, that is, you look for affiliate programs and see if it is worth positioning a niche on it.
In this post I made a list of the best affiliate programs and platforms , it will surely be very helpful.
3. Create high-quality promotional content
The key to everything is to have a site, network or channel that excellently describes the virtues or solutions that derive from the purchase of the product or service in question.
A good article or a good video can be the only thing you need to put hundreds of dollars or even thousands in your pocket.
Try to provide reliable and real information about a product, do not try to deceive and use all the benefits of copywriting to achieve success.
It is not necessary that you write your everything, you can rely on one of these 12 best AI tools for content. They will be very helpful!
4. Send traffic to your site or landing
If you create a good article but nobody enters, then you will not sell a pen to a businessman who needs to sign a million dollar contract and has lost his.
Without traffic there are no sales.
The ways to get them I already name you above. Choose one or several methods and offer them spectacular and user-friendly content when they are inside.
5. Offer them alternatives to products and promotions
Many times a user does not end up buying a product, either because it has a feature that they consider important and that it lacks, or because its price did not completely convince them.
It is important then to send them through an internal link to other articles with similar products or offer them alternatives to what they were looking for.
If it wasn't for A, then let it be for B.
6. Set up charging and get paid
There is a phrase that I like a lot and that I heard out there that says that affiliate marketing is available to everyone but the collection of profits is not.
And it is true.
Many times you will find important obstacles depending on your country of origin, your type of bank account or depending on your age or tax information.
Sometimes you will not need companies in your name, others yes.
There are always alternatives, Payoneer is one that you can use to collect from LATAM, but you should know that these intermediaries also take their cut.
Once everything is configured, it is time to receive the payment product of the effort and work. You deserve it!
Is it profitable in 2022? How much money can be generated?
Yes, yes and more yes.
But, there are always buts.
If you have a leading blog in your sector, such as Niche SEO in the world of SEO, then it is possible that you will receive very juicy commissions month after month.
In fact, sometimes it happens to me that I have pending commissions that I had forgotten that I was promoting.
That's the beauty of affiliate marketing and passive income.
You generate profits while you are asleep… (what a big lie) if you have already worked sooooooooooo hard to promote your brand.
If you get into the world of Amazon niches you can make a lot of money, but the competition can be overwhelming.
There is a place in affiliate marketing for those who do it well. Are you willing to be one of them?
Differences between dropshipping and affiliate marketing
There are important differences between both methods of digital monetization.
The main one is that in affiliate marketing you are only responsible for selling the product through your affiliate link and receiving a commission for it.
In dropshipping you have to take care of more parts of the sales process, that is, you sell the product through a link, the supplier sends the product directly to the buyer without passing through your hands.
Affiliate Marketing vs. Dropshipping
Ideal if you don't have a physical store, you will even receive higher commissions.
Even so, the collection and refund problems will fall on you, so your responsibility is greater.
There are platforms that are particularly dedicated to this, such as Shopify, which has its own affiliate program, or Prestashop.
Conclusions
First of all, thanks for reading the post, I know it was long but I wanted to try to answer all your questions about what affiliate marketing is.
It is without a doubt, as I mentioned in the introduction, a simple and fast way to make your first weapons in the world of SEO.
Many, almost all of us started with Amazon Affiliates and Google Adsense. The first responds to affiliate marketing and the second to the world of ads.
I will not tell you that it is easy to generate substantial profits with affiliate marketing, because it really is not.
But yes, once you have worked on your niche or personal brand, you can receive really important commissions and income thanks to affiliate marketing.
It is something that I did not exploit much in my beginnings but that today I am propping up more.
The competition can be brutal, so my advice is to be an even more brutal player for the competition.
Promote good products, make great reviews and comparisons and try to offer value to your users.
Surely the profits will come very soon.
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