Affiliate Marketing For Beginners
Entrepreneurialism is steadily increasing. No one wants to experience unsteady economy or unstable job security; however, the reality is many are facing those circumstances. In those moments, a desire to fortify finances with multiple streams of revenue and passive income manifests. Affiliate marketing can be defined as a method used to collect compensation (commission) by marketing another entity’s (person or business) merchandise. An affiliate is the individual marketing said merchandise. Typically, commission varies by product and each, qualified, customer purchase earns the affiliate a percentage of total sales.
An affiliate should be mindful of accepted terms and conditions as well as payout schedules. It is not uncommon for affiliates to be paid more than 45 days from the moment a commission is earned. That said, there are several businesses that offer affiliate marketing programs, some more lucrative than others. Research will be paramount in determining all aspects of not only affiliate marketing but other endeavors as well.
It is also equally important to understand affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick method of generating income. While some have become very successful with meteoric rises in revenue, they should neither be considered common occurrences nor realistic goals when managing expectations. Similar to other passive income models, affiliate marketing should be likened to planting seeds that can be harvested at a later moment in time, with the possibility of providing precious and continuous resources.
Furthermore, getting started with affiliate marketing doesn’t require massive resources. Generally, a method to create and maintain an online blog, a little knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO) and, of course, being an affiliate are very basic requirements for affiliate marketing. It is not necessary to be a SEO expert, surface level knowledge will suffice. Once those resources are secured, blogs can be written about products of interest along with a special link to direct readers (and potentially future customers) to the product’s website. The link will contain identifying markers in order to properly credit all sales to an affiliate’s account. Periodically, please check all affiliate links to ensure they are properly working. It would be most unfortunate for an affiliate to discover merchandise is being sold through their affiliate links but sales are not being properly credited to their account.
Please refer to the following video and view it on YouTube for an example of how I use affiliate links in my videos.
In the video’s description box, there are links to all the products used in producing my channel’s content. I have included item links for products used for business and personal needs. A disclaimer has been provided and is required when posting affiliate links. Depending on the affiliate marketing website, there may also be restrictions on where and to whom the links can be posted or shared. Again, research is paramount.
Please note, it is not necessary to be an on-camera content creator. Everything in my video’s description box can be added to a blog for the same purpose. Additionally, all my product recommendations are genuine as those items are used, both personally and professionally. I value authenticity and it is of the utmost importance.
If in possession of patience, a good attitude, a blog, commitment, and passion to create change in your space, affiliate marketing may be a viable path, full of discoveries.