I am not going to pretend I know anything more than you about Affiliate marketing. For those of you who have read my blogs, you understand that I am learning as I go and sharing those lessons learned to you all.
With that understanding, I know that I have to make money from my blog in order to call it a legit side hustle. One way to make money is through affiliate marketing and this blog shares with you what I now know.
What is An Affiliate Program?
An affiliate program is an agreement/contract in which an advertiser pays a commission to the affiliate (that’s me) who brings them sales (let’s hope I do this).
The affiliate is given a unique link that can be used to track referrals. There are so many different types of affiliate programs out there, I wont be able to give you specifics but will give some generalizations and show you how I became an affiliate for Bluehost.
What Are Affiliate Links?
Affiliate links are unique URLs that include the affiliate’s username or ID, as well as the advertiser’s URL. Here is an example of the one I have for Bluehost (https://www.bluehost.com/track/itestsidehustles/)
These links are used by companies who offer affiliate programs to track the traffic that comes to their site. The affiliate is compensated when a customer clicks on the affiliate link and purchases the endorsed product on the advertiser’s website.
How to Get Started With Affiliate Marketing
I have read a lot of blogs and articles to figure out how to get started with affiliate marketing. Here is what I learned and the process I used.
1. Pick your niche
Affiliate marketers who are most successful focus their efforts on a specific niche. They target a more specific audience and may create successful partnerships by narrowing their focus.
I chose anything that deals with Side Hustles. For example, I use Microsoft Visio in my blogs, I am affiliate with them now. Also, as you have seen it’s the same with Bluehost.
2. Join an affiliate program
There are really two types of programs. One that is high-paying with low-volume items or low-paying with high-volume products.
For example, Bluehost pays $65 per purchase, which is higher than say an Amazon which pays single dollar commissions. Amazon has a higher number of products you can use and a broader audience, that is why they have such low commissions.
3. Select how you want to market.
There are numerous strategies to promote your business. Blogs, emails, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube are all good places to advertise. Your platform can be pretty much wherever you can upload an image, text, or video.
4. Create lots and lots of content
This is probably where I struggle the most. No matter what your affiliate program is, you have to be able to sell their products. If you have good content and have an engaged audience, you should be successful. This is at least what I am telling myself.
How long does it take to be successful with an affiliate program?
I should be able to answer this question through my side hustles website. I know one thing, it won’t happen overnight.
The truth is that increasing your affiliate income takes time. It’s rare to achieve overnight success, and you’ll almost certainly be competing with other affiliates who have been at it for a long.
That doesn’t rule out the possibility of estimating how long it will take to be successful. Even while it’s not a certainty, many affiliate marketers report making modest sales within the first three months. But there are those that take over a year to make their first sale.
You must approach this as if it were any other web business. When it comes to selling a product, there are two options that come to mind, and affiliate marketers are no exception
Option 1: Start your own company
You’ll need to develop a website, set up a social media account, and then publish valuable content for your target audience. Much like I do on this website.
With this approach, there are two objectives:
- Build an audience.
- Earn their trust.
What I have been doing and is a common way many successful affiliate marketers focus on is building content first. Once I have a larger archive of articles, Then, I will worry about revenue.
Option 2: Affiliate Advertising or paid ads
You could take a more covert approach and choose to rely on affiliate advertising. You’d be in charge of creating an ad as well as shouldering and budgeting responsibilities. You’d still want to make a sale, but no one would ever need to know your name or visit your website.
When you use paid ads, the time it takes to make a sale might be cut in half if you know what you’re doing. In each case, you must first provide value that attracts attention before moving on to seize the chance.
It also helps if you genuinely believe in the thing you’re selling, as this leads to a more authentic dialogue with your audience. Although you can create an affiliate company around any product, this does not imply you should.
Lessons Learned
Disclaimer Page
Affiliate disclaimers let visitors know you are a member of an affiliate program and may earn rewards from the links on your site.
In today’s environment, it may seem self-evident that you’re a member of an affiliate program, and you might ask why formalizing your affiliations is necessary.
It’s important because affiliate disclosures are required by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States, as well as by other countries’ laws.
If you’re caught without one, you could face a fine or perhaps have your website taken down.
Five things I learned about your affiliate disclaimer.
- It needs to be easy to find. You shouldn’t have it five pages deep on your website.
- All forms of compensation apply meaning Free services, affiliate commissions, store credit, and more.
- Disclaimers encourage transparency. You don’t want to mislead anyone.
- Disclaimers promote fair advertising practices. This is important for any reputable business.
- Its worth repeating, is it a legal requirement.
You can see my disclaimer on the Home page of my website.
How I setup my affiliate program with BlueHost.com
This was so easy. You select Sign Up > Fill out all the required information > Then you select what advertising link you would like. There are several options and then depending upon your CMS you add it to your blog. Simple as that.
My Closing Remarks
I have a long way to go to make money from my affiliate programs. As mentioned above, the best way to get an audience is to have lots and lots of content. I have calculated that I will have 30 blogs by the end of the year. I hope that will reach enough of an audience and that my content is appreciated enough that people will begin to follow my links and then I can start to replace my current income. That after all is the ultimate side hustle ending.
If you like this blog and would like to see my other side hustles. Please follow this link ‘View All Side Hustles’.
Next up: What did I learn about Search Engine Optimization and how it impacts my Side Huste?