If you want to supplement your income, add some extra cash to your wallet, or cover your monthly car payment, one of the best ways is to make money online with affiliate marketing.
Affiliate Marketing in a Nutshell
Affiliate programs are consistently credited among high-earning bloggers as their ticket to success. In exchange for your promotion of a third-party product, you will receive a percentage of sales every time a customer makes a purchase through your link.
Sounds easy, right? It can be. Here’s how to use affiliate marketing to make money online work for you:
1. Embrace products that make sense.
The easiest and most natural context for promoting is something that most online marketers have these days, a blog – especially if you already have a following. If readers trust you and your recommendations, they will consider purchasing a product you endorse. However, this is certainly not the only way to be successful. Options like social media, paid ads, and email marketing can help drive your affiliate marketing success.
So, how do you choose an affiliate program? Find a natural fit. If you sell a product that doesn’t have a natural appeal to your audience, your readers will be repelled by the idea that they’re being sold to.
First, look at the products you already use. And remember, by promoting a product, you’re putting your own reputation on the line. If your site, email campaign, or social media platform caters to new entrepreneurs – it’s a given that these entrepreneurs all need websites. Products related to web-hosting or theme development are both great candidates and can be big earners. Especially if you communicate your positive experiences. In comparison, trying to sell a weight-loss program on your business site would probably be a real turnoff for your audience, as it would be out of context.
Ultimately, it’s all about understanding what your audience wants. If you’re an organic nutrition coach, a natural weight-loss product you’ve used successfully could be a great fit. But be careful: a more commercial product in that same sector could be a huge turnoff for your particular audience.
2. Choose the right model.
If you can’t find a way to make a product fit into your content strategy naturally, consider trying a different platform. Pinterest and email marketing could be a better way to promote to people in that target market.
Suppose you love fashion, or maybe you’re all about the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets. These are both great opportunities for affiliate marketing. However, if your current blog, website or social platform (if you have any of these) might not be the best fit. Try your hand at a pay-per click campaign, all you need is an account, a landing page and a small budget to get started!
Again, though, be careful – if it is easy to sense that you’ve endorsed a product you don’t actually like, you’ll lose trust. And then you’re just another Internet spammer.
3. Invest in a compelling visual brand.
Last but not least, remember that design is important. Beautiful images in your display ads or quality website design are a strong signal to potential customers that you are selling a quality product. Slapping together a shoddy design and expecting it to convert won’t work any better for you than it does for any other type of company.
If you don’t have the skills to build yourself a top-notch site or design compelling graphics, invest in a quality designer and copywriter to help you get your project off the ground. They’ll be able to help you set up your business for successful conversion. After all, if you’re going to put the time into starting a new venture, don’t you want to succeed?
Whether you want to supplement your current income or go out on your own, affiliate marketing truly can be a path to profit. Invest in a strong idea and avoid taking shortcuts, and you’ll find yourself using affiliate marketing to make money online in no time.
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