Keep reading and find out how you can make an easy passive income by starting affiliate marketing with no up-front investments. From affiliate marketing basics to making money online. We’ll cover it all.
The original formula for affiliate marketing is Sign Up – Share – Earn. That’s practically affiliate marketing for dummies, right? However, while it sounds simple, it might be a little confusing initially.
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning commission from recommending a product or service offered by another business. As a business model, it’s highly profitable because the business pays you for every referred sale.
Not all affiliate programs are the same. Some pay different percentages of commission, others offer a fixed bonus, and some will offer free products or services in return. With time and hard work, successful affiliate marketing can turn your side hustle into a profitable business venture.
How Does Affiliate Marketing Work
Let’s look at how affiliate marketing works so you can earn more money within the top affiliate networks by promoting quality content and product links.
Sign Up for an Affiliate Program
Affiliate marketing programs are referral campaigns where a company or brand partners with affiliate marketers like influencers, YouTubers, bloggers, and others who promise to refer to their products within their audiences. Every successful referral that leads to sales gets paid a commission.
Signing up usually includes filling out a form and arranging all the necessary details for a direct and transparent partnership, referrals, payments, and other affiliate marketing efforts from both sides.
Share an Affiliate Link
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be issued a specific affiliate link to put on your social networking platform for potential customers to click. Affiliate offers customers information on the affiliate products or services included in the affiliate program.
From blog posts and YouTube videos to posts on other prominent social media platforms, affiliates share their affiliate links and create content on the products to boost traffic and prompt sales, thus earning themselves commission.
Someone Clicks and Makes a Sale
Promote products, create quality content ideas, and send your followers, readers, and customers directly to the store page via your affiliate link. Encourage them to spend money on the products and earn a commission every time someone makes a purchase.
Earn Commission from Each Sale
Each affiliate program has its own rules, guidelines, and commissions. When signing up for one, you’ll be notified of the percentage you’ll earn with each sale. If your informative content leads to a sale, the brand will pay you a certain percentage for each order.
It really is that simple to become a top affiliate marketer. Sign up, share a link with high-quality content, and cash in by making affiliate sales.
Why is affiliate marketing a good business model?
At this point, you might be thinking, “A business built on recommendations? Sounds too good to be true.” While it’s good to have a healthy dose of skepticism, according to PayScale, the average affiliate marketer in the US makes around $52,000 a year.
Not bad for recommending products, right? It’s possible to make a living from affiliate marketing because it’s a profitable business model. Here’s why:It’s low risk. Businesses only need to pay out when you make a successful referral (versus paying a fee for influencers). For affiliates, your costs can stay low (if there are any at all), so you only lose time if you don’t hit the right mark.
It’s a win-win for everyone. The business benefits from the sales you bring in, and then rewards you in return. However, customers also benefit from having a trusted recommendation to satisfy their needs/wants.You can work from anywhere in the world. If you’ve ever dreamed of living the digital nomad life, affiliate marketing can help you call anywhere your workplace. Though be sure to obey any work-related tax or labor laws.You can build a passive income. Creating a library of quality content takes time. But after a while, you’ll find that content you’ve already created still generates affiliate commissions months, even years, later.
“Affiliate marketing, especially when you’re a beginner with no startup money, takes long-term thinking, first you need to focus on the fundamentals, like deciding on a niche and traffic source.”
There are many free platforms for creators to consider when starting out as affiliate marketers. “Instagram, TikTik, YouTube, blogging—you can create an account for free on these platforms and start creating content right away.” Affiliate networks offer new marketers free and easy access to thousands of reputable affiliate programs you can join right away.
How to Start Affiliate Marketing With No Money
Step 1: Select a Profitable Niche and Target Audience
Succeeding in affiliate marketing is all about picking the right niche to attract potential customers within your chosen audience. A niche is a specific segment within a larger market. Start promoting affiliate posts on a targeted niche blog or social media page and excel in affiliate marketing.
Creating a niche website or excelling in targeted content marketing gives you the credibility to promote the affiliate products on your social media platform. Become an expert on selected niche products rather than being all over the place and gain the trust of your audience.
How to Find a Niche
Research the Market. Research the market to see the most popular and profitable niche sites, segments, and markets. For example, currently, blogging, fitness, cooking, and finances are some of the most profitable niches.
Step 1: Select a Profitable Niche and Target Audience
Succeeding in affiliate marketing is all about picking the right niche to attract potential customers within your chosen audience. A niche is a specific segment within a larger market. Start promoting affiliate posts on a targeted niche blog or social media page and excel in affiliate marketing.
Creating a niche website or excelling in targeted content marketing gives you the credibility to promote the affiliate products on your social media platform. Become an expert on selected niche products rather than being all over the place and gain the trust of your audience.
How to Find a Niche
Research the Market. Research the market to see the most popular and profitable niche sites, segments, and markets. For example, currently, blogging, fitness, cooking, and finances are some of the most profitable niches.
Pinpoint Your Interests. What do you already excel in? What are your skills and knowledge? Are there some products or services you already know, use, and can recommend to others?
Research Competition. How much does the average affiliate marketer make? What are the most popular affiliate marketing programs? Which platform is the best to promote on? How do others start affiliate marketing without money?
Some of the most popular affiliate marketing niches include
- Health. Personal care, nutrition, mental health, anti-aging.
- Fitness. Yoga, gym, home gym, hiking, accessories.
- Lifestyle. Education, minimalism, veganism, van life, eco-friendly.
- Fashion and Beauty. Make-up or fashion tips, top beauty products, accessories.
- Hobbies. Music, traveling, cooking, DIY, photography, art.
- Technology. Web hosting, gaming, VPN, online security.
- Home. Pets, interior design, home tips, kids, plants, and more.
Once you’ve decided on a niche, the next step is choosing what affiliate program(s) to join. It makes sense to choose a program or affiliate products that align with your niche.
For example, lots of YouTube channels promote Virtual Private Network (VPN) services so their audience can watch them anywhere in the world. A more specific example would be vegan fitness and lifestyle educator Derek Simnett, who is an affiliate for VIVO Life supplements.
The other option is to join an affiliate program marketplace or network where you can browse thousands of programs and sign up to them through the marketplace.
Affiliate networks, such as the following, offer thousands of merchants in various niches:
- ShareASale
- ClickBank
- Awin
- FlexOffers
- Amazon Associates
- CJ
- Rakuten Advertising
Step 3: Create Content
The only thing that leads customers to your blog post, Youtube video, Instagram post, or website is top-quality and SEO-optimized content. Put your affiliate offer in a creative and convincing way in front of your audience and encourage them to make a sale by providing top-notch content.
How to Optimize Content
SEO. Search engine optimization is essential for succeeding in affiliate marketing. Whether making blog posts, engaging in Facebook groups, Instagram posts, or creating video content for YouTube videos or other platforms, SEO will help you raise traffic and awareness.
If you've just started affiliate marketing, do keyword research before promoting affiliate products on your site or account page. Add relevant keywords to your content to rank high on search engines and send customers directly to you.
Content-Type. Deciding what content to put out for your audience is just as crucial. This needs to comply with your target personas within your niche. Decide on the content type and structure to increase your chance of attracting more customers.
From email marketing to blog posts, videos on various platforms, Q&As, tips, tutorials, how-to guides, product reviews, and more. Engage with your audience and provide creative and useful content to generate clicks and conversions for your affiliate links.
Research. Do thorough research on all things related to affiliate marketing. From competitors and their content to current trends on social media, product categories, market niches, and more.
Browse the internet to see what is currently available, trending, and what your target audience is looking for in products and services. Do proper research and make informed decisions regarding your affiliate marketing strategy.
Confidence and Persistence. Post click-worthy content that convinces your audience of your expertise over the products you promote and encourages them to not only click on your affiliate link but also make a purchase.
Try the products yourself, promote what you know, love, and enjoy, and be persistent with your content output. Set a schedule, develop a content strategy and calendar, and keep your audience intrigued and up-to-date with the latest offers.
3. Decide on a traffic source
At this point, you’ll need to start thinking about your traffic source.
People often make the mistake of thinking you must become a blogger with a dedicated website (which costs money). Though it is helpful to have one later when you feel able to reinvest in your business and scale upward, it’s not essential.
You can start generating affiliate income using other (free) traffic sources, such as social media platforms, YouTube, and forum-based sites like Reddit and Quora. Let’s look at a few advantages and disadvantages of each channel:
FacebookPros: The largest social media platform around. You can reach a big audience. Cons: Less attractive to younger audiences. Bad organic reach.
InstagramPros: Highly visual, excellent for showcasing products and services. Strong emphasis on video content like Reels and Stories.Cons: Lower organic reach for feed posts.
YouTubePros: Great for search engine optimization. Global audience of over two billion people. Cons: A lot of competition in most niches. Videos need to be professional and high quality.
TikTokPros: Short video clips that don’t require a “professional” look and feel. More personal and authentic experiences. Trends start on TikTok. Cons: Links in descriptions are not clickable.
LinkedInPros: Excellent organic reach. Established platform for professionals.Cons: Predominantly for B2B audiences.
You might be thinking, “But I don’t have a social media following! How will I make money?” If you don’t have a following, now is your chance to start building one. That being said, you don’t need a huge following to make money—you just need to reach the right audience.
Lots of affiliate marketers make their income entirely through social media. A great example would be Papery Thoughts, a YouTube channel (among other social media accounts) that creates YouTube videos about journaling. The channel generates affiliate sales through links to products in the video description that the creator uses onscreen. Other ways of using social media include joining Facebook groups in your niche and answering questions, or stitching replies to relevant TikTok videos in your industry. The key to building an audience is participation, not just spamming people with affiliate offers.
Step 3: Create Content
The only thing that leads customers to your blog post, Youtube video, Instagram post, or website is top-quality and SEO-optimized content. Put your affiliate offer in a creative and convincing way in front of your audience and encourage them to make a sale by providing top-notch content.
How to Optimize Content
SEO. Search engine optimization is essential for succeeding in affiliate marketing. Whether making blog posts, engaging in Facebook groups, Instagram posts, or creating video content for YouTube videos or other platforms, SEO will help you raise traffic and awareness.
If you've just started affiliate marketing, do keyword research before promoting affiliate products on your site or account page. Add relevant keywords to your content to rank high on search engines and send customers directly to you.
Content-Type. Deciding what content to put out for your audience is just as crucial. This needs to comply with your target personas within your niche. Decide on the content type and structure to increase your chance of attracting more customers.
From email marketing to blog posts, videos on various platforms, Q&As, tips, tutorials, how-to guides, product reviews, and more. Engage with your audience and provide creative and useful content to generate clicks and conversions for your affiliate links.
Research. Do thorough research on all things related to affiliate marketing. From competitors and their content to current trends on social media, product categories, market niches, and more.
Browse the internet to see what is currently available, trending, and what your target audience is looking for in products and services. Do proper research and make informed decisions regarding your affiliate marketing strategy.
Confidence and Persistence. Post click-worthy content that convinces your audience of your expertise over the products you promote and encourages them to not only click on your affiliate link but also make a purchase.
Try the products yourself, promote what you know, love, and enjoy, and be persistent with your content output. Set a schedule, develop a content strategy and calendar, and keep your audience intrigued and up-to-date with the latest offers.
Step 4: Drive Traffic
Choose a traffic source for your affiliate marketing content by picking one of many platforms for your promotions. You don’t always have to build a blog or a website that costs money.
How to start affiliate marketing with no money or up-front investments? Build a social media presence on sites and free platforms where your buyer personas can mostly be found and chime in on the organic traffic these platforms provide.
Facebook is the largest social media platform worldwide, offering you a chance to shine in front of an audience of 2.9 billion users. However, keep in mind your buyer personas, as Facebook is getting less popular among young people and has a lower organic reach.
Affiliate marketing on Instagram is for showcasing the affiliate products in all their glory using video content like stories and reels. Instagram is highly visual and popular among all age groups, but feed posts tend to have low organic reach – you may need to fight for attention.
This platform is mainly created for professionals with an excellent organic reach, making it a great place for promoting your affiliate products. However, this platform is primarily aimed at a B2B-oriented audience.
TikTok
TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms, especially for younger audiences, with entertaining videos and click-worthy content that doesn’t require a professional touch. But links in the TikTok description are not clickable, lowering your chances of sending people over to the affiliate product page.
YouTube
YouTube is the perfect platform for showcasing tutorials, product reviews, and how-to guides professionally and creatively. This platform is excellent for SEO and reaches a large audience of 2.6 billion people. However, the competition is fierce, and your videos need to be high quality and top-notch to rise above it.
Reddit is the go-to platform for product reviews and honest content. It’s the platform where people speak their minds and seek recommendations and advice. But Reddit is mainly for younger audiences, so remember your target personas.
Twitter is a popular platform where you can show off your affiliate offers in a short and creative way. Catch the attention with click-worthy headlines and product intros, sending customers directly to the product page. But keep in mind the character limitations, leaving no space for long descriptions and introductions.
Blog Posts
Writing blog posts is one way to start affiliate marketing with no money. Whether your own or guest posts, blogs are a great way to display your affiliate products and engage with the customers.
Start Your Affiliate Marketing Path
You don’t need to invest large amounts of money to start your affiliate marketing journey. All it takes is some insight into your options, a little bit of research, and a dash of creativity to make your content unique, valuable, and click-worthy.
So start thinking about what niche you could start building, working up to a passive income, and work from anywhere you want (or just tinker with outside of your main income).
