How To Start Affiliate Marketing in 2024 (15 easy steps)

Exploring how to start affiliate marketing from anywhere has become a pivotal question for aspiring digital entrepreneurs and seasoned marketers alike. This burgeoning field offers a flexible and profitable avenue for earning online, a trend that’s gaining momentum globally.

According to Statista, the industry experienced a 10% growth in 2022, reaching a value of $8.2 billion, up from the previous year. Projections indicate a significant surge to $21.1 billion in 2024, although it is anticipated to adjust to $15.7 billion within the same year. A report from Astute Analytica forecasts that by 2030, the industry’s worth will escalate dramatically to $36.9 billion.

Major industry players like TechRadar, PCMag, GamesRadar, Rtings, MusicRadar, and PetsRadar have already tapped into this lucrative market, recognizing the significant opportunities it presents.

With e-commerce and digital platforms on the rise, affiliate marketing emerges as a prime strategy for anyone looking to harness the power of the internet from any corner of the world.

This beginner’s guide to affiliate marketing provides a comprehensive overview of how to launch an affiliate marketing business from any location. It offers valuable insights and practical steps to help you take advantage of this dynamic and profitable online business model.

How To Start Affiliate Marketing in 2024 (15 easy steps)

Affiliate marketing has revolutionized the way people make money online, providing a flexible and potentially lucrative income stream from anywhere in the world.

Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or a beginner, starting an affiliate marketing business requires a strategic approach that involves several key steps. From finding the right niche to optimizing your content and tracking your results, below mentioned steps will guide you through the essential steps of how to start affiliate marketing from anywhere.

By following these 15 easy steps, you can build a profitable affiliate marketing business while enjoying the freedom and flexibility of working from anywhere in the world.

1. Choose a niche or a sub-niche
2. Analyze the competition level
3. Find the keywords or buyer intention
4. Find the type of the products
5. Find affiliate programs
6. Analyze affiliate commission structure
7. Decide on a content platform
8. Apply to become an affiliate
9. Create a valuable content
10. Add affiliate links
11. Drive traffic to your content
12. Get clicks to your affiliate links
13. Convert clicks to sales
14. Track your results
15. Optimize your strategy

1- Choose A Niche/Sub-niche for Affiliate Marketing

Selecting the right niche or sub-niche is crucial in affiliate marketing. It’s not just about finding a profitable market, but also aligning it with your personal interests and expertise.

This alignment ensures that you are passionate and knowledgeable about your content, which resonates more authentically with your audience.

For instance, if you’re interested in health and wellness, a sub-niche like ‘Yoga for Beginners’ can be both fulfilling and profitable. Remember, a well-chosen niche helps establish your credibility and authority, making your marketing efforts more effective.

2- Analyze The Competition Level 

Understanding the competition in your chosen niche is key to strategizing your affiliate marketing approach. Analyze both high-competition and low-competition niches to determine where you can carve out your unique space.

In high-competition areas like weight loss, differentiation is key, while in low-competition niches, like eco-friendly cleaning products, you have the opportunity to become a leading voice.

Use premium SEO analysis software like Semrush, ahrefs, and Mangools or free tools like Google Trends to gauge competition levels and plan your content and marketing strategy accordingly.

In a highly competitive market, it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd and attract targeted traffic to your content. Established players in the market may have already established a strong brand presence and loyal following over the years, making it difficult for newcomers to gain traction.

On the other hand, a low-competition market may offer more opportunities to establish yourself as an authority and generate targeted traffic and sales. By focusing on a niche with less competition, you can position yourself as a unique voice and offer a fresh perspective to your audience.

Additionally, a less competitive market may have fewer established players, making it easier to identify and target potential customers.

Example of High and Low Competition Level Niche

A high-competition niche is one that has a lot of established players, making it challenging to stand out from the crowd.

For example, the weight loss industry is a highly competitive niche, with numerous established companies and a significant amount of advertising spend. While the weight loss industry offers a vast market opportunity, breaking into this competitive space can be challenging.

On the other hand, a low-competition niche is one that has fewer established players, offering more opportunities to establish yourself as an authority.

For instance, the sub-niche of eco-friendly cleaning products may have less competition, but still offers a growing market opportunity as more people become environmentally conscious.

By choosing a low-competition niche and offering a unique perspective, an affiliate marketer can establish themselves as an authority and gain a loyal following.

With consistent effort and a focus on providing value to the audience, even a small niche can generate significant profits and long-term success.

3- Find The Keywords Or Buyer Intention

Conducting thorough keyword research is essential to tap into the buyer’s intent. Keywords are the bridge between what people are searching for and the content you provide.

For example, a high-intent keyword like “best running shoes” indicates a readiness to purchase, compared to a more informational search like “how to prevent running injuries.”

Use keyword research tools to identify these terms, and craft your content to align with the various stages of the buyer’s journey, from awareness to decision-making.

4- Find The Type Of The Products

Identifying the types of products that resonate with your audience is a crucial step.

Whether it’s physical products like electronics, informational products like e-books, or services like coaching, understanding what your audience seeks helps tailor your affiliate strategy.

For instance, if you’re in a tech niche, gadgets and software might be your go-to products. Aligning product types with audience preferences not only enhances relevance but also increases the likelihood of conversions.

By identifying the types of products that are already selling in your niche and selecting the affiliate programs, you can promote products that cater to your audience’s needs and preferences. Promoting products that are in high demand and appeal to your audience can help you generate more sales and earn a profitable income as an affiliate marketer.

5- Find Affiliate Programs

Once you’ve identified your niche and the types of products you want to promote, the next step is finding the best affiliate programs.

Look for programs that offer products or services relevant to your niche. Consider factors like commission structures, payment methods, and the reputation of the affiliate program.

Utilize affiliate networks like ShareASale or CJ Affiliate to find a diverse range of programs. Remember, the right affiliate program can significantly impact your earning potential.

These networks provide a directory of affiliate programs across a wide range of niches, making it easy to find relevant programs to join. You can also find affiliate programs by searching for product-specific keywords and adding “affiliate program” to your search query.

Remember, when selecting an affiliate program, it’s important to consider the commission structure, payment methods, and terms and conditions.

Some affiliate programs offer a flat commission rate, while others offer a percentage of the sale. It’s also important to review the terms and conditions of the program to ensure that it aligns with your business goals and that you can comply with the program’s rules and regulations.

6- Analyze Affiliate Commission Structure

Understanding the affiliate commission structure of your chosen affiliate programs is vital.

Different programs offer various commission models like pay-per-sale, pay-per-click, or tiered commissions. Analyze which structure aligns best with your content strategy and audience.

For example, a pay-per-sale model might be more lucrative if your content is highly persuasive and sales-driven. Consider the balance between achievable targets and potential earnings to maximize your affiliate income

Commission structures refer to the way that affiliate programs compensate their affiliates for promoting their products or services. Understanding the different types of commission structures can help you select the best affiliate programs to join and maximize your earnings potential.

There are four types of commission structures offered by affiliate programs, including:

1. Pay-per-sale (PPS): This is the most common commission structure used by affiliate programs. Affiliates earn a percentage of the sale price when a customer makes a purchase through their unique affiliate link.
2. Pay-per-click (PPC): With this commission structure, affiliates earn a commission for every click generated by their unique affiliate link, regardless of whether the click leads to a sale.
3. Pay-per-lead (PPL): With this commission structure, affiliates earn a commission for every lead they generate for the affiliate program. For example, if an affiliate promotes a free trial offer for a service and a customer signs up for the trial, the affiliate would earn a commission.
4. Tiered commission: Some affiliate programs offer a tiered commission structure, where affiliates earn a higher commission rate for generating a certain number of sales or reaching a specific performance level.

When analyzing commission structures, it’s important to consider the commission rate, payment threshold, and payment method. Some affiliate programs may offer a higher commission rate but have a higher payment threshold, meaning that you need to earn a certain amount before you can receive payment.

It’s also important to consider the payment method offered by the affiliate program, as some programs may offer payment via check or bank transfer, while others may offer payment via PayPal or other digital payment methods.

7- Decide On A Content Platform

Deciding on a content platform is a critical step in building a successful affiliate marketing business. A content platform is a medium through which you share your content with your audience, such as a website, blog, or social media channel.

It’s important to analyze your competitors’ content platforms when building a successful affiliate marketing business.

By identifying the platforms that your competitors are using to reach their target audience, you can gain valuable insights into how to effectively reach potential buyers. You can create a list of those platforms and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses to inform your own content strategy and capitalize on untapped content marketing opportunities.

For example, if you are promoting fashion products, starting a fashion blog or Instagram page would be a suitable content platform to showcase your content and promote the products.

Similarly, if you are promoting digital products, creating a YouTube channel or blog can help you reach your audience effectively and generate targeted traffic.

It’s essential to choose a content platform that aligns with your niche and audience.

For example, if you’re targeting a younger audience, a social media platform like TikTok or Instagram might be more effective. Conversely, if your audience is more professional, a blog or LinkedIn page might be a better choice.

8- Apply To Become An Affiliate

The next step is to apply to become an affiliate.

The application process typically involves submitting an application form or registering for an affiliate account. The process can vary depending on the affiliate program, but most programs require you to provide basic personal information and details about your website or other content platform.

When applying to become an affiliate, it’s important to consider the affiliate program’s requirements and ensure that you meet their criteria.

Some programs may require that you have a certain amount of traffic or a specific type of content platform. Additionally, it’s important to review the terms and conditions of the program to ensure that you can comply with their rules and regulations.

To increase your chances of being approved as an affiliate, it’s important to provide accurate and detailed information about your website or content platform.

By applying to become an affiliate and joining relevant programs, you can gain access to a wide range of products to promote and earn a commission on sales generated through your unique affiliate link.

9- Create A Valuable Content

Creating high-quality, valuable content is the cornerstone of successful affiliate marketing.

Your content should not only be engaging and informative but also tailored to meet the needs and interests of your audience. Incorporate your affiliate links strategically, ensuring they add value rather than appear salesy.

Diversify your content types – from blog posts and reviews to tutorials and videos – to cater to different audience preferences.

Remember, the more value you provide, the more likely your audience is to trust your recommendations and click on your affiliate links.

To create valuable content for your affiliate marketing niche, it’s important to first research your niche and understand what types of content your audience is interested in.

You can look at your competitors’ content strategies and identify gaps or areas where you can offer something unique and valuable.

Next, choose the right content format for your audience and content platform. This could include blog posts, videos, podcasts, social media posts, or a combination of different formats.

When creating your content, focus on providing high-quality information that is relevant and valuable to your audience. Use a clear and concise writing style, high-quality images or videos, and easy-to-digest information.

In addition to incorporating affiliate links, offer value to your audience beyond the links. This could include providing helpful information, insights, and advice related to your niche. By offering value beyond affiliate links, you can build trust with your audience and make them more likely to click on your affiliate links.

10- Add Affiliate Links

Integrating affiliate links into your content should be done thoughtfully. Use relevant anchor text and include clear calls to action, guiding your audience towards making a purchase.

Place links strategically throughout your content to maximize visibility without overwhelming your audience. Always maintain transparency about your affiliate relationships to build trust.

11- Drive Traffic To Your Affiliate Content

Driving traffic to your affiliate content is essential to the success of your affiliate marketing efforts. Here are some of the most successful ways you can drive traffic to your affiliate content:

Search engine optimization (SEO)

• Optimize your content for keywords related to the product or service you are promoting
• Create high-quality content that provides value to your audience
• Use meta tags and descriptions to improve visibility in search results

Social media marketing

• Promote your affiliate content on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
• Use relevant hashtags to reach a wider audience
• Run paid social media ads to target specific audiences

Email marketing

• Build an email list of subscribers interested in your niche
• Send targeted emails promoting your affiliate content and offers
• Use email automation to nurture leads and build relationships with your subscribers

Influencer marketing

• Partner with influencers in your niche to promote your affiliate content
• Reach new audiences through influencer’s followers and social media presence
• Provide influencers with affiliate links to promote their content

Paid advertising

• Run pay-per-click (PPC) ads on search engines and social media platforms
• Target specific keywords and audiences to drive traffic to your affiliate content
• Use retargeting ads to re-engage visitors who have previously visited your content.

12- Get Clicks To Your Affiliate Links

As an affiliate marketer, it’s important to strategically place your affiliate links in your content to encourage clicks and drive traffic to the product or service you are promoting. Here are some tips for placing your affiliate links effectively:

• Use relevant anchor text: Use descriptive and relevant anchor text to link to the product or service you are promoting. For example, instead of using “click here,” use something like “get this product now” or “check out this service.”
• Include calls-to-action (CTAs): Encourage your readers to click on your affiliate link by including clear and compelling CTAs. For example, “Get 20% off now” or “Limited time offer – buy now.”
• Place links strategically: Place your affiliate links strategically within your content, such as in the introduction, conclusion, or within product reviews. Make sure they are easily visible and not buried within the content.
• Use multiple links: Use multiple affiliate links throughout your content to increase the chances of a reader clicking on one. For example, you could include links within product images, within comparison charts, or in a list of recommended products.
• Disclose your affiliate relationship: Be transparent with your readers about your affiliate relationship and disclose it in your content. This builds trust with your audience and helps to establish your credibility.

Remember, the goal of affiliate marketing is not to push products onto your audience but rather to provide value and help them make informed purchasing decisions.

By placing your affiliate links strategically and transparently, you can effectively drive traffic to the products or services you are promoting and earn commissions in the process.

13- Convert Clicks To Sales

Relevance is a crucial factor in converting clicks to sales from your affiliate links. When a potential customer clicks on your affiliate link and lands on the offer or landing page, it’s important that the page is relevant to the content they were viewing when they clicked on the link.

Here are some ways relevance can bring sales after a customer clicks on your affiliate link:

• Trust and credibility: If the landing page or offer is relevant to the content on your website, it builds trust and credibility with your audience. It shows that you have taken the time to select products or services that are valuable and aligned with their interests.
• Improved user experience: When the landing page or offer is relevant, it creates a seamless and positive user experience. Visitors are more likely to engage with the content and take action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service.
• Increased conversions: Relevance can increase the likelihood of a visitor making a purchase or taking a desired action. When the landing page or offer is relevant to their interests and needs, it provides a clear and compelling value proposition that can lead to a conversion.
• Reduced bounce rates: When visitors land on a landing page or offer that is not relevant to the content they clicked on, they are more likely to leave the page without taking any action. This can lead to high bounce rates and lower conversion rates.

Relevance is important in bringing sales after a customer clicks on your affiliate link because it builds trust and credibility, improves the user experience, increases conversions, and reduces bounce rates.

By ensuring that your landing pages and offers are relevant to your audience, you can increase the chances of converting clicks to sales and drive more revenue from your affiliate marketing efforts.

14- Track Your Affiliate Marketing Results

Tracking your results is crucial in understanding the effectiveness of your affiliate marketing efforts. Here are some ways to track your results:

• Monitor traffic sources: Use Google Analytics and Google search console to monitor traffic sources and see where your website visitors are coming from. This can help you identify which marketing channels are driving the most traffic to your website along with the queries.
• Monitor bounce rates: Keep an eye on bounce rates to see how many visitors are leaving your website after viewing only one page. High bounce rates can indicate that your content is not engaging or relevant to your audience.
• Monitor time on site: Track how much time visitors are spending on your website. This can help you understand which pages and content are keeping visitors engaged and interested.
• Track your CTPs (click to provider/brands): One important way to track the success of your affiliate marketing efforts is to monitor your click to providers/brands (CTPs) for your affiliate links. This involves analyzing how many users are visiting your website and how many of them are clicking on your affiliate links or calls to action (CTAs) to make a purchase or learn more about a product or service. By tracking your CTRs, you can gain insights into the effectiveness of your website content, promotional materials, and overall affiliate marketing strategy.
• Monitor earnings: Keep track of your earnings and compare them to your advertising and content creation costs. This can help you determine if your affiliate marketing efforts are profitable.

By tracking your results and analyzing data, you can optimize your affiliate marketing efforts and improve your overall performance.

15- Optimize Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy

If your affiliate marketing strategy is not working as effectively as you would like, here are some ways to optimize your strategy:

• Analyze your data: Review your data and analytics to understand which aspects of your strategy are not performing well. Look at metrics such as traffic, click-through rates, and conversion rates to identify areas that need improvement.
• Re-evaluate your niche and audience: Consider whether your niche and target audience are aligned with your affiliate products and promotions. If not, consider adjusting your niche or audience targeting to improve relevance.
• Optimize your content: Review your content to ensure that it is high-quality, informative, and engaging. Consider incorporating different types of content, such as videos or infographics, to make it more visually appealing and interesting.
• Adjust your promotional methods: Review your promotional methods, such as social media marketing or email marketing, to ensure they are effective. Consider experimenting with different channels or tactics to reach a wider audience.
• Partner with new affiliates: Consider partnering with new affiliates or affiliate programs that offer products or services that are more relevant to your audience or niche.
• Test and experiment: Experiment with different promotional materials, calls-to-action, and landing pages to see what works best. Conduct A/B testing to compare different strategies and tactics.
• Focus on building relationships: Focus on building relationships with your audience and providing value through your content. This can help to establish trust and credibility and increase the likelihood of conversions.

By optimizing your affiliate marketing strategy, you can improve your results, drive more traffic and conversions, and increase revenue from your affiliate marketing efforts.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a form of online marketing in which businesses (also called merchants or advertisers) compensate individuals (also called affiliates or publishers) for promoting and selling their products or services.

In simple terms, affiliate marketing is akin to receiving a commission for referring someone to a product or service.

For instance, let’s say a company vends a fitness product and proffers an affiliate program. An affiliate can enroll in the program and promote the product via their website or by utilizing any other online medium. If someone clicks on the affiliate’s link and buys the product, the affiliate earns a commission on the sale.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

For Affiliate marketing, three different parties are involved but some people consider it to have four parties.

1. The seller or product creators
2. The affiliate
3. The consumer
4. The network

Let’s look into the four parties in detail.

1- The Seller or Product Creators

The seller in affiliate marketing can either be a vendor, product creator, merchant, or retailer who has a product that needs to be marketed. Now, the product can be in a physical form like office furniture, or household goods, or it can be a service like home tuition or makeup tutorials.

The seller can also be the marketer and profit from the income sharing linked with affiliate marketing. An example of a seller is Chicco which manufactures baby strollers. Similarly, web hosting is an example of services being offered by a business/ seller that will give you a virtual location and provide you with the tools to build your website. Bluehost is one such company that offers web hosting services for all.

2- The Affiliate

The affiliate can be an individual or a company that promotes or markets one or multiple affiliate products/services to potential customers. The affiliate has an audience that can be either relevant or irrelevant to the product. The higher the relevance, the higher the income.

The marketing process is done in an appealing manner such that customers get attracted to make a purchase. Various channels may be used in the marketing process to generate an income, like, SEO, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video Marketing, YouTube tutorials, email marketing, AdWords, etc.

If the customer ends up buying a product, the affiliate earns a part of the revenue made or in other words earns a commission. The commission of the affiliate and seller is already included in the retail price.

3- The Consumer

The core of affiliate marketing is the consumer. Without the consumer, there would be no sales and no sales mean no revenue sharing.
The affiliate shares the product and services over a variety of platforms like blogs, websites, social media, etc. and if the consumer purchases the product, the seller and the affiliate share the profit.

It is entirely up to the affiliate whether to inform the customer or not about being a part of affiliate marketing and receiving a commission from the sales. Though it is a good practice to always put a disclaimer on your site stating that “the site contains affiliate links and if you buy something from this website, I might get an affiliate commission”.

4- The Network

Networks primarily handle the tracking, reporting, and payment involved in affiliate marketing. Basically, they work as an intermediary between the seller and the affiliate by providing checks and balances as a third party. Some popular networks are Clickbank, Share Sale, and Commission Junction.

How to Find a Profitable Niche For Affiliate Marketing From Anywhere

As I mentioned earlier, selecting a niche is a pivotal part of affiliate marketing. So how does one decide on a niche that would be profitable too? I’ve listed down seven easy steps to go about selecting a profitable niche.

1. Identify your passion
2. The niche market
3. Analyze the trends
4. Determine the problem
5. Look for products to sell
6. Check out the competition
7. Online advertising

1- Identify Your Passion

Selecting a niche that goes alongside a passion of yours, will help you in earning huge profits as you’ll already know about the ins and outs. If you work on something you care about, it is more likely that you will fare well. Since you already know the market, it will not be difficult to make big profits. Plus, since you have a passion for the niche, you would definitely know a lot of communities and groups related to this niche. This will make it even easier for you to make content and post it timely. For example, if you love rock climbing and hiking and you know what type of gear would be the best for enthusiasts, you can easily make content to attract the audience to a product through you.

2- The Niche Market

Before deciding on a niche, you should research the market value of that niche whether it’s profitable or not. You do not want to enter into a niche that has no data available and is of no worth. For instance, if you’re thinking of going into the niche of kitchen appliances, the market value of global household appliances was valued at $501,532 million in 2017 and is projected to reach $763,451 million by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.4% from 2018 to 2025. This data will allow you to make a decision with confidence.

3- Analyze the Trends

Having a look at the ongoing trend is always a good idea. Google trends allow you to do just that. You can simply search your niche over Google trends and find out how that particular niche has fared in the past and what the trend would look like currently. Stability is the factor that you need to look for here.

4- Determine the Problem

Every niche has a problem that needs to be solved. You have to figure that problem out. Once you’ve established the problem and figured out a relevant solution, you can make a good amount of income.

5- Look for Products to Sell

There are different ways to find products to sell online. This can be done by going to the Amazon best sellers page and finding products related to your niche. You’ll find plenty of products that can be promoted easily. Another way to find products is to see product review blogs. Reviews let you figure out the trending products. Facebook and Instagram also give information about trending products. The views, likes, and comments on an item will let you know which product is trending and what people are purchasing. For example, a necklace that has 3000 likes within a span of 12 hours, can be termed as a good product to market.

6- Check out the competition

When selecting a niche, it is good to check out the competition. The competitor websites can be analyzed based on a factor called Domain Rating (DR). Domain rating, developed by ahrefs, shows the strength of a website’s backlink profile and is compared to others on a scale of 100. The higher the DR, the stronger the website and the more chances the website has to appear higher up in the search. When searching for competitive websites related to a niche, if you don’t find websites with small or medium domain rating, it will be difficult to rank higher due to the tough competition.

7- Online advertising

One important aspect of finding a niche is to find out whether companies are willing to advertise products of that particular niche or not. If you see advertisements against search queries, you can think of it as a profitable niche.

What are Affiliate Networks And Their Role in Affiliate Marketing?

The affiliate networks collaborate with both the publishers and merchants, acting as the intermediary between the two. Publishers refer to bloggers or entrepreneurs who lure in customers, while merchants pertain to the companies that manufacture the products. The affiliate networks establish a connection between the two parties.

Publishers can participate in affiliate networks for free, but merchants cannot. They have to pay an initiation fee and monthly fees for the tools and services provided. Additionally, affiliate networks receive a small portion of the payments given to an affiliate site.

Affiliate networks offer effortless account management and comprehensive tracking all in one place. Payment and reporting options are also incorporated. Through affiliate networks, only authorized publishers advertise a company’s product. Publishers must undergo an approval process to be part of an affiliate program. Furthermore, affiliate networks provide a swift return on investment.

Here’s a list of most popular affiliate networks:

1. Amazon Associates
2. ShareASale
3. CJ Affiliate (Formerly Commission Junction)
4. Awin (Formerly Affiliate Window)
5. ClickBank
6. FlexOffers

Amazon Associates

Amazon Associates is ideal for those looking to promote physical products on their website. An appealing part of Amazon associates is that you can earn a commission on anything that a customer purchases through your link. To explain it in a simpler manner, if your link is for a 5$ hair brush but the consumer ends up buying a $500 laptop, you’ll get a commission for that too. The commission rate of Amazon is a flat rate structure where a set percentage is paid on a category. 

Anything and everything is sold over Amazon. It has a massive collection of products. The average commission rate ranges from 1% to 10% depending on the category. The cookie duration of Amazon is 24 hrs. Amazon Associates is eligible for people in more than 100 countries worldwide including Netherlands, Turkey, Egypt, etc.

ShareASale

Founded in 2000, ShareASale has over 3900 affiliate programs in a number of categories. It sends you money on the 20th of each month, as long as you have $50 as your balance. ShareASale opts for an option for payment via checks, wire transfer, or direct deposit. ShareASale has both, physical and digital products. There are over 1000 merchants at ShareASale that only work with ShareASale.

The cookie duration for ShareASale is 45 days which allows you to get a commission if your customer purchases within 45 days. ShareASale offers its affiliate programs to more countries than Amazon Associates which includes Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ireland, South Korea, Hungary, Japan, Spain, Italy, etc. ShareASale also offers acceptance of countries not listed but only in special cases. 

CJ AFFILIATE

CJ Affiliate was previously known as Commission Junction. It brings thousands of merchants together under one roof, pretty much like ShareASale. Some digital and physical companies using CJ are officedepot, Overstock. Lowes, Priceline, and GoPro. 

The cookie duration for CJ Affiliate is 30 days. CJ Affiliate pays on a monthly basis through direct deposits or checks. It does not offer payments via PayPal. 

Flex Offers

One of the newest affiliate networks on the block, Flex Offers has a growing list of opportunities. It has 12,000+ merchants in over 25 categories. Even though Flex Offers doesn’t have a rating with BBB (Better Business Bureau), it also does not show any sort of complaints either. Its cookie duration is of 30 days. With a 30-day payment system, you only have to meet the minimum balance of $50. It’s also possible to receive your payment within 7 days if you’re a top performer. They offer payment via check, direct deposit, and also PayPal. FlexOffers is unique in a way that it provides a dedicated affiliate manager to help at every step of the way in affiliate marketing. It’s great to use for both newbies and experts alike. 

ClickBank

ClickBank has made its name offering digital products. Unlike ShareASale and Awin, which have big companies, ClickBank is more towards the smaller side of the merchants. On one end, you can find great products to promote but at the same, some may be subpar products. The average commission depends on the merchant you sign up with but it is usually very high (more than $100/sale). Also, they offer payments weekly via wire transfer, checks, and Payoneer as well.

The cookie duration for ClickBank is 60 days, that is if a visitor does not purchase something on the first visit and comes back within 60 days and makes a purchase, you will get a commission. ClickBank offers its services to many countries like Pakistan, Fiji, Denmark, China, Canada, Namibia, etc.

What is an Affiliate Link and its Role in Affiliate Marketing?

An affiliate link is a specific URL assigned to a single affiliate. It contains the affiliate’s ID and username. When affiliates sign up with a merchant, they are provided with a link. When a potential buyer clicks on that link, he or she is diverted to the merchant’s site and the affiliate might earn a commission if a sale is made. Affiliate links provide the advantage of tracking sales and offer an opportunity to those interested in selling other people’s products. 

Affiliate links work like any other link with the difference that when you click on an affiliate link, a cookie will be saved on your web browser and computer. A cookie is a small piece of data, stored in the user’s browser, and sent by the website.

This cookie stores some information and alerts the site to record from which link this customer came. Also, the next time you visit that site, the cookie lets the site know about it. These cookies usually remain active for 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days or even more (depending upon the advertiser or network)

So basically, when someone clicks on an affiliate link, it is tracked by the cookie. In this way, when someone makes a purchase, you’ll get credited.

How Much Money I Can Make With Affiliate Marketing From Anywhere?

Statista reports that affiliate marketing started off with a sending of $1.6 billion in 2016 to $5 billion in 2017. It has now been predicted that spending on affiliate marketing in the US only will reach $8.2 billion by 2022. That’s how much is being spent on affiliate marketing. Now wonder how much can be earned. 

According to VigLink, 9% of affiliates made more than $50,000 in income in 2016. A large part of merchants 65%- stated that they were making between 5% and 20% of their annual revenue from affiliate marketing. Making an income through affiliates relies greatly on the traffic to your website. And traffic is generated with fresh quality content. Keeping up with the standards and competition, you can make a good amount in earning.

10 Ways to Start Affiliate Marketing Without a Website From Anywhere

If you’re not of the type to build a website and do affiliate marketing here’s a list of ways to go about doing affiliate marketing without a website:

• Email marketing
• Solo ads
• E-books
• Facebook Ads
• Post on forums and online communities
• YouTube channel
• Adwords
• Retargeting
• Content publishing platforms
• Mobile Marketing

How Do I Become An Affiliate Marketer?

By following the above mentioned 15 steps process, you can easily become an affiliate marketer. Let me list down the 15 steps.

The amount of money an affiliate marketer can make varies depending on several factors, such as the niche, products, and promotional strategies used.

However, according to a survey conducted by Rakuten Marketing, affiliate marketing is a profitable industry, and the top 10% of affiliate marketers earn over $2.5 million per year.

Additionally, a study conducted by VigLink found that 9% of affiliate marketers earn over $50,000 per year, and 65% earn over $1,000 per month.

It’s important to note that the amount of money earned by an affiliate marketer depends on several factors, such as the number of sales generated, commission rates, and promotional strategies used.

It takes time and effort to build a following and drive traffic to affiliate products, but with dedication and effort, it’s possible to earn a significant income as an affiliate marketer.

10 Reasons Why You Should Consider Affiliate Marketing As A Business Model

Here are the ten reasons why you should seriously consider affiliate marketing as a serious business model.

1. Low startup costs: Affiliate marketing has low startup costs, and you don’t need to create your products. You can start promoting products from established companies with no upfront costs.
2. Passive income potential: Once you have set up your affiliate marketing campaigns and optimized them, you can earn passive income for months or even years.
3. Flexibility: Affiliate marketing offers flexibility in terms of working hours and location. You can work from anywhere with an internet connection and set your schedule.
4. No customer support: As an affiliate marketer, you don’t have to deal with customer support, product development, or shipping. The company you promote takes care of all of these tasks.
5. Wide range of products to promote: There are thousands of products available for promotion in various niches, so you can choose the ones that align with your interests and audience.
6. High earning potential: Depending on the products and niches you choose, you can earn high commissions for each sale you generate.
7. Scalability: Affiliate marketing is scalable, and you can promote multiple products at the same time, increasing your earning potential.
8. Access to analytics and tracking: Most affiliate programs provide access to analytics and tracking tools, so you can monitor your campaigns’ performance and optimize them accordingly.
9. Ability to build relationships with your audience: As an affiliate marketer, you can build a loyal audience and establish trust with them by providing valuable content and promoting high-quality products.
10. Opportunity to learn new skills: Affiliate marketing requires a range of skills, such as content creation, SEO optimization, and social media marketing. You can learn and improve these skills while earning money.

CONCLUSION:

Affiliate marketing is not only a rising trend but it is also a way to make great earnings. Though it takes effort and hard work, eventually you’ll be able to make it work. The year 2024 is expected to be a big year for affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is approximately worth $21.1 billion and growing with each passing day. Affiliate marketing makes use of all digital platforms and gives an overwhelming return if used properly.