The Basics of Affiliate Marketing

I’m here to tell you the steps I am taking to build an audience that, hopefully, one day, I will be able to profit from.

I’m no guru. I’m not trying to sell you a course yet. Joking, but hey, maybe one day.

And this is not my first rodeo with affiliate marketing.

However, with this second attempt, I’m taking the time to understand how it truly works and figure out a system that works for me.

Perhaps the lessons I’m learning along the way can help you if you wish to start a digital marketing side hustle.

1. Simple is the best way to start.

At least that’s how I’ve been able to not overwhelm myself with the different ways someone can start selling products through affiliate links.

If you research affiliate marketing, there’s A LOT of information, and it can get a little frustrating trying to decide what’s the best way to begin.

Currently, I’m not using affiliate links or hoplinks to get people to buy products.

Why? The answer is simple. I don’t have an audience to sell to yet.

That’s step one that I completely neglected on my first attempt.

Here’s the kicker that most people don’t like to hear, building an audience takes time.

So what should you do? — Here’s what I’m doing.

First, find what content you are interested in. Why?

Because if you’re not interested in the content you are creating and posting, you won’t give it your best effort.

Creating mediocre content won’t get you far. You won’t like it, and you won’t stick with it long enough to see results.

The simple strategy I’ve come up with is this — Create a short video (5 to 10 seconds long) or image, post it to a social media site, and place a hoplink or affiliate link related to the image or video that you’re posting. Post consistently.

2. Don’t fall for the trap you need to spend a ton of money upfront. You don’t.

I’ve found that most of the information you need to start is free. Here are some people I look to for information and actionable steps:

On YouTube — Santrel Media and Nate O’Brien.

On Medium — Jenn Leach.

Aside from these resources, there's good old Google. With this one, be careful. Not everything on Google is accurate, reputable, or honest (the same thing can be said about the resources mentioned above, but I’ve read and seen plenty of their content to be confident in recommending them).

However, there are some interesting blogs and articles about affiliate marketing that are worth the read.

Just be smart and take everything that you read or hear with a grain of salt.

If you’re going to listen to anyone, listen to the people who actually have an affiliate marketing business and have some form of results.

3. How do you know it’s time to get started?

This one is up to you.

I want to first build an audience. One that is engaged with the content I’m creating.

When I’m comfortable with the size of my engaged audience, I will start featuring products and services with affiliate links.

This is the strategy I’m currently implementing.

Most likely, you will learn what works for you as you go.

I tried to follow someone else’s blueprint, and it didn’t work. Now I’m trying to do it my way, learning and applying as I go.

Before you begin creating and posting content, you need affiliate links.

Affiliate links come from an affiliate network. And there’s a bunch to choose from. As I mentioned, Medium and YouTube can be sources of helpful information.

Understand what an affiliate network is, the products they offer, and its terms of service before you get started posting links.

You want to make sure you don’t do something that gets you kicked out of the affiliate program.

4. Be patient. This is supposed to take time and be for the long haul.

One of the hopes that making money online gives a lot of people is that you can make a lot of money from the get-go.

I find that this is more of an exception than a rule.

It’s great when someone starts making money right away, but it doesn’t tell the full story.

Someone who may have started making money immediately may be hitting a plateau, or their conversions (fancy word for sales) have dropped significantly, and they are struggling to bring them back up.

The point is, it’s not supposed to be easy. Simple? Maybe.

Posting affiliate links is a relatively simple process. But there are a few key elements that are necessary to make a profit.

Building an audience is one of those. And I have observed that those who make a substantial income have a dedicated audience.

The audience trusts the information the person is providing. They trust that this person is who they say they are.

If you want to succeed with affiliate marketing, I highly believe you need to have standards and ethics that you follow and communicate to your audience.

If you’re out just for the money, people will catch on quickly, and you will go out of business fast.

Online side hustles aren’t for everyone. I learned this early on my journey. There’s no promise that money will be made.

But it is a great opportunity to become your own boss and take control of your life.

If you want to get started by using affiliate marketing, go for it! Make sure you have informed yourself of what the process of growing this kind of business looks like.

Otherwise, you may throw the towel at the opportunity of a lifetime.

How was the beginning of your affiliate marketing journey?