Is affiliate marketing worth it? With so many affiliate marketing gurus out there selling their “insider secrets” for THOUSANDS, it can be hard to distinguish between “true” affiliate marketing and shady over-hyped schemes.
So what is affiliate marketing and how does it work?
Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It?
The short answer? Absolutely! You can earn consistent commissions (anywhere from 1%-75%) without needing products of your own by partnering with trusted merchants and connecting people with the products and services they’re already looking for online.
Let’s take a look at how the affiliate marketing process works and the different skillsets needed to be successful in this lucrative industry.
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What Is Affiliate Marketing and How Does It Work?
Watch my video below and learn what affiliate marketing is, how it works, and how much you can expect to earn. I’ll also connect you with the same affiliate marketing training platform I owe 100% of my success to so you can get on the same fast track to success I did!
Affiliate marketing is all about connecting people with the products and services they’re already looking for online.
By partnering up with merchants like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Apple, etc., affiliate marketers earn commissions each time they connect a consumer with a merchant and a sale is made.
It’s not to be confused with network marketing. Network marketing is usually negatively associated with pyramid schemes and lots of recruiting. Affiliate marketing is nothing like that. It’s much more straightforward, there’s no recruiting or downlines, and it’s how most all online business is done. And most importantly, in my experience, it is by far the quickest way to earning full time income working from home.
The actual process is one that so many of us have gone through countless times without even realizing it. Let’s walk through it to understand how it works.
Related Article at WorkFromYourLaptop.com!
Check out “Is Affiliate Marketing a Pyramid Scheme?” and see the clear differences between affiliate marketing, network marketing, MLMs, and pyramid schemes.
The Typical Affiliate Marketing Process Explained
We’ve all bought something online before, right? And when we want to buy something specific, many of us will go to Google or YouTube to find reviews or details we’re looking before prior to buying.
Let’s walk through the typical affiliate marketing process that you probably didn’t even realize you’ve gone through countless times.
Personally, I love traveling and photography, so let’s say I wanted to buy a brand new camera for an upcoming vacation. My google search might look like this:
Everybody wants to take great photos when traveling, right? So I make a search for “best point and shoot camera”. Google then provides a list of all the most relevant results. And right there, near the very top of page 1, I see the article I want to dive into more: “The 10 Best Point and Shoot Cameras in 2020” (pictured below).
What many probably aren’t realizing at this point is that this article didn’t just happen to land on page 1. Google isn’t “randomly” finding this. There’s an algorithm at work, and the affiliate marketer who wrote this article has done his or her homework, and very well.
As we scroll through this article, we find exactly what the title described. It’s a detailed list of the 10 best point and shoot cameras photographers love, with their pros and cons, price points, etc. And what makes this an affiliate marketing article?
It’s all in the affiliate link. Beside each of the 10 cameras listed in this article are their affiliate links. You’ve seen them online in websites, social media. “Buy Now From Amazon”, or in this case, “View at Walmart” (shown below).
See, you’re not buying from the person who wrote the article. You’re buying directly from the merchant. And these affiliate links are how the affiliate marketer who wrote the article gets paid. By doing their homework, the affiliate marketer has created content that is the ANSWER to his target audience’s question, or search.
In this case, “best point and shoot cameras” as entered into Google.
By connecting his target audience (you) with exactly what you were looking for, and more importantly the merchant where you could buy it directly, he or she will now earn a commission when that sale is made. Commissions will vary. They will depend on factors like the volume of sales, the merchant, and others.
A common commission for electronics is somewhere around 5-6%.
Imagine earning a 5% commission on a camera priced at $3608.34 just like the one above. That’s a commission of over $180 every single time the affiliate link is clicked and a purchase is made!
And this is just one item of ten in this article. And just one article of potentially hundreds. Think about all the FREE traffic this article is getting as hundreds of people globally see this article after making this popular search EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Did you just hear that “cha-ching” sound in your head? Good. Me too.
The Science Behind Making Money Affiliate Marketing – Keywords & Keyword Research
Are you starting to understand just how lucrative affiliate marketing can be? And when you start to understand the science behind it, it’s truly mind blowing. For example, remember how I found this article from this example?
I made a Google search and the article I was looking for was right there on Page 1 of the SERPS (Search Engine Result Pages). Think about all the GLOBAL TRAFFIC that’s going to that article every single day, every single week, every single month. All thanks to Google.
Without any traffic, the affiliate marketer has no potential for revenue. But with massive, targeted, free traffic the affiliate marketer has set him or herself up for real success.
The successful affiliate marketer has several great tools at his or her disposal.
Building solid traffic means having an understanding of your target audience, creating content that converts, understanding the power of keywords, utilizing a solid keyword research tool, understanding where to place keywords in your content, and much, much more.
But don’t worry. With the right affiliate marketing training, you can be start earning commissions much sooner than you think. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have, or if you’re tech savvy at building websites.
As someone who had ZERO experience when he got started, I can tell you it’s all about understanding the process and simply creating content that is the ANSWER to your target audience’s searches. So where does one start?
The 4 Core Elements of Affiliate Marketing
The 4 core elements of Affiliate Marketing are:
- Choosing an interest, or picking your profitable niche,
- Building Your Website
- Attracting targeted traffic to that site, and
- Turning that traffic into conversions and commissions.
1. Choosing an Interest (Finding Your Profitable Niche)
This is an area where people sometimes outthink themselves. What do I mean by that? I mean it’s not necessary to try to uncover some sort of untapped niche that no one has thought of.
Any niche can be a profitable one, trust me. All you have to do here is choose something you have an interest in or passion for. This is vitally important because this places you instantly inside of your own target audience and gives you instant relevance.
Related Article at WorkFromYourLaptop.com!
Check out “How to Choose a Profitable Niche for a Blog” and learn how the key to is to choose your niche based on your true passion and interests! Any niche can be profitable when done right! Don’t overthink it!
2. Building a Website
Never built a website before? Don’t freak out! Neither had I! How do you like this website you’re on right now? Does it work for you? This was build by me with ZERO background in doing it ever before. Building your own niche website can actually be a very straightforward process with the right training!
Your website will almost become like your online identity. Make it easy to navigate and user friendly with your audience in mind, and they’ll thank you for it with continued visits.
Related Article at WorkFromYourLaptop.com!
Check out “How Hard is it to Build a Website?” and see just how quickly you can have your very own website ready for massive traffic even if you’ve never built one before!
3. Attracting Visitors and Understanding Keyword Research
Traffic equals revenue! This is something I’m always preaching. Without traffic you have ZERO chance of building revenue. And the key to building traffic is through the power of keywords!
What are keywords? Keywords are the words or phrases people type into the search engines to find what they’re looking for. “Best point and shoot camera” is an example of a keyword.
All the best bloggers aren’t landing at the top of Google search results by chance! They’re all doing keyword research and know exactly how to create content that is the answer to their target audience’s most popular searches!
Related Article at WorkFromYourLaptop.com!
Check out “How to Use Jaaxy” for a look at what I feel is the best keyword research tool you’ll find online. Try it for yourself!
4. Earning Revenue
This is what it’s all about right? This is the whole reason you’re interested in blogging and learning affiliate marketing in the first place! So how does this happen? It actually happens in multiple ways.
The most common way is through what is called a “conversion”. A conversion means that someone who has landed on your site is now taking your call to action and clicking through on one of your affiliate links to purchase a product or service.
And when they make their purchase, you get your commission, over and over and over again for every single sale!
You can also earn revenue simply by having traffic coming to your site or to your social media channel. YouTube allows you to have ads on your videos once you reach the 1000 subscriber threshold. That alone can bring hundreds to thousands PER MONTH!
My YouTube channel brings several hundred dollars each month in ad revenue alone simply by viewers accumulating watch time regardless if any sales are even made. How incredible is that?
And once you start building traffic to your website there are services that will pay you considerable amounts of money every single month simply for the traffic coming to your site even without sales being made!
Related Article at WorkFromYourLaptop.com!
Check out my newly updated review of the training platform I owe all my success to! Straightforward, affordable, and FREE to test drive, this is the training that delivered for me! Monetize your own website, YouTube, social media, and more!
Final Thoughts
Affiliate marketing is all about connecting people with what they’re looking for online. Even if you’ve never built a website before, the opportunity to turn one into consistent revenue is there.
How do you feel about your chances of success in affiliate marketing now? Have you ever considered getting started before but didn’t know where to begin? Have you tried some of the high ticket training platforms online before and left feeling cheated?
Let me know your experiences and share your questions in the comments section below! I always respond and I look forward to hearing from you!
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I have been considering for a long time starting working from home and becoming an affiliate marketer. I’ve got my site and the main concern was writing the content so that it would convert. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! I will save it to come back if I need to in the future!
Best regards,
Dominique
Very glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for the comment!
I didn’t know how Google worked. So discovering that articles don’t just come up randomly after Google searches and that there is actual competition for those places, makes me understand the amount of traffic, and even economic compensation behind those positions. So, affiliate marketing now makes sense to me. Thank you!
Once you start using Google as a tool for business instead of a time waster, it’s a true game changer. Thanks for the comment!
Just because affiliate marketing is worth it, I think most participants may make the mistake that it is easy. Although the tasks within it can seem simple, it is a business opportunity that requires a lot of patience, dedication, and hard work. How long did it take before you started to see some income? Thanks for sharing this and including a basic overview of what affiliate marketing is.
I jumped into affiliate marketing as green as could be. I had never built a website, had no idea what keyword research was, and to be honest, I just told myself I would follow the training to a tee for 6 months and then reevaluate to see how much I had learned. in 6 DAYS I had already learned so much, and I knew I had found what I was looking for. I believe I made my first commission 6 weeks in, and those commissions slowly grew. I had a $4k month in my 12th month, and I never looked back. If you want to check out my personal results from the training platform I recommend over all others, check out my article here. Thanks for the comment!
This is a very good and interesting article to read.
Affiliate marketing is very good and can be lucrative. However, it has changed over the years. In 2006, affiliate marketing was still in its infancy. Direct linking was common until Google brought out an algorithm to stop it.
Now, affiliate marketing has many moving parts – Google Analytics, build a site, add pictures and videos to demonstrate what you are trying to say, comments, etc. Also the addition of landing pages and optin forms doesn’t make life easier.
I believe the simpler we make things, the more effective it is – hence someone, somewhere has to find a way to make affiliate marketing easier and the system more seamless.
I’m a firm believe that the less steps there are between your audience and what they’re looking for, the better. People sometimes overthink it. Thanks so much for the comment!
I would agree that affiliate marketing is worth it. I have been an affiliate marketer for over 5 years now. I found your article while showing another friend how the google algorithm finds relevant content. So nice job! Well written! Affiliate marketing is not simply “plug and play” like too many platforms make it out to be. It is constant effort for sure. These are great points you made.
Thank you so much!
My daughter has been telling me about this and, after reading your article, it’s clear for me why many are putting their bets on this type of business, it can be a good business opportunity for anyone who is willing to work hard and to learn the ropes of online business, As a beginner how long did it take you to find success? Thank you!
You can check out my personal results in my review article of the platform I recommend above all others for getting started with affiliate marketing. Thanks so much for the comment!
Which platform has been your most profitable? with all the options out there and the differences between them, it is hard to know which one is going to pay the best. for example, Amazon is a low percentage of sales and low time from click but they also give you a percentage of everything that person buys even if it is not the item they clicked on from you. would you recommend going for something like that vs going for something with a longer time frame and higher percentage?
Amazon’s cookie lasts 24 hours I believe, and yes, if they click on your affiliate link and decide to browse around Amazon for things other than what you promoted in that 24 hour period, you’d get that commission. I feel it’s important with affiliate marketing to diversify yourself. Partner with Amazon, but don’t hesitate to partner with as many other affiliate programs as you can. See what works for you. You may find that one is a perfect fit, or that working with several gets you solid commissions by volume. Great question! Thank you!
Thanks for explaining the worth of affiliate marketing. I’ve been trying to earn additional money after having a lot of free time by working from home. The concept is quite easy to understand, so I’ll try it as soon as possible. However, is it possible to combine it with my existing shop? I already have an existing online toys shop, though it was abandoned for some time. Or, should I just create a brand new website for my affiliate website? Thanks
Coming back to it with new eyes and more knowledge of how to be successful could be like injecting it with a breath of fresh air. There’s no harm in giving your older site a renovation. If it’s still your passion, go for it! But if it wasn’t ever a passion to begin with, the best thing you can do is find a niche you have a real interest in.
So many people are unhappy with their jobs and where they are in their lives and don’t think that there is anything they can do about it. Even some of the young people who have went off to college and got into a whole lot of debt and still cannot find jobs in the field that they have degrees in.
You’re right. More and more people are looking to see how they can be their own boss. And in my opinion, affiliate marketing is a great place to start. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Eric.
Thanks for all of the relevant information.
I already have a website, but am not yet making as much as I want to be. I know it’s a progression and it does take time, so I am willing to keep working at it with the expectation that things will just keep improving.
I like how you emphasize that we need to connect people with the products that they are already looking for. To be honest, this has not been the full focus of my approach. So thank you for the reminder of what affiliate marketing is all about.
Cheers mate.
When you think about how people arrive at your content, it’s because they’re in the process of making a search, right? You didn’t knock on their door, they’re basically knocking on yours. So when you create content that is the answer to those searches you give your audience value for having found you. Do this repeatedly and you’ll see that not only will you have return visitors, but you’ll have repeating conversions as well. Thanks for the comment!
I wanted to stop by your site and thank you for so much of the help you’ve given me. Not too long ago I was someone searching online for answers, and I came across one of your articles. I had never even heard of affiliate marketing. And now, thanks to your help inside WA and all its incredible training, I’ve learned so much.
I am seeing success on my site. And I owe so much of that to you. Thank you so much, coach!
If you are willing to work, it’s definitely worth it.
These are the kinds of comments I never get tired of reading. Thank you so much! Keep up the great work! I love watching your progress!
Hi Eric,
I found your video on YouTube, which led me to your website.
All the information you have given me is truly helping me make a better decision about working from home or anywhere I might be.
I’m loving what I’m learning at WA.
Thanks,
Greg
I’m really, really happy you found what you were looking for. WA has amazing training and I owe all my success to it. I look forward to seeing you progress! You’ve learned a ton so far. To continued success!
It really is crazy what is happening in the world today, and while you never want to see people getting sick, the business closures have created opportunity. How many people have been looking for ways to get out of the regular 9-5 cycle, but unsure they could ever make the jump? Well, it really seems that now is the time to at least take a shot! Thanks so much for this post! I found it really informative!
Well said. Sometimes from the darkest of times springs opportunity. And it’s those who take action on that opportunity that thrive. Thanks for the comment!
It’s a very useful way of making money if if I could go through and try to get it I would definitely do it I need to find a way to make money business and personal I need help with it it’s trafficking inline getting things set up I want to use your page your video to help me out a little bit thank you very much
Glad to help! Thanks for the comment!
At a time like this, affiliate marketing is more relevant than ever. For me I have just started building my online business. I was able to learn a couple of things from this post too. I’m thankful to you. How long have you been involved with affiliate marketing? Thanks again!
I got started in January of 2017! I owe everything to Wealthy Affiliate. 🙂 thanks for the comment!
Thank you for this awesome post! I am so happy that I happened on this article and at the right time too. I am currently quarantined and have been wanting to try something online. You explain it all in a way that’s easy to follow! I am following all your posts because you have really inspired me. Thanks again
Very glad to help! Sometimes it’s during the low times that you find opportunity!
Nice article with so many illustrations. You make the idea of affiliate marketing simple to understand. As this time, a lot of people like me are quarantined. It seems good to try affiliate marketing. I have lost my job in my city. It’s a good time to do and promote online business because there are a lot more people finding products online.
From times like these come opportunity! I think it’s ALWAYS a good time to jump into affiliate marketing! Dive in! I think you’ll really enjoy it!
Hello Eric,
Thank you so much for this wonderful post. I just started my own journey and I know I still have so much to learn. Your post is just what I need to stay motivated and keep going so I can be successful like you too in the future. Your explanation on what is affiliate marketing and how it works is very thorough. It is easy to understand and I am very happy I found it! Keep on posting great contents like this.
Cheers,
Ferra
Thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate it! Best of luck as you continue on your journey. I hope this helped! 🙂
Thank you for this awesome post on affiliate marketing. I’ve found it’s easy to become confused with so many options thrown at you online. I like how you broke it down and explained what you would be getting. A free account sounds good to me! Thanks again.
-Rick
I really appreciate the kind words, Rick. I try my best to explain things in a way that I’d understand if I was looking at this with fresh eyes. Glad this helped you out. Thanks for the comment!
I am so happy that I happened on this article and at the right time too. I am currently quarantined and have been wanting to try something online. You make it so simple. I am following all your posts because you have really inspired me. Thanks again
No better time to start than now! Stay safe! Glad to help!
Hi Eric
Great article. Been interested in how affiliate marketing works for a while and this is the best explanation and breakdown I’ve found. Keep
Up the good work!
Glad to help, brother! Thanks for the comment!
What a wonderful article. You’ve really explained the basics of affiliate marketing and why it works extremely well. Thanks for sharing – gives me a lot of great ideas about improving my business.
Thanks again!
Very happy to help! Thanks for the comment!
This is a great article. For a few days, I was searching for how I can make money on the internet. I found so many ways, but I think Affiliate Marketing is the best fit. Thanks for the walkthrough. Your description is very clear. Now I want to apply this. Why are so many of the make money online opportunities all about pyramid schemes??
I think advertise network marketing as being something that’s easy and works all on its own. This simply isn’t the case. I’ve written a full article on network marketing and the numbers tell the real story. It just isn’t a sustainable business model. Affiliate marketing is much more straightforward, and if you’re willing to put in the work and learn, you can get some fast results. Thanks for the comment!